Got a new Abu rod/reel today

So just got back from onalaska a while ago.. I went to gander mountain planning on looking at the revo premiers that were on sale, but they didn’t have any left. Ended up getting a new revo stx for the same price. 129.99. So how exactly do you guys adjust the mechanical brake and the magnetic spool brake together on these reels??
Also ended up getting a 7′ MH Abu Vendetta rod to go with it. Anybody have experience with these rods? I thought it seemed like a decent rod for 80 bucks and I just wanted a good multipurpose bassing rod. I was planning on getting a st.croix mojo by the way… Anybody get a chance to compare these rods ever?

Spool it with line…attach your favorite weight lure, say a crankbait…adjust the mech brake so that the lure drops slowly, but smoothly when you disengage the reel(thumb off the spool). If you are a novice adjust it so that you need to shake the rod a little to make the lure drop.

No matter what you must learn to “feather” the spool with your thumb eventually…but the new reels almost cast themselves!

I’d keep the mag brake about half way.

Thats pretty much how I set up my guiding clients…its a good starting point.

If you do a search for MOJO you will find lots of comments…most very positive. For $100 Mojos and the lamiglass Excels are excellent casting rods.

You can “test drive” a Mojo at Everts…

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So just got back from onalaska a while ago.. I went to gander mountain planning on looking at the revo premiers that were on sale, but they didn’t have any left. Ended up getting a new revo stx for the same price. 129.99. So how exactly do you guys adjust the mechanical brake and the magnetic spool brake together on these reels??

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Sounds like you got a good deal on the Revo!

On a reel that has magnetic braking, the “mechanical brake” is the “spool tension adjustment” for adjusting the lateral play in the spool and NOT a casting adjustment. Cast control adjustments should be done with the magnetic brake.

To adjust the spool tension, back off the adjustment knob until you have some side to side play in the spool, and then slowly tighten it while wiggling the spool back and forth. You’re done as soon as the spool doesn’t have any side to side play in it. You want this to be as loose as possible without any side play in the spool, because tightening it further will kill your casting distance.

Enjoy your new combo!

Dan

I would add to what Tom has said

And that being push thumb bar let the lure drop to the floor and adjust the brake so that there is no backlash after it hits the floor with thumb off spool.

Hope this helps you. It sure did me.

It will work same way when the lure hits water.

Must be adjusted for each lure weight. You get on to it pretty fast and will know where about to set it by size or weight of what you are using

Thanks guys… I know how to adjust a baitcasting reel, but I was basically just wondering how you adjust the two settings in conjunction with one another (Never had one with the magnetic brake before). Nothing on the Vendetta rods?

red89,

I havnt heard anything on the vendetta rods but they look pretty sweet. But IMO, you cant really beat a mojo for the money, give one a try and you’ll see

The “push the button and let it drop method” works great for old-time style ABU round reels – but NOT for reels with magnetic braking. See my post above, or check your owners manual for the reel.

The Vendetta rods sound like they’re a good rod for the money. You’ll probably have to do a search for what the Southern boys that have open water have to say about them from someone that has been able to fish with them.

Dan

I watched Kevin Van Dam yesterday morning representing Quantum with a tutorial on setting up a new Low profile $300 baitcaster was exactly as I commented. according to KVD The magnetic brake is a secondary adjustment…He rarely touches it…The mechanical brake is the primary starting point.
Experienced bait casters don’t do much with the Mechanical brake because we have been thumbing reels for a LOT of years. But the set up I mentioned is what I still hear from the reel reps and guys like KVD.

Here is a video from G3
reel set up

dont get the mojo , i was thinking about it , and then i felt the bps carbonlite, it is AMAZING , cheaper , lighter , and stronger . i got that with a johnny morris sig. series , best combo u can get for the $

Geez Tom, who are going to listen to? Me or that KVD guy???

The method I described is how I set the spool tension on my Daiwa reels with magnetic backlash control. Setting the spool tension any tighter feels like casting all day into a 20mph wind.

Having the tension higher is probably a good idea for novice baitcaster users, but I would guess if you looked at most pro’s reels they have all of the cast controls turned WAY back – including the guys that use baitcasters to skip baits.

Dan

Sounds like a great combo. I got 4 revo’s now. the free spool ability is great. between the adjustments you’ll be able to match conditions and lure weight well… I like the STX for lightweight stuff like sluggos and senkos and also for jigs and texas rigged plastics. these 2 areas are where the free spool ability of the revos come to play. for crankbaits and everything else I go with some older clapped out reels… You will have a blast with that combo.

Reviews on the vendetta rods are good. I did not realize they were actually designed to be balanced with a revo reel. I guess they just came out in september or somewhere around there. Abu must be trying to build off the success of the revo reels with a rod specifically designed for it. Not sure if I really like the design of the reel seat/handle, but I’ll give it a test run.

What should I run for line on this combo? The MH vendetta seems pretty stiff to me. I’ve only got one other decent bait cast set-up for bassing which is a revo s on a 7′ mh e-glass rod, so it has a lot more flex than the new vendetta. I used 30lb. power pro on it last year and liked it.
Thinking about trying mono or fluoro on the new rod, but do i want that for heavy cover? I just bought some 20lb. P-line fluoroclear, but i dont want to even try to spool it up cause it seems way to stiff and is already all loopy.

red89,

try to really stretch the line out and if you have any line conditioner put some of that on there and let it dry over night and see if that helps…i know it helped out a bunch with me and fluorocarbon but i dont know about the P-line, i wouldnt think it would be any different tho. Just my thought

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Geez Tom, who are going to listen to? Me or that KVD guy???

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Hey Dan…I do listen to you and am more apt to believe you than some of the sponsored Pros!
I get a lot of novice casters in my Guiding and they need to have the mech brake adjusted or I spend a LOT of the day fighting spool overruns…

Anybody get any chances to try out the vendettas? I’ve used mine a few times and it seems pretty decent for an $80 rod, but i’m almost thinking about trading it in for a st.croix premier or mojo. I’m not sure if I really like the reel seat, and the guides kind of scare me, but other reviews I have seen were all positive.

red89,

Mojos are real good for the money, get the 7 ft MH(spinnerbait) rod for an all purpose, the slop N Frog is a great heavy cover rod…for froggin and flippin.