Fishing With A Multiplier

Abu C3 Series multiplier

Buying a reel is the first step. The question is which one. Picking a few other people’s brains came back with the same answer. There was only really one choice. It begins with A and comes from Sweden.

There are probably other reels which are just as user-friendly as ABU’s but I haven’t tried them. The boom in lure fishing has seen a thriving second-hand market and a price war between the big mail order dealers as far as new kit is concerned, so either way you can pick them up for well under £ 50 or £ 100 respectively.

I started off with a 5501 C3, which is one of the smaller models with left-hand wind and a synchronised level-wind – both of which are extremely useful features. Another is the reel is ready to go straight out of the box.

You don’t need to do any tinkering or tuning, all it needs is line. If you use mono, or opt to use it for the first few trips to avoid ruining an expensive spool of braid on a bird’s nest, all you have to do is load it on until it’s within a quarter of an inch of the edge of the spool and away you go.

If you opt to use braid from the off – I did – it pays to put a couple of dozen turns of strong mono underneath to stop the line slipping on the spool.

Whichever you go for err on the heavy side to start with. Casting with a multiplier requires a harder chuck and repeated casting soon weakens some of the lighter braids.

Recent discussions on the FM forum singled out one line in particular as being prone to crack-offs, so stick to something bomb-proof like 30lb Fireline until you get the hang of it.

Once the line is loaded, either tackle the rod up and clip the trace in one of the rod rings, or tie a loop on the end of the line and hitch it to a matchstick, to stop the end going through the level-wind. Once this happens, the line on the spool can easily become out of synch to the guide which moves to and fro ensuring even line lay. If this happens, it can greatly cut casting distance or cause a nasty tangle.

So here we are then, on the bank. Just clip a lure on and it’s lock up your daughters Mrs Pike. Not quite. Your latest toy has two sets of brakes, which are designed to stop over-runs. The first are a pair of brake blocks inside the reel, which stop the spool revolving too fast at the start of the cast.

We’ll come to these later.

The second is a knob which alters the tension on the spool, providing an adjustable casting brake. The first step is to set this for the weight of lure. Before we do this it’s worth mentioning that some lures are a lot easier to cast than others while you’re getting the hang of it. Avoid lighter or less aerodynamic lures, because these slow quickly in flight which can cause over-runs. Stick with something dense and dumpy – like a Big S or a good old fashioned 28g spoon – until you’re used to the reel.

Returning to the brake knob, the idea is to set it so that the spool revolves slowly under the weight of the lure when you disengage it but stops when the lure hits the ground.

To start off with I’d tighten it slightly more so the spool just revolves under the weight of the lure, because the first objective is to learn to cast without tangles, rather than aim at maximum distance.

For this reason, it’s worth starting off on a water with open banks, without overhanging trees and other obstructions.

Start off casting with a straightforward overhead lob. Grip the spool tightly with your thumb as you load the rod, let it go as the lure takes flight and stop the spool just before the lure hits the water to prevent over-runs.

It feels odd to start with but it’s amazing how soon it’ll feel as easy as casting with a fixed spool. The action needs to be different, though. You’ll soon find you have to push the rod a bit harder to get the same distance and a smoother build-up of power makes the lure fly a lot further, with less risk of a snarl-up, than a punchy, snatchy action. Like anything else, it’s all down to practice.

It only takes a few casts to realise why so many lure anglers rate multipliers as the best tool for the job. Without a great lump that juts out from below the rod, spinning rotor and bale arm and a great big handle, you can hold the rod a lot more comfortably close to your body, without anything getting caught up in your clothing. That means you can work lures properly, instead of just casting and reeling them in.You can make a spoon dance and flash with gentle twitches of the rod tip, or tap a floating plug so it wallows in the surface film like a dying fish. Once you get to this stage it won’t be long before you hook a pike, so it’s worth getting the feel of the reel’s star drag ready for your first customer.

Some people like the drag set fairly slack, playing the fish with thumb pressure on the spool when they latch onto one. Others like it set more tightly, so a fish has to fight for every inch of line but whatever happens you need it set in advance, because you can’t just snap the anti-reverse off and backwind your way out of trouble. Playing a fish feels very different too, experienced multiplier users seem to almost winch them in, rather than pumping the rod as you do with a fixed-spool.

Once you’re casting without problems and are into the routine of adjusting the brake setting when you change lures, you can start being a bit more adventurous.

Slackening off the brake even slightly makes the spool more free running, meaning more distance, in theory. But this is always a compromise between being loose enough to launch the lure rapidly at the start of the cast and being so free running that the line flies off faster than the lure while it’s in the air, causing a bird’s nest. I’m getting braver these days, practising the technique of having the thumb hover just over the spool as it revolves. As an over-run starts, you can feel the slack coils of line begin to lift off the spool and apply the brakes with your thumb before a birdie happens. If you have a near-miss and a couple of coils of loose line appear at the end of a cast, pull those few turns of line off and reel them back on under tension, or they’re a tangle waiting to happen within the next couple of casts.

While it probably felt as smooth as a Swiss watch when you first got your hands on it, you need to look after a multiplier. If you snag a lure don’t just point the rod at it and pull, as this can bend the spindle which will stop the spool running true.

Wrap a dozen turns of line around your unhooking pliers or landing net handle and pull with that. Watch how you lay it down to unhook a fish if you put the rod down, as any bits of sand or grit that get inside the casing can cause problems. Slacken off the drag and brake knobs when you finish fishing, because these can seize if left done up tight until your next trip.

It’s worth taking the side casing off and giving the spindle a wipe and a drop of oil after every couple of sessions.

Sea anglers are obsessed with tuning reels, removing brake blocks, adding different ones and using special oils in a bid for those few extra yards. It’s probably better to leave the reel as it is until you get used to it, because making it too free-running is asking for trouble.

I hope this encourages you to pick up a multiplier. Lure fishing’s been a big learning curve for me.

It’s also put a lot of the fun back into my fishing, especially during the summer and autumn months – and it’s a lot more enjoyable using the right tool for the job.

With grateful thanks to Trevor Salmon, Barry Kneller, Gerry Castles and Andy Doughty for all the encouragement and advice – not forgetting Peter Waller, who first inspired me to start lure fishing.