Uh Oh! hope you like them. would like to know how you get on Whitty. I have 6lb mono on the deep spool for feeder fishing and think i may put 2lb on the shallow for light waggler fishing. maybe i will treat myself to a second reel for the same reason as you pointed out.
Shakespeare reels.
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The two reels arrived this morning,brilliant service,especially at this time of year,well,I won't know until I use one,which won't be till Santa gives me them,but they look good,how is it possible at that price,probably fall apart when I put one on a rod.
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That was my reaction/worry when I got mine but they are still going strong, although in my case it was the Sigmas rather than the agilitys...be interested to hear your feedback once you put them to good use...
Right,I put some line on three spools last night,mmmm,it took quite a bit of cajoling with my thumbnail to get a reasonable line lay(had this with a few reels,but not quite as much as this),seems more or less ok,so the test comes when I'm allowed out,lol...
Said reels are boxed and awaiting postage,line lay is bloody awful,I took them up on the field and walked them out,then wound the line back on,terrible,been in contact with the seller and he reckons a manufacturing fault,which I have no doubt on,thing is I don't have confidence in any others I might get either,shame really,as it would have been nice for them to be good...
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Shame Alan, but it might be down to you being a picky type of person!
I myself sent back three rods last year ( one after the other) as I wasn't happy with the alignment of the guides and one or two other bits of bad build quality.
I'm quite sure the majority of anglers would have been quite oblivous to the things I spotted and i've no doubt those rods went straight back on the shelves and where sold to less picky people than myself.
Maybe the same goes for your reels?
I did eventually get the rod I wanted and a few months back decided to get a 13ft version. First one the shop got in for me and the tip section went off on a tangent when pushed onto the spigot. I said to the manager " I would have taken that rod if it wasn't bent"!.
He looked down the rod and agreed with me and asked if I wanted him to get another to look at. Anyhow, next day he had one and it was probably as good as you will get so I got it.
That was two out of five rods with an rrp over 450 quid that imo weren't fit to be on sale.....am I picky or what ! Lol.
Ian,said reels loaded without reaching top and bottom of the spool,I could make it look right by using my thumbnail,but when you cast twenty yards and wind it back the bad bits return,I think it's the shimming on the rotor,but I'm not knowledgeable enough to muck around with it and nor do I think I should have to...
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No, I agree they should be perfect out the box, you shouldn't need to faff about with them.
Just put of curiosity, was there and spare washers to put behind the spools?
I've had them with reels in the past, and adding them or removing them is supposed to alter the way yout line goes onto your reel.
Someone else with knowlage of this might be able to give an explantaion how they work?..? I really have no idea as I just want one to be right when I get it.
Well done on coming back with feedback. Thats a real shame, I really wanted them to be good too. I would doubt both reels have a fault so I wonder if its a design flaw on the Agility model ?
Both my Sigmas have good line lay...thats how it sits wound striaght on the reel no fiddling or cajoling...
I'm gutted too,especially for the missus,another pressie naffed,I'd have been chuffed to bits if the line lay would have been like your sigmas Philip...and now I'm ever liable to cast a glance at a Shakespeare reel again...
wetthrough
Well-known member
I don't know whether it's the source of the problem but having done some coil winding for my sins you can't have the same traverse for different thicknesses of wire. It will either bunch up at the sides or pile up in the middle and that's when the wire is being guided from its centre. With reels the line is being guided from its edge which is fixed by the position of the roller. You can't change the traverse but you can change the position relative to the spool with the washers and I'm guessing that's why they're provided with some reels. The traverse may be a compromise for different lines, some lines might lay better than others, thicker lines being more likely to be a problem than thinner ones, but it's a guess. Spools aren't wound the same way as electrical coils of course but the problems might be similar.
Something else I've noticed with reels and I don't think it's accidental or sloppy manufacturing but there's always play along the shaft with the spool. If you grab hold of the spool with one hand and the reel body with the other, with all the reels I have the spool will move to varying degrees along its shaft. It's only a small amount but enough to think it's done on purpose for some reason or another. What it might do is delay the spool going in the reverse direction momentarily for whatever reason. If it is done on purpose but isn't happening on a new reel because it's all new and a bit tight it might affect the line lay, if that's why the play is there.
Something else I've noticed with reels and I don't think it's accidental or sloppy manufacturing but there's always play along the shaft with the spool. If you grab hold of the spool with one hand and the reel body with the other, with all the reels I have the spool will move to varying degrees along its shaft. It's only a small amount but enough to think it's done on purpose for some reason or another. What it might do is delay the spool going in the reverse direction momentarily for whatever reason. If it is done on purpose but isn't happening on a new reel because it's all new and a bit tight it might affect the line lay, if that's why the play is there.
I am a fan of Shimano reels especially the older ones , however I do have a pair of old Aero Perfections I think they were called. For all intents and purposes they looked very similar to the Aero baitrunners of the time but they didnt have the dual oscilation feature that the baitrunners had, which Shimano called Aerowrap or something similar were basically the spool travels at different speeds up and down.
Anyway the upshot of this is that the line lay on the Baitrunners was great but on the perfections was absolutly naff, some of the worst I have seen..really bad bunching and you could never get the spool to fill evenly. I kept them as holiday reels but they have not been put to use for years.
Anyway the upshot of this is that the line lay on the Baitrunners was great but on the perfections was absolutly naff, some of the worst I have seen..really bad bunching and you could never get the spool to fill evenly. I kept them as holiday reels but they have not been put to use for years.
mikench
Well-known member
One wife is enough Alan! Just get another reel!
I know the Ninja has had some rave reviews on here. I have given it a spin on a few occasion in the shop but I have to say there is something that I just dont like about it but I cant quite put my finger on what exactly it is. Its like the reel just looks a bit tacky ...does that make sense ? ....it sort or reminds me of some of the cheap naf reels out there and all the bits on it just look badly made & put together.
I admit straight off the bat I have not used one in anger but one of my local shops always has a few different sized Ninjas hanging on a wall so I usually pick one up and give it a few turns.
Shame it wasnt about when I purchased my Drennan reel as it sure cant be worse than that !
I admit straight off the bat I have not used one in anger but one of my local shops always has a few different sized Ninjas hanging on a wall so I usually pick one up and give it a few turns.
Shame it wasnt about when I purchased my Drennan reel as it sure cant be worse than that !
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The reason is the air rotor,it has holes in it(hence the air bit)which makes it look different,I will post after I've used it a few times,but the reel impresses me,it feels right,to me,the Drennan I had didn't when I first used it,then it felt better,apart from the line twist issues,I'm still gutted over the Shakespeare as it would have been a fairy tale to get two reels for that price and work,now my confidence is shot and wouldn't chance another...
symonh2000
Well-known member
I bought a cheapo Beta RD reel a few years back, and although it wasn't the smoothest reel, it did the job and was (is) reliable.
I also bought a pair of Omni RD reels one of which was for a friend, and they were terrible. Oil leaked out from under the covers, the bail arms became loose and screws fell out randomly and became lost.
So the cheaper ones in my experience were better built. I would imagine that Mitchell and ABU reels would also be hit and miss, from the look of the design and the fact that they are all brands of Pure fishing they are likely to have been made in the same factory.
One budget brand I have never had any issues with is lineaeffe.
I also bought a pair of Omni RD reels one of which was for a friend, and they were terrible. Oil leaked out from under the covers, the bail arms became loose and screws fell out randomly and became lost.
So the cheaper ones in my experience were better built. I would imagine that Mitchell and ABU reels would also be hit and miss, from the look of the design and the fact that they are all brands of Pure fishing they are likely to have been made in the same factory.
One budget brand I have never had any issues with is lineaeffe.