Abel Reels

[coug]

They are incredible reels and the people at the factory are also top notch. I called a few years ago because of a broken spring and the "receptionist" walked me through it and sent a new spring no cost. I have some other famous brands and there is no comparison with Abels.

[surface film]

Originally Posted by jaybo41

Interesting, the same user name posted the same comment on another fly fishing forum. Can you say

Probably works for a competing reel company!

[wt bash]

Only thing I want to know about Abel reels is what is the proper pronunciation?Is it like honest Abe or like Au Sable

[sweetandsalt]

Carbon composits, Delrin and other plastics along with stainless steel or other interfaces can make excellent drag systems. They too should be backed off to "zero" when stored. Many stacked or hub type drag mechanisms employ a one-way bearing to actuate the drag and convert retrieve direction. These needle bearings can be expensive, more durable units or off-the-shelf cheap Chinese bits in lesser reels. One-way bearings, first introduced to fly reels by the brilliant Ari't Hart and now commonplace, are not bullet proof and are easily damaged.

Draw-bar reels like Abel, Tibor and Islander have the drag surface mounted on a geared plate actuated by "dogs", spring loaded pawls the prevent counter-rotation by locking into the geared edge of the drag plate. With two dogs with two springs each there is 4X redundancy for a part that has very low failier rate to begin with (ANYTHING can fail). This draw-bar with cork drag surface originated with the Fin Nor and Seamaster, Florida-built, big game fly reels in the 1950's and has evolved and been refined into today's Abel Super, Narrow Spool models. In all fairness, these are a bit over the top for trout fishing...don't misunderstand, a 5N is a delightful thing...but they really come into their own when bonefish, stripped bass and on up through tarpon and school tuna are being targeted. The minimal maintenance such reels require, and they must be lubricated and the cork treated periodically with neatsfoot oil, is easy and appropriate care for a fine piece of equipment.

Incidentally, there have been at least two (that I am aware of) draw-bar reels employing a carbon instead of a cork drag surface, Italy's Alutecnos (as an option) and England's Hardy Zane. Neither of these fine reels dented enthusiasm for cork, however.

[dillon]

I have had a Super 5 and a Super 10 for well over 10 years and I have had no experience with Abel's (pronounced like able) customer service.

[dean_mt]

Originally Posted by tlcrep

You can buy a nice looking large arbor bar stock reel from Great Bay Rods that is nice looking and has machined one way clutch bearing system on them...zero backlash, even with the drag set to zero, and a fully sealed carbon fiber drag system and positive spool lock up for $100 for reels in 3/4 weight and 5/6 weight. These drags are used on tuna and even bigger fish for saltwater fish in Australia in 7/8 and 9/11 weights. Using them for a steelhead or salmon of a lifetime is a non issue.

But these reels dont have the anodizing of Abel, they are not made in the USA, it is the difference between driving a Hyundai versus a Mercedes. What Would you rather drive, a $12k car or a $100k car? Functionally they are about the same, but the craftsmanship by a US maker? the better craftsmanship? The better anodization? Plus, buying a product manufactured in the USA supports a manufacturer job in the USA. Something very important to think about when making your purchases in these times of recession, and talk of unemployment.

Sorry dude but analogy lost it when you said the functionality of a Hyundai is the same as a Mercedes.

If the off-market reel you describe does what you say it does, then I see little reason for paying 4X more for the Abel name.

Is the Able $100 nipper "worth" it too?

[surface film]

Originally Posted by dean_mt

Sorry dude but analogy lost it when you said the functionality of a Hyundai is the same as a Mercedes.

If the off-market reel you describe does what you say it does, then I see little reason for paying 4X more for the Abel name.

Is the Able $100 nipper "worth" it too?

Regarding the nippers...

I have owned fishpond, orvis and many other brands nippers...

I never found a pair that would last an entire year, fishponds were the best, but I had rust issues with them...

So I purchased a set of the standard Abel nippers, for $50 or whatever they cost. Bar none, worth every penny, they cut everything from 100 pound braid to 40 pound fluoro to 7X tippet and still look and function like brand new. I have no doubt, 5 years from now, they will still be going strong, to me, they are worth the cost, but that's simply my opinion.

[dean_mt]

Originally Posted by sweetandsalt

Porches and Ferrari are surely spectacular super luxury items. A D4 may well be a necessity if you were a professional sports photog, though a bit heavy and cumbersome to take astream. If, however, you are a bonefisher expending the bucks to travel to the Bahamas for example, then you NEED a reel reliable and maintainable in any environment, with a perfect aspect ratio, salt and marle proof, powerful and quadrupole redundant drag (2 dogs with 2 springs each when one will do) designed and intended to provide 2 lifetimes of reliable and pleasurable high performance use...then you really only have a very small number of reels to choose from and Abel, which offers more fine tunable selection and options than also excellent Tibor may well be a necessity. Yes, I am fishing several very good sealed drag reels bonefishing but I would never venture to a destination without bringing a cork, draw-bar reel too. If something were to go awry with a sealed drag, unlikely as that may be, you can do nothing about it in the field. An Abel can be field striped with no tools other than a dime to loosen the lock nut.

I agree. But when trout fishing even some of the best waters of the West where you might hook into a 5 lbs brown or rainbow, is a $450 trout reel necessary? Heck no. It is a luxury item. If you can afford it, super, I have no problem and I'm sure it is the sweetest trout reel you can get, but it is a luxury.

---------- Post added at 12:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 PM ----------

Originally Posted by surface film

Regarding the nippers...

I have owned fishpond, orvis and many other brands nippers...

I never found a pair that would last an entire year, fishponds were the best, but I had rust issues with them...

So I purchased a set of the standard Abel nippers, for $50 or whatever they cost. Bar none, worth every penny, they cut everything from 100 pound braid to 40 pound fluoro to 7X tippet and still look and function like brand new. I have no doubt, 5 years from now, they will still be going strong, to me, they are worth the cost, but that's simply my opinion.

They better last a lot longer than 5 years to get your money out of them! If I go through $4.50 nipper every year for next 10 I'm still ahead.

[surface film]

Originally Posted by dean_mt

I agree. But when trout fishing even some of the best waters of the West where you might hook into a 5 lbs brown or rainbow, is a $450 trout reel necessary? Heck no. It is a luxury item. If you can afford it, super, I have no problem and I'm sure it is the sweetest trout reel you can get, but it is a luxury.

Oh for sure, I definitely agree, many many $100 reels out there that 99% of the time would work just as good.

I still have an old Pflueger reel that my Grandpa gave me when I was a much younger lad, the old school kind where you pull the lever and it automatically winds in the line, caught my first fish on the fly with it, I still use it today every once in a while, for Trout, I have never felt like I was under-gunned with it in comparison to say my Abel.

However, I do love my Abel and don't regret its purchase one bit.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 PM ----------

Originally Posted by dean_mt

I agree. But when trout fishing even some of the best waters of the West where you might hook into a 5 lbs brown or rainbow, is a $450 trout reel necessary? Heck no. It is a luxury item. If you can afford it, super, I have no problem and I'm sure it is the sweetest trout reel you can get, but it is a luxury.

---------- Post added at 12:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 PM ----------



They better last a lot longer than 5 years to get your money out of them! If I go through $4.50 nipper every year for next 10 I'm still ahead.

I cut a lot of braid with my nippers "don't just fly fish" and the cheaper nippers would dull in just a few days for me, if I didn't cut a lot of braid, I would use cheaper ones.

In that aspect, they are superior.

[sweetandsalt]

I mostly use the standard Orvis or Dr.Slick, etc. nipper with the pin in the "U" on the upper end...and they work fine. Really, no complaints and I have them strategically placed everywhere. But I received a gift of Abel Nippers, in Brook Trout finish no less. This is a piece of equipment. A certain positive, precision feel when you cut whatever diameter material you are working with. Perhaps not a necessity but a true pleasure to use and the exchangeable cutting blades are replaceable forever.

---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

[QUOTE=dean_mt;513001]But when trout fishing even some of the best waters of the West where you might hook into a 5 lbs brown or rainbow, is a $450 trout reel necessary? Heck no. It is a luxury item. If you can afford it, super, I have no problem and I'm sure it is the sweetest trout reel you can get, but it is a luxury.[COLOR="Silver"]

When trout fishing on big fish rivers like Montana's Missouri, I am still fishing 3 - 6X tippets so the amount of drag I can set a reel remains fairly light. So the stopping power of an Abel is only incrementally usable. Its low inertial start up and smoothness are used though as is its considerable aesthetic chrm. However, a lesser reel fills the trout fishing niche admirably as long as it's drag design permits linear fine tunablity, consistent drag setting and correct aspect ratio. Heck, I am almost talking myself in the Abel!