I'm with you on Lever drags and levelwind's, much prefer them to star drags.

Have you looked at the Penn Squall Lever drag or the Penn GTi 320 Lever drag, depends on how fast a retrieve ratio you want and how much you want to pay.

The Daiwa Saltist lever drag will take some beating, but they are quite pricey, I've got a Saltist 40HA Star Drag that I use in Norway and it's the bees knees, so would think the lever drag will be just as good.

Steveh24

 

Penn 975 ld

 

wow thanks aquabell that does look a meaty baitcaster lol cheers tony

 

I'm with you on Lever drags and levelwind's, much prefer them to star drags.

Have you looked at the Penn Squall Lever drag or the Penn GTi 320 Lever drag, depends on how fast a retrieve ratio you want and how much you want to pay.

The Daiwa Saltist lever drag will take some beating, but they are quite pricey, I've got a Saltist 40HA Star Drag that I use in Norway and it's the bees knees, so would think the lever drag will be just as good.

Steveh24

they look good reels but the gti 320 is a star drag and the penn squall is a ld and hasn`t got a levelwind doh nice looking reels though thanks for your input i was also looking at the saltist range at the beginning of the year but decided on the fathom instead lol cheers tony

 

Tony
Take another look there definitely is a Penn Squall and a Penn GTi 320 with lever drag and levelwind, my friend has the GTi 320 lever drag and it's pretty bomb proof.

http://www.weymouthangling.com/tackle-shop/tackle/penn-squall-lever-drag/?searchterm=Penn Squall

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penn-320LD-Level-Drag-Reel/dp/B00144G0DW


Steveh24

 

I have both the Charter Specials and a Penn 320, the Penn seems a heavy, clunky thing in comparison so rarely gets used.

Also got an Abu 7000 lever drag which is a bit pricey but better than the others. Good smooth drag and still has the levelwind.

 

yeah the charter specials are good but the dragstacks are now failing after the fifth set it`s becoming a mare lol never heard of the abu 7000 ld i`ll have too google it lol
i also have tld15 and 20 for use on the congers here in the BC but they are rather bulky and heavy compared to the charters thanks nev tony

 

Tony
Take another look there definitely is a Penn Squall and a Penn GTi 320 with lever drag and levelwind, my friend has the GTi 320 lever drag and it's pretty bomb proof.

http://www.weymouthangling.com/tackle-shop/tackle/penn-squall-lever-drag/?searchterm=Penn Squall

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penn-320LD-Level-Drag-Reel/dp/B00144G0DW


Steveh24

ahh my mistake steve they do look like they didn`t have the lw`s more too consider thanks steve tony

 

I used to have an ABU 7000 C4 LD, but although they are good reels, they are also Chinese made and not Swedish, so they corrode fairly easily and I had to scrap mine as the side plates were too badly corroded and spares were very expensive, so I would avoid the ABU 7000 C4 LD.

Steveh24

 

I used to have an ABU 7000 C4 LD, but although they are good reels, they are also Chinese made and not Swedish, so they corrode fairly easily and I had to scrap mine as the side plates were too badly corroded and spares were very expensive, so I would avoid the ABU 7000 C4 LD.
Steveh24

Not sure what some of you guys do with your "chinese" Abu's but mine are fine, all I do is wash them down in fresh water after use. A lot more metal parts on them than the other brands mention, which mostly tend to use moulded plastic frames etc. so washing after use is more important. I have a Swedish Abu 7000 that I bought in NZ must be 18 years ago and it is spot on, the more recent ones I've bought are also still fine but not more than around 5 years old so far so time will tell I guess. If the side plates do cause problems I will make up some stainless ones to stick on.

I was put on to some really good corrosion inhibiting spray and grease recently, beats the pants off WD40, it is called corrosion block and is available from places that stock aviation gear. Well worth a try!

 

I have had a 7000 ld for over 10 years, bought it before I got my boat.
No problems, also got a 6600 ?

 

You may be able to find a Polishanski monitor 2 sizes 2B and 4B got one myself but never tried casting with it, the South Africans reckon they are bomb proof.

 

I had a 2B years ago, it was my first lever drag reel and I used it for drifting the wrecks for Pollock, in its day it was a superb reel and I never had any problems with it and the only thing I didn't like about it was the lack of a levelwind, I'm not sure it was any good to cast with.

Lever drags have come a long way since then.

Steveh24

 

I love my Avet lever drags but they are not level wind. Given the choice I would rather have lever drag than level wind if only one option was available.

 

It will be interesting to see how they stand the test of time Nev, I'd be surprised if a lot of the machined parts aren't sourced from China.

 

None of the lever drags I have seen are easy to deal with if having to take apart at sea, due to some "happening" occurring, the best and easiest is the Penn international 927 LD having just three thumb screws to get at the spool enable's line clearance following a Birds Nest. Yes we lesser mortals still get them as well as being unable spell. Any body says they never get them is telling "Perkies" LOL

 

Birds nests on a modern boat multiplier? What do you do to get those? Too busy yapping to your old mate Ronnie to be paying attention to the fishing I guess! LOL

 

Interesting to note that you are reading the posts of the more experienced anglers on the forum so thoroughly Cooters old bean!!

The elderly perhaps, but not necessarily "the more experienced".
After all, you are still stuck on those creaky charter specials and other Bakelite reels.

 

This level-wind topic has been done before. And I have been unpopular with some before for my views that level-winds are redundant and more to go wrong.

If you cant or don't want to lay the line with your thumb, then what does it matter if it doesn't lie perfectly even.
Even without laying the line with my thumb, all but my biggest (game) reels lie the braid reasonably even on their own.

More significantly though, I find the speed of the level wind slows the speed of the freespool, as its geared to move with the spool moving... which slows your drop and your fishing; especially if the level-wind-line guide is in a different position to the line feeding off the spool.

Lever drag, yes, all my multipliers are. But my only two lever drags that had level winds (both penn 975ld's) by design, and not by my choice - haven't been used in years for the free-spool issue.
That said, if you want a level wind, I'll second the penn 975LD as great for allsorts from inshore to wrecking.

Cheers
Ken

 

The level wind will only be in a different place to the line on the spool first drop of the day though Cooty? I have to admit that I don't find the level wind too much of an impediment and it does mean that one can fully load the spool without fear of it bunching in one spot if not correctly manually positioned when winding in.

The mechanisms are pretty basic so unlikely to go wrong.

 

Just noticed this thread.
I am after a pair of lever drag & level wind reels for uptiding in the Bristol Channel.
I currently use a pair of Charter Specials for downtiding & a pair of Swedish made Abu 7500"s for uptiding but would really prefer lever drags for the uptiding also but with level wind.
So what reels are there out there (buying new) that will cast well enough for uptiding but have level wind & lever drags ?
I have seen the Penn GTO 320 & 33o ld"s advertised which have both LW & LD but there are no stockists my area, do they cast ok ?

headlight

 

Tld 15 & 20 good reels

 

Tld 15 & 20 good reels

I have a TLD 20 that I use for sharking, it has no level wind & definitely would not be suitable for uptiding, the TLD 15 also has no level wind & would, I think, be unsuitable for uptiding.

headlight

 

Charter specials cast very well as they have brakes in them

ETEC

 

Just noticed this thread.
I am after a pair of lever drag & level wind reels for uptiding in the Bristol Channel.
I currently use a pair of Charter Specials for downtiding & a pair of Swedish made Abu 7500"s for uptiding but would really prefer lever drags for the uptiding also but with level wind.
So what reels are there out there (buying new) that will cast well enough for uptiding but have level wind & lever drags ?
I have seen the Penn GTO 320 & 33o ld"s advertised which have both LW & LD but there are no stockists my area, do they cast ok ?

headlight

I've just bought another 7000 C4 Lever drag off evilbay, the one I already have casts OK but not sure how it would work uptiding as we don't do any.

We use the 6000 with level wind to cast big lures when pike fishing and you can whack them out a fair old distance!.

 

6000"s are not man enough for the style of fishing I do Paul even if they had lever drags.
The Charter Specials I use are ok for downtiding but I am upgrading the drags to carbontex as they are on their limits with the big blondes & eels due to the tide runs I fish in. I have tried casting with them & find them terrible, also the retrieve on them is a bit slow as you need to recover a lot of slack line quickly due to the uptiding.
The Swedish 7500"s have performed ok for the 5-6 years I have used them but the drag on one is on it"s last legs & the other is not far behind, again due to the rays & eels in our tides.
I have considered replacing the drags with carbontex stacks & fitting the new style soft grip power handles to the 7500"s but I would still be stuck with star drags.

headlight

 

Hi lilbrit where did you locate the stockists of corrosion block my charter specials could do with a bit of tlc. Many thanks Chris

 

Hi Chris.

Try a search for "The Flying Shop" in Croydon. I bought a couple of cans of aerosol and a tub of grease from them, quick delivery and keenly priced.

 

6000"s are not man enough for the style of fishing I do Paul even if they had lever drags.
The Charter Specials I use are ok for downtiding but I am upgrading the drags to carbontex as they are on their limits with the big blondes & eels due to the tide runs I fish in. I have tried casting with them & find them terrible, also the retrieve on them is a bit slow as you need to recover a lot of slack line quickly due to the uptiding.
The Swedish 7500"s have performed well for the 5-6 years I have used them but the drag on one is on it"s last legs & the other is not far behind, again due to the rays & eels in our tides.
I have considered replacing the drags with carbontex stacks & fitting the new style soft grip power handles to the 7500"s but I would still be stuck with star drags.

headlight

When the 7000 turns up I'll stick it on an uptider and see how it casts in the paddock if you like mate. I guess you aren't looking for the sort of casting range a beachcaster would want for your uptiding?

Wasn't really suggesting that the 6000 would do for your job, just that a reel with levelwind works fine casting big lures and catching fish in excess of 20lb albeit in fresh water.

 

I would imagine the 7000ld will cast ok for uptiding but not sure the drag will be man enough.
I fish in fierce tide runs even by Bristol Channel standards & even fully locked up the drags on 7500"s let out line when playing good sized rays & eels.
I use a Saltist 30ld uptiding on my mates boat & the drag is superb on that but no level wind unfortunately.

headlight

 

SPRO used to do a LHW LDLW reel and also BALZER did one and if remember right there was a OMOTO one too.

 

Alderney angling have the Penn TRQ 100 lever drag at £199 at the moment

Not cheap but these are usually over £300 and are built like tanks

I have the TRQ star drag and I'm still tempted!

 

Are you really Seychellois then i take it????? Down here a level wind multi does not last very long. Saltist does all of them options, a bullet proof reel in my opinion. Price is mid range.