Fair enough! :)

Ryan is a great guy, build some of best conv reels out there, and is always improving on designs/set ups. Super nice people, megan in the office is top notch.

the more i look at those akios reels the more i want one. :)

want to pair a conv reel with the 1328 century for jigging the ditch, think that will be a great set up.

The " old " stuff still works fine for short money. But, technique trumps tech anytime.
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Just happened to have been test casting a GSB1201M blank this am with an old Newell P220. Seems like they were made for each other. I highly doubt you could find a better conventional set up to fish eels no matter what you pay.

Isn't the akios a fancier version of a 6500, or is it a beefier reel? Is it enough reel to jig with braid in the canal? I've stripped gears in an older version Diawa Millionaire (6hm) trying this, and the inside of the akios looks about the same. Does anyone know how they compare strength wise to an ABU 6500/Diawa Millionaire?

Also, isn't the 1328 the fast action Sling Shot blank? If so it is going to unload very, very fast unless you overload it, and accelerating a conventional spool that fast creates major control issues. You probably could get away with it throwing only lead (or maybe pencils) but that setup reeks of trouble if you try to throw less aerodynamic stuff.

Casting distance with conventional stuff is a lot more about how smoothly you can unload the rod than anything else.

numbskull im not sure about the guts of the akios, theres some good threads on sol about them, just another conv option out there.

this will be my first conv reel for the surf so looking for something that i can jig with, this will its sole purpose. i usually throw 3 to 5oz jigs, leadheads, etc.

as far as the blank goes, the 1328 is a mod fast rod, not too fast.

but looking at some other century blanks.

do no buy a daiwa saltist ANYTHING they are absolutely PH#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&G IMPOSSIBLE to get parts for. And they are designed to be sent in for service. You pretty much have to take apart the handle assembly and right side plate with all the drag etc inside it to change a ph#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g pawl! Stay away!!! Youve been warned!

Thanks Vic. I am sending the reel I bought from you 2 years ago to have it "souped up".

My best casting conventional is a new style Abu 7000 iHSN with a ceramic pawl and ceramic bearing upgrade. It is now my go to eel/plug setup for the canal. I've got it matched to a Lami 120-1M. Personally, I like having the level wind. It's got way more balls than the 6500 and the narrow spool chucks it! Even with 50 lb braid!

Other reels I've owned are multiple style 6500's, Penn 965, 975 and Daiwa Saltist 30LH.

My primary jigging setup for the canal is a custom Abu 7000 prorocket with 5.3/1 gears spooled with 360yds of 55lb Diawa boat braid matched with a lamiglas arra 1261MH. I found the stock 4/1 gearing on my abu to be too slow for the canal. The high speed gearing was done by Mikes reel repair. It took a while for them to complete but I have been very satisfied with the final product. I throw 3-60z jigs with the above setup and found it to work large pencil poppers well.

I can't say what is best but when fishing with many of the older dogs I saw a lot of Abu Garcia reels. *shrug* Just my observation.

Wish I was taught how to cast conventional instead of spinning...but I'll suffer through it :P

Hmmm.. Stewie liked his... I think... for a while... I think... Non level wind no good either TT?

Anyway, I'm not a distance caster. Only been using conventionals for a few years and really only getting confident that I won't get repeated blow-ups recently. I like Fireline or Cortland Braid 50lb on My two Newells P220/ R220. I find them user friendly and simple. For level winds, Abu Big Game 6000CL and 7000CL, upgraded Abu Sweden 7000, Chrome Rocket. I also have a Calcutta 400B that I like and it's mounted on a Sabre thatthe original owner used with the same model reel... I'm sentimental. However I would not use any of them if I knew they might get soaked by a wave... for that, 706Z.

For me its a 1321m/235 - used that setup 30 yrs ago to throw everything from eels to plugs to bait. Still one of the easiest outfits to cast/control with good distance. Just a great FISHING outfit.

Unless you could find someone willing to part with a Fisher 8720. ;)

A little late to this thread but I will throw in my thoughts. I used to fish convenitonals A LOT. I used them just about eeverywhere and I thought they were the only way to fish eels. I looked at guys throwing eels on spinning tackle as not knowing any better; boy was I wrong! While 99.9999% of what I do now in the surf is in a wetsuit, I can still cast an eel further on my spinners than I ever could with a revolving spool reel (and I tried tham all). Further, convenitonals do not like getting wet. Avets are supposed to be dunkable, and I played around with a magged SX in the surf a few years back, but I still found my spinners to do a better job. I no longer let the fish run when I get a take. I hold the rod tip veery high, get a hit, drp the rod and cross her eyes when the line comes tight. I do not miss any more fish than I used to by letyteing the fish run and probably actually hook more fish as they often dropped the eel before I set in the old days. If there is any sort of wind other than at my back, throwing an eel on a convenional is nothing short of a headache. With a spinner you just punch the eel out there and don't need to worry about a thing.

Unless you are talking pure casting competitions, and even then only in the hands of an expert, today's spinning reels and high-tech rods spooled with braid will out cast a conventional set-up under "fishing conditions" any day.

Now as far as what convenitonal I am still using these days, I have been fishing a Shimano Torium 14 going on 3+ years and absolutely love it. The only time I still break her out is in the breachways of SoCo, and it's matched up to a Lami 1231m. I love that combo when jigging and it works just fine plugging. The reel has been splashed pretty good and keeps going. The bearring on my first one crapped out after getting really soaked a few times, but that is to be expected.