GEARING UP
take these new reels for a spin
By Mitchell Forde
Not too long ago , you might have caught some tour-level pros sneering at the thought of using spinning tackle . Today , any angler who doesn ’ t have a handful of spinning rods on the front deck at just about every event is simply behind the times .
The proliferation of forwardfacing sonar and effects of fishing pressure have made precise , finesse presentations more
important than ever . As a result , more anglers are turning to spinning tackle more often . Once the Bass Pro Tour wraps up its 2024 season on the St . Lawrence River , the tally will almost assuredly stand at six of nine event winners having caught most of their weight with spinning rods .
Whether you ’ re one of those anglers who ’ s been hesitant to embrace spinning gear or an early
adopter of the finesse movement who ’ s looking to upgrade equipment , you ’ re in luck . With more pros relying on spinning tackle to tangle with big bass , manufacturers have been hustling to create better tools for the technique . Thus , a wave of new or improved spinning reels hit the market at ICAST in July . Here ’ s a rundown of six new reels and the attributes that make each stand out .
1 abu garcia max elite
$ 99.99 | abugarcia . com
The Abu Garcia Max family got a new member at ICAST . The completely redesigned Max ELITE brings several features from Abu Garcia ’ s popular Revo and Zenon lines to a significantly lower price point . The Max ELITE features the same asymmetric design , V-rotor and V-spool as the aforementioned lineups , allowing for a compact , lightweight profile that winds smoothly with minimal effort . It still packs plenty of punch in terms of features , though , with a lightweight carbon handle and Abu Garcia ’ s Rocket spool lip and line management system , which help prevent wind knots . Set to hit the market in September , it will be available in four sizes : 2000 , 2500 , 3000 and 4000 .
2 seviin gf series spinning reel
$ 110.00 | seviinreels . com
St . Croix made a splashy entry into the reel game last year with its SEVIIN GS and GX families . Now , the company is adding to its spinning reel offerings with the GF series . Like the GF baitcast lineup , the spinning versions are designed to offer budget-friendly reels that outperform their price . They feature the same drag stacks , gears and S-curve slow oscillation systems ( which aid with line management ) as the pricier GS and GX offerings . Their carbon fiber / polymer construction makes them impressively light — the 2000 and 2500 sizes come in at less than 8 ounces — yet still plenty strong , with maximum drag topping out at 22 pounds . Slated to become available for purchase Sept . 1 , the GF series offers five size models : 750 , 1000 , 2000 , 2500 , 3000 .
54 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024