Help Me Trouble Shoot A Backlashing Baitcaster?

[Brian6428]

Hey guys, my brother has been having trouble with his bait caster lately. It is a roughly one year old Abu Garcia Revo SX paired with a 7' MH Veritas micro guide. He knows how to cast a bait caster and has no problems with any of our other bait casters-- just this one.

 

It often has issues casting lures as heavy as 1/2 oz jigs, a lure well within the rods lure rating. The lighter we go from there the worse it gets. The brakes and spool tension are properly adjusted. Line is 15lb fluoro but the same problems existed when using 50lb braid. 

 

The casting distance isn't terrible, though. The real issue is that about 1 in 4 casts results in some sort of minor overrun, and often a full-blown backlash. The problems have been on and off ever since the reel was brand new. Sometimes it will be flawless for a month but then it gets bad again, like this past weekend, where just casting without backlashing is a success. 

 

Lastly, it went through a period of about a month where it would just seize up mid cast fairly often. During the middle of a normal cast the reel would just kind of stop. 

 

Any ideas? Reel is out of warranty so any help from Abu shouldn't be counted on. 

Thanks!

[Penguino]

Probably because of the dual breaking^^^

[Brian6428]

Probably because of the dual breaking^^^

It doesn't have dual breaking. Just mags

[Penguino]

It doesn't have dual breaking. Just mags

lol sorry my fault

[rippin-lips]

Probably because of the dual breaking^^^

Say what?

[Chris186]

 Not trying to be a d-bag here, but are you sure the reel is adjusted properly? I had this problem with my Revo Sx's, you just have to adust it just right-its very picky, for me at least anyway. I bought 2 of them last year, and would have constant issues with the line being loose on the spool more than backlashing every cast. The way I adjusted mine is, turn the brake off, then adjust the spool tention knob to where you have to shake the lure a bit to get it to fall. Then make some practice casts adjusting the brake until you find the sweet spot. For some reason, these particular reels need to have the spool tension knob tighter than most reels. I was actually considering selling them. Luckily I am using them for specific lures, so once I got the adjustment down they have been perfect ever since.

[Brian6428]

 Not trying to be a d-bag here, but are you sure the reel is adjusted properly? I had this problem with my Revo Sx's, you just have to adust it just right-its very picky, for me at least anyway. I bought 2 of them last year, and would have constant issues with the line being loose on the spool more than backlashing every cast. The way I adjusted mine is, turn the brake off, then adjust the spool tention knob to where you have to shake the lure a bit to get it to fall. Then make some practice casts adjusting the brake until you find the sweet spot. For some reason, these particular reels need to have the spool tension knob tighter than most reels. I was actually considering selling them. Luckily I am using them for specific lures, so once I got the adjustment down they have been perfect ever since.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give that a try next time out. That is different from how I normally adjust the spool tension, so that may well be the issue.

 

Anybody else have any suggestions? I'm just trying to compile suggestions since I'm not going fishing until this weekend.

[new2BC4bass]

Is this an older Gen 2 model?  Seem to recall that this particular model was a bear to set right, but when it was it cast a mile.  I avoided them for that reason being only a so-so caster.  Please be sure to post back with the cause if your brother solves the issue.  No doubt others would be interested.

[TorqueConverter]

It doesn't have dual breaking. Just mags

 

There's yer problem.

[F14A-B]

So, is your spool seizing up during your cast?

Or, are you using Braid, that maybe dug into itself causing an abrupt stoppage?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

There is a very specific order of steps to set up an sx and have it perform as intended. If they have been followed there are only a handful of things that can affect casting as far as the reel itself are concerned. Double check each guide to be sure they are threaded properly and undamaged. The only thing I can suggest as far as the reel itself goes is a deep cleaning to rule out any contamination.

[new2BC4bass]

So, is your spool seizing up during your cast?

Or, are you using Braid, that maybe dug into itself causing an abrupt stoppage?

 

Highly unlikely that 50# braid is digging in.   Never once had that problem with 40# using it in the slop.  Also an experienced baitcast user should be aware of something like that.  Kind of hard to miss.  I had that problem with a reel that came with 30# braid.

[kcdinkerz]

Check and see if your spool tension is loosening up on you. I had a shimano that did that. Threw a little grease on the threads and it was good.

[new2BC4bass]

Is the drag tension staying where it was set?  I had that problem last year while visiting relation in Florida.  Don't know what it was about sitting all the time to make my casts, but the drag would back completely off.  Probably hitting my leg without realizing it.  Got to the point the first thing I did was check the drag when I had a bad backlash.  Usually it would be to find it had backed completely off again.  Don't understand why lack of drag pressure should cause a backlash, but in these instances it seemed to be the major culprit.  I'd reset the drag and be okay for awhile.  This was happening with 2 different reels....an Alphas and a Patriarch XT.

[BrianinMD]

Are the other reels he is not having an issue with also mag brakes?

[tbone1993]

 Not trying to be a d-bag here, but are you sure the reel is adjusted properly? I had this problem with my Revo Sx's, you just have to adust it just right-its very picky, for me at least anyway. I bought 2 of them last year, and would have constant issues with the line being loose on the spool more than backlashing every cast. The way I adjusted mine is, turn the brake off, then adjust the spool tention knob to where you have to shake the lure a bit to get it to fall. Then make some practice casts adjusting the brake until you find the sweet spot. For some reason, these particular reels need to have the spool tension knob tighter than most reels. I was actually considering selling them. Luckily I am using them for specific lures, so once I got the adjustment down they have been perfect ever since.

You shouldnt have to shake your rod to get the bait to fall. The bait should be able to fall, hit the floor, and not cause a backlash.  All of my abus require an intense amount of adjustment and mainly the reason why I switched to lews. 

[Chris186]

You shouldnt have to shake your rod to get the bait to fall. The bait should be able to fall, hit the floor, and not cause a backlash.  All of my abus require an intense amount of adjustment and mainly the reason why I switched to lews. 

You're right, you shouldnt, but for some reason with those sx's you kind of have to. All of my other abu's adjust easily, no shaking involved. Im not sure what the hell they did different to the revo sx to make it such a pain, but they sure did do a good job. If you google revo adjusting, 90% of the people have a problem with the sx.

[BrianinMD]

The SX's are mag brake only which can be very finicky, needing adjustment as winds change or when baits are changed. Sure they work great if they are adjusted correctly but with cent. brakes its usually set it and forget it unless something extreme happens.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You're right, you shouldnt, but for some reason with those sx's you kind of have to. All of my other abu's adjust easily, no shaking involved. Im not sure what the hell they did different to the revo sx to make it such a pain, but they sure did do a good job. If you google revo adjusting, 90% of the people have a problem with the sx.

The trick to the SX is simply to be sure the mags are off/lowest setting before setting spool tension if fine adjustment is difficult be sure the tension shims are all there, undamaged and clean. you can also check the frame and be sure the spool isn't being interfered with by contaminants. My guess is that the reel in question would benefit from a deep cleaning.  

[aavery2]

Try adjusting the brakes on the reel as the manufacturer recommends.    Set the Magnetic brakes to 0.  Tie the lure you intend to use to the line.  Depress the thumbar and set the mechanical brake so that the lure slowly descends about 10 inches when the rod tip is gently flexed.  It the lure does not move the brake is too tight, if it hits the floor, it is too loose. 

 

Set the magnetic braking to a med high setting and begin casting making adjustments to the magnetic braking to increase distance and control backlash.

 

 

In other words, use a little more spool tension with the reel, it does not have much braking at the beginning of the cast and they can be more prone to over runs at this part of the cast.

[tbone1993]

The trick to the SX is simply to be sure the mags are off/lowest setting before setting spool tension if fine adjustment is difficult be sure the tension shims are all there, undamaged and clean. you can also check the frame and be sure the spool isn't being interfered with by contaminants. My guess is that the reel in question would benefit from a deep cleaning.  

I saw an improvement in my stx once I cleaned all of the extra grease and crap out of my reel.

[Fishes in trees]

I don't have that particular problem with my reels - but then my reels all say SHIMANO on the side of them.  Coincidence or not?  Beats me.  All I know is that when I have a backlash, and I have my share of them, operator error is generally the cause.

[DogBone_384]

I've got a Revo-SX too and sometimes suffer the same inconsistent backlashes. It casts great when acting 'normal'. I started paying close attention to my mechanics and came to the conclusion that the angle I held my wrist at was the problem - it seems to be finicky. I also find I have to adjust its brake more often when a swap out lures than other brands I own.

Good luck with it.

[Brian6428]

Thanks for all the suggestments, guys. Neither one of us has ever tried setting the spool tension like you guys said, so we'll give that a try.

 

If that doesn't work he may just send it to DVT for a cleaning. 

[Chris186]

I don't have that particular problem with my reels - but then my reels all say SHIMANO on the side of them.  Coincidence or not?  Beats me. 

I had two of the older Citicas, the ones they made when they had the first re-design of the curado. Brand new reels, one of them the centrifugal brake fell apart, the other the worm gear broke. Coincidence or not? No idea. But I havent bought a Shimano reel since.