Broke Down And Bought A Revo/ New Questions

[deep]

A NIB Revo Toro Winch 51 for $181 shipped to be exact. It's probably going on a Dobyns 795ML rod; still looking for a deal on one.

Let's see if I like this reel any better than the Revo STX that I had to get rid off last year.

[South FLA]

Why'd you get rid of the STX, did it make an annoying sound on long cast?

[deep]

Why'd you get rid of the STX, did it make an annoying sound on long cast?

Just couldn't get it to consistently cast as well as I'd have liked. That was the second Abu baitcaster I fished, and both were very "temperamental". Or maybe it was just my uneducated thumb lol. My thumb works pretty well with Shimanos though

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

A slightly underspooled Curado is very manageable while still casting well. Switching to Revos requires an adjustment for sure but they're a great reel once you get it down. The Winch is probably more "Curado Like" having a one piece spool shaft and centrifugal brakes

[j.bruno]

Hey DVT whatkinda adjustments would i need to make after casting my shimano citica and curado then going to a Revo SX?

[clayton86]

I switch between my revo sx and citica with no adjustments both have free play in the spool a tiny tiny bit like maybe .002 of an inch barly noticeable. I'll flip and pitch both reels and without an adjustment bomb an over hand cast a mile no prob wether it's with my revo or citica

[BassThumb]

Just couldn't get it to consistently cast as well as I'd have liked. That was the second Abu baitcaster I fished, and both were very "temperamental". Or maybe it was just my uneducated thumb lol. My thumb works pretty well with Shimanos though

I use the Curado and Revo STX exclusively at the moment, and this statement is so true. The STX are very easy to backlash until you get them dialed in. They work better on technique specific setups where there's not a whole lot of lure type and size variance.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Hey DVT whatkinda adjustments would i need to make after casting my shimano citica and curado then going to a Revo SX?

The SX has mag brakes so the line a more of a tendency to balloon early on the cast. A little more thumb in the beginning and a nice easy casting stroke should keep you out of trouble. Just prctice and pay extra attention at first and adjust according to what you're experiencing. It's a little like changing from one car to another, the acceleration and braking feel different and take getting used to. As long as you can drive, you'll be fine.

[Bassattackr]

Having been a die hard shimano fan, i've just bought two Revo SX reels after looking at shimanos subpar product offering this year. (New chronarch is a joke for the price.. I know same as old Curado). Just spooled them up, going to give them a go this weekend!

[brushhoggin]

sorry, gotta hijack while DVT is on board. every now and again, on every one of my stx's i gotta screw this little bar/pin in that runs across the top of the spool and screws in on the inside of the side plate. but now i can't get it to catch the threads and it just sits loose. looks like this. why do all of them do this!?!?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Make sure the threads on the shaft and case are clean. They're pretty fine and it doesn't take much to gum them up. I don't get on them with a screw driver so I can access the spool without a tool on the water. Also make sure the side plate is seated well so that the shaft lines up and can screw in easily. If you need any more help PM, Email or give me a call.

[NitroZ9]

I started using Revo Premiers a year ago. They're the best reel I've ever used.

[deep]

The Winch is probably more "Curado Like" having a one piece spool shaft and centrifugal brakes

DVT, that's so very true, as I found out this evening.

I got the reel today, and tried it out on my local lake. Before I get down to a little mini-review, I got a couple of questions for those more familiar with Revos.

#1. The reel makes a singing/ humming noise on every cast, started from the first cast. Is it because of the non-disengaging levelwind? I'd like to get rid of the hum, if possible.

#2. There are six centrifugal brakes, alternating pitch and "non-pitch" brakes. If I wanted to set two brakes on, and four off, how do I do that? On a Shimano, I'd set the 12 and 6 o' clock brakes on, but if I did that here, I'd be setting one pitch and one non-pitch brake on.

Okay, here's my little review.

Revo Toro Winch 51, 4.6:1 gear ratio.

When I took the side-plate off, I found that the gears on the palming side are literally drenched in grease. huh? I cleaned what I could with an earbud dipped in alcohol and spooled some old 15 lb test Yo-Zuri hybrid onto it. Mounted the reel on my Mattlures swimbait rod, and I took along one single 7" Osprey to the lake. I was not planning to fish, just test the reel.

I set the spool tension pretty tight, much tighter than I'd on the Shimanos, set the three non-pitch brakes on, and made a tentative overhand cast. So far, so good; no tendency to over-run. So I successively lay on the next few casts. With minimal thumbing, the reel behaved very well. Not a single overrun! I'm impressed. So I turn one more brake off- I normally use two brakes only- and try out some more overhand casts. Pretty nice. I'm liking this reel. Casting distance was comparable to my Curado 301E, no problem there. Then I tried some skipping with the three pitch brakes on, and it skipped just fine. In fact, if I may say so, with a tight spool tension and 3 pitch brakes, the reel required no thumbing at all, and that's while skipping. Seems to be a winner.

I played some more with the reel, trying different combination of brakes, and pitching a bit. Casting was consistent. Distance wasn't out of the world (a 100 feet max I'd say), but as I said, it's comparable to the Curado 301E, and that's no more than I hope for. I only wish that the next time I go fishing, the reel would cast as well.

I'm loving the low-speed thing too. The reel picks up 22.5" of line per handle turn at full spool. I don't have to consciously reel super-slow any more. Now I can really slow-roll a hudd. Big bass, look out!

I have to detach the whole sideplate to change brake settings, which is a minor inconvenience. But I can live with that if the reel casts like that. Retrieving, of course, is a moot point. I guess all Revos are silky-smooth on retrieves.

To summarize, I'm not a Revo-convert, nor do I see myself becoming one. If Shimano made a low-speed 300 size LH reel, I would have bought that. But I'm glad I gave the Abu reel a chance. It seems to be a very good lo-profile swimbait reel.

[deep]

Used the reel a few more times, and I found that it's actually difficult to backlash it! Maybe I got one of the *good* Revos. Any way, I'm very happy with the reel.

The sound is still there though, even after cleaning and lubricating it.

[breezy]

I don't own a Toro but have a couple Revo S's and owned a Winch for a short while, both should be similar since they have the longer 1pc spool shaft and centrifugal brakes like the Toro. I love these reels, if hey made a HS 7:1 version of the S I wouldn't need any other models. None of my reels make a noticeably different whine/hum when casting. I guess it could be the non-disengaging levelwind, you may also want to flush/relube the bearings in case some contaminants have worked their way in.

All my current Revos are the older style without the "pitching" brake system so I can't help much there. TT has an article from iCast on the Toro that mentions it briefly. After looking at the picture it looks similar to some BPS reels I have (I can't tell much difference). I would just play around with the brakes and see what works best for you; don't worry about only engaging opposite brakes...old wives' tale IMO.

[Bassn Blvd]

I wrote a thread on the Screeming Revo's (Premiere) a couple years ago. I had to send mine back two times before I got one that didn't sound like a cat in heat everytime I casted it.

My Premiere, ever since, has performed FLAWLESSLY. It has actually gotten better with age.