Abu Garcia UltraMax Vengence Combo

[BeastMan]

Going to GI in 2 weeks so I had to make sure 2 buddies have rods & reels so I decided to buy myself a cheap baitcaster combo from Dicks. I spooled it with 30lb pp and went to the Rez by my house to throw it some. Goodness this thing feels so much better out the box than I expected. It feels and cast better than my shimano citicas out the box. It might break down in 6 months but this is a good feeling $80 combo. I'll let y'all know if a Redfish destroys it in a cpl weeks.

ETA- I actually went to buy a Lews combo because I've heard so many good things about Lews baitcasters but the abu Garcia felt better in my hand and more sturdier built. The American hero combo and blue carbon Lews were the ones I picked up.

[SpeckleDawg]

Not sure how it compares to the silvermax, but I picked one of those up a couple years ago and it lasted about 3 trips... Hope that one is better.:D

[BeastMan]

Not sure how it compares to the silvermax, but I picked one of those up a couple years ago and it lasted about 3 trips... Hope that one is better.:D

Ha. Sounds about right. I don't think there is a nickel worth of difference between a black max, silver max, and ultra max. Wired2Fish has a good review on the black max so I went ahead and bought it. I don't have high expectations. What it really did was make me disappointed in my citica.

[Uncle Ruckus]

You know as well as I do, when fishing in salt you get what you pay for. I'm wanting to try a Cardiff in hopes it's a more affordable Calcutta.

[BeastMan]

You know as well as I do, when fishing in salt you get what you pay for. I'm wanting to try a Cardiff in hopes it's a more affordable Calcutta.

I've been looking hard at Daiwa and 13 reels but just bought this for the hell of it. I'll probably use it mostly for bass. It cast so well for a cheap setup I feel like I need to explore the better Abu Garcias. One thing I know for sure, I won't be buying another simano citica.

[SpeckleDawg]

I feel like I need to explore the better Abu Garcias.

I have a Revo S that was awesome, until a 40+lb black drum did a number on it. It still casts great, but occasionally gets hung when reeling and I have to hit the release and "re-set" it. I also have an Orra that is a great reel. I put it on a Falcon Coastal HD and that is the first setup that I grab every trip now. I'm still a big shimano fan, but this Orra is a great reel for the price.


I won't be buying another simano citica.
Disappointed to hear this, as I have always heard good things about Citicas, but hadn't bought one yet.

[BeastMan]

I have a Revo S that was awesome, until a 40+lb black drum did a number on it. It still casts great, but occasionally gets hung when reeling and I have to hit the release and "re-set" it. I also have an Orra that is a great reel. I put it on a Falcon Coastal HD and that is the first setup that I grab every trip now. I'm still a big shimano fan, but this Orra is a great reel for the price.


Disappointed to hear this, as I have always heard good things about Citicas, but hadn't bought one yet.

I looked at the orra Inshore on their site, looks good. And on my citica, they've changed some stuff so maybe the new series is better but the 200g7 is meh.

[Offshore Dawg]

PENN, they have stood the test of time, some of the best break washers out there.

[SpeckleDawg]

PENN, they have stood the test of time, some of the best break washers out there.

Great spinning reels, but not much to offer for inshore baitcast reels.

[Barking 13]

I don't own an Orra, but I have several Revos. I know a guy that did field testing on the Orra prototype for AG and he was raving about it then. I have an Ultramax, and it did pretty good for a while, but it's one of those that you never can get adjusted. You know, three great casts, then birdsnest from hell. Get that picked out, and four casts and a birdsnest.

[BeastMan]

I don't own an Orra, but I have several Revos. I know a guy that did field testing on the Orra prototype for AG and he was raving about it then. I have an Ultramax, and it did pretty good for a while, but it's one of those that you never can get adjusted. You know, three great casts, then birdsnest from hell. Get that picked out, and four casts and a birdsnest.

See I love how my ultra max cast out of the box. That said, I have no false ideas that it's a great reel. It's a cheap reel. To get it to backlash I had to try. I threw against the wind as hard as I could on free spool to back lash it. My first thought throwing it was, damn my citicas are junk. I was almost dead set on switching to daiwa or 13 fishing baitcasters but now I think I'm going to keep going down the abu Garcia road.

[Barking 13]

The Ultramax was a gift. I probably wouldn't have bought one. I'm just waiting on one of the 20 or so reels I have to crap out on me to buy a new one. As much as I fish these days, it'll probably be the day after they put me in the ground.

[hailmari]

I love daiwa reels. Super smooth and I feel like a pro casting them compared to my Quantum. I've been looking at an Abu Garcia revo on Amazon for $101, but I've never had one. Reviews are great though.