Well I must say that there is a big smile on my face thanks to a very good friend who though I needed a few more toys to add to the collection. To that end I just received not one but two Akios 555 SCM reels.
I first considered getting one of these after seeing the various articles and videos that have been coming in from overseas and was pleasantly surprised when first Chas got one and then a few of the South Australian contingent. My luck was even better when Don visited from Hawaii and brought his along for the Australian Championships. It was here that I got to see the reels first hand and have a play with tem and must say was very impressed with the feel and quality finish that was displayed.
As you can see in the photo's the reels come standard with mag adjustment , smaller star drag for casting and a very comfortable double paddle handle. Also included with the reels is a larger sports handle as well as a larger star drag for those preferring the more traditional style.
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Here is the larger sports handle and star de=rag as well as the other bits that come with the reel )
As I intend on matching at least one of these reels to my Century TTLDSM rods either with the 12 or 13 footer depending on whether I am bait fishing or spinning and wont be loading it with line heaver than 0.31mm ( 15 pound) and most likely only 0.25 or 0.28 mm ( 8 to 10 pound ) I wont be fitting the larger handle in the short term . If I use a faster shaped lure when a bit more cranking speed is require I may then change this train of though.
As you can see I have already loaded the reels with line ( Ultima Distance ) which is what as I use for both my field work as well as for a lot of my beach fishing but unlike a lot of people I have made no attempt at changing anything on the reels other than to balance up the spool tension so that it has only a small amount of play. Other than that both reels are as they come from the box.
It was pleasing to see the tight tolerance between the spool and the frame of the reel as you can see a little bit clearer in the below photo as I have had trouble with a few reels were the finer lines get caught between the spool and the frame. Hopefully the field and beach sessions that I am planning with these will show that this isn't a problem
I have taken the reel down to my local oval this evening and tried one of them (aka the one with the shock leader on it ) and was very surprised at the level of control that these reels have though I feel that they are a bit over braked for my liking but 100% safe for a fishing reel straight from the box. The casting weight of choice on this occasion was the standard blob floats that I get Via Chas that weight in at around 60 grams which make for a good approximation of the size of lure that will be mainly used by me when using these reels ( targeting Salmon ) down here in Victoria.
Also from a safety factor I know that they max out at around the 150 meter mark due to there shape.
I did a number of cast slowly starting with the mags on full and progressively winding them off, well all I can say is that at no time did the reels even look like playing up and I feel that this is due to the simple fact that they also run with the centrifugal break blocks fitted from the factory. I will most likely take them out and rely solely on the mag setup as I do with all my other reels fitted with them.
The fit and feel of the reel was very good and the meshing of the gears was smooth as silk which I appreciate a lot in quality products. However time will tell if this remains the case after a good stint out on the field and on the beach. The retrieve speed was good even with the small handles and I feel make it very sweet to use with the spoon type lures that I hope to be flinging around on the beach.
Well that’s about it as an initial trial as I was itching to get out and try them out though work prevented me from getting down to the beach , that as well as the weather which as left a lot to be desired with down here in Vic.
I will be doing a more stringent test with the reels having one for the beach and I will retune the other for field work and see what distances that I can get from her. Though based on the feedback from the UK casters the distance will be right up there ( A per Jaylee's current form ).
So first impressions are
Regards