Abu Garcia Max x Spinning Reel, 40

Abu Garcia maxx is a good fishing reel I picked up. I like the colors but most of all I like how smooth it reels in, it must be the four bearings in it. I’ve been looking for the perfect reel for awhile now, this one may not be perfect but it’s definitely a good reel. I would purchase again, definitely not disappointed.

Abu Garcia has gone to the dogs.

This is the second Abu Garcia reel that has not held up through a full day of fishing. This particular reel was cast out no more than eight times before the bell broke. The previous reel broke where it attaches to your rod while reeling in a eight pound fish. Abu Garcia once had a solid reputation for quality products but their stuff is cheaply made now. save yourself some aggravation and buy Penn or Lew's.

An absolute disgrace to the Abu Garcia name

I bought this reel to pair with a ultralight rod, thinking that it would be more than enough to catch panfish. Boy, was I wrong. The first thing I noticed was that the reel body was incredibly flimsy, bending and torquing whenever the handle was turned. The next thing I found was that the reel handle would not stay on the reel, no matter how much it was torqued down. As annoying as these issues were, they were not the worst features the reel had to offer. The bail system cannot lay line on the spool correctly whatsoever, leaving me with constant birds nests. This reel bunches up, knots and twists fishing line until there is no untangling it and it must be cut out. Of the hour I used this reel, I spent half of it fighting tangles in my line. The Abu Max X spinning ... MoreI bought this reel to pair with a ultralight rod, thinking that it would be more than enough to catch panfish. Boy, was I wrong. The first thing I noticed was that the reel body was incredibly flimsy, bending and torquing whenever the handle was turned. The next thing I found was that the reel handle would not stay on the reel, no matter how much it was torqued down. As annoying as these issues were, they were not the worst features the reel had to offer. The bail system cannot lay line on the spool correctly whatsoever, leaving me with constant birds nests. This reel bunches up, knots and twists fishing line until there is no untangling it and it must be cut out. Of the hour I used this reel, I spent half of it fighting tangles in my line. The Abu Max X spinning reel is absolute and utter garbage and you'd be far better off with a $10 generic combo from your local big box store. Abu Garcia should be ashamed to have this item associated with their brand.

Bail Arm Fail

This in the reel LOOKS great! and that’s it!30 casts in i set the hook on a 2-3lb lgm bass, I get the fish about 3-4ft from shore and he flips, and just the little pressure blew the side plate off the bail arm, the spring holding it and whatever internals the controlled the bail arm are gone…the screw holding the side plate isn’t long enough to get a good bit on the threads…I contact Abu Garcia and they said they will mail me replacement parts to repair it myselfI have no interest in repairing this reel every 30-40 casts/1 fishI am returning this reelI know it’s a Walmart reel but jeez

Disfunctional Fishing Reel

I took the reel out of the package when I got the cottage and unfortunately the reel mechanism didn't function properly. The crank wouldn't rotate and was unable to reel in the line. It was an expensive reel and very frustrating. I returned the reel to the store after my fishing trip and bought a different reel. The store employee confirmed that the Abu Garcia Max was disfunctional & the mechanism didn't work.

Great Reel For The Money

I had been looking for a reasonably priced reel to “retire” an aging Mitchell 300. With a Christmas gift card in hand, I went online Academy shopping and ran across this one (with free shipping). Seems to be a great reel! I wish it had a selector for anti-reverse but that’s not a deal breaker in my opinion.

Not Bad!

Honestly, after researching this reel for a couple weeks, I learned that this reel has mostly unfavorable reviews. I read about anti-reverse not working, bails not operating properly, line not spooling evenly, stiff line retrieval, etc. But I decided to give it a chance because I've had several Abu Garcia reels over the years. And all I needed was a low end reel to match up with a low end Berkley Big Game spinning rod. Mine arrived in a box vs. clam pack. I've been fishing for over 50 years and have found that boxed reels often are better than clam pack reels. I don't know what that is, but I've seen it several times now. I didn't experience any negative issues that I'd read about. The reel I received and all of its functions work. perfectly. I did add a few drops ... MoreHonestly, after researching this reel for a couple weeks, I learned that this reel has mostly unfavorable reviews. I read about anti-reverse not working, bails not operating properly, line not spooling evenly, stiff line retrieval, etc. But I decided to give it a chance because I've had several Abu Garcia reels over the years. And all I needed was a low end reel to match up with a low end Berkley Big Game spinning rod. Mine arrived in a box vs. clam pack. I've been fishing for over 50 years and have found that boxed reels often are better than clam pack reels. I don't know what that is, but I've seen it several times now. I didn't experience any negative issues that I'd read about. The reel I received and all of its functions work. perfectly. I did add a few drops of oil to the gears like I do with every new reel I purchase, and it's buttery smooth. It spooled line very evenly for a reel in this price range, and the 20 lb. drag rating is at least that. In fact I'd bet mine approaches 25 lbs. I'm very impressed with this reel. It seems to be of the usual Abu Garcia quality.

Poor performance at best

I bought this reel on sale and wish I had returned. There's issues with the spool and your line is forever tangling inside the gear sprocket. Even adding as little line as possible isn't helpful. This reel has turned me off from future purchases of any Abu Garcia product. If they can't get a little ice reel right, I certainly wouldn't blow couple hundred dollars on a river reel.

Shoreline casting is amazing gets you in the depth

I got this for me and my son I taught him open face spinning reel fishing on this reel . It was a great bonding experience. On 8lb line my son caught a 12lb large mouth bass and a 9lb small mouth bass. The moment your son get hooked on fishing with you is great. It has a very smooth cast great for shore line fishing. Great for both live bait and fake baits of all type I find tube bait and weighted hooks are amazing with this reel I use it in heavy weeds and brush patches it allows you to navigate very well cuts my fight in half with bringing in line. It works best on a berkley power caster medium

flimsy

cheap but it can reel in fish. I feel like i’m going to break the reelhandle right off. Its super cheap feeling. I was using this on bluefish with 25%23 mono. It actually held up but man the handle was at max duty. This is a freshwater reel for smaller fish!