Sometimes by reeling forward (counter intuitive) the sleeve may move enough, usually not, unless we loosen the star so much we get into over-run territory and potentially lose the fish to a thrown hook or break off. Until the pressure is off of the Clutch the drag will not loosen. Once you have enough drag to get a few pounds off the ground loosen the drag and see what happens (nothing!) as the AR Sleeve is gripped by the OWC and will not release the drag to let your weight take line. You can easily test this yourself by doing a simple lift with your own rod and reel if it uses a OWC. Once we set or increase drag we have kinda determined our fate in that particular fight with that particular fish until it stops it's run and releases the pressure on the OWC. But if we need to loosen the drag (ie big girl dives under the boat and we want to avoid rod breakage) the OWC has a death grip on the sleeve and loosening the star has no effect. We all are familiar with having no trouble tightening the drag as the star easily moves the sleeve to compress the drag even with a fish on. What happens is the AR sleeve is tightly gripped by the clutch which restricts it's movement and release of the drag. Well, it turns out this works great most of the time but trouble can arise when it is time to loosen the drag with a fish on. Which at first take seems a remarkable economy of design incorporating 2 functions very nicely in a simple package. The picture below is the standard way to do it in another maker's reel: The sleeve has a dual role as it not only is essential to the anti-reverse it also is used as a spacing washer when you tighten down the star to compress the drag stack. Perfect for an instant hook set and precise feel when fishing. The 'needle' rollers inside are engineered to roll freely forward to take in line but 'bite' a sleeve that is keyed to the handle shaft to prevent any play in the reverse direction, hence, a 'one way clutch'. These are typically pressed into the right side plate and are out of sight and out of mind to many anglers: Most of us are now fishing reels with instant anti-reverse that use some kind of One Way Clutch (OWC) to prevent handle back play. The low stretch of braid is ideal for hooksets and sensitivity but older reels with handle back play can be unpleasant to fish braid with a harsh 'clunk' when the anti-reverse finally sets fishing the erratic retrieves many fish want or during a hookset. Well, fishing braid has let us go smaller and smaller with reels (to save weight and energy over the day) and with that 'instant' anti-reverse has become the norm rather than the exception in most modern reels. So why do I say the Revo Toro Beast is potentially 'a revolution in large bait casting'? The capacity of these two is just about the same but the more narrow reel will be a better caster and the angler will fight less 'wobble' with a heavy fish on. It turns out big fish like big baits! So reels capable of throwing 8 or 10 or 12oz or more have been developed having also the capacity to hold enough strong braid for fishing heavy cover or for hard running fish.Įnter the Revo Toro Beast from Abu Garcia:Īnd shown with a Revo Toro NaCl 60 for size comparison:Ību has gone to a much more narrow body with an increase in spool height. This has also paralleled a trend in freshwater fishing towards larger and larger baits for trophy Bass, Muskie, Trout and inland Stripers etc. Large baitcasting reels are leading this revolution in conventional casting due to their unique abilities. The latest trend in offshore fishing using large baitcaster reels has been to cast poppers, big swim baits and stick baits as well as traditional iron on straight braid to just short 'bite leaders'. Braid has allowed us to fish heavy line on very small reels and the manufacturers have followed suit with more and more capable small reels. They are ideal for their light weight and line management ability in conjunction with modern cast control features that make 'professional over runs' nearly a thing of the past for even those with modest casting abilities. The large bait casting reels have captured my imagination for saltwater recently as this category of reels has made casting straight braid with conventional reels easier than ever before.

Revo toro beast