ABU 505 Successful Drag Test

[Polecat501]

Last Sunday saw me at my second choice Canal, in the pouring rain (first choice Canal was being run off with all gates wide open = flood warning!); I was blessing modern wet weather gear. This canal is about 25 yards wide, 8 foot deep and is generally very clear, with solid Canadian pondweed growing all over the bottom 2 feet and Lilies in patches on the near and far side.

I was hoping for a few bites and after several plump panfish float fished just above the weed at 6 foot deep, I found myself tied to something a lot bigger and angrier. The drag system worked fine and I even found a couple of opportunities to use the 1/4 back wind drag reduction mode as the unseen fish made several lunges down the near side. I felt in control throughout and finally was able to get the heavy, head end of a 6 pound Channel Catfish into my landing net. With these North American Cats, once you get the head in the tail will generally follow… unlike Wels Catfish, which seem to have some very fast reverse gearing in their gearboxes.

In summary, I was very impressed with the drag system on my old 505. While I still think that an angry 10 lb plus Carp in weedy water would be a much tougher battle, the Svangsta Engineers seem to have built a working drag system that has stood the test of time. Apologies to my purist peers for the 2015 vintage rod just sneaking into shot. I wish I had a similar rod (11 foot 2-piece light Floatfishing rod) in cane, but I’d be scared to trust such a vintage masterpiece to airmail across the pond.

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[Wanderer]

I have never fished with a 505.
I have a 506 a 506m and a 501 ( which is my favourite) they are superbly engineered reels and so good looking. Glad you are enjoying using yours.

All the best.