Abu Garcia Soron STX 40 Reel - 10/06/2009
I first laid hands on the Abu Garcia STX 40 reel at the Pure Fishing trade show in September last year and my initial impression was what a great bit of kit it was. As well as looking good, it felt lightweight – the spools are aluminum – and well balanced, but the $64,000 question was, how would it perform on the bank.
I got my first chance to find out while on a chub session on the River Wensum over Christmas. As I planned to fish with a link-leger set-up, I loaded the shallow spool with 4lb line from a one-shot spool and was very impressed with the line lay – a good start. The reel felt perfectly balanced on the rod once in the reel seat with the distance between the butt and the rim of the spool being exactly right for my index finger to control the line when feathering down on the cast.
During the session I had no problems casting the light weights – the line peeled off the spool smoothly and without any tangles, a problem that occasionally occurs when fishing light. And with a fish on the end, I found the clutch easy to adjust while I played it and extremely sensitive. The line lay remained spot-on after the workout and there was no sign of line twist and each time the retrieve was smooth and the chunky bail arm responsive.
Over the following months I put the reel to the sword using it on a number of carp fishing sessions where I was regularly casting a heavy feeder 50 yards or more and reeling in fish to double figures. This was followed by two bream trips and another chub session. If you are a feeder angler then I suggest you take a good look at the Soron STX 40 if you are looking to update your gear. During these credit-crunch times, it may be a little on the expensive side, but it’s well made and is likely to last a long time. It’s now a permanent fixture with my other feeder reels, and it’s the first one out of the bag every time.
Details
Abu Garcia Soron STX 40 reel – £104.99
Ball bearings: 10, plus one
Gear ratio: 5.1:1
Supplied spools: Two
Line capacity: 185 metres of 0.30mm line
Contact: www.uk.purefishing.com
