$30 Mitchell Avocet II Silver Spinning Combo Review

[MichaelAngelo]

While I was browsing fishing combos at my local Walmart last week, a set of combos particularly caught my eye. This set seemed less crappie than the rest...

I had heard great things about the Mitchell Avocet II Gold reels, so the el-cheapo Silver line had brand appeal to me. The reel was a 2000 size. It had a solid feel to it, instant anti-reverse, and the drag seemed particularly smooth for a $30 combo reel.

Walmart's solid return policy warranted at least a spin (pun intended) to the local bass pond with my new cheap toy . On went the 8lb mono.



Compared to my old-school reels from the 1980's this reel felt like silk. By today's standards, not so much. The cranking was a bit "notchy" at points in the retrieve, it wasn't perfectly smooth. I could feel something clanging lightly as I spun.

Casting was very smooth, but distance suffered with the 6'6" length of rod. I'm used to a 7'.



I took my new friend with me to Algonquin Park and used it to dropshot at 100 feet for Lake Trout. Unfortunately (or fortunately LOL), we didn't hook any trout to test out the drag or bite sensitivity (not that there would be any sensitivity on the end of 100 feet of mono... LOL)

I noticed line getting caught on the very edges of the spool and digging in. This was a big problem when trying to smoothly let out line to the bottom of the lake. Another no-no for a reel in my books. Has anyone else ever experienced this problem??

Also, the two section rod did come apart while jigging. Another no-no.

I noticed the original smoothness of the cranking decrease as the day went on... .

Regardless, for $30 spent on a combo I feel it would be hard to find something better at the same price.



For my purposes, it just didn't cut it. Back to Walmart she goes!