Double Threat Charters

Avet EX 50W Reviews

2021-06-17

After 10 years of abuse, this is the only reel on the boat I haven't sent in for service. We have used these reels commercially for about 10 years of charter service and really beat them up. We have used them for wreck fishing (15-30lbs of drag) shark fishing (20-30lbs of drag) and planer fishing (10-15lbs of drag for days at a time). They still operate like they are new.

Avet 50W Lever Drag Reels Specs

Body Material: Aluminum

Max Drag (lbs): 57

Line Capacity Braid (yds/lb): 1380/80 • 1240/100 • 850/130

Weight (oz): 63

Bearings: 8

Gear Ratio: 3.2:1 / 1.3:1

Line Capacity Mono (yds/lb): 500/60 • 370/80 • 290/100

Line Retrieve Per Crank (in): 37" H / 15" L

Spool Material: Aluminum

Handle Shape: Oversized rubber ergonomic knob

Avet Reel Company Information

Avet reels are actually made in the US which REALLY sets them apart from their competitors. This may explain why they actually last and the handles don't literally fall off after 6 months like our Penn Internationals.

According to their website, Avet reels are designed, machined, and assembled in California. Every single part including internals are made in house with the exception of the bearings which are sourced from Los Angeles.

I can't speak for all of their reels but it would seem that their 30-80w reels are all a safe bet if you want a durable conventional reel that will last a lifetime. The 50s in particular are impressive and they actually use the same drag on their 80s. Avet also makes a T-RX line of two-speed reels with even more drag capability but this line is more expensive and most likely overkill in most applications.

If you are looking for a lever drag reel for trolling, jigging, casting, and overall catching big fish, look no further.

Avet Reels for Kite Fishing

My only complaint about Avet is that their reels aren't really designed for extra light tackle. Kite fishing in particular involves a constant lever adjustment and drag in the 2-6lb range. I had a set of Avet LX reels for kite fishing and the clickers burnt up in a hurry. In addition, their pre-set drags needed a constant adjustment from the back and forth. They do sell a cam, which we tried, that supposedly helps while kite fishing but we weren't impressed. In my opinion, the Fathom, Trynos, and Alutecnos are all better options for kite fishing depending on your preference and budget.

Cummins 450C Diamond Series Review

2021-06-17

The Cummins 6CTA 8.3 is arguably one of the best mechanical marine engines ever made. They have a variety of horsepower ratings with the most popular being the “450 Diamond.”

This inline, 6-cylinder motor was released in the late 90s and is still a popular motor to this day. The liners allow for an easy rebuild in frame (leave the engine in the boat). Properly maintained, this engine can have a lifespan of 8000-15,000+ hours and the rebuild costs are marginal compared to some alternative brands. This makes the cost of ownership exceptional for this motor.

The 450C is actually 430 BHP and is rated to 2600 rpm. It’s important to have your boat propped correctly and the motors should do at least 2650 RPM at wide open throttle. This is important because if you overload the engine, there is excess heat and stress on the cylinder head (valves in particular). If you drop a valve, the metal can score a cylinder and take out the turbo on it’s way out. This basically results in a top-end rebuild.

It’s important to have your boat propped correctly and if you are shopping around, make sure the boat isn’t underpowered. These are phenomenal engines but if you see a Cummins 450 or 480CE in a 45+ foot boat, don’t expect the same kind of lifespan.

Maintaining a Cummins 450C

The maintenance regiment for a Cummins 450C is relatively straightforward. We have a list in our notes that is synchronized with our crew which I’ll post below. We basically list the interval as well as the last set of hours where the work was done.

Oil and Fuel Filters Main & Gen- 250 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 8717/8738

Air Filters- 500 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 8670/8690

Coolant Filter- 500 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 8670 / 8690

Service Aftercoolers- 750 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 8170/8190

All Eng, Gen, and Pump Box Zincs- 750 Hrs or 6 months

Date/Hrs Completed- 8500 Hrs- 5/18/2021

Main and Gen Impellers- 1500 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- Port pump done 7800 hrs, Starboard done 7200 hrs

Engine Coolant- 1000 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 7960/ 7980

Change All Belts- 1000 Hrs

Date/Hrs Completed- 8000/8130

These maintenance intervals may vary a bit depending on how much you use your boat but this list has been working pretty well for us.

Servicing Aftercoolers

The aftercoolers are messy job but a service requirement for these engines. SBMAR (headed by Tony) is a wealth of knowledge and they have a helpful article on maintaining aftercoolers here: https://www.sbmar.com/articles/cummins-marine-aftercooler-maintenance/

That’s also an insightful article about marine age vs hours and more.

Cummins 450c Performance

Our boat is heavy for a 43 and has a full tower, livewells, extra fuel tank, and more. The boat cruises at 17 knots and tops out at 24 knots. We burn about 25 gallons per hour at cruise with twins.

If you would like to check out the performance curve, check out this list here:

https://www.sbmar.com/cummins-marine-diesel-performance-curves/

SFE Kite Reviews

2021-06-16

Product- SFE Kites

Rating- 5 Stars

Material- Polyester blend fabric, carbon fiber spars

We consider SFE Kites to be the most durable and versatile brand of fishing kite on the water. Kite fishing is a highly effective technique that essentially uses kites as an outrigger (or up-rigger) to suspend baits on the surface. The technique has been revolutionized in the last 20 years, especially off Miami and has become a staple for the local tournament fishermen and charter captains.

SFE Kite Models

SFE Makes a variety of different kites for varying wind conditions. We have 3-4 of every model so we can have redundancy during all wind conditions and sea-states.

SFE Extra Light Wind Fishing Kite (5-15 knots)

This kite is 38'' x 38'' which is actually the largest kite they make. The extra square-footage allows for more lift in lighter wind conditions. This is actually an awesome kite because it flies in as low as 5-8 knots but it can withstand gusts as high as 15-18 knots. This range is important when we are met with rapidly changing conditions, squalls, etc.

SFE All Wind Kite (8-20 knots)

The original "all wind" kite flies in all winds from 5 to 25 MPH. To say this is a true "all wind" kite would be a bit of a stretch. If it is blowing 20 knots or more, this kite is definitely put to the limit and it can put a lot of stress on your electric reel. We have noticed that this kite has only a bit more range than the extra light but it is worth having in the arsenal.

SFE 40 Hole Fishing Kite (15-22 knots)

No kite is perfect but we do find that this kite does a great job taking the stress off your tackle and crew when the wind exceeds pushes your all wind to the limit.

SFE Large Hole 40 Hole Fishing Kite (18-25 knots)

This is a great kite for that 18-25 knot range. It's tough paying the extra money for such a marginal improvement in range but we do find days where this kite really is ideal especially if you are looking to fine tune your spread.

SFE 52 Hole 23-28 knots Ex-Heavy Kite

This is the kite designed by SFE for the heaviest wind possible. It basically just has more holes. They advertise it as their heaviest wind kite but it doens't fly very well once you are approaching 30 knots. We find that the Gale Force Bob Lewis is really the ideal kite in a gale.

Bridle Adjustments and Lead

For all SFE kites, opening the bridle (moving it toward the user) will generate more lift and cause the kite to fly higher. This can be good for tweaking the kite if you use an open bridle and lead the corner. A bridle that is too open will cause the kite to wobble quite a bit. If this is the case, feel free to close the bridle a touch so it stabilizes.

Moving the bridle toward the kite or "closing" the bridle is a method to have the kite fly lower. This works for all the SFE kites.

Other Kite Fishing Brands

There a few brands of kites on the market including Bob Lewis Kites, Tigress, Pearl Kites, and SFE.

For very high wind, we do like the Bob Lewis Gale Force Kite and this is the primary off brand kite we use.

Hooker Electric Reviews

2019-08-26

Electric Reels

Hooker Electric came into the market as a small local business trying to engineer a solution to the growing demand for electric reels. Daytime swordfishing specifically created a demand for fast reels with high line capacity. Lindgren-Pitman initially dominated this space because their larger models (especially the S-1200) were already designed for commercial deep dropping. Although reliable, these reels were expensive and a bit sluggish. I would never doubt the efficiency and versatility of the S-1200 but a growing demand for deep drop reels left room on the market for some competition.

Electronics Driven Deep Dropping Era

I would argue that braided line and the recreational availability of high-quality depth sounders played a more significant role in the development of deep drop fisheries than electric reels alone. I was born in 1993 and in my short lifetime I have seen the advancement in depth sounders. The average recreational sounder 15 years ago 500khz and could barely read bottom in 1,000 feet.

With the advancement in sounders came they need to explore new areas. Transducers with at least 1kw of power can usually mark bottom as deep as 3,000 feet and often times mark structure, bait, and fish as deep as 600 feet. Eventually chirp transducers packing up to 3kw of power have allowed bottom reading abilities beyond 5,000 feet and some units allow you you to mark bait and fish as deep a 2,000 feet while swordfishing.

Braided Lines

The widespread availability of braided line revolutionized deep dropping. It doesn’t matter what type of reel you have or transducer if you are using monofilament mainline while deep dropping. Monofilament has a much wider diameter than braided line and much more stretch. The stretch makes it more difficult to see the bite while deep dropping. Braided line is about 35% the diameter of monofilament line with the same breaking strength. 80 lb braid is almost the same diameter as 30lb monofilament. In addition, braided line has minimal stretch.

Hooker Electric Prototype

The prototype from hooker electric was an 80lb class conventional outfit designed for daytime swordfishing. It didn’t have a line counter, level wind, or auto stop feature. It was basically a motor strapped to a reel. What it lacked in sophistication however, it made up for in potential. The prototype was extremely fast and it could be attached to the most durable reels money could buy. Soon after their first prototype, Hooker electric began engineering electric reels for daytime swordfishing in the 80lb and 130lb class. These motors were typically attached to Penn 80w or Tiagra 80w reels which offered the best of both worlds. Fast motors on durable reels became Hooker Electric’s claim to fame. We understood the potential because we used Tiagra 80 wides with a drill when we started swording. Below is a sword we caught on a manual rig.

Increasing Market Share- Hooker Electric Kite Reels and more

The demand for reliable, fast electric reels wasn’t simply for daytime swordfishing. Hooker Electric expanded their strategy to other areas such as kite reels (12-30lb class) and deep drop reels (20-50lb class). By using the same concept as their daytime swordfish reels, these smaller reels also offered robust, fast, quiet solutions with performance that exceeded other reels in their classes that were currently offered on the market. In addition to expanding to other reel sizes, hooker electric incorporated much more sophisticated features to their line of reels in the form of level winds, line counters, auto-stop, and even Bluetooth with remotes for their larger reels. It soon became very clear that Hooker Electric was here to stay and had every intention of competing for market share with LP, Diawa, Krystal, Elecramate, and more. They even manufactured bandit reels to compete with the most heavy-duty commercial reels on the market. We personally love the kite reels which are fast, quiet, and durable.

Hooker Electric Detachable Drive

Another cutting-edge feature introduced by Hooker Electric was the detachable drive. This concept became very popular with charter captains because it allowed us to fish the reel as an electric but fight the fish manually. It also provided redundancy in the event of electrical issues. This manual feature carved a niche within their market by offering a solution for charter captains looking for efficiency and old school capabilities. Today, electric reels are used for deep dropping, kite fishing, dredge fishing, daytime swordfishing and more. Some fisherman even use them while high speed trolling, planer fishing, and grouper trolling. There are a number of reels on the market but Hooker Electric has clearly established themselves as leaders in the industry. The sword below was caught using the manual feature on a hooker electric 80 wide.