Abu Gacia Revo MGX2 for inshore Porgies

[mrbrklyn]

I do a lot of inshore fishing in New York, with a large amount of the fishing for Porgies in waters about 80 ft or within the tides of Jamaica Bay. So during the pandemic lock down, I gave a lot fo thought to building a rod for this purpose and a reel. After much research, I settled on the light weight Abu Garcia Revo MGX2. I chose it because it was slow, at only 25 inches per rotation on the uptake, which will help prevent ripping the hook out of the mouth of Porgies and in lifting Blackfish out of the wrecks. It is the lightest reel I could find with a decent drag, which in this case is a 17 lb drag.


When I pulled it out of the box and started to use it, it's casting has been awesome. It can outcast almost anything, even my Penn Torques, on underhand and even overhand casting. I am shocked to routinely cast 65 feet or more with a 4 ounce weight on 30lb braid. It has pulled the fish out of the water and the drag has been smooth, and quick to respond. The reel just hasn't, however, taken to any wear and tear. See these two videos - the first one:


Revo MGX2 inspection

The second one is on youtube



It feels like the body is literally dissolving with use and a bar that is part of the leverwind package has come loose from the body, probably also because of corrosion.

 

[BennyV]

I do a lot of inshore fishing in New York, with a large amount of the fishing for Porgies in waters about 80 ft or within the tides of Jamaica Bay. So during the pandemic lock down, I gave a lot fo thought to building a rod for this purpose and a reel. After much research, I settled on the light weight Abu Garcia Revo MGX2. I chose it because it was slow, at only 25 inches per rotation on the uptake, which will help prevent ripping the hook out of the mouth of Porgies and in lifting Blackfish out of the wrecks. It is the lightest reel I could find with a decent drag, which in this case is a 17 lb drag.


When I pulled it out of the box and started to use it, it's casting has been awesome. It can outcast almost anything, even my Penn Torques, on underhand and even overhand casting. I am shocked to routinely cast 65 feet or more with a 4 ounce weight on 30lb braid. It has pulled the fish out of the water and the drag has been smooth, and quick to respond. The reel just hasn't, however, taken to any wear and tear. See these two videos - the first one:


Revo MGX2 inspection

The second one is on youtube



It feels like the body is literally dissolving with use and a bar that is part of the leverwind package has come loose from the body, probably also because of corrosion.

Seems like a decent reel although for those of us that tend to use and sometimes abuse our gear it might not hold up.

 

[mrbrklyn]

I'm not convinced. It has not really been abused, just used. I oiled it weekly and washed it after every trip. The corrosion, IMO, is just a reaction to salt spray and normal ocean water from the line and nornal use. There is this idea in the tackle industry that gear that self-destructs has been mistreated. I've come to understand this is bullshit to the most part. I haven't even owned this reel long enough to to really abuse it. It is not like I didn't wash it for months, and just threw it in a bucket. I cleaned it after usage every time. If this is what it does, this is a design flaw, not abuse.

It reminds me of the Shimono Terez. How many did I go through before I just conceded that normal use is what destroys them. They are fine as long as you leave them in the closet.

 

[mrbrklyn]

I will say that cranks on facebook just tell me I deserve what I get since I used it in saltwater. But it clearly doesn't say it was made for fresh water or any warning to use it in salt water., and it specs right up there is a salt water rig.

 

[Leprechaun]

Lightest possible weight in a reel is a very seductive reason to purchase one. Most reel manufacturers that achieve extremely low weight in their bait casting series do it in one of two ways - either an fiber reinforced graphite frame (i.e.: Zaion - Daiwa, Ci4+ - Shimano), or they employ an alloy of magnesium. Your reel features one of those magnesium alloy frames. This is a big no-no in salt water. SW will literally "dissolve" magnesium - as you have discovered.

This is the same reason that "hot rod" automotive wheels made of magnesium (magnesium is where the old school term "Mag Wheels" originally came from) are no longer offered by any manufacturer for road use - they are considered "racing only". . . and even those magnesium racing wheels are pretty tough to find.

These days, so-called "Mag" wheels, which as stated, way back when were originally made of a toughened magnesium alloy, are now all made of aluminum. And by "these days" I mean going back to the early '60s. The magnesium versions would corrode right in front of one's eyes if used on Winter salted streets. Not great for maintaining structural safety.

Oh, and magnesium will burn like a white-hot torch - another good reason to go in the aluminum direction. Can you imagine getting into a fiery wreck, and your freakin' wheels catch fire? Yeah, not good.

In any case, Abu makes several baitcasting reels that are much better suited to SW use. I personally use a Winch Gen3 and a Winch Gen4 - no corrosion issues whatsoever - because their frames are aluminum. I also maintain a bunch of Revo Toro reels for others, also zero corrosion issues. Gotta pick the right tool for the application.

If you want to go forward with that reel, I recommend calling Abu Service and asking which aluminum frames from your generation of Revo will cross over - and then using one of those aluminum frames to "save" your reel.

If Abu won't perform that surgery, then I recommend seeking out a good reel tuner that can do the job for you. Or you could do the job yourself, as its not all that difficult. The proper installation of the two free spool springs can be a bit "challenging," as can the two guide rails for the thumb bar, but overall not a real tough job. Maybe a 3.5 out of 10, if you've got some mechanical aptitude.

It might be cheaper to search Ereplacementparts.com for that new frame, once you know which one you need. They not only stock current parts, but maintain a good supply of "discontinued" reel components as well. Sometimes more so than the actual reel manufacturers.

The substitution of an aluminum frame will solve your "dissolving reel" conundrum. Don't forget to give the inside surfaces of the new frame a very thin coat of grease, very thinly applied. There are many brands of grease out there, I use and recommend Yahama's Marine Grease (usually sold as Yamalube grease). The Penn "blue goo" is a very acceptable substitute.