It looks like something you might find Iron Man using on his bass boat on a lazy summer afternoon when he’s not busy saving the world from supervillains. The Abu Garcia Black Max baitcasting reel is one of the most visually striking baitcasting reels you’ll ever find.
With a high gloss black body, striking high contrast, bright red handles, and spool, this versatile mid-priced baitcaster will catch your eye.
But there is more to a reel than the color scheme, if you’ve taken a look at Abu Garcia Black Max reviews, you’ll notice a lot of great comments on just how handy this baitcasting reel can be.
The Abu Garica Black Max is a great reel for the price. It’s affordable for a weekend angler and durable enough for a professional guide to buy a dozen or so for their clients. If you’re seeking a baitcast reel with a proven track record of solid performance, this might be the one for you.
The basics of baitcasting reel design
Baitcasting reels entered the fishing market to fill a specific niche. The open-faced spinning reel dominated the angling market after it evolved from the Kentucky reel into a viable consumer product over a century ago.
A spinning reel worked well when it was initially released with a monofilament line. This was great for most fishing applications, but bass anglers aren’t always pleased with the performance, which you will learn from this Abu Garcia Black Max review. The underwater obstacles, constant jerking and moving of baits, and the damage to monofilament by bright sunlight where most largemouth bass can be could be found were all detriments to the venerable spinning reel.
The spinning reel’s distant cousin, the spincast was a slight improvement, but the original models were prone to the backlash, and the snarls were hard to clean up inside the tiny reel housing. The small housing limited line capacity as well.
Enter the baitcasting reel, a simple design that looked in its original presentation much like a miniature winch, the type you’d have on the front of your jeep to pull you out of the mud.
These first baitcasting reels performed like a winch. They were hard to cast, made of solid steel that easily rusted. Moreover, they were the most frustrating thing you could use to throw a lure at a fish since they snarled into wild whirls of backlash at the most inopportune moments.
The good news is that they got better, a lot better and in the case of the Abu Garcia Black Max, light years better. (back to Ironman just a bit.)
The basics of the Abu Garcia Black Max
This is an Abu Garcia reel, so you have some high expectations to begin with. There are two versions of this baitcasting reel, the classic Max X, and the newer Black Max. The main differences between the two are that the newer Black Max is available in three configurations, left-handed box, right-handed box, and right-handed clam. The Max doesn’t have the clam configuration, just the left and right-hand boxes.
The primary material of this reel is aluminum, with one-piece graphite frames and side plates, stainless steel ball bearings, four of them, and a single stainless steel roller bearing.
Weighing 10.2 ounces it’s not hefty, but it has a solid feel in your hands.
The reel carries all the technology that Abu Garcia has developed over their long foray into the world of angling, and it is placed on the Black Max with Abu Garcia’s proprietary Power Disk system and MagTrax braking technology.
Smooth, tangle-free casts and controlled retrieves are in store when you purchase a Black Max.
A bent handle design created from stainless steel with non-slip handle pads, devoted to adding extra grip provides a reel that won’t slip when the big one is on the end of the line.
A star drag system and adjustable brake setting dial complete the assembly.
A gear ratio of 6.4.1 provides both power and speed and sits in the middle of the most popular target range for largemouth bass fishermen.
The line capacity is rated at 145-yards for 12-pound test monofilament and 140-yards for a 30-pound test braided line. But there is no established setting for lighter or heavier lines in any style with this reel.
A Closer Look – Abu Garcia Black Max Review
Style
What is the difference between a clam and a box design with the Black Max? The only noticeable difference is a slightly higher profile with the box design. The clam appears to be more streamlined, but are aerodynamic qualities important in a baitcasting reel? The answer is no, there is no appreciable reason for a streamlined design with a baitcaster; you’re not going to set a land speed record with a more Avante Garde, streamlined look to a reel.
Fishing reels are designed for function and performance. The streamlined look of the clam design is all about attracting the consumer and doesn’t affect product performance at all.
Material
While the style doesn’t really matter, material matters a lot, it is the single most important factor in getting what you pay for after the initial design of a baitcasting reel or any other reel for that matter.
The selection of aluminum, stainless steel, and graphite are common among fishing reels of all types, sizes, and designs; how these three materials, and their internal partner, the brass gear, are utilized is the separation from an OK reel to an outstanding one.
In general, the higher the number of aluminum and stainless steel components, the better the reel. Graphite has its place, but it can become brittle with exposed sunlight, fracture in cold conditions, and will wear out faster than metal components will.
The brass gear is essential; if you don’t have an internal brass gear or one made of high-strength stainless steel, pass on the reel you’re considering. There are many low-cost reels on the market made entirely of plastic, and you get what you pay for. These are usually offered in spincast models, but a few knockoffs in baitcasting varieties can be found on the discount rack. Don’t fall for it.
Stainless steel bearings are a must. Anything else will corrode, erode, lose functionality, and eventually destroy your reel. Stainless steel is hard, corrosion-resistant, and lasts a long time. It is impervious to saltwater and difficult for sand to scratch the surface.
The higher the amount of stainless steel, the more likely you’ll have a reel you can use on the ocean.
Aluminum is a great material for baitcasting reels, but the drawback is its malleability; it will weaken over time, developing pressure cracks and eventually failing. That’s why it’s not used for handles, but is a great product for spools. A spool doesn’t have the stress of gears, handles, and moving parts; it simply turns and allows the wet line to flow back on it on a retrieve. Aluminum’s ability to handle moisture is important. As a non-ferrous metal, it can’t rust, and acidic corrosives can look somewhere else for something to destroy.
The Abu Garcia Black Max has just the right combination of stainless steel, aluminum, graphite, and brass to create a mid-priced reel with high-priced functionality.
Ball and roller bearings
In an honest review of the moving parts of the Black Max, the ball bearings are adequate but not exceptional on this reel. Four stainless steel ball bearings offer a smooth retrieve but not a fantastic one. You’ll feel the difference between a four-bearing Black Max versus a competing model with more ball bearings. The reason is simple, the more bearings, the smoother the turn. It’s the same in bicycles, cars, and fishing reels. Ball bearings make moving parts interact with each other smoothly. Add a little lubricant and they can last forever.
Cheap model baitcasting reels sometimes have only a couple of bearings, while the high-end will have 10 or more.
You can feel the difference.
Weight
We’re talking “Goldilocks” when we discuss weight in a fishing reel. The ocean-going monster baitcasting reels can weigh five pounds and will quickly wear out the stoutest angler if they’re not mounted on the side of a boat or in a fishing harness when the deep sea battle begins.
Backpackers and soldiers know that every ounce of additional weight will eventually take its toll. A light reel is easy to hold all day but it might not have the power to withstand a hard strike by a huge fish.
Big fish are what everyone is after, whether to battle and release or to harvest. Finding a reel that has the power to handle the biggest battling fish you might encounter while being light enough for you to hold all day is the challenge.
The Black Max weighs just 10.3 ounces. That’s heavier than some similarly sized competitors, but it’s because of the added weight of metal. Metal weighs more than graphite, so in most cases, a slightly heavier reel means you’ve got a more durable device in your hands.
Gear ratio
It’s all about the gear ratio if you’re a largemouth bass fisherman. If you are going to spend the day bottom bouncing, drifting, or jigging, the gear ratio isn’t that important. If you’re intent is to offer a variety of fast-moving surface baits to lure angry largemouth bass out of their hiding places, the gear ratio is everything.
The higher the gear ratio, the faster the retrieve, the lower the gear ratio, the higher the power of each crank.
The 6.4:1 ratio of the Black Max is excellent for bass fishing and useful in many other applications. A fast retrieve in terms of inches per crank can be adjusted by how fast you crank, but the faster your hands move, the more tired you’ll eventually become. Bass fishing should focus on the excitement of the strike, not the weariness in your hands and arms.
Drag/brake
A drag allows you to tire out a hard-fighting fish, avoid snapping a line, and lets you use a lighter-weight test line without risking snapping it after a hard strike.
The 18-pound maximum drag on the Black Max is perfect for a reel this size. The drag is adjustable from just a few ounces to the 18-pound limit and can be adjusted on the go once a fish is on the line.
Drag lets the line out of your reel with resistance, which translates to more work for the fish trying to get free, and tires it out, making it easier to get into the net. Many anglers have been heartbroken when they finally spot that 10-pound bass or nine-pound rainbow on the surface, only to see them disappear with a final flip of the tail that breaks the line and lets them escape.
A good drag will prevent this since the fish will be too tired to try that last-second snap-and-run technique.
Line capacity
Line capacity is extremely important in some applications. If you’re trolling or surfcasting, you need hundreds of yards of line. If you’re jigging, drop shooting, or surface casting for bass, it’s not that critical.
The Black Max has an adequate capacity for line, not a huge volume, but a good working volume. If you think you need more lines, look elsewhere for another reel.
The 140-yards of 12-pound monofilament is a starting point. You can drop down to a six or eight-pound test mono and add a lot more line capacity.
If you need something heavier, go to the braided fishing line. It’s stronger with less dimensional capacity, meaning you can pack more of it onto a reel. The 30-pound capacity suggested for the Black Max is just a starting point.
Many largemouth anglers prefer a 10 or 15-pound braided line. It’s lighter, casts farther, is harder for fish to see, and is more than strong enough to bring in the largest battling bass.
Type of line
We’ve addressed this a bit already, but the two styles this reel can use are monofilament and braided line. That doesn’t mean you couldn’t load it with a fluorocarbon line, but you wouldn’t be as happy with the performance.
Alternatives to the Abu Garcia Black Max
$42.99Shop on AmazonNot everyone has an unlimited budget when it comes to bass fishing. If you’re a novice, getting a youngster started on the sport, or just need a good reel at a low price, this is the one to choose.
03/20/2024 05:03 pm GMT
Final Word
The Abu Garica Black Max is a great reel for the price. It’s affordable for a weekend angler and durable enough for a professional guide to buy a dozen or so for their clients. If you’re seeking a baitcast reel with a proven track record of solid performance, this might be the one for you.
The Abu Garica Black Max is a great reel for the price. It’s affordable for a weekend angler and durable enough for a professional guide to buying a dozen or so for their clients.
If you’re seeking a baitcast reel with a proven track record of solid performance, this might be the one for you.
For more guidance on choosing your next fishing reel, check out the pages below:
