Abu Garcia Blue Yonder vs. Penn 525 Mag

My first conventional casting reel was the Penn 525 Mag.  It was recommended as a starter reel for someone looking to try "the Darkside".  Conventional reels are considered the darkside because if you don't cast them right they will "blow-up" creating a tangled birds nest that has to be cut away and re-spooled.
I enjoyed it tremendously, even though I would get blow ups occasionally.

Then I saw a video by a group from the U.K. who solely love to cast conventionals.  The video was set to music and showed them casting different conventional reels on various long rods.  The shots included close ups of line spooling off the reel and the adjustments they'd make while the lead was in flight to increase distance.  Wow, I thought.  That is soooooo cooooool!!!  At that point I wanted to graduate from a reel with magnetic cast control like the 525 to a pure conventional reel.   I was told to go with a Blue Yonder.   So I trudged into Strikezone and got one, I didn't want to wait on ebay.




I've truly enjoyed the Blue Yonder.  I've got it paired with a 11' Lamiglas Surf King and use 6oz of lead on it.  If I were to change the lead I'd have to dial in to for the weight.  I bought the Surf King to use as much lead as possible.  I wanted to be able to get to clean water if needed and possible during the Pomp migrations.   It is rated 3-8oz, but six seems to be the sweet spot on it.  There are definite differences between the two reels.  I've found on the 525 if you accidentally bump the mag slider or the tension knob just a little you can throw it off enough that when you cast you will probably encounter a blow up.  The easy answer is to check the mag setting prior to each use.  But who remembers that?  Normally it's rig up, bait up and go!

There are two knobs, one on each side of the BY, that control your cast.  The knob on the opposite side of the handle is dialed in to the weight you are using.  The knob on the handle side is dialed to the spool.  You have to cast and adjust and cast and adjust until you have it dialed in to either just before you get a tiny amount of fluff or no fluff at all.  Fluff is considered line that rises off the spool during the cast.  The more fluff the higher your likelyhood of a blow-up.

I cannot remember if I've ever had a blow-up with the BY.  The only time I've needed to re-dial it in is after I've taken it apart to clean, oil and grease, which is not the case with the 525.  To make sure you're still dialed on the 525 you need to check the settings and make an easy practice cast to be sure you're in the ball-park.  It may not have won any distance casting competitions like the 525 has, but it is less of a hassle to keep dialed in.  I can just rig and bait and go.

It also has enough power to handle a 5 ft approximately 50lb Spinner Shark, which I didn't think it would; but I did land one on it.  For my money and enjoyment I like the BY over the 525Mag, which has been discontinued.  The Penn Squall has replaced it.