I have had the reel out on a half a dozen catfishing trips so far. Each of these trips I have landed several catfish in the 10lb class. Reel seems very robust and have had zero issues. So far loving it! Bait feeder feature works awesome as well!

This reel is smoother than silk on the water. I spooled it with 17lb Viscious flurocarbon line and on my first time out with it caught 25 channel cats. The baitrunner made it easier to tell that I was getting a serious strike. I coupled this reel with a Rippin Lips medium heavy action rod. If you are looking for a new reel, don't spend $40 on cheap Wal-Mart, Academy, or big box store blue light specials, spend the extra 20 bucks on this reel. You won't regret it.

I bought the 80 series reel, as my main intention was to catch whatever I could out in the ocean. Reel is built like a tank and has 0 slack or bend to it, which is a must for me. I put it to the test with big stingray and other moderately sized fish and was able to land them without issue. Drag adjustments are very easy and give a positive click, along with the bait feeder option, which I will use this summer when fishing for big carp and catfish. Paired for 50 lb braided line, this reel can't be beat, especially for the price. It performed great in the salt water, despite being submerged at times from big waves, and has yet to let me down. Buy with confidence.

As semi-retired attorney-engineer's, with our own business, we look for quality first, customer service after sale second and price third. These NEW Okuma ABF "B" series bait-feeder reels are the best engineered, best manufactured reels we have used to date. We own two or more of the 20's; 30's; 40's; 55's; 65's and 85's, to include some older model Okuma reels that are not specifically made for bait feeding fishing. All reels are superb, almost friction-less, have great features and just work. Oh what a relief it is to own reels that are always ready to go when we are! There is no "wobble" at all, silky smooth retrieve and the dual drag system is a dream to use. These are for freshwater fishing. We use PENN reels exclusively for saltwater, but that subject is for a different review. Okuma has it well figured out. We first noticed this brand when in Japan and Korea. Glad they now are available in the USA. If you can find a better reel, at any price, we would enjoy hearing from you.

Very nice reel for the money. The bait feeder drag is very smooth, as is the rest of the reel. My only complaint is that when I start reeling with the bait feeder drag engaged, the switch does not always fully disengage and shift the reel back to the front drag like it's supposed to automatically. So, I have to manually flip the switch the rest of the way before the front drag will engage. Trying to set the hook before doing this will cause you to lose fish. It's a flaw that I've read about in other reviews. By comparison, the Cabela's Salt Striker bait feeder reel, which looks almost identical, but with more ball bearings, works perfectly. However, it is more expensive, and doesn't come in the smaller sizes like the Avenger ABF. If you need the size 40 and above, want flawless performance, and don't mind spending the extra $20, I highly recommend the Cabela's model. When you're on the water (and "on" the fish), you want your equipment to do what's it's supposed to do.