Pflueger’s
“Supreme” Baitcast Offering (continued)
Casting
cont'd:
This system is basically a
combination of both a 6 pin centrifugal system and a magnetic braking system.
The idea behind the design is that the centrifugal brakes maintain control of
the spool during the initial portion of the cast, and the magnetic brake control
system is designed to take over at the end. As an added plus the system is now
externally adjustable, making it quicker and easier to make on the water changes
depending on your bait types.
A closer look at the externally
adjustable drag system
The Supreme has a
machined, ported, and anodized aluminum spool that performs as good as it looks.
The spool starts up quickly and is able to hold 130 yards of 12lb test. In our
tests the Supreme’s casting distance was actually right on par with the Pflueger
President, and while distance wasn’t any better the control certainly was.
Whether it was long casts or short pitches the Supreme is far better at line
management than the President. We also found the Supreme better than the
President for handling weightless rigged lures including Senkos.
Even the spool tension knob has an
audible click
Retrieve:
The Supreme’s guts are filled with an aircraft grade aluminum main gear and
brass pinion gear. These gears are held together in an aluminum frame and
aluminum handle side plate. Pflueger reels also feel slightly different than
other reels, and exhibit their own personality on retrieves. The reel feels
smooth retrieving mid sized lures, and surprisingly powerful when retrieving
deep diving cranks and mid sized swimbaits. The 6.3:1 ratio is good for the
complete range of lures and can be used for both hard deep diving hardbaits and
soft finesse plastics.
The Pflueger Supreme can be palmed
but not as well as some of the newer low profile reels available on the market
like the Abu Garcia Revo or Daiwa Sol
The only issue we noticed on
retrieves was some spool knock when the reel was cranked quickly when fishing
ripbaits. While the spool will move back and forth during hard retrieves and
make a small amount of noise it doesn’t affect the performance at all.
The Supreme's maximum casting
distance was about the same as the president but control was far better,
especially on short casts
During our test we landed
everything from mid sized bass to double digit stripers, and through it all the
reel’s gearing felt quite refined and utterly powerful. The gear tolerances have
improved since the President and there is no real detectable backplay in the
handle. The bearings in the handle help make the reel feel even more refined and
fluid. Overall the Pflueger Supreme’s retrieve power and feel is up to par with
many reels that retail for 25% more, now that is impressive.
pressing the logo button releases
the sideplate
Next
Section: On to the drag and ergonomics
