GOOD, but maybe not the best
I fish a bunch in saltwater flats as well as steelhead and trout. Been flyfishing for 40 years. My son when working in the west in college was on the guide list at Abel and yes, he got the reel discounts. For the last ten years We used the reels in every conceivable situation from flyfishing except big boat tuna, marlin etc. Here are my opinions ::The .5(point 5) in the finest trout reel out there for fine tippet protection. I have landed a lot of plus 20 in fish(up to 8 lbs) on 6 x and some on 7x with this reel and the truth is that the reel is the key. Silky smooth drag , and as somebody else posted, if you keep your hand off the reel on a run the reel will tame the fish unlessit hits an obstruction. Salterwater flAts: Not Abels, but Gunnsion g-3 and G-4 are without question the reel of choice. Realitively inexpensive, flawless drag and drag is well protected. I have fished BC steelhead with the G-3 and G-4 as well for ten years, and TDF fish too. This despite the ownership of larger Abels. For example, I benched the 3N in favor of he g-3 and G-4 's because of the drag issue I have had with the larger Abels, worst being a 3N. I have lost some nice fish on it because it failed ; some due to hydroplaning or whatever when wet and once it just locked up with a very nice steelhead on the far end of a lot of backing and line. Problem is that the leather in a abel drag must be monitored for lubrication ...it must be just right...not too wet and not to dry. This requires the reel to be dismanteldand the leather to be treated periodically. I do not have a NASCAR crew to keep it running right. Why bother when the gunnison s do not need any of this babysitting. The point 5 is the same way but its a fish stopping machine on light tippet so I stick it out and it s fished a lot on a wekly bassis so this helps keep it momnitored.and I am just more careful about getting it wet and treating the leather..The Abel suffers if it is left onthe sghelf and not re-lubricated after a long time in the closet..but for big fish and reels that are not used daily (like the point 5 might be for a lot of the year) then the maintenace end of an ABel can be a problem...for me anyway.