The Abu Garcia Revo STX LP is a reasonably-priced powerhouse of a baitcasting reel. The moment I received this reel two and a half months ago I was sure I’d spool it with braid. The lengthy handle capped off with large knobs on each end made me think of power fishing straight away. I slapped the reel on a 7-foot, 1-inch medium-heavy Fenwick Elite casting rod, put 40-pound Sufix 832 on the reel, tied on a Berkley Choppo and set sail. This is what I found.
THE REVO STX LP: TOPWATER MACHINE
A Choppo is a great bait for summertime fishing. This topwater churns water with its spinning tail and generates strikes that are ferocious and fights that are frantic. Those moments of chaos are sprinkled in amongst hours of monotony most days. To make this work, you need a fast reel to burn them in and it needs to be strong to wrangle big bass.
After I tied the Choppo on and began to chuck it around I realized I had found my favorite reel for this particular style of fishing. The STX LP was very capable of executing both precision roll casts with the Choppo, as well as bombing the bait down the bank with ease. The fast gear ratio made reeling the topwater easy as could be. When a bite did come I was able to haul the fish in with no problem, with the drag paying out line perfectly on sudden tugs.
In the 30 or so hours I spent working the Choppo with this reel, it bested a couple of memorable fish including a 3 ½ pound spotted bass and a largemouth of similar size. I caught a dozen or so other fish on the Choppo in that time frame and ended up fishing a swim jig and a buzzbait on this setup a couple trips. The STX LP performed really well with those baits too, moving them effortlessly through the grass and then delivering the power needed when a bite came to pull the fish free of the cover and into the boat.
SIMPLE AND STRONG
The Revo is simple to use. There’s one easy-to-understand external brake control, the spool tension knob and the drag star. That’s it. There’s no need to take the side plate off to get to the inner workings of the reel to adjust it. It is easy to get it dialed-in on the fly, even a beginner could do so quickly. This makes it great, no matter the bait of choice.
The strength of this reel is what makes it ideal for power fishing in particular. With a 95mm handle fitted with oversized knobs on each end, this reel simply feels powerful in your hand. When you dig deeper and find the 25 pounds of max drag, you realize you can really crank this thing down and haul a fish out of anything. The lightweight aluminum frame keeps this reel from being burdensome in hand, while it finishes off the powerful package as a whole without compromising on the strength.
GOT THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’
I had noticed that the reel felt great in the palm of my hand. During testing I discovered that it was a fantastic power fishing reel with plenty of room for larger lines. I even noticed that the face of the reel had kind of a lean to it when looking straight at it. However, I didn’t realize until today that all three of these things are operating in tandem. All of this was done intentionally, to give the Revo STX LP a comfortable feeling in the palm of your hand.
To house a large spool without making the reel bulky, Abu Garcia opted for an asymmetric design that allows the side plate to stay small while making the handle side of the reel much larger. This explains the sloped look of the face of the reel, as the housing becomes larger as you move towards the handle. The result is a reel that fits into the palm of my hand comfortably, while still having plenty of room in the frame for a large spool capable of holding 130 yards of 50-pound braided line.
FEATURES
- Asymmetric body design
- Lightweight aluminum frame and sideplate
- EXD concept casting system
- IVCB-6 braking system
- 95mm handle with oversized knobs
- D2 gear design
SPECS
- Gear ratios: 6.7:1 and 8.1:1
- Retrieve: right and left
- Weight: 7.8 ounces
- Drag: 25 pounds max
- Bearings: 10+1
- Line capacity: 12/130 (pound test in mono/yards)
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is not a reel that you’ll want to spool up with 10-pound test and try to fling a minnow around on. That’s not what the Abu Garcia Revo STX LP was designed for. It is a buzz-baiting, jig flipping, Choppo-burning, spinnerbait-winding, hook-setting, hog-hauling reel made for power fishing. It’s a darn good one at that. It’s easy to dial in, even for those with minimal experience with baitcasters. It’s as strong as any reel I’ve ever fished with, and it’s even a touch lighter than some of my other favorite baitcasters that are comparable in strength. Clean and simple, it’s a power fisherman’s best friend.
