Preston Extremity Feeder Reel

Already have a 520 but needed a bit more grunt on a 13ft distance feeder rod. Haven’t used it yet but looks like it will do the business casting and retrieving 90gm feeders, really looks the part on the rod and can’t wait to get out to try it

Fantastic reel for the price . Had two Barbel 7 & 8lbs on the first trip out with it. It worked a treat. Fantastic price and service from TACKLE TAVERN.

When you first open the box you are impressed by this reel and the huge spools, which are shallow. To have a cloth bag and a spare spool too at this price point is a bonus. The handle is quick folding and snaps together well. When you first wind the reel you notice there is quite a bit of play in the handle and the gearing. I loaded one spool with 0.08 Preston braid and the other with 8lb Preston sinking feeder line. I didn’t need backing line on the 8lb line as the spool holds 150m of 0.26mm which this line is rated at. I did need backing on the thinner 0.08mm braid of course, so if Preston did a reducer that would have helped, maybe something they could offer on the future. On the bank I used the braid for bream fishing on a large reservoir. The casting is superb with a definite increase in my distance. I usually fish around 50 to 60 metres but I increased my distance to around 80 metres. I’m not a great caster but I did go for a big cast at the end of the session and managed to reach 100 metres. The Dual line clips are good too. You can fish two different distances. I would recommend doubling up the braid around the clips even though the do have a bit of spring in them. This helps avoid crack offs. The bail arm clicks over well. The play in the handle and gears virtually disappeared when the reel was under load when winding back feeders through the water. The retrieve is swift and you can really crank this reel quickly. Playing fish was a joy too as the clutch is fairly smooth and gives line if the fish bolts (providing you have set it properly) and is easy to adjust during the fight as the front drag knob is large and easy to find quickly. At this price point I’d highly recommend this reel for distance and heavier feeder work.

I have 2 Preston Centris reels that are really good quality and have been really pleased with. Because I wanted a bigger reel for distance feeder fishing I decided to go for the Extremity 620. I haven’t used the reel as yet but feel that they are not as well built as the Centris. It has a lot of slack in the handle which I am not keen on but spool size seems good for what I want. I opted for this reel as I had read a lot of reports about line getting behind the spool with the Preston Intensity. Until I fish with it I don’t know how it will perform but hopefully it will be OK. I only wished that Preston made the Centris in the 620 and 720 size. I will re-review it after I have used it.