The eel fishing I did with the 6000OCs wasn't much of a test for them, but they have now had a bit of a workout with a handful of mid double figure pike and I love 'em! The reels balance great on my P-5s making a potentially perfect set up for close to medium range piking.
While the line lay isn't up to that on an Aero Baitrunner it's a step up on the old B series. Not that line lay matters as much with braid as it does mono in my experience. To be frank spool diameter and length make more difference than line lay no matter what line is in use. The OC spools are a little longer than the Bs, so that helps. Casting seems smooth enough, and distances achievable are dependent on rig and bait more than the reel's limitations.
As I mentioned a few posts back I'm fishing off the baitrunner at the moment. This is mostly through laziness! As I'm float fishing while being semi-mobile I can get away with lying the rods on the ground and flicking the baitrunner on, turning the spool to tighten the line and cock the float. Much simpler than messing around with line clips and/or two rod rests and bobbins.Although not particularly loud the OC's baitrunner can be set very slack. Slack enough for a buoyant float to pull line from it. The front drag is equally sensitive. I usually backwind when pike fishing, but I have adjusted the drags the same way I do on my barbel reels - so that line can just be pulled off against them. There's no sticking when a fish takes line, the spool simply ticks slowly and smoothly. I might even leave the anti-reverse on in future and rely solely on the drag!
When backwinding the reels feel really smooth (time and use will tell if they stay this way) and the rotor has no sharp edges, which allows me to brake the rotor with my forefinger to prevent the rotor over-running if a pike makes a bolt from the net. Let's not forget the sensible single handle with the big grip. Double handles are crap for piking with cold hands. I can really crank smaller pike in with these reels.
The only problem I have with the 6000OCs is having four P-5s and three reels...
