This season, the folks at Accurate are releasing their new Ascender series reels, featuring Accurate’s patented TwinStarDrag technology for super smooth drag, and made of T6 6061 aircraft aluminum for lightweight durability. The Ascender also boasts ABEC 3 bearings and is extremely castable for those anglers pitching bait or throwing artificial lures, with an oversized spool tension knob allows for exact spool setting depending on size of bait or lure. With a starting price at $309 this reel is the perfect entry level reel for anglers looking to buy their first Accurate reel.
“This just hit the market,” said Ben Secrest from Accurate Reels. The Fisherman’s Jenni Ackerman had the chance to talk to Secrest about this newest star drag reel from Accurate, which he said is available now in two sizes, the 300 and 400 Ascender. “What we did in designing this is that we wanted to make a performance-proven product that was affordable, so this is our entry reel now,” Secrest noted.
That said, with 18 pounds of drag on the AX-300X (300 yards, 30-pound braid) and 20 pounds on the AX-400X (425 pounds, 50-pound braid), along with carbon fiber and stainless-steel drag disks on both sides of the main gear, this “entry reel” from Accurate will get the job done on the Northeast grounds on everything from jumbo tautog to school tuna.
Secrest calls the oversized tension knob “a crucial part of the reel,” in that it allows the angler to manage the cast control to improve casts while eliminating backlash. “It’s no different than a baitcaster, this just doesn’t have a levelwind,” Secrest said. While the 6:1 AX-300X and AX-400X were already in shops when Jenni spoke with him at the ICAST show in July, Secrest said the Ascender series will also be available in 500 and 500 narrow, as well as 600 and 600 narrow for those looking to tame bigger game with additional spool capacity.
Accurate Fishing Products was launched in 1990 in California, with brothers David and Douglas Nilsen developing their TwinDrag reel concept in the late 1990s for use on the long range boats out of Southern California, and first launched with the first Accurate TwinDrag ATD Platinum 30. The team at Accurate has since been known for creating “performance proven” reels like the Valiant, Tern, and Boss reels, as well as the top of the line ATD Platinum series.
Look for the new Ascender series 300 to 600 reels this season at your favorite tackle shop.
Check out Jenni Ackerman’s full interview with Accurate’s Ben Secrest while at ICAST ’25.
