Howdy - from Alvin, TX

[fishing_tx]

Always good to find a great resource.  I started working on reels about a year ago, and I hurt my back in a fall a few months ago, so I have had quite a bit of time on my hands (can't kayak right now).  I started getting "serious" about this as things I couldn't do 9 months ago, I can do now.  I'm very much used to working on small things as I grew up working on RC cars, so bearings and gears are very common to me.  Kayak fishing kind of necessitated my learning to work on reels.  In the saltwater bays here, and in often unkind conditions at night, I've had many "incidents" and my reels just plain "get soaked".  Over the years, I've decreased that by using forward mounted rod holders while handling fish, but anyway.  I've been fishing since I was probably six years old or earlier.  I can't remember, but my father fished every chance he got to in the saltwater when we travelled to the Outer Banks as a kid.  Mostly we targeted bluefish from the beach on sand fleas (we called them sand crabs), and spots and croakers from the pier, and we'd go on charter trips for more interesting fair.  I still have the first "good" reel that my dad got me on one of those trips in the mid '80s, a Daiwa Whisker W4000.  It was pretty solid, and as I can see by the long running and even current offerings from Daiwa, a design that stood the test of time.  I have restored it.  Anyway, I am deep in it with the addiction to reels now - mostly reels that work for Redfish and Bass from the kayak or boats.  I have a Skiff being built right now, this week it is in rigging,  will share when complete.  I don't do much surf fishing, though that could change with the purchase of the right vehicle to get to where I need to go last year as well (4x4).

Anyway - I've got a collection of mid-90s to early 2000s Shimano reels including Calcuttas, Curados, Chronarchs and event  a Calais.  I really don't use these from the yak as the saltwater is brutal on them (lots of bearings to replace!), but I've been getting them ready for their future on my skiff lately.

I've been using 2500 series spinners on the yak, and I put two Quantum PT Iron 25 reels in heavy rotation for the last year.  They're not "great", but after losing two Revo Inshore spinners to the bottom of the Bay in incidents where safety was more important to me than my combos, I tried to "stay cheaper" on the yak.  I'm not happy with the magnetic bails which have both corroded and rusted.  I cleaned them up with a dremel, put a light layer of nail polish over the corroded sections and greased the interface point.  Hopefully that will extend life.  I also stripped the screw holes in one of the rotors and had to get a new one, and the main shaft bearing has needed to be replaced on one.  Either way, I can afford that, but would look towards the new Accurist inshore as a good "cheap" spinner as it seems to basically be a Smoke S3 with less bearings and hopefully has the spring bail system that the Smoke does.  I would consider the BG, but it's really not sealed at all, and I've learned a lot about kayak reels fishing 2-3 times a week on the bay (mostly at night) for two years.

My recent acquisitions include a Quantum Smoke S3 Inshore 40 (for Jetty fishing on an 8'6 rod), Diawa Tatula 2500D-XH, and a Shimano Curado DC 151 HG.  The DC hasn't been on the water yet (got it last week and I'm still flat out!), but the others have been used and show no negative signs at all.  I have taken the S3 in the surf and was pretty brutal on it - after a fresh water wash down, no problem even a few months later without maintenance.  I have not cracked the Tatula either, and it's been on at least 10 trips on the yak, and it's as smooth as the day I got it.  Trust me, I've seen a reel go from perfect to stuck on a single kayak trip.

[fishing_tx]

Here's the difference between the Smoke S3 and the Iron PT bail mechanisms.

[Keta]

Hi.

[Dominick]

Welcome...Dominick, San Mateo, CA...God's country USA

[David Hall]

Welcom Tx. From sunny California.

[foakes]

Welcome aboard, FishTx —

Best,

Fred

[Darin Crofton]

Welcome aboard, you'll love it here! Darin

[happyhooker]

Welcome, from Minnesota.

Frank

[Benni3]

Welcome from salem va 

[Alto Mare]

Welcome from PA, TX!

Sal

[Crow]

Welcome !!

[Gfish]

Howdy, pardner!
I've got one varaition of a type reel you mentioned: an SF 100 Chronarch. Love that baitcaster, but no it didn't do well in saltwater. As an ocean yaker, I've found bushing reels fair much better and don't need as many maintenance intervals.

[Donnyboat]

thanks for the run down, quite informative, hope your body comes good, nothing like good health, & welcome from sunny Western Australia, cheers Don.

[Shark Hunter]

Welcome Tex!
Daron from Kentucky.

[alantani]

welcome!  we have alot of guys locally that fish from kayaks as well.  for a conventional reel, i'd recommend the venerable jigmaster.  for a spinner, you can pick up a cheap daiwa or okuma spinner for $20 on amazon.  when the spinner fails, toss it and just buy a new one.  anything we can do, please let us know.  alan