Penn Fathom 60 lever drag 2 speed up to the task?

Started by tristan, November 18, 2018, 11:09:24 PM

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Rivverrat

Lee, I will be curious to see what you find... Jeff

Keta

The FA25N star drag got 20# but the star was as tight as I could get it.  The 25NLD2 made it to 32# at full, not midnight, but it took too much effort to get it there.  The 25NLD2 is a good 40/50 pound reel.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Rivverrat

#17
To clarify, when I said the Fathom 25N wouldn't make 20 lbs. I was meaning still be fishable with drag at this level.  

My question to you would be while it does produce it. Would you fish the 25N at this setting?  This was really the point I was attempting to make. I could have been more clear... Jeff

tristan

#18
I'm really appreciating the feedback here!   Thank you all!

I already have a Fathom 40ld 2 speed.   I've been planning on using it as a 40-60 lb reel, with 65lb braid.

I've been looking to pickup a Fathom 25n  star drag model as a 20-50 lb reel for casting jigs and small baits, based on the positive comments I've seen here on the boards.  

The Fathom 60ld 2-speed idea was due to it's price point and hope that it would function as up to a 100lb reel, but if I have to step up to a Makaira or Accurate, I'll likely just rent a rig.    

All of this is for a hoped-for bucket list trip this coming year, 8-day or longer trip out of San Diego.    Something I've wanted to do for decades...

Since I am completely new at this, any further feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Keta

#19
Quote from: Rivverrat on November 22, 2018, 12:03:17 AM
To clarify, when I said the Fathom 25N wouldn't make 20 lbs. I was meaning still be fishable with drag at this level.  

My question to you would be while it does produce it. Would you fish the 25N at this setting?  This was really the point I was attempting to make. I could have been more clear... Jeff


My 25N star drag can be reasonably fished at 18# of drag, it is a good 50# reel.  I fish mine as a 40#.  My 25NLD2 started having some resistance at the higher drag settings but it has a thrust washer so it was not as severe as my Avet JX.  I would not hesitate to fish it as a 60# reel, 80# I'd say no.

Quote from: tristan on November 22, 2018, 12:56:14 AM
The Fathom 60ld 2-speed idea was due to it's price point and hope that it would function as up to a 100lb reel, but if I have to step up to a Makaira or Accurate, I'll likely just rent a rig.   

In my opinion you should step up to a 30 class reel for 100.  My Avet EX30 handles 100# well, the SDS 50 does it much better.  Boat gear can be rough.  I have a Avet EXW 4/0 that has been "fixed" as per Allan I might sell for a good price to help fund my October LR trip if you are interested.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Rivverrat

#20
Tristan, I've not fished for some of the fish that a  lot of fellas here have available to them here on this site. I have a love of fishing reels & do work on reels of all sizes. What Lee is telling you regarding you being better off with a bigger reel is spot on. Every one that has spent time here has learned something at some point. No one came here knowing it all... Jeff

Lee, thanks for showing your results. Pretty much the same as what I've found. My Fathom 25N's will do a fishable 18 lbs. of drag. Although it's not as good as it is at 13 through 15 lbs. I like to have a cushion. with my gear... Jeff

tristan

Riverrat,   I've never fished for some of the fish these guys on this site have - which is reason I'm picking their brains!   lol

Regarding the 25n star drag, is 18lbs drag sufficient for the role of casting anchovies and surface/deep jigs?   Or, should I be looking into something different?

Lee, PM'd you.


BTW, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Rivverrat

#22
Yes the 25N will do those things. But a lot depends on the size of the fish.

Also understand fishing a Fathom 25N at 18 lbs. of drag is fishing this reel maxed out.
Its always best to use a reel below it's max fishable rating.

Reels in this class will never fish well at their posted max numbers. I went through this when I first came here.

You want a reel that will comfortably fish the level you want with out pushing max ratings.
Reel will be smoother & give much longer trouble free service.

Once you get settled in to a specific type of fishing you like. Then you can begin to focus on specific reels for the line class.

I can help with what reels last & give great trouble free fishing. But I may not be as good directing to what ever reel for specific fish. There are others here that can... Jeff

SoCalAngler

I fish my 25n star as a 30 lb setup with 10 lbs of drag , yeah it can fish higher but with it's 6:1 gears it gets hard to crank the cranky thing :) above that. I mainly use this reel for yoyo iron on a 7' rod or for the surface iron on a 8' rod. The 6:1 gears are nice to have for the yoyo as you don't have to crank like a mad man to get a fast jig speed.

For me when I get to 40 lb line and higher I like reels with a lower gear speed or even better yet a 2 speed reel.

I use a Avet JX 2 speed for 40 but the Fathom 25NLD2 would work great here also and it could do 50 lb line if needed where as the Avet should not.

Here is a pic of a couple of YT I caught on my 25N star fishing the yoyo iron

Rivverrat

As a side note for reference. Your of choice of reel should be able to comfortably fish a drag setting of a 3rd or 30 % of line rating being fished. This not set in stone. Different lines of the same rating do not all break at the same level. You will see fellas fish 40 line from 10 to 15 lbs. drag & 50 line from 15 - 18 lbs. of drag. Sometimes lower or higher than these numbers.

It is best when going for fish that will make long runs to go lower on your drag for the line fished... Jeff

boon

Quote from: Rivverrat on November 22, 2018, 07:09:41 PM
As a side note for reference. Your of choice of reel should be able to comfortably fish a drag setting of a 3rd or 30 % of line rating being fished. This not set in stone. Different lines of the same rating do not all break at the same level. You will see fellas fish 40 line from 10 to 15 lbs. drag & 50 line from 15 - 18 lbs. of drag. Sometimes lower or higher than these numbers.

It is best when going for fish that will make long runs to go lower on your drag for the line fished... Jeff

With modern reels I like a reel that can do 50+% of the line's breaking strain. If you can't get there then IMO you're probably over-lining (making up a term here) the reel. There's places where this doesn't really apply, such as big game fishing with 30W+ sized reels and straight mono, but generally it seems to be a good rule of thumb.

Rivverrat

Boon, I agree. I fish my 60 lines at the same drag level I used for 80 line not long ago. I find this works very well for the fish I'm after & all my terminal tackle seems to hold up well. With out my needing to upgrade to more costly hooks & other terminal gear.

  My prior post was more focused on what should work best for some one new. With the least hassle... Jeff

BigBill

Hi Tristan,
I bought a Fathom 60 for a trip I took on the New Lo An last September.  I wanted to load it with 80 lb. Tuff Line Indicator to drop down flat fall jigs.  Everyone was out of 80 so I had Melton Tackle put on 350 yards of 100lb.  I put a 25 yard top shot of Seagur 80 lb FC using an FG knot.  The Fathom 60 gave me 30 lbs. of drag at full and about 22 at strike.  The attached picture is of the 90 lb. Bluefin I boated in about 30 minutes that Marcus (the captain of the New Lo An) put 3 gaffs in because it was "still really hot" when I got it close enough to stick.  The last ten minutes of the fight were at full drag and the reel had no problems at all.  This was my first time fishing for these medium sized Bluefin so I bought a cheap Okuma Cerdos CJ-C-601HA 6 foot rod rated for 65 to 150 lb. line.  This rod was not up to the task and would flatten out or bend to the grip when I tried to lift the fish.  If you plan on fishing 30 lbs of drag I would suggest practicing pulling against that much drag before your trip.  I is way different than pulling 13 lbs on a 40 lb. outfit.  It will also show you any weaknesses in your setup.  I found out Palomar any Uni knots fail when tied on 80 lb plus line.  The San Diego Jam knot is the way to go with heavy lines.  I saw a lot of broken knots, pulled crimps, pulled hooks, and broken terminal tackle on this 1.5 day trip.  Pulling on a 100 lb fish can be humbling.  Use 80 lb line minimum for night fishing.  Two guys fishing 50 lb. got bit the most but lost the most fish and hooked one probably over 200 lbs. they lost after 2 hours that they couldn't move towards the boat at all.