Wicked Tuna

[spottybastard]

Let me start by say sorry if I put this in the wrong forum...

I was wondering if any of you have seen this show on the National Geographic Channel?  I caught one episode and being a gear/reel junkie like the rest of you I was paying close attention to their reels.  To me they appear to be ancient Penn International 80w's single speeds.  Am I right or wrong?  Now here's a question to you guys on the east coast... If these guys are relying on this gear to make a living why wouldn't they have migrated to something new/better say like an Accurate with twin drags ect...

[conchydong]

I will throw my 2 cents in first. As great as Accurates and alot of the newer "designer" reels are, they are extremely high maintenance due to the tight tolerances.
The Penns have withstood the test of time, are durable, less expensive and parts generally are easier to come by.
I don't remember, but I thought they may be fishing 130's  with Mono, but since they fish out of the rod holder, weight is not an issue.
Penn's are still a great reel!

[blktwr2660]

Hey'guy's Me again been awhile,but i'm back.Caught the show and I will tell you this,these guy's fish for a living,they can't afford fancy new tackle,they stay with what is reliable and proven.Yes they would love to have all the new  stuff(me too )but dollars won't allow it.Each and every trip is a major investment($3,000 and up ).The rewards can be great,but if you get skuned,it would be hard to justify those new reels.Knew a guy who used to fish Stellwagon Bank for Bluefin Tuna in a 20 foot Mako  ,He didn't use rod and reel,He used Hand Lines ,He used the bow rails for leverage and bent it every where between the stanchions  ,Used the boat as a bouy,then when the fish was subdued he would motor over to a sportfisher and ask for help to loaded it in his boat.He would catch up two a day .                         

[kamuwela]

the older reels are penn 130st's made prior to todays vsx series.

[Makule]

Saw the show also, and enjoyed it except for the drama aspect.

Yes, commercial anglers, like any other business person, face the issue of investment versus return.  Clearly, if the investment does not bring an adequate return, it should not be made.  So, the question really has to do with whether the proper return can be made with the investment (not only initial capital outlay, but also maintenance, life cycle cost, increase or decrease of required manpower/effort, etc).  Unfortunately, there are many factors that do not lend themselves to having clear answers and "best guesses" (assumptions) must be made.  It those assumptions are close to accurate, then the "feasibility analysis" can yield good results.  On the other hand, like computers, "garbage in, garbage out".

Good business people can/do come up with good feasibility analyses (whether formal or otherwise), and a lot is based on experience/knowledge.  No matter how good it looks on paper, unless the data are derived from experience (good hard evidence), then the analysis may only be as good as the paper it's printed on (and maybe not even that much).

So, to the question of why commercial anglers may not upgrade equipment, in this specific case, who knows?  Maybe the decision is based on practical considerations such as too much maintenance, or unproven technology, lack of superior alternatives.  Maybe it has to do with not taking the time to look into the matter.  Maybe it has to do with not looking into the matter in the proper context.  Maybe it has to do with not being able to figure out how to pay for the investment.

These are business questions, and people tend to get into a particular field because they like the technology, and not because they are business people who have decided that the particular field is lucrative.  If the latter were the case, there would be far fewer business failures than is currently experienced.  Still, commercial fishing is a business and should be treated that way if one wants it to be profitable.

If you want to see examples of good commercial anglers, take a look at the Japanese anglers.  In addition to being skilled anglers, they are also good business people.  Those who don't have the business knack, don't last very long.

[alantani]

gotta see if i can pick this up on tivo!

[Alto Mare]

You need low gears to bring in monsters. The 130 has the same ratio as the 118 Senator. The spool on those reels turns 1.6 time per crank and retrieve about 42" of line per crank. On today's crap...I mean reels, with the same drag capacity, the spool has to turn 5 to 6 times to retrieve the same amount of line. The 118 (16/0) has caught monsters over 2,000 lb in the past .