spinners vs conventional reels for heavy jigging

[mohamedhashem21]

Just to add some Data to the discussion that can be interpreted for any fishery.

For us we have a tremendous resource in that our sportfishing fleet on the West Coast USA is a highly competitive and organized group that keeps "catch records" of all landings of fish.

What this shows is that for YFT (which most that have caught them say they fight twice as hard as BFT) that ~95% of the catch is under 50kgs, 98% of the catch is under 75kgs, 99% of the catch is under 100kgs and 99.999% of the catch is under 150Kgs. This is with predominantly live bait.

Giant Tuna are rare in any waters. Giant Tuna rarely hit artificial lures. They have seen them before.

Moral of the story: Do not buy a huge reel for just about the most physically demanding fishing technique known on the chance that you might need that size for the 1 in 10,000 fish that may bite your jig. You will not catch the other 9999 fish because you are too tired to lift your arms.

now i understand
for those big tunas i can throw live bait on a 50w or 80w and i have both, but i'll jig for the midsized ones i'm now thinking of gettinag a penn torque spinning reel at hlaf of the price of the stella

[mohamedhashem21]

I think max's new "wrinkle" nailed down a solid point. Versatility.
1 reel, (just to be safe I'd take a Stella 18k), 2 rods and you could bring home anything that swims around this island.
I've been there and seen it plenty of times...anything from 80lb GT's on a popper (or a jig for that matter), huge doggie's, big AJ's, 160lb+ YFT, to 400lb marlin.... you doubters would be surprised!
For jigging, a good spinner is hard to beat... you'll beat every overhead to the bottom, and you'll get double or more the amount of drops.
And the biggest secret is... your spinner doesn't have to cost $1000! 
My Fin-nors go head to head with Stellas everyday I fish here...not bad for $159.

p.s.- I hardly ever jig with my Torqu200 now..its a backup.. and I can't even imagine trying to go a few hours nonstop with my Tank.
If I'm jigging, I'm spinning...  It's just that much easier1
Hope this helps.

thank you for explaination
what budget friendly pinners that can stand jigging for BFT ?
i'm thinking of a penn torque 9 spinning reel
is it good??

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

if you don't mind used ones, peruse thru 360tuna.com's marketplace. one stella was grabbed quickly because it was used once. good luck and tight lines...

[johndtuttle]

Many of these guys have never fished a Stella for big 'uns and just don't get it.

SamiG just landed a 442lb BFT with his 7' popping rod and Stella. A Stella or Torque or Saltiga does not limit the angler, the angler's fitness and technique limits what the reel can do.

It's about the ability to use certain techniques that you cannot do with a Conventional. Casting poppers, working stick baits, super erratic retrieves etc. all while being able to run and gun and cast to breaking fish at any direction from the boat regardless of wind.

That is what catches you Tuna from a small boat especially when there is no live bait option. Versatile gear in run and gun fishing.

does the penn torqe 9 spinner make a good jigging reel or popping one!! some people told me that it can do both it has 50 lbs of drag and lightweight with a very strong frame and body, it's about half the price of the stella and nearly the same as the talica20ii and seems to be the same as stella on papers except the extra bearings on the stella!!

What you should do is read Alan Hawk's review of the Stella 2013SW (the problems he found have not been seen in the smaller reels) and his review of the Torque (the problems he found have all been completely fixed) and judge for yourself. My own service tutorial for the Penn Torque Spinning is on this site and I borrow heavily from Alan's assessment of alloys and strength. He is a Mechanical Engineer by training, I believe.

He summed the Torque up best by calling it possibly the "best of all world's" meaning it can fish in the surf or from boat, land monsters and also be the simplest and easiest to maintain reel by far of the super spinners. A Stella has over 200 parts and something like 15 tiny seals to make it work. A marvel of engineering, a nightmare to service.

The Stella is ultimate performance for a price with the complexity to go with it. It also has a history of limited parts support now and a drivetrain that is "consumable" meaning the gearing is softer to improve the feel when new, but is ultimately not as durable.

The Torque is not quite as ultimately "refined" but is actually far stronger and more reliable and vastly, VASTLY, easier to keep alive.

[Shark Hunter]

I was pretty impressed with this hammerhead a guy reeled in from a pier in Florida with his torque. He has a hard time keeping his pants up though!

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

Daron,  it looks like a Van Staal, but i maybe wrong...

[Newell Nut]

That one does not have a torque handle. I use a torque 7 and have not caught any huge fish yet with it but it is a very smooth reel.

[Shark Hunter]

After looking at it again. There is a good shot of him holding it right before you see the Shark. I don't think its a Torque. Either way. Its a nice reel and a Nice Fish! I just saw that gold spinner and immediately thought torque.

[mohamedhashem21]

What you should do is read Alan Hawk's review of the Stella 2013SW (the problems he found have not been seen in the smaller reels) and his review of the Torque (the problems he found have all been completely fixed) and judge for yourself. My own service tutorial for the Penn Torque Spinning is on this site and I borrow heavily from Alan's assessment of alloys and strength.

He summed the Torque up best by calling it possibly the "best of all world's" meaning it can fish in the surf or from boat, land monsters and also be the simplest and easiest to maintain reel by far of the super spinners. A Stella has over 200 parts and something like 15 tiny seals to make it work. A marvel of engineering, a nightmare to service.

The Stella is ultimate performance for a price with the complexity to go with it. It also has a history of limited parts support now and a drivetrain that is "consumable" meaning the gearing is softer to improve the feel when new, but is ultimately not as durable.

The Torque is not quite as ultimately "refined" but is actually far stronger and more reliable and vastly, VASTLY, easier to keep alive.

hank you for the great help

[Shark Hunter]

The Torque just costs $500 dollars!

[erikpowell]

I think max's new "wrinkle" nailed down a solid point. Versatility.
1 reel, (just to be safe I'd take a Stella 18k), 2 rods and you could bring home anything that swims around this island.
I've been there and seen it plenty of times...anything from 80lb GT's on a popper (or a jig for that matter), huge doggie's, big AJ's, 160lb+ YFT, to 400lb marlin.... you doubters would be surprised!
For jigging, a good spinner is hard to beat... you'll beat every overhead to the bottom, and you'll get double or more the amount of drops.
And the biggest secret is... your spinner doesn't have to cost $1000! 
My Fin-nors go head to head with Stellas everyday I fish here...not bad for $159.

p.s.- I hardly ever jig with my Torqu200 now..its a backup.. and I can't even imagine trying to go a few hours nonstop with my Tank.
If I'm jigging, I'm spinning...  It's just that much easier1
Hope this helps.

thank you for explaination
what budget friendly pinners that can stand jigging for BFT ?
i'm thinking of a penn torque 9 spinning reel
is it good??

Hi mohammerd.... If the Torque is in your budget, I'd say GO man!
I should clarify one thing... personally i don't own a stella but i fish alongside them most days out..
for jigging and popping I only fish my Finnor Offshore spinners 5500 & 8500.... They are the only "budget" reels out there IMHO that have enough respectable drag power, stoutness, and reliability to be offshore fishing pelagics and popping for GT's.
I probably boat fish the salt 50-80 days a year and have been fishing these Fin-nor spinners for 7yrs now..failure free... In that same time I've seen at least half a dozen of my friends Stellas bite the dust and/or spend weeks in the shop awaiting parts, ultrasound and major surgery. 
I will never shell out the dough for a Stella... sure I'd accept one as a gift, but I'll never buy one.

On the other hand.. IF I had an extra $grand burning a hole in my pocket, I wouldn't hesitate to throw down for a Penn Torque S7 or S9 ....and I'd still have plenty money left for a spool of JB 80lb...and a couple OTI poppers....and a handful of jigs 

Stella schmella... I was just expanding on max's point about spinners...

I've never caught a BFT, but if it's said they only fight half as hard as our YFT then I'll bust out my FinNor 8500 and my 100lb Shimano JigWrex and say "Bring on the BFT cow" ..... Seqa Na Leqa  !..... (that's fijian)

...that said... I'd still much rather fight it on my DomTom 9/0 and harness. 

as a sidenote: I just realized that I don't know a single person on this island that owns a Diawa Saltiga....nor have I ever even seen one here. Heaps of Stellas though..

Cheers

[OldSchool]

After looking at it again. There is a good shot of him holding it right before you see the Shark. I don't think its a Torque. Either way. Its a nice reel and a Nice Fish! I just saw that gold spinner and immediately thought torque.

I'm thinking definitely Van Staal, those puppies are a grand or more.

[Shark Hunter]

Yes, VS 250.

[mohamedhashem21]

Thank you all for the great help I'm very convinced now with the torque s9 since I knew I can use it for jigging and popping , the tackle store showed me a reel called atc astromac it feels very nice many people tested it on smaller yfts (40-70 lbs) range and  it was good I don't know anymore about these reels and don't know how will it perform on large bft ,it costs under 200$ anyone tried it?

[OldSchool]

Well they have all the blitz and bling of any good Chinese counterpart....are they Malaysian made?