anti reverse bearing vs mechanical dogs

[cj6530]

From what I understand....mechanical dogs (in my Baja special, Daiwa 50H) are better for trolling because they can take more "auto reverse" abuse before failure.  Failure I assume is the mechanical dogs/ anti reverse bearing breaking causing the reel to be stuck in reverse free spool mode.  I just looked at the video of the strip down of a Penn Fathom 25N star.  It looks like it has both.  Are new "modern" reels like the Penn Fathom 25N star....the best of both worlds?  Great for trolling and for jigging (with no slop)?

[johndtuttle]

From what I understand....mechanical dogs (in my Baja special, Daiwa 50H) are better for trolling because they can take more "auto reverse" abuse before failure.  Failure I assume is the mechanical dogs/ anti reverse bearing breaking causing the reel to be stuck in reverse free spool mode.  I just looked at the video of the strip down of a Penn Fathom 25N star.  It looks like it has both.  Are new "modern" reels like the Penn Fathom 25N star....the best of both worlds?  Great for trolling and for jigging (with no slop)?

Yes, and no...


The AR Bearing will take the all the load in such a set up because it grabs instantly...unlikely that the dogs actually ever engage unless there is a failure of the ARB.

They are intended to be a back up in case of failure, but don't spare the ARB any abuse.

Its the sort of thing you certainly could do if you are only trolling for smaller models once in a great while...But for dedicated trolling duty for guys that troll a lot...and troll heavy cannon balls or deep diving plugs with lips that create a lot of force then straight dogs will hold up far longer (let alone handle the extra spray and such better that they get being in the gunnel while underway).

I certainly have done it...but dedicated, simple, mechanical dog trollers are the best use of resources and save the Fathom for dropping back a swim bait or live bait etc.

[Rancanfish]

Geez that was a great, concise answer Mr. Tuttle. 

Even I understand the exact reason and application of both now.

Thanks.  Seriously.

[johndtuttle]

I'll add a little bit to this...

Also, the advent of Braid compounds the differences between the two. Instant ARBs are nice particularly with braid due to the lack of stretch. There is less "clunk" with them as compared to mechanical dogs, especially when braid doesn't absorb the shock. So the use of braid has increased the desire for instant anti-reverse.

Unfortunately, braid also increases the abuse the reel with an ARB takes when trolling (no mono for shock absorption). Also with braid you tend to use smaller reels with limited capacity which can be a problem trolling...Braid is expensive and people usually find a reel that has that 3-400 yard capacity for the line class they are fishing. But this can often not be enough capacity for trolling.

Case in point...last year was a good one for Tuna fishing in the SoCal fishery with guys getting into lots and lots of little schoolies 20-35lb YFT...well, of course, trolling your Torium 16 in such a situation is perfectly reasonable as you tow around some lite feathers and handle the fish without trouble etc...Well, one group of guys got into a school of 100+lbers and got 4 reels spooled right at the same time as the ~400 yards wasn't enough and the reels just got dumped...

$50-75 invested in some used Senator 4/0s and then a few cheap upgrades for dedicated trolling spooled up with 600 yards of 80 Braid and a 100lb mono top shot and those fish get landed. Trolling is often not a case of how much drag the reel can produce but in having enough capacity to handle something a little bigger than expected while sorting out the lines and getting the boat stopped (typically when bit you keep driving to get more hook ups. well, in this case it just got 4 reels dumped... ).

Now, I have no idea what the OP had in mind or what he is going to troll for...But anytime you are trolling for pelagics you gotta keep in mind that with the little ones there may be very big ones. In that same SoCal fishery a Thresher or Mako could hit a feather...or BIG BFT or YFT are definitely there...

Just more reasons why the ideal reel for many things when the boat is stopped (ie Fathom 25N) is not a reel I would troll with unless I had no other option. The right trolling reel is too big for general casting use or dropping jigs etc, the right general use reel is really too small for trolling.

you get the idea