Line spooling and drag questions!

josephcsylvia · February 27, 2017, 10:08:10 PM

Ok guys, today was interesting, I have a brand new Shimano Trinidad 30A That I have been waiting to spool because I know I cant get it tight enough by hand. I made my way to my buddies shop today with a fresh spool of 50lb Mamoi Diamond braid 1200yd spool as the reel calls for 1015 yds of 50lb braid (power pro) which is .014 as opposed to Diamond which is .013.

This is going to be my live bait slow trolling and free lining reel for black fin and big Cobia or Kingfish so I wanted a large capacity. I was planning on putting 850/900yds leaving room for a mono topshot. when we got to where I wanted to stop on the reel I looked at the counter 600yds?

?

How could that be possible? There was no where near enough spool left to hold another 400yds and that braid was TIGHT!. I ended up fiting 60yds of 50lb Diamond mono as a topshot! Pretty bummed even though Im sure there is plenty of line on the reel, why lie? a conversion I found on line figured the mono would equal 136yds more braid.

so I decide to test my drag, tighen the star drag to hand tight without forcing anything but tight. 17lbs on a 25lb drag reel?? are all of their numbers exaggerated?? or am I doing something wrong to get max drag?

FatTuna · February 28, 2017, 01:59:36 AM

First off, the numbers that Shimano lists online are all out of wack. It's possible they fixed it but the last time I checked they were still all messed up. If you look closely, some numbers are literally not possible. There was one reel I was considering, forget which one. The reel's stats claimed it could hold more of a heavier line by the same company (Powerpro)......

Even when it comes to manufacturers that take their calculations more seriously, they typically exaggerate. I only use those numbers as a reference.

I feel you really don't need 1000 yards of line. That is 3000 feet. That's more than half a mile. 600 yards should be plenty. I have 750 yards of line on my Tiagra 130s and my goal is to hopefully catch bluefin over 1000lbs. If you have a fish taking a lot of line, you can just put the boat in gear and take off after it.

alantani · February 28, 2017, 02:04:08 AM

Yeah, they're way off! It's them, not you.

josephcsylvia · February 28, 2017, 02:27:33 AM

Thats good to hear, I was concerned that something was way off lol. Im getting about 19lbs on the drag buttoned down good on a straight pull from the reel. so it will be great set about 17lbs for fishing. it just irritates me that they lied so much! When im on the boat the line will be a non issue, its the times that im floating a big live bait from a pier under a balloon that have me concerned but hey thats fishing

philaroman · February 28, 2017, 03:45:10 PM

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate & defend the manufacturers (despite the fact that, of course, THEY LIE!)... you also have to consider the term "maximum" which means "the highest it COULD possibly be" -- NOT "top practical", or even the highest you could get in most situations:

a star or spinner top COULD be tightened with mechanical aid
a reel COULD be tested at far below 5% of the spool capacity, which would increase the drag potential
and it COULD be tested at full flex, on a long, moderate-action rod w/ many vintage guides that are not as hard/smooth as modern ceramics (but still in use by someone, somewhere)

alantani · February 28, 2017, 06:07:56 PM

either way, it's deceptive. line capacities should specify the line and the number of pounds under which it's loaded. and for drag ranges, a better way would be to tell you what the maximum and the working loads. maybe you can get 25 pounds of drag out of a reel, but you shred the gears at 15 pounds and the reels works well without the risk of gear damage at 10 pounds. there needs to be a standard. $:-\$

josephcsylvia · February 28, 2017, 06:14:24 PM

Quote from: philaroman on February 28, 2017, 03:45:10 PM
I'm going to play Devil's Advocate & defend the manufacturers (despite the fact that, of course, THEY LIE!)... you also have to consider the term "maximum" which means "the highest it COULD possibly be" -- NOT "top practical", or even the highest you could get in most situations:

a star or spinner top COULD be tightened with mechanical aid
a reel COULD be tested at far below 5% of the spool capacity, which would increase the drag potential
and it COULD be tested at full flex, on a long, moderate-action rod w/ many vintage guides that are not as hard/smooth as modern ceramics (but still in use by someone, somewhere)

You are absolutely correct. Even though none of those are realistic I guess it keeps them from getting sued for false advertising. So I called Shimano and they couldn't even tell me how they test the reels! Tonight im going to put it on the rod I will fish it on, which is a heavy duty fast action rod which im guessing will add a few pounds (I doubt 10) but I could be wrong. Either way 15lbs of drag on a straight pull is alot to hold on too! I love hearing guys say their fishing 30 40# of drag and fighting a fish for an hour standing up! Lol maybe if your in a harness and your technique is perfect

alantani · February 28, 2017, 06:21:31 PM

don't push too much or you'll damage your gears and have to pay for a replacement. $:-\$

josephcsylvia · March 01, 2017, 03:37:14 AM

Quote from: alantani on February 28, 2017, 06:21:31 PM
don't push too much or you'll damage your gears and have to pay for a replacement. $:-\$

Yea dont want to be doing that! For the type of fishing im doing and rod I have it on the drag will be perfect around 12/13lbs

Cor · March 01, 2017, 02:07:58 PM

Surely these exaggerated claims by the reel manufacturers are not on? It seems some of these claims are bordering on the dishonest and to me are misleading advertising. Here is another current thread making similar claims about another Shimano product. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20847.msg226067#msg226067

I for one never look at these reel specks other then as indicators and their descriptions similarly, and as a bit of marketing hype, but can see that perhaps some people will see this differently and get mislead.

Perhaps we should somehow make it known clearly on this and other fishing sites that the reel manufactures are known for exaggerated performance claims.

Maybe they will take notice.

josephcsylvia · March 01, 2017, 03:15:31 PM

Quote from: Cor on March 01, 2017, 02:07:58 PM
Surely these exaggerated claims by the reel manufacturers are not on? It seems some of these claims are bordering on the dishonest and to me are misleading advertising. Here is another current thread making similar claims about another Shimano product. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20847.msg226067#msg226067

I for one never look at these reel specks other then as indicators and their descriptions similarly, and as a bit of marketing hype, but can see that perhaps some people will see this differently and get mislead.

Perhaps we should somehow make it known clearly on this and other fishing sites that the reel manufactures are known for exaggerated performance claims.

Maybe they will take notice.

I called and gave them an ear full! I expected some exaggerating but not 400 yds worth or 10lbs of drag lol