Recommendations for SoCal 25# 40# and 60# setups?

[boon]

Shimano Talica 20/25 are a great 65lb reel and a pleasure to fish with. Quite expensive though.

[pitchinwedge]

Yes, the Shimano's look to be very nice as well, thanks for the suggestion.  I'm leaning toward the less expensive options so the Talica and Torque are unlikely at this point.

[pitchinwedge]

You should have no issue with the Andros reels. I have three 12's. I've replaced the right side bearing in one & I'm pretty sure it was bad when I got it. Probably from a customer cranking the drag down to far prior to my purchase. These are great reels for 50 line. Mine see 25 lbs. of drag frequently. A lot of people use 60 on them. There is no more handle bind in them at higher drag than the Penn Torques. Maybe less. The drag remains very fishable at higher settings.

I'm finding it difficult to compare line capacities between Okuma and Penn based on the specs provided.  Varying line diameters further complicate the issue. 

Let's say I wanted ~400yds/60# hollow plus ~100yds/40# mono topshot on the narrowest, smallest reel fit to do the job.   Which size to choose?  I'm guessing the Andros 12N might be too small, the FTH25N might just barely hold it all, and the Andros 12 with a bit extra capacity?  Jeff, I think I saw a post you made comparing the Andros 12 with the Fathom 25N so perhaps you'd have a better idea?

Thanks!

[MarkT]

I don't think a Fathom 25n would take 400 yds of 60# plus 100 yds of 40# mono.

[pitchinwedge]

I don't think a Fathom 25n would take 400 yds of 60# plus 100 yds of 40# mono.

Shucks, ok.  Maybe 400yds + mono is just wishful thinking on these smaller reels.

[MarkT]

I think I have 300 yds of 65# with a 40# topshot on my 25nld2.  I have 400 yds of 65# with a 50# topshot on my JX Raptor and Saltiga 40ld2. I have 300 yds of 50# with a 30# topshot on my SX Raptor and DX2-400.  I try to go with at least 300 yds of capacity on all my reels.  I've never (knock on wood) been spooled even when I got an 85# BFT on the dx2-400 with 30#.

[Rivverrat]

You would need a Fathom or Torque 30 or the standard size Andros 12 to achieve that kind of capacity.  

Lets back up just for minute...    If your using 40 or even 50 with a short leader either the Penn 25N  or the Andros 12N will hold plenty of line for most anything those reels should be used for.

Are you deep dropping bait ? What will be the main use for this reel ?

For live lining & casting stuff  300 plus yards of 60 braid with a 40 lb. leader will catch a lot of fish in open water. It would be a big help for those here if you would tell us what your after & a bit about where exactly you fish.

Charkbait spooled my Andros 12N with 335 yards of 80 braid. That Omega line winder they have is amazing how much line it can pack on a reel.

The Penns will hold 300 yards of mono based on their model number. The 25N  300 yards of 25 lb.   30 300 yards of 30 Mono. Plenty of conversion charts for mono to braid capacity on the internet.

The Fathom 25N will do fine with 40 lb. line. While it will fish 50 I no longer go above 40 on any of my 3 Fathoms. 50 lb. line begins to push these reels a bit.  Now I'm talking star drag. This can change a bit going to a 2 speed lever. For money spent I believe one gets a lot more reel for their money with a 2 speed Fathom vs the Fathom Star drag. Gears are stainless & drag performance is noticeably better as you increase it... Jeff  

[MarkT]

I don't use 100 yds of mono on any of my spectra backed reels.  On most I use a few feet.  Even on my cow reels I just have 20' of fluoro tied to the spectra.

[boon]

Yep 100 yards of topshot does seem like a lot - I typically only have a mono leader of maybe 10-15ft on everything from the 15lb rig to the 100lb one. This will change of course if you need the extra abrasion resistance if, say, the fish goes under the boat at the end of the fight; we only fish off smaller boats where we can easily manoeuvre the boat if required.

[Rivverrat]

Of course my fishing is much different than your all's. I think about the length of my leader all the time. I pretty much use about 30 yards of mono on my heavier combos. This pretty much covers the max distance I'm  willing to lob a 1/2 lb. or bigger live bait.

However there are pluses to using a shorter leader when current is involved. Always worry about getting cut off with braid so many rocks & stuff in the river. I guess even if I dont need to go this long it does give me confidence & willingness to put my baits where no sane person would cast... Jeff

[SoCalAngler]

I don't think a Fathom 25n would take 400 yds of 60# plus 100 yds of 40# mono.

Shucks, ok.  Maybe 400yds + mono is just wishful thinking on these smaller reels.

What are you fishing for with 40 lb toppers that you need over 1/4 of a mile of line? For 95% of the fishing I do 300 yards is plenty.

I like long topshots and most of my reels have them. There are a several reasons why I fish them and I will list a few.  

First most of my go to setups from 25 to 30 lb test play a dual role as live bait and surface iron rigs so I have a longer topshot than I can cast with the 8' rods I use for this. I also have a 40 lb 8' rod setup just for large surface iron, so a long topper on that setup as well.

My other 40 lb bait and yoyo setup also has a long topshot because of where I fish some locations/high spots have a sharp drop off and at times I will bet picked up by a fish only to have them dive back to their hidie hole or wrap structure before I have a chance to move them away. This can result in damage to the mono 5,10 or more yards up the line. I just cut out the damaged line and I'm good to go. I can do this several times before I need to change that topper.

I hate casting braid and I do a lot of casting. No matter how good of a caster you are sooner or later you will get a backlash, picking them out of braid is a pain and can damage the braid as well. Have you ever been picked up by hard charging fish while you are knuckle deep when picking out a backlash? I have several times and I hate to think what a marlin, sailfish, nice sized tuna or other fish could do ripping that braid through your fingers. I have had it done with mono and got burns and line cuts, with braid I'm sure it would be stitches at the very least.

I fish on party boats as well as private. When fishing party boats soon or later you WILL wrap another fish. This usually happens at the end game before deep color. It is much easier for me to see which way the lines are wrapped with mono and I can usually get them unwrapped before a deckhand can get there, giving both fish a better chance of meeting Mr. Gaff. This can damage the mono also but with a long topshot I cut it out and am good to go.

I like to fish lighter line and smaller hooks than a lot of deckhands recommend at the time. I also like to set my drags at the higher end for the line I'm using. For me having the stretch of a longer topper I feel plays a role in me not pulling many hooks.

On smaller baits like anchovies and such on my lighter setups I like long topshots because braid floats, making it harder I feel for your baits to be in the zone the freshest they can be. A smaller bait pulling a floating line to depth could wear it out before it is in the zone. Sure you could use a little weight here, so this may not be a big issue.

I know there is more than one way to skin a cat and you should use what works for you and I will do the same.

[pitchinwedge]

Gents, you all bring up good points about line capacity and Mr. SoCalAngler hit it on the head.  400yds + 100 topper is overzealous.  But not my fault, the manufacturers made me do it!

Back to my original point, the lack of an industry standard for reporting spool capacities is slightly annoying.  I just want a better idea of the difference in line capacity between Okuma and Penn models.  So even though 300yds+topper is enough for local party boats and 6-packs... based on the published specs, I thought for a moment the narrow reels might be able to do more.

[pitchinwedge]

Well, I decided to skip the heavier rig for now.  Although it's a possibility, I'm thinking the odds are against me hooking into 100+lb jackpot winners on short party boat trips. So, 25# and 40# rigs should be good enough until proven otherwise. 

Anyways, after handling them on the actual rods, I realized I prefer the smaller reels.  Okuma, Avet, Shimano, sort of stand out to me in this regard vs Penn.  Seeing and feeling makes a big difference.  I definitely get some silly ideas with too much internet shopping.

[Rivverrat]

You've come to the light  ...Jeff

[MarkT]

Penn Fathom 15 for 25# and 25nld2 for 40# are small, strong and inexpensive.  I usually use the 15/525 size for 20#, an Avet MXJ for 25# and the Fathom 25nld2 and Avet JX 6/3 for 40#.  The Fathom would drag the Avet backwards until it drowned. The shiny blue Avet is prettier though.