Best reel suited for my purpose

[CapeFish]

the Talica is good, there is the possibility though of going flying if you slam down the lever 

[Makule]

Casting weight varies primarily between 7.5 and 11 ounces.  Would like to get minimum of 100 yards.

how much weight are you casting, and how far does it have to go?

[Makule]

The heavy mono will not only get abraded, it will often get cut off.

here is something to consider.  imagine how far you could cast with 20# mono!!!!!  well, 80 # spectra has the diameter of 15-20# mono.  

Spectra is also much lighter than mono so it casts further and some of the coated braids have better abrasion resistance.   Probably not enough for coral.

Is the heavy mono getting abraided?

[Makule]

If that is the case, Trinis are no longer available in 50s size, so Torium 50 would be the next choice.  Upgrade the drags and dogs is a must.  Toriums come with silent dogs, and not engage sometime, esp. if there's too much grease.

Friend said he has used Torium 50 and got rid of them because the drag was unpredictable.  Backing it off would not release the line until the drag was so loose that it became way too loose.  Will upgrading the drag washers eliminate this problem?

If you are interested in a lever drag, Talica II 25 or 50.  25 holds about 200 yards of 80# mono and 50 holds more than 300 yards of mono.  Spec drag range looks good...could pull you off the cliff at South Point.

Some casters are trying out Penn's Squall LD60.  Holds about 220 yards of 80# mono.  Spec says max drag at strike is 20#.

Squall LD60 and Tallica II both look interesting, esp. the Tallica (I like the "could pull you off the cliff at South Point" aspect).

By the way, even though you are fishing with 80#, what drag setting are you fishing with?

With the 9/0 size reels, and depending on where it is, the strike drag is set about 20 lb.  The 12/0 reel starts about 30 lb.  Small 4/0 size is about 10 or more.  Again, really depends on where it is.

[Makule]

That's my kind of braking power.

the Talica is good, there is the possibility though of going flying if you slam down the lever 

[Bryan Young]

If that is the case, Trinis are no longer available in 50s size, so Torium 50 would be the next choice.  Upgrade the drags and dogs is a must.  Toriums come with silent dogs, and not engage sometime, esp. if there's too much grease.

Friend said he has used Torium 50 and got rid of them because the drag was unpredictable.  Backing it off would not release the line until the drag was so loose that it became way too loose.  Will upgrading the drag washers eliminate this problem?

If you are interested in a lever drag, Talica II 25 or 50.  25 holds about 200 yards of 80# mono and 50 holds more than 300 yards of mono.  Spec drag range looks good...could pull you off the cliff at South Point.

Some casters are trying out Penn's Squall LD60.  Holds about 220 yards of 80# mono.  Spec says max drag at strike is 20#.

Squall LD60 and Tallica II both look interesting, esp. the Tallica (I like the "could pull you off the cliff at South Point" aspect).

By the way, even though you are fishing with 80#, what drag setting are you fishing with?

With the 9/0 size reels, and depending on where it is, the strike drag is set about 20 lb.  The 12/0 reel starts about 30 lb.  Small 4/0 size is about 10 or more.  Again, really depends on where it is.

The Torium 50s come with these slick disks.  Looks like a solid carbon disk.  I think they were greased. The effect is that they got sticky and like a vaccum, would not release at times.  Replacing drags with Carbontex greased with Cal's grease would eliminate this for sure.

Base on your fishing style, probably the Talica IIs would fit your needs.  You can always change the preset drag setting depending on where you are fishing, and has the most guts (per spec) than most reels out there in that size and weight.

[Makule]

Makule, I am also a shore based angler and understand your reluctance to use spectra, especially over rocky grounds. It gets extremely expensive if you fluff a cast or break off.

Clearly, you do understand my situation.

Put a few 100m of 80lb braid on as backing (say 300m) and fill up 200yds with that 80lb cable for topshot.

What is this "80lb cable"?

Alternatively why don't you rather use 50lb 200yd topshot which will allow for more backing and then add about a 10m wind on leader of say around 1.5mm.

Tensile strength of 50 is not quite enough.

Apologies for jumping between SI and imperial, I am from the other side of the Atlantic.

Yes, I'm easily confused.  I'm from the other side of the world.

[Makule]

This is a great board.  Very good, insightful, suggestions, unlike some other forums that are primarily based on speculation.  Thank you all.

At this point, I'm leaning towards Tallica II, modified brake Torium 50, or Newell 546 (because my friend has them and I can borrow one to see how it does).  In the meantime, I'll use my Penn 4/0 and crank down the drag until they break on the strike (then I'll know how much they can take).

[Bryan Young]

This is a great board.  Very good, insightful, suggestions, unlike some other forums that are primarily based on speculation.  Thank you all.

At this point, I'm leaning towards Tallica II, modified brake Torium 50, or Newell 546 (because my friend has them and I can borrow one to see how it does).  In the meantime, I'll use my Penn 4/0 and crank down the drag until they break on the strike (then I'll know how much they can take).

Please take a look at the two posts:

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=45.0 and http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=509.0

if you want a new Trinidad 50, you will have to buy some new-old stock as it appears that Shimano is not making them anymore as it's not in their catelog.  The Torium 50 is still available though.

With both of these reels, I'd recommend upgrading the drags and ambassaduer-style pawl (dog), to Carbontex (by SmoothDrag) and to the dog of the Trinidad DC series.  I've had 3 reels in a row where the dogs were not engaging and replaced the dog as shown in http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=509.0, without any problems.  The is that clicking sound when you reel, but beat the reel not engaging as you expect.

[CapeFish]

Makule, I am also a shore based angler and understand your reluctance to use spectra, especially over rocky grounds. It gets extremely expensive if you fluff a cast or break off.

Clearly, you do understand my situation.

Put a few 100m of 80lb braid on as backing (say 300m) and fill up 200yds with that 80lb cable for topshot.

What is this "80lb cable"?

Alternatively why don't you rather use 50lb 200yd topshot which will allow for more backing and then add about a 10m wind on leader of say around 1.5mm.

Tensile strength of 50 is not quite enough.

Apologies for jumping between SI and imperial, I am from the other side of the Atlantic.

Yes, I'm easily confused.  I'm from the other side of the world.

80lb cable was a joke   it refers to the 80lb mono you cast with  

The Trini/Torium 50 can catch big fish. A +-650kg bull shark was caught on a Trini 50. Thats a big fish, and there also have been some very big other sharks close to 400kg caught from the rocks on Trini 50s. A Torium 50 should be able to do the same. I hate to tell you this but some of those reels probably had greased leather washers in them.

If you change the original washers in the Shimano to carbonfibre the drag wont stick if you put a light coating of Cals on

Why do you only fish with 200yds of line on your reel though? If you pick up a big fish you have to basically lock the drag, grip the spool with your thumb and hope you can hold on to a rock with your other hand otherwise the 100yd you have left on the spool is going to go south. If you have 500m of line at least you can let the fish run out hopefully beyond the reefs and tire it out there. Its a different way of fishing I would like to learn more about it.

[Makule]

The Newell has been scratched off the list.  The brakes are poor.

Why do you only fish with 200yds of line on your reel though? If you pick up a big fish you have to basically lock the drag, grip the spool with your thumb and hope you can hold on to a rock with your other hand otherwise the 100yd you have left on the spool is going to go south. If you have 500m of line at least you can let the fish run out hopefully beyond the reefs and tire it out there. Its a different way of fishing I would like to learn more about it.

The two largest fish I caught shore casting were on the very old Penn Senator 6/0 reel with only 200 yards.  The drag was tight and not all of the line went out.  The other bigger strikes were taken on the 9/0 reels that none of those could be stopped (500 yards of 80 lb).  My thinking is that if I can't stop it within 200 yards (the way I brake the fish), another 300 yards won't make a difference.  This is rationalizing and I'll probably still use the 9/0 reels for certain places.  The "regular" places will have another, much lighter, setup.

We cast the lines out and then put the rods into holders that are anchored firmly into the rocks.  When the fish strikes, we are not holding the rod, it's still in the rod holder.  I leave it there until the fish stops running (or the line breaks).  Once the fish stops, the pull is watched to see if it eases up a bit.  Only when it does that will the rod be taken out.  With the method, the rod and reel take a beating, but really big sharks can be stopped (just keep cranking up the drag until something breaks or the fish stops, and if the drag alone is not enough, grab the spool and hang on).

[alantani]

the torium 50 could be fixed.  with greased carbon fiber drags, spring loaded dogs and a larger handle grip, i think it would be a very strong contender.  as far as breaking off fish in the rocks, an 80 pound hollow core spectra can at least be repaired using and end-to-end splice.  the benefits of casting thin spectra and the ease of repair might outweigh the occasional loss of yardage in the rocks.  if you could hold the fish for the first 60 seconds and stop that first run, you might have a chance.  i would look to a larger reel, 130 pound spectra and a 40# drag setting to do just that.  you would have to use a drag scale to properly set your drags.  if this does not work, it would be time and money wasted.  if it does work, it would be fortune and glory!

[Makule]

Without exaggeration, we expect every strike to include line rubbing on the rocks at some point.  This is the reason spectra is never used close to the terminal tackle.  To do so would essentially guarantee 100% loss.  It is not only on the initial run that the line will get snagged, it's also all the way up to, and including, the time of gaffing.  I have tried even 200 lb. spectra without success.  Based on my experience, the most appropriate use of spectra for our casting conditions, is for reserve capacity, at least a couple of hundred yards away from the terminal tackle.  I know that people do use this kind of combination, but generally with lighter lines.

if you could hold the fish for the first 60 seconds and stop that first run, you might have a chance.

This is why the most successful approach I've come up with thus far, has been to use a very tight drag from the outset, and to keep increasing the drag as the fish takes out line.  Once the fish stops, it will go left and right but at that point one has more control over the situation than on a flat out run.  You are correct from that standpoint.

i would look to a larger reel, 130 pound spectra and a 40# drag setting to do just that.

That is exactly why I asked the question to begin with.  Reels that I'm aware of that can apply that much pressure are heavy.  Heavy = lack of adequate casting distance.  The Penn International 50 that I have had for a very long time has great brakes.  Unfortunately, it's heavy enough with not enough line capacity (for the weight) that I prefer to use even the Senator 9/0 over it.

[CapeFish]

Hi Makule, that is hectic. You have angry fish if they take so much line on a 9/0. I can fully understand why you don't want to use spectra. We either put the rod in a holder or hold it in hand using a rod bucket. We take it out the holder as soon as the fish takes to gain control of the first run, with lighter tackle big sharks sometimes head for the horizon thats why we have the spectra backing. Seems like we have similar fun shore based fishing casting big leads and reels!

[Bryan Young]

Makule,

Why not set the drag for 20-25# initially?  Wouldn't it be better to slow down that initial run?  It can be done with smooth drags.  At least this is the way we have done it on Oahu (we meaning my friends and I).

I know others do the same as you.  As line is going out, they tighten down the drag and as the line goes out, they start palming the spool if the fish doesn't stop.

Bryan