Reel for stripped bass fishing?

[arrowhawk]

If you were to buy a reel manly for stripped bass fishing east coast .
Bay and ocean, what would you buy?
The reel would need to be conventional,
The reel need to be able to cast a bunker snag, then fish the bunker in the school.
The reel would also need to cast plugs and tins.
The reel would also need to fish bait and jigs.

[alantani]

a conventional for casting?  a hotrodded ambassaduer 5500 would work well.  once cleaned out, they're great casting reels.

[broadway]

Arrowhawk,

      I fish east coast stripers out of the NY Harbor/ Raritan Bay area, and for what you're asking I would do one of two things.  Either go with a Baitrunner style spinning reel or invest in a couple different ones because a good casting reel is not going to work for all.  If you're throwing a B8-N-8 (bait-n-eight) 40+ yards with one reel (penn 112h or 113h) you can have a spinning reel (baitrunner-in case your conventional craps out you won't have to call it a day or another other spinner) ready for when the bunker school rolls through with a snag hook. If you can cast a b8-n-8 with it,  it's not gonna be very good at casting a popper and vice versa.
Good luck and save some stripers for me and Ellis 
Dom

[SoCalAngler]

What pound test line are you looking to use?

[arrowhawk]

What pound test line are you looking to use?

25mono   40 braid
the fish range  anywear from 15 to 40+

[BMITCH]

I've been using a Newell 235-5 for years to snag and drop. unfortunatelly Newell is no longer. A good alternative might be a squidder.

[broadway]

      Bunker snagging kills reels! I have turned some good reels into knuckle busters pretty quickly.   Also, Where in the east are you fishing out of? How deep is the water?  How strong are the currents? If fishing a 14 oz sinker with a bunker head in 80- 120' of water you'll want a higher gear ratio; you won't need that much torque with stripers so the low ratio's won't benefit you.  If fishing braid (or mono under 30lb) be careful with some reel spools eating your line up!
Dom

[BMITCH]

Maybe a jig master. Built like a tank and fairly cheap. As far as cast control you can mag it by using rare earth mags. This will help with any professional overruns. Might not be light enough to cast artificals on the light side though.

[Alto Mare]

If you want a reel that constantly feels smooth, I would go with a 650ss or 750ss. These reels won't let you down, you will also find some nice upgrades here. If you need to have a conventional reel, give the jigmaster a try. A 501 would be nice...if you can find one. You probably noticed that I'm a Penn guy though .

[arrowhawk]

Interesting choices, for conventional I mosty use an avet MXL that I magged. If I were to replace it I would buy the MXJ or the SX the + on the SX it's light the -it's small.
My issue is always needing to change a bearing.
I also like the penn 535mag it has a good drag for what I need and it cast well, but that  reel also needs a bearing or so.
I also use a  600 tekota It cast a bunka snag ok and has nice drag the big plus is that the bearing are holding up well
As for the jigmaster I like the simple design and it sure is a work horse, not the best casting reel but you can if needed.
The squidder is a bit wide for my liking it's still a great beach reel.
The 5500 sounds interesting, I have a 7 but the drag is just not right a little light for my liking.
As for spinner last year I desided to try to fish with spinners for bass. I made a promise to myself that I would catch all my bass an bluefish with a spinner. It was a tough promise to keep and 90 persent of the fish were caught on either a penn 5600l or a thunnas 6000.
I'm a conventional guy but was catching more fish with the spinner. So now I am faced with
catching more fish using a spinner or enjoying the fight more using a conventional.

[arrowhawk]

If you want a reel that constantly feels smooth, I would go with a 650ss or 750ss. These reels won't let you down, you will also find some nice upgrades here. If you need to have a conventional reel, give the jigmaster a try. A 501 would be nice...if you can find one. You probably noticed that I'm a Penn guy though .

That don't make you a bad guy  LOL
As for the 650ss  I bought one when they first came out. I went into the tackle shop to buy a 704 and walked out with a 650SS, I still use the reel and snagged thousands of bunker before using a cast net. i was using the 650 for ocean bunker school bass fishing but I like to free spool before setting the hook. I have not found a way to do that so I switched to baitrunners.
A 501 would be nice  as you stated if you can find one.  I can find one but I am not willing to pay the prices they are asking. I would love to convert one of my 500 to a 501

[BMITCH]

Check on eBay for the parts. I think there is a guy selling the tiburon frames and the spool needed.

[Nessie Hunter]

Lot of good reels posted above....

First thought I had was the Daiwa Sealine X....
Strong, graphite frame for saltwater longevity, cast very, very well...
Low end at around $100/$110....

With the Alan Tani Pre-use service they would be most excellent for that...




.

[mackereljoe]

My first choice today would a be fathom 25N or Newell 332 with a 9-10' jigstick (graphite or composite to reduce weight).  Many years ago, my Penn 650ss-850ss anti-reverse can't stand the pressure not by casting those giant leaded treble hooks but the initial hit of a slammer blues.   Used to chum cut-up bunkers 1 or 2 hours before sundown and then as soon as the sun comes down, fly-line whole squid for big stripers.