Penn 114HLW

[Bill B]

Ok...general question for all....what or how big of a fish would you be comfortable fishing for with:

>American Made Penn 114HLW with grease C/F drags
>80lb monofilament
>5'6" all roller guide rod with aluminum reels seat
>Stand Up Fighting Harness

Just a general question....I know there would still be some variables such as hook size, etc...

Would anyone consider this "big enough" for 150+ lb yellowfin tuna, etc>>>would you increase the line strength for bigger fish??

[misanthrope]

Personally, bigger is not always better. If I'm fishing +150# yf, I'd rather take the extra 100-200yds of line using a 50# or 60# line. Then again I'd much rather have 1350yds of 80# braid. Some of the guys I fish with up here chase 100 Halibut with 7ft 40# rods with oversized baitcasters and as long as we don't start to deep or the butt don't run under rocks, they'll come up after a good 45 mins.

150# yf can be taken on 40lb mono, it takes a long time and you feel like jelly when you're done. It comes down to what you feel comfortable with and how much control you have in manipulating the rod and reel.  ie. Some here swear you need a 375H&H to take a griz but it's been done with cartridges as small as 30-30s which has almost 4 times less energy down range.

It sounds like you are going with the human winch approach though, I'm a little guy so muscling one in doesn't work well for me...

Just my $.02

-Will

[franky]

I don't know if yellowfin tuna is yellowfin tuna is yellow fin tuna.....

But if I'm not mistaken, if that is the same fish that we here in Hawaii call Ahi, a 150 lbs is a rather sizeable Palegic.  The way that I saw that kind of fish hit and run an 80 Penn International...I would be very weary about going to battle with a penn 6/0 extended reel with 80 lb test line.  

I actually think the Ahi can empty the 6/0 reel easily.  

Just my opinion...

[kamuwela]

you are right franky the ahi's here fight big time. recently a friend fought a 200 lb ahi for 2 hours and not stand up right out of the pole holder. ive seen 80's get low but never spooled but a 6/0 now thats a battle. recently another friend brought up a 200lb with a tiagra 50lwrs stand up. he said it got low and that was one of my hot rodded reels. it sure would be fun trying it with a 6/0 just hope everything stays together.

[Alto Mare]

Tarfu, with a little tweaking, I believe that the 6/0 can hold its own.
Here is a shot of my WEX model:

SS dogs
Steel gears
SS sleeve
SS yoke
SS handle, and all of the other good stuff...
The 114 WEX has a line capacity of over 1500yds/80lb braid, I don't believe that you'll be running out of line any time soon.
The gear ratio is 2.8:1, just like the single speed 80, well actually this one is a little faster.
Yes technology moves on, and manufacturers are offering reels that can do the job easier and faster, but that doesn't mean that they're better reels. I'm hoping that they'll slow down a bit, or fishing won't be as fun.
You could leave your reel as is, maybe just a nicer longer handle.
Sal

[Dominick]

Tarfu:  I have 80lb mono on my 114HLW.  I have caught around 10 Striped Marlin and many YFT with the reel in its stock condition.  Striped Marlin to 175lbs and Tuna to 55lbs.  The reel was flawless.  I would not hesitate to use the reel on 300 lb fish, though it would take time to bring in a fish that big with that reel.  What Sal is showing is a beefed up 114 with a Tiburon frame.  With the SS guts it will catch a grander.  Dominick

[Nessie Hunter]

Not sure if this answers the Question, it just came to mind when I read it..
Lot of variables for sure...
My friend Quan caught this 275# YFT on a Panga in Cabo one year (2006).
I was there also (on the left in Pic #2)..
He is on the right in pics...
TLD 20 II, with 50# mono top leader...
Chunk Bait (cut up Skip Jack).
The Fish spooled him at least 5 times and they had to chase it down to get line back...
No Harness, rod belt only...
Took them over 3 hrs to get it to/on the Panga....
He had to allow 2 others to help (friend & Panga Capt) as he tired out several times.  His Father was even on the boat & refused to help!!!   Said it would kick his butt to badly....  LOL






What I saw at the cleaning station was that the fish swallowed the Circle hook & Bait completely, The Line had cut deeply into corner of its mouth.   I am sure this is what allowed them to land it..  Other wise I am sure the sharp teeth would have cut the line!!!

It was amazing to say the least...
Could have weighed a little more even??   The Scale was at top of rope and the tip of fish was on the ground, couldnt get it any higher to clear ground...

Another friend of ours was on his Private boat and hooked a sail fish (close to 100#) on a 20# line and rig...
He landed and released.  Amazing on 20# line.....

Couple more pics on the cleaning table..   Yummy we were eating Shashimi right there as they cleaned it!!!   Wow was that tasty!!!!   







.

[Bill B]

Thanks to all for your comments....Sal you've really got me interested in your WEX...looks a bullet proof as you can build....and what a beautiful YFT in Cabo....I'm figuring what damage can I do beyond loosing a spool of mono on a big fish and 1600 yds of braid sure is a long way out... might burn the drags a little but it would be fun....an old friend used to say "It might not be very productive, but it sure will be interesting"...thanks again, Bill

[alantani]

it would not be my first choice, but 6/0 senators have killed alot of 150 pound yellowfin!

[Bryan Young]

One thing you should consider is the length of the fight.  As you can see in the last photo of the tuna, the fish literally cooks itself when fighting hard.  Cooked tuna is not very tasty and a large portion of the flesh is often tossed away due to the poor quality.  I would use a bigger reel to get the beast in the fastest possible to reduce the fish cooking itself.  Immediate bleeding the hot blood and chilling in ice brine is essential to keeping the quality of the fish acceptable.

[Dominick]

Bryan:  I don't think it makes a difference how long it takes to get the fish in.  However I agree that the fish needs to be bled and cooled down quickly.  It is also necessary to destroy the fish's ability to shiver as that warms the flesh.  First you must kill the brain.  Then stop the shivering.  This requires running a stiff wire or something like 300 lb mono down the fish's spine to kill the nerves that cause shivering.  There is a booklet on preparing sashimi grade tuna, put out by the Aussies.  I am not home now but I will post it in the next couple of days, probably on a new thread.  Dominick

[Bryan Young]

Hi Dominick,

We've caught many Ahis in Hawaii.  Spiked the brain, and bleed and gut and placing the fish in a ice brine bath to chill the fish as fast as possible.  We get a good quantity of sashimi grade slabs, but discovered that the longer the fish is faught, the more waste we get.  And when I say waste, it's not something we would use as sashimi, but would use for chumming, crab bait, or feed the dogs.  It's just what I have noticed.  I'm sure there are more things to it, but this is based on my experiences.

So when are you coming back?  Wayne and my family are waiting for a delicious italian meal following with your golden espressos.

Bryan