Which Reel?

[Jeri]

Which Reels?

This is obviously a too simple question to answer, so a little background. Surf fishing here in Namibia is generally a distance game, and the most common reels are multipliers, with brands like Shimano and Diawa providing the main stay, however both manufacturers design their reels for the much larger world market where the models that we use are primarily designed for boat fishing – as we need reels with reasonable capacity for the larger diameter lines that we cast – 30-40lbs.

So, ideally we are looking for reels that really (forgive the pun) do spin, yet with the two previously mentioned manufacturers, they tend to build their reels with quite small diameter bearings, and here lies part of the problem – we are forever changing them, as they do not last any realistic time period – 6 months of reasonable fishing, and the bearings are useless.

One of the other issues, is that at times we do fish for quite large sharks, and need drags with some real power and larger capacity – as well as the previously mentioned casting ability. Oh, one last thing, we wade in the sea, and cast from sand banks, and fight the fish with the reel mostly submerged in the salt water.

So, back to the original question – which reels? Any suggestions would help.

Cheers from sunny Africa

[alantani]

you mean, like here?  



so, to answer your question, a reel like the tld star 15/30 or 20/40 might serve you well.  bushing instead of bearings might even work better.   take a look!


http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=17.0

[Jeri]

Hi Alan,

Yes, that is where we are, and as you view the map, the entire coastline & 100 miles or more inland is desert - the Skeleton Coast.

The reels that you mention are just too small in capacity even for general fishing, though they are used on occasions by folks here - quite robust, but lack the spin speed for distances above 150 metres, and certainly not enough capacity for shark.

Mostly folks are using Saltist & Saltiga 40 & 50 or Trinidads 20 through to 50. We personally have had good work from the new FinNor OHC 20 & 30, as well as Avet MXL & LX. The Magnet version is just too strong to get big distance, though we have started to shave some of the magnet to get the LX 'under control', with the Avet we get distances approaching 200 metres, though the FinNor is not quite up to that sort of spin speed and distance.

Being primarily rod builders and designers, getting th rods to perform is not difficult, getting reels now to match the power/distance potential of the rods is becoming a problem.


Cheers from sunny Africa.


jeri

[LTM]

Jeri,

After reading your statement about the reel being partially submerged the first thing to come to mind was a graphite body. Then you mentioned you need some good spool speed and that your using Salstist/Saltiga's and Toriums both in the 20-50 class, then the need for 40#.

What instantly came to mind was the Daiwa Sealine-X 50SHV. it holds 310yds of 40#, all graphite body, only 3 BB's, and excellent free spool that may meet your spool speeds. Upgrade the drags to Carbon Fiber and the AT service to the reel initially and from the sound of the type of CONTAMINATION the reel is being exposed to; service the reel after every fishing trip or suffer bearing failure.

Ive serviced two of these reels in the past two weeks and the drags are your typical massive Daiwa Sealine drags and you can get outstanding free spool w/TSI 301 oil. Or, if you service your reels after every trip you can get even better spool speed using "Xtreme Reel +" oil.

Good fishing,

Leo

[Jeri]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for your comments, 'Grandwaves' were a chosen reel after the older SL50SH, but they both have problems in our shark fishing, as they are prone to twisting in the frame, when subjected to really heavy loads – something about graphite bodies, which is why the majority of folks have switched over to cast aluminium bodied reels.

I suppose in part I am looking for something with the precision and free spool of an Avet, but a little more robust internally – which is why the Diawa and Shimano have been long time favourites, and perhaps why we are finding the FinNor to be better than those favourites – very robust build, but just need more spool speed.

FinNors start life with carbon drag washers, and the bearings are very large, which makes them much more durable in our environment – might have to start looking at faster bearings for these – though from the specs from the importer, they already have ABEC 5. We do already change out the grease for high speed oils, usually 'Hot Sauce' or a blend of our own which is equally fast.

Have looked at the more recent release of Diawa BG, which was brought out to mimic the FinNor, and found problems with the strength of the pinion gear lugs that engage the spool – prone to sheering off. Perhaps someone has been using the new Saltiga lever drag reels for casting, but after seeing what is happening with the current Diawa products, am currently wary of their products and not happy with their use of very small spool bearings. Even Diawa recognise they have a precision problem with some models, as their web site states that they have their European Tournament casting models made in Japan, not Vietnam.

I accept that hear in southern Africa, we have a fairly unique fishing situation, as we are prone to casting very large baits from the shore, and at times using quite heavy gear for surf fishing, as well as needing huge line capacity. We might well end up looking at the 'best of a poor bunch', and then using upgrade kits to get them fully up to the spec that we are looking for.

Cheers from sunny Africa

[CapeFish]

Hi LTM,

We fish similar conditions and use the same reels. The Grandwaves just don't last, drag is not great and they in reality also don't cast much further, if at all. Jeri, have you tried using Reel X on your bearings and opening your spool bearings? I wade a lot to and mainly use Toriums and my bearings last longer than 6 months.  Similar a friend has a Fin nNor and we opened his spool bearings and dosed them with Reel X and it has been going really well since then. They are very nice casting reels.

[CapeFish]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for your comments, 'Grandwaves' were a chosen reel after the older SL50SH, but they both have problems in our shark fishing, as they are prone to twisting in the frame, when subjected to really heavy loads – something about graphite bodies, which is why the majority of folks have switched over to cast aluminium bodied reels.

I suppose in part I am looking for something with the precision and free spool of an Avet, but a little more robust internally – which is why the Diawa and Shimano have been long time favourites, and perhaps why we are finding the FinNor to be better than those favourites – very robust build, but just need more spool speed.

FinNors start life with carbon drag washers, and the bearings are very large, which makes them much more durable in our environment – might have to start looking at faster bearings for these – though from the specs from the importer, they already have ABEC 5. We do already change out the grease for high speed oils, usually 'Hot Sauce' or a blend of our own which is equally fast.

Have looked at the more recent release of Diawa BG, which was brought out to mimic the FinNor, and found problems with the strength of the pinion gear lugs that engage the spool – prone to sheering off. Perhaps someone has been using the new Saltiga lever drag reels for casting, but after seeing what is happening with the current Diawa products, am currently wary of their products and not happy with their use of very small spool bearings. Even Diawa recognise they have a precision problem with some models, as their web site states that they have their European Tournament casting models made in Japan, not Vietnam.

I accept that hear in southern Africa, we have a fairly unique fishing situation, as we are prone to casting very large baits from the shore, and at times using quite heavy gear for surf fishing, as well as needing huge line capacity. We might well end up looking at the 'best of a poor bunch', and then using upgrade kits to get them fully up to the spec that we are looking for.

Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri,

You should look at the Penn Fathom or Torque but the Torque line capacity is not great with the frame and spool so close together leader knots jam. Unfortunately the Fathom bearings are small but it is a magnificent casting reel. Time will tell how robust they are. Have you looked at the Trini A? Again same problem with spool and frame gap as the torque and you hate to open the entire darn reel to get to the spool bearings

[john2244]

Jeri,

I do some surf fishing in Southern California and would like to know what rods you are using, how big are the baits, and how much weight are you using.  I use various 9' to 11' rods with a  Penn Squall, Penn 970, and Penn 980 and 5 oz of weight and a whole squid.
I can only cast 80 yards or so and keep trying different rods and reels to get me over that 100 yard mark.
John

[CapeFish]

http://www.excalibur-tackle.com/rods.htm#Longsword

http://www.cds-angling.co.za/rods%20gallery%201.html

http://www.gremlinsfishing.co.za/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=2&Itemid=2

http://www.basilmanning.co.za/news/news/assassin-rods.html

See links for the rods we use, these are all custom shops, a lot of them use South African made Blue Marlin blanks or imported Asian blanks or European blanks, but those are expensive

[john2244]

Thanks for the information.
John

[alantani]

penn senators......

[LTM]

Jeri & Capefish,

Forgot about the torque factor from shark's. My next suggestion would be a custom Senator or (havent tried them) Jarvance type of 4/0. I understand that thats some if not the most abundant fishery in the world on that coast line. Ive handled some So African rods and they are highly prizes at a couple of pro shops that I favor. 

As you stated you guys dont have a rod problem for you started making some.  It seems to me that your local market (and probably the world) is waiting for someone in Southern Africa to start making this "submersible/easy maintenance/strong/good casting reel.  The guys at Accurate and Pro Gear were laid-off aerospace machinist and look what they created. In the extreme conditions you speak of; simplicity of design (ala Penn 113) and strength vs complicated, multi ball bearings, etc. etc is what you (and me) are looking for with solutions for your environmental factors (silicon drag seals, large o-rings, etc., etc.). You dont have to reinvent the wheel, use from the proven concepts/resources that are available. You guys CAN do this.

Leo

[Jeri]

Hi John 244,

Basically we cast anything from 4oz right up to rods casting combined bait & sinker of over 20oz! That is not our problem, as being a custom rod builder and designer, getting blanks built to various specifications is not that difficult, getting the reels to work with them is the issue - hence this thread. Most of our serious distance casting rods are built to 13 or 14' long, and best are one piece, as all joints introduce a flat spot, and hinder serious power delivery. A local anomoly is that we use the rods ina reel down position, just 8" up from the butt - makes for very powerful delivery.

I am actually the owner of Excalibur Tackle, so feel free to visit our web site, and perhaps contact me privately about rods - we have actually built a number of rather specialist rods for American and Canadian clients - so your rgion is not totally unknown to us.

However, the biggest secret to casting distance is style, and I can do nothing but recommend that you get a copy of John Holden's long Distance Casting 2 - it is a CD-ROM, that requires a good old fashioned read followed by hours of practice, but we regard it as a 'bible' for castind.

The other web sites of RSA rod builders are basically 'factory custom', and they do use either Blue Marlin blanks or Asian, and suffer the problems with the Asian examples.

Cheers form Africa by night

[CapeFish]

The senators have been tried here for years and you won't see one on a beach here anymore except maybe on the odd kite rig, there's a reason for it. Jeri do they still get used in Namibia? Last time I was there, not. They are heavy and slow and then you need all those aftermarket spares required - we can't get hold of any at a vaguely reasonable price. I used to have a 113 and lets just say things got a lot easier when I swopped it for a SL50SH and now the metal reels are even better. Jeri said they are looking at close to 200m casts, that's what people are looking for from a big reel with a powerful drag and must be able to handle dunking.  The metal Shimanos and Daiwas perform much better. Replacing spool bearings once or twice a year is maybe not such a tiresome exercise?   The pro gears do look very good...now they not made anymore.....

[wallacewt]

hi capefish
can you describe how you rig up.(photo?)
being from SA i presume you use the breakaway method.
cheers