Reel for 100 lb catfish

[gone fishin]

I need some help in choosing a reel.  My situation is that I'm moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in a few months.  There are 2 lakes nearby which are stocked with mekong catfish as large as 100 lbs.  One of the lakes is also stocked with other species such as alligator gar, arapaima and pecu around 40 or 50 lbs.
My main rod will be a 9 ft Lamiglass Kenai Killer rated at 20 to 50 lbs with a 7 ft Okuma Nomad Travel Rod with 30 and 60 lb tips for backup.  Fishing is from the lake bank so I need a long distance, light weight casting reel and I think I want a lever drag so that I will know how much drag I'm using.

1)  What line wt (or amount of drag) reel do I need?
2)  What line capacity?  I'll be using braid with mono topshot.
3)  1 or 2 speed?  I seem to be losing a lot of endurance since age 60.  I'm 64 now.
4)  What gearing ratio?

I know that there are many variables, but I would really appreciate advice from your experience as I have no experience with big fish.

Thanks,
Norm

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

I hear that alot of people use the  Avet sx and similar sized abus. Me personally, it would be a jigmaster or ar 3/0 or 4/0. For spinners a 750ss or the like. For line i would say 50 to 100lb braid, or 30 to 80lb mono. Reckon im to used to american catfish haha.

[Cone]

For a conventional I'd second a 4/0. I've got a couple of 113h's for 30.00 off ebay.carbon drags, ss gear sleeve, double dogs and power handle.  As much as I like the ss reels. I'd look at a Penn ssv or you can get a new slammer or live liner pretty cheep since the ssv's came out. Don;t forget pics when you catch one!  Bob

[gone fishin]

Thanks for the input so far.  I want a lightweight lever drag casting reel.  The two rods I mentioned are both casting rods so I won't be interested in spinning reels.  It appears that there is not a lot of structure for the fish to wind around so I don't expect that I will have to use a lot of drag to turn the fish around.
By the way, I tried to post a picture here, but couldn't figure out how  

[saltydog]

112H or the 113H with 80 to 100 pound braid will do the trick,it's what I use here in Texas on lake Texhoma and we've caught lots of mules with them with no issues.

[Cone]

Norm, If you have a photobucket account, upload your pics to photobucket. When you select your pic there will be some boxes beside it. One of those will say img. Right click on that and it will turn yellow and say copied. Go to your post reply (in another tab) and put the cursor on the page and left click, select paste and it should put the img link in the post. You can check by clicking preview on your reply. HTH Bob

[alantani]

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

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

used the TLD 20/40 star drag for redtail catfish here. spooled with 80 lb PP and with a top shot of 60 lb pink ande and a 50 lb short leader. caught more than 20 before i had to replace the top shot. haven't caught a 100 pounder yet but i think it will be fine because of line capacity since there is not a lot of structure for the fish to wind around. also have the 113H and the Squall 50LD but haven't used them yet, i am sure these 2 will also serve me well for this type of fishing. hope this helps, tight lines!

[George4741]

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

But Alan, it's not a lever drag!

BTW, I would also prefer a star drag, probably a narrowed 4/0 Senator. 
  George

[Alto Mare]

But Alan, it's not a lever drag!

Good, he won't have to deal with any issues. unfortunately that graphite frame might create some

BTW, I would also prefer a star drag, probably a narrowed 4/0 Senator. 
  George

My top choice as well on this one ....Yes George, I'm becoming narrow-minded as you, thanks to you guys

[gone fishin]

Ok, I'm getting a lot of recommendations for a star drag and I appreciate your voices of experience.  But what are the advantages of a star drag to me?  Remember, I don't have the experience to have a 'feel' for the amount of drag I'm using.  I have a very nice little Abu Garcia STX which I like very much except for the star drag.  I just don't have any idea where I am setting it.  With a lever drag, after setting the correct tension, I will be able to check each click up to the strike rating to know exactly how much drag I'm using.  I've also read plenty of reviews in other places where the reviewers said that after using lever drags, they would never go back to stars because of ease of operation.

Fire away; I'm sure I'm missing something here 
Thanks, Norm

[basto]

Have a look at the new PENN SQUALL lever drags on PENN`s site. You can read all the specifications for each model and choose what will suit you best.  They are light, strong, and well designed.

[jonathan.han]

I co-sign on the TLD Star. Very solid reels with SS gears. First, let's determine the gear. Are you fishing cover? That will determine your line rating. I used to catch flathead catfish on the Colorado River near Yuma, AZ approaching the 50# mark. For those, I brought my 25-30lb Calstars and Torium 16s, the damn Avet SX I drag with me erverywhere I go, and Daiwa Saltist 20. These were overkill for the flatheads to 30#s. The 50s were fun on the gear but never did I think I would lose a fish. I have also caught oversize sturgies when I lived in Oregon on the Columbia on this gear too. Leaders were heavy. For fish over 100lbs., we bumped up to 40 and 50# gear. The 6 footers put some hurt on you, but it was manageable.

I think if you ran 250-300 yds of 65-80# braid, 80 lbn. leader, 40-50lb. topshot of about 6ft, I doubt you'll need more than 200 yards of line for this fishing, but get around 300 and you should never have a problem, I think a 2 speed is unnecessary for this fishing, but a small 2 speed may be nice for you. A friendly gear ratio of around 5:1 to 4:1 should be good. A low gear on a small 2 speed reel is usually around 3-4:1.

The lever drag fascination will drive up the required budget. A star drag reel will keep you well below 150.00, a lever drag will start at 200.00, add 2 speeds and that will put you near the 320-400.00 range. All in all, I think a TLD 10 or 15 would be a good choice. Of course, with carbontex drags and swapping the stock crap handle to something else. Anything sexier (i.e. anodized aluminum and small) will put you well over 300.00.

[jonathan.han]

A reel that can deliver 15lbs of drag would be sufficient. Also, I assume you will be casting your bait. A smaller (and lighter) reel will help with that also. Jim Nomura seems to like the Daiwa Saltist lever drag reels. I own a Saltist 30LD 2 speed and love it too. They are very light. Lighter than most other lever drags out there...Accurate, Shimano Talicas, Avets, Okumas, and the others I missed.

[gone fishin]

Thanks so much for answering my questions, Jonathan.  You have provided me a wealth of information I can use.  I have already done some online research on the TLD 15 leverdrag as I had not considered it before.

Bob---Thanks for your good directions regarding posting pictures.