small baitcaster for braid?

[floating doc]

I'm thinking of a (preferably round framed) baitcaster sized reel for fishing 25-30 pound braid. I want to use it for the slow-jigging type snapper jigging like the Shimano Lucanus. It would need to reliably handle ~10 lbs of drag, with a dependable anti-reverse system. Gear ratio needs to stay around 5:1 to have some pulling power.

I have an old 6500 sized Ambassaduer Royal Express reel. I doubt it would deliver that kind of drag, or hold up if I tried. There's several choices if I could spend enough money, but I need to keep this below $80 or it's not going to happen.

Suggestions for used reels are ok with me; I haven't been burned on ebay for a while.

Impossible?

[Bryan Young]

I like my Abu 6500c3 with 20# braid and 8# of drag.

[floating doc]

I like my Abu 6500c3 with 20# braid and 8# of drag.

Eight pounds is a lot!  Might not be enough for bottom fish on a reef, though.

[Bryan Young]

Then maybe the shimano tranx  trinidad guts in a larger baitcaster reel.

[MarkT]

I usually use 50# braid on my baitcasters.  If nothing else it's easier to deal with than the smaller stuff.  I like the Calcutta TE300 for bottom fishing and it'll get 10# of drag.  No problem bringing up big Reds from 250'.

[0119]

A Tranx or Calcutta for $80?  You are not going to get lots of drag in a casting reel that can bottom fish for $80. Not even used, well used.  A new 6500C3 has 15lb. of drag, it $100. Don't imagine too many folks are bottom fishing a reef with one though!

[floating doc]

Thanks for the replies. The sh manos are out of my reach, plus I've decided to never buy a reel from them ever again.

How about a millionaire?   The s-300 can be bought new on eBay for about $80.

[MarkT]

Oops, I didn't notice the $80 limit!  I don't know if you can find a Daiwa CVX253 or300 used for $80 but they have Jigmaster drags and probably get 10# of drag. An older Shimano Catala 300 probably does about 10# too. You could find one for $80.

[0119]

The Millionaire started out so many years ago as a copy of the Ambassadeur.  The current 2 low end models, one of which has a graphite frame wouldn't be any better than a new C3.  The C3 would offer you a little more drag too.

[thinket]

shimano tr100g.  you can find on ebay for $30.00 or new for $69.00.  I use for salmon 15lbs mono.  for trolling  stripers & halibut I use 40lb test power pro.  I've caught 30+lbs, mean, fish on  those reels.  ...of course I've serviced and put Alan's big assed handles on them

[Ron Jones]

I fish and love a Diawa Millionaire CV-x 300. Jigmaster drags, great gear ratio and one piece aluminum frame. I don't know why they get sold short, but it means you can get a used one in your price range. I've caught WSB, calico bass, both left coast halibuts and ling cod (admittedly the pacific halibut was a chicken and the ling was maybe 25#s). Can't say enough good things about it.

Ron

[Bryan Young]

Sorry, I forgot about the $80. I was thinking of the drags you will need.

I don't think the million will be strong enough even with the jigmaster drags. Most reels in a bait caster size will be around 8#of drag before sone type of failure...probably the gears.   

[jonathan.han]

Any baitcaster's AR bearings will eventually get roached if you're running 10#s of drag. At ten pounds of drag, ALL levelwind pawls will commit suicide on snags eventually or the plastic idler gear's teeth will look like a meth addict's smile. Small reels are fun, but for bottom fishing, you're going to want to be using 40-60lb. leader purely for abrasion resistance. If you can't do it with 8#s of drag, I would consider moving up to a reel where it's maximum drag is above the required drag range for longevity and non-levelwind. 10lbs. of drag will eat up brass pinion and main gears eventually. I can't even run 10lbs of drag on my Avets and haven't had problems with 8lbs of drag on them for 40#albies and 60 class seabass. My Revo Inshore at 8lbs. is starting to see the early stages of main gear wear and fishing it for groundfish has not helped. I've set it aside for lighter duties and for jigging squid.

[day0ne]

What you are describing is an Avet SX or MX, depending on the amount of line you need, but they don't fit your price range. You could look at the Shimano TRN series (as suggested above) or a TLD Star. The TLD cost around $110 new but can be had much cheaper used. There's a 20/40 on ebay sitting at $25 right now, but I like the 15/30 best. Check Alan's review on it. The TRN's are much cheaper and have a level wind, depending on your view of level winds,so they should be an option

[floating doc]

OK, crazy idea here...I hope it doesn't get me kicked off the forum!

Here goes:



How about I fish with a reel that I...   ALREADY OWN!



I know, that's crazy talk! Please don't kick me out!

Seriously, I have a Penn 970. If I remember correctly, those old Magpower series reels had 112H drags. I have a full set of them. The smaller two were really twenty pound reels; I fished with the wide 980 and larger 990.  I didn't own the 970 until a couple of years ago.
I never pushed the 980 over 25 lb test; probably topped out at 8 lbs of drag.

This 970 should deliver 8-12 lbs safely before the frame becomes an issue, don't you think?