What reel would would be the choice to cast 4 oz lead with cut bait and live bait long distance from piers and the surf with 65# braid? I want to stay with conventional reels to keep it simple and to have a backup reel for offshore trips. I'm wanting to have around 20# of drag at max because I can't go after fish like you could in a boat. Would lever drag or star drag be preferred?
I have a Torque 200 and thinking about a Torque 300, but what would you think would be a better choice? I am leaning towards an Avet JX4.6 without MC to maximize casting distance.
Penn's new squall are awesome for the price. Also graphite frame to help with corrosion.
I fish from boat, pier, surf and bridges down here. I use almost entirely Penn 555's, and Penn 113's. I have them all on a 12 foot med hvy ugly stik casting rod two piece and run 50 to 80 lb braid. The extra length gives some spring to casting the bait and weight. I use the breakaway imp set up so the bait doesnt helicopter in the air thus causing it to rip out of the hook. I use live bait and chunks of bonito. My opinion is its cheap and works to my satisfaction 100%
I'm torn between Avet JX, Baja Special and Torque 300.
I have a Torque 200 with a 7' rod and 60-75 yard casts are the norm. Hmmmmm.
most of the folks down here use the old standard type conventionals as I do. We see a few daiwas and shimanos, I think I have only seen one avet but it was a purty thang. Lot of the guys with the 555 reach over 150 from piers and bridges but alot of them are using the 13 footers and up. I do alot of trolling so my set up is ready for any location without me havin to do a lot of changes.
How much line do you want to hold? Torq 300 seems excessive esp. since you are using braid.
If you are using the Torque 300, why not the new Torque Star Drag, lighter and it has the floating spool, should give you more distance. There are a lot more choices as far as line capacity.
Quote from: Bryan Young on June 27, 2012, 08:09:53 PM
How much line do you want to hold? Torq 300 seems excessive esp. since you are using braid.
Well, with 65# braid about 300 yards with a 50# mono topper to pull double duty bottom fishing at oil rigs for reef fish.
Quote from: rodent on June 27, 2012, 08:36:23 PM
If you are using the Torque 300, why not the new Torque Star Drag, lighter and it has the floating spool, should give you more distance. There are a lot more choices as far as line capacity.
Price. The star drags cost a lot more. I can get the reel, line and rod for the price of a Torque Star drag. It still has the floating spool. I already have the 200, so I was just thinking I might could run 2-300 yards of 65-50# braid with 50# mono topper.
Quote from: onemako on June 27, 2012, 05:03:19 PM
I fish from boat, pier, surf and bridges down here. I use almost entirely Penn 555's, and Penn 113's. I have them all on a 12 foot med hvy ugly stik casting rod two piece and run 50 to 80 lb braid. The extra length gives some spring to casting the bait and weight. I use the breakaway imp set up so the bait doesnt helicopter in the air thus causing it to rip out of the hook. I use live bait and chunks of bonito. My opinion is its cheap and works to my satisfaction 100%
How do the 555 drags compare to the 113s?
What about casting?
I guess I had not seen the 535/545/555 reels. Penn lists the 545 with more drag capability than the 555.
After more reading and browsing, is my choice of braid too large? Everywhere I read guys using 14-25# mono on the heavy side. The 50# braid I use is 12# mono diameter. Is the issue castability? The business end will be single strand Malin wire, so am I going too large with 50 or 65# braid?
Beware of the 555 series casting with braid, nice reels but they have a nasty gap between spool and frame that swallows line. THat too me is the biggest no-no for surf casting reels. The Penn Fathom 40 Star Drag is also a great reel with a much lower price tag than the torque star. The fathom also takes a bit more line than the torque star because there is a bigger gap between frame and spool allowing you to fill the reel to the brim and still fitting a 1mm leader. Another advantage of the fathom is that it has a centrifugal brake system reducing backlash and it is easily adjustable. If you want a graphite frame reel I would rather use a Daiwa SL50SH or a Shimano Speedmaster or 20/40. Just add carbontex to them if you want a more durable drag. All three these reels are pretty much bomb proof.
I have not had any problems with my 555's with the braid getting caught. Just recently I had a problem with my drag sets on one of the 555 but turned out to be the washer under the main. No problems with the 113's which do have a stronger drag than the 555. For what I fish for nothing has beat the reels they just beat me due to my errror.
Onemake,
Are you fishing with Penn 113's or 113H reels ???
John
The original 113's 2 to 1 drags. Im old so I like old stuff. They work great for me. The only reason I use the 555s is because my son bought 3 of them and leaves them on the boat. I know the ugly stiks are cheap rods but there again they work great and so far in over several years I have only damaged one and it was my fault.
Quote from: onemako on June 29, 2012, 04:07:44 PM
The original 113's 2 to 1 drags. Im old so I like old stuff. They work great for me. The only reason I use the 555s is because my son bought 3 of them and leaves them on the boat. I know the ugly stiks are cheap rods but there again they work great and so far in over several years I have only damaged one and it was my fault.
+1 Almost the same here. I use a Penn 555 w/ 40lb mono though and a old 12' Master rod. It works for the surf fishing i do here. Cheap setup for me and does the job.
there are SO many reels 'n' rods that will more than get the job done for you, it will come down to personal preference and you will just hafta listen to advice and eenie meenie minie moe make a decision and choice.
my first choice is always an abu sweden reel, and a 6500 model (with or without the level wind) is one of the best beach/jetty/pier casting reels around. next up would be an avet sx mc. i currently fish bait with an abu 6501 (lw removed) w/20# fireline, on an 11' cabela predator for 3-4ozs, and an avet sx mc w/30# izor line, on an 11' sealine for 5-8ozs. that sealine casting rod can be had for $60/shipped!!
Using a Penn 555 or anything in that series or Jigmaster with braid is not a good idea
Quote from: sewwhat89 on June 27, 2012, 02:33:16 AM
What reel would would be the choice to cast 4 oz lead with cut bait and live bait long distance from piers and the surf with 65# braid? I want to stay with conventional reels to keep it simple and to have a backup reel for offshore trips. I'm wanting to have around 20# of drag at max because I can't go after fish like you could in a boat. Would lever drag or star drag be preferred?
I have a Torque 200 and thinking about a Torque 300, but what would you think would be a better choice? I am leaning towards an Avet JX4.6 without MC to maximize casting distance.
Hi Seewhat89,
I would suggest that using braid on a conventional reel for surf fishing might give you problems if you start to go too thin. If I was going your route, I would opt for an Avet 'with' MC, as the magnet will help control a lot of problems with the braid overwinding during the cast - you can control the amount of magnetic damping, by carefully 'shaving' thin amounts off the magnet, start with about 0.05mm, reassemble and then test, unttil you have the right amount of control, but are not getting overwinds.
However, as most folksuse mono for surf fishing - there is a reason - it is more forgiving, and will suffer poor casts.
Hope that helps.
Cheers from sunny Africa