I was wondering if anyone here uses one for surfcasting. I would like to have a conventional setup but I have a really tough time using round reels,and the Tranx are made in left hand retrieve. Also,I am not a bait guy,so I would be using it 99.9% for throwing lures. Anyone have experience?
Yes I fish 3 500HG's exclusivly for Yelowtail and some Tuna throwing Iron and surface plugs, 3 to 4 oz up to 100 yds.
I had to change from full size conventional reels to lighter (in weight) equipment.
I have had very good service from these reels, they handle large fish without any issue, drags are strong so it has worked very well for me.
The only downside is that they require much more time servicing then my previous reels, and the worm gear and pawl do not last, but that is probably expected for the amount of casting and retrieving I do.
If you search you should find more I've written about these reels.
I use the Tranx 300 on the beach for fluke and small blues . It casts nicely with 3/4 oz bucktails and small poppers. I did complete disassembly when I started using it last year and greased all the screws and internals and after many fresh water rinses and then being sprayed down with penn rod and reel cleaner when it dried it shows no signs of corrosion ad wear .
I have a Tranx 500HG (80# maxcuatro) mounted to a UC CE900 Monster that I use exclusively for throwing surface irons, colt snipers, etc.
It's an absolute beast of a set up!
I think Tony (Rockfish Ninja) also uses a Daiwa Lexa in this application, which is low profile, and I think Abu also a Revo that large. they may have them in LF retrieve if you cant locate a Tranx easily.
John
kind of an expensive reel to be rolling around in the sand...... :-\