I have run out of reels to service, only my Penn 30T is not finished, but the frame is just today coming back from Re-anodization after modifying it to topless.($60)
So I am now making in my fishing buddie's reels for service! :) I am officially addicted.
Last night a young fishing buddy brought his reels by, he just returned from a 7 day fish camp in Panama. He caught a 60 pound yellow fin on a boat supplied spinning outfit with a surface popper. (sounds like fun to me!)
He wants advice on a good USA built spinning reel for throwing jigs on 30-50 lb. mono. Target species is tuna / wahoo.
He is a young eye surgeon so price is not an issue, just the best will do for this young man. He is only on his 4th season of long range fishing and he is an excellent fisherman.
Next question he will ask me is now what rod should he get? He is partial to Cal Star but will consider any alternatives if they are better.
Kindly advise me.
Penn has some nice spinners that should work but I am not a spinning real person, I bought my first 2 last year.
I use Penn 9500 SS for this....the new 950 should do.
Penn Torque or Accurate Twinspin if you want USA made. They're really your only option if you want a top shelf spinner. I'd favor the Torque over the Accurate.
As for rods, neither Calstar nor Seeker really make popping rods. I just picked up a Black Hole Challenger Bank S801H as my popping rod. Black Hole is in New Jersey but the rods are make in Korea. OTI makes jigging and popping rods and are located in Texas. Their blanks are made overseas too I believe. Both make good rods for popping and/or surface iron.
Many years ago I caught a 50-lb YFT on a classic Penn 750SS. One tough reel, admittedly not equivalent to the powerhouse beasts available today, but a LOT less costly and easily found on the auction sites etc. I always take mine on LR trips... but then I love the great oldies like Penn 704, Mitchell 402, and so forth. ;)
~A~
I would go with the Torque for a popping reel if fishing from a boat. Probably Clash if fishing from shore.
For rods, I would recommend talking with Nate Tsao of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He travels the world fishing top lures for GT, Tuna,.... He wraps custom rods specifically for this purpose
If store bought, I would recommend contacting Kil Song.
Kil Song is Black Hole. His web site is www.jignpop.com
An eye surgeon should have a Van Staal reel, U.S. made St. Croix blank, custom wrapped by da guy Nate that Bryan just mentioned.
-steve
Just got a message from Nate. At present, 6 month wait for delivery.
Quote from: oc1 on March 18, 2016, 08:48:06 PM
An eye surgeon should have a Van Staal reel, U.S. made St. Croix blank, custom wrapped by da guy Nate that Bryan just mentioned.
-steve
A Van Staal is a poor choice, imo, for a popping reel due to the low gear ratio and stiff seals.
Popping puts an emphasis on high speed reels to quickly pick up line for skipping jigs, poppers and stick baits. Its a reaction bite where speed is king.
Made in USA the only (and very good option) is a Penn Torque. The Accurate reels have not proven to be reliable in the large sizes.
Made in Japan a Daiwa Saltiga or Shimano Stella are going to be the standards by which others are judged. Look for a reel that holds 300 yards of 65# for a solid all around set up for West Coast fishing and get the fastest retrieve available.
Popping rods, there are no true popping rods made in USA to my knowledge though United Composites my have some blanks now. They are a specialized blank that generally has a stiff tip for working big cupped poppers in an efficient way, but have slower actions (bend more deeply) to take the sting out of using a spinning reel. Basically the exact opposite of a live bait stick like Calstar makes though Calstars can be made to work if the poppers are light.
Kil Song at Jignpop, Bryce at OTI, Sami and Paul at Saltywater Tackle all have a selection of world class rods from ~$200 to over $1000....
I would go with the Penn Torque 5 if getting a Penn reel. The 7 is too big to use all day or even a little while. I sold mine before even using it.
My son and his crew use the Van Staal reels. I personally don't like them but they have caught plenty of 35 lb. Tuna with them.
My Penn Battle 6000 will catch 35# YFT all day. No need for a VS for fish that size! I though the VS's were primarily surf casting reels? Not what you'd want/need for long ranging.
For me if I fished spinning reels my first choice would be a Accurate Twin Spin followed by the Penn Torque Spinners.
Van Staals are primarily surf reels but a lot of people use them for small pelagics too. They have stainless gears and a solid frame. Personally, I wouldn't buy one just because of the fact that they are very involved to disassemble completely. I've serviced a bunch of them. To a point they are simple, beyond that point, they require specialty tools. Another thing is to be careful of the traverse guide misalignment. If you screw that plate on and the traverse guide is not over the notch, you are hosed.....
I really can't comment on which reel would be good for that style of fishing because I've never fished on one of those boats. However, in regards to spinning reels, I really like the Shimano Saragosas. I also really like Stradic FJs. I really want to get my hands on a Clash though.
I recently got a Saragosa 10k that will be my popper reel on my 5 and 10 day trips. If I were a surgeon with a thick wallet I'd fish a Stella or Saltiga Dogfight or Expedition.
Quote from: FatTuna on March 19, 2016, 03:46:50 AM
...... I really want to get my hands on a Clash though.
I have a Clash 4000 coming. I am new to spinners so this year will be interesting.
Quote from: Keta on March 19, 2016, 02:20:29 PM
I have a Clash 4000 coming. I am new to spinners so this year will be interesting.
You shouldn't be, I sent you one a few years ago. Check under the pile of stuff on your desk, it might still be sitting there ;D
Quote from: garyal on March 18, 2016, 11:41:06 AM
He wants advice on a good USA built spinning reel
Simple...... there's only one spinning reel made in the US...... Penn Torque
Quote from: 0119 on March 19, 2016, 08:20:56 PM
Quote from: garyal on March 18, 2016, 11:41:06 AM
He wants advice on a good USA built spinning reel
Simple...... there's only one spinning reel made in the US...... Penn Torque
Well, not quite right....:).
There is the Accurate Twin Spin and there have been some interesting changes in the smallest ones.
But the large ones for popping have had some troubles that I don't know have been ironed out. Penn Torque is well proven at this point.
Quote from: Alto Mare on March 19, 2016, 04:00:45 PM
Quote from: Keta on March 19, 2016, 02:20:29 PM
I have a Clash 4000 coming. I am new to spinners so this year will be interesting.
You shouldn't be, I sent you one a few years ago. Check under the pile of stuff on your desk, it might still be sitting there ;D
It is on a rod I'm building for it.
US made then Penn Torque as others have said. If you want to spread your horizons I don't think the Okuma Cedros CJ-80S can be beaten - http://www.okumafishing.com/product/view/reels/spinning-1/cedros-high-speed
It is quick at approx. 46" per crank. Drag to over 30lb. It holds about 400yds of 65lb braid. Fraction of the Torque price.
I just swapped out the felt drags for cf. In the last 3 years it has caught a shedload of catfish to over 100lb. It is one solid reel :)
Okuma also has a new Makaira super-spinner in the works.
It's still quite early, but something worth keeping an eye on..:)
Chad
If money is not a huge issue, set aside the "made in the USA" dogma, the Stella and Saltiga are the kings of the super-spinners - with the Saltiga Expedition probably having the slightest edge at the moment.
Rod-wise, a jigging rod and a popping rod are going to be quite different beasts, especially when you get the specialised rods that the high-end of the market provides.
I have to throw in an obligatory mention for Synit rods out of New Zealand, they have a recently released line of popping rods that are top notch.
Dont forget the Daiwa Isla. It has strength and gearing of the saltiga, but without some of the frills, and is priced well for what you get.
To all:
Thank you so much for the advice!
My reasoning for USA manufactured:
I have spent 30+ years in USA manufacturing of metal cans. I put food on the table, put 3 boys thru university, started up my own business EXPORTING used machinery, all thru American manufacturing. I am now close to retiring, by supporting American manufacturing, I am supporting the economy that supported me and my family. Same with cars.. I buy American. Foreign companies pay their taxes predominately to foreign governments. Sorry for the "Dogma", for me it is "reel".
With that said, I will recommend the Torque 5, with 50 lb. spectra and 40 lb. mono. However, I will have him go put his hands on both the Torque 5 and 7 as the 7 has larger capacity but is noted here as too large for all day fishing.
For rods. I will study further.
Thank you again!
Quote from: garyal on March 21, 2016, 02:15:58 PM
To all:
Thank you so much for the advice!
My reasoning for USA manufactured:
I have spent 30+ years in USA manufacturing of metal cans. I put food on the table, put 3 boys thru university, started up my own business EXPORTING used machinery, all thru American manufacturing. I am now close to retiring, by supporting American manufacturing, I am supporting the economy that supported me and my family. Same with cars.. I buy American. Foreign companies pay their taxes predominately to foreign governments. Sorry for the "Dogma", for me it is "reel".
With that said, I will recommend the Torque 5, with 50 lb. spectra and 40 lb. mono. However, I will have him go put his hands on both the Torque 5 and 7 as the 7 has larger capacity but is noted here as too large for all day fishing.
For rods. I will study further.
Thank you again!
Keith (Handi2) mentioned he thought the Torque 7 was large but that size reel is commonly used for all day popping. Fortunately, the average Tuna from a LR boat out of SD is 50# or below out to 7-8 day range and a Torque 5 will handle them with no trouble with ~300 yards of 50# braid.
If I was traveling to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico or Panama then the T7 would be ideal where fishing 65# braid is more the norm.
Unfortunately, the boat sailed years ago on the whole made in the US thing. Trying to get made in the USA is a hard fight these days and takes research. I can get a Honda assembled here with more made in US parts than any Ford. But Ford is a US company and theoretically pays the taxes to the US but then so does Honda USA and Nissan, Toyota, BMW, etc, all of whom have plants here.
My computer wasn't made here but the CPU is by Intel. Intel has Fab's in the US, Ireland, Israel and China. The newest I7's use the 14nm process and US and Ireland build them so I guess my I7 was likely made here but the computer itself as well as the monitor came from China! My phone came from Korea which is I guess better than an IPhone made in China by people who like the work so much that they jump out the windows.
It's just as bad in Japan. Lots of people there put a high value on made in Japan but their rules are very loose on defining what that means. Made in China with final assembly in Japan counts as made in Japan!
Quote from: MarkT on March 21, 2016, 06:08:50 PM
Unfortunately, the boat sailed years ago on the whole made in the US thing. Trying to get made in the USA is a hard fight these days and takes research. I can get a Honda assembled here with more made in US parts than any Ford. But Ford is a US company and theoretically pays the taxes to the US but then so does Honda USA and Nissan, Toyota, BMW, etc, all of whom have plants here.
My computer wasn't made here but the CPU is by Intel. Intel has Fab's in the US, Ireland, Israel and China. The newest I7's use the 14nm process and US and Ireland build them so I guess my I7 was likely made here but the computer itself as well as the monitor came from China! My phone came from Korea which is I guess better than an IPhone made in China by people who like the work so much that they jump out the windows.
It's just as bad in Japan. Lots of people there put a high value on made in Japan but their rules are very loose on defining what that means. Made in China with final assembly in Japan counts as made in Japan!
I feel ya' Mark but Penn has a lot of reels that are made entirely in the USA. They may get some SS screws or bearings or washers from overseas but the frames and gears and spools are made here. All the Torques, spinning and conventional plus the Internationals and US Senators....Penn even makes the stainless gears for the Fathoms and Squalls here and sends them to China to be put into the reels. :)
best
I would even go so far as to say the Penn Torque 25N star drag reel is the best star drag casting reel in the world. American made, American designed and American raw materials which may be the most important aspect. Then you have the Torque LD series with the thrust bearings. I have not yet had my hands on one, but I KNOW I will like it when I do.
It is still a free country (sort of) and not all items can still be obtained by "buying American". Every single time I have the option to buy made in America, I do, BY CHOICE. I do business and travel extensively throughout the world. I walk thru factories in just about every country you can name. It breaks my heart to see people work their fingers to the bone 6-7 days per week and not earn enough to put food on the table, let alone a roof over the heads of their children. Then you go have dinner with the factory owners who fly in on private jets for the dinner meeting....Of course these guys are rich and I never will be, but my employees have full medical, dental, matching 401K and profit sharing. At least I can look in the mirror without shame every morning when I shave. If I were those guys, I would have to cut my own throat in shame. I do what I can, change what I can, and #### about the rest. I still believe in American workers.
Thank you again for your input! I think the Torque 5 will be his choice after handling both. If he graduates to 10+ day trips, he can afford to buy BOTH the 5 & 7! As John pointed out so correctly, the 5 should handle all his 7 day trip needs for now.
:)
Absolutely! My Battle 6000 with 300 yds of 50# and a 40# leader did fine on my 5 and 10 days last year. The Torque 5 is a much better reel and will definitely get it done. Both my vehicles are American made, Chevy Trailblazer and Pontiac Grand Prix. Yeah, they're old, like me!