spinners vs conventional reels for heavy jigging

[mohamedhashem21]

I use an Accurate 50 for flying live bait, chunking, and yo-yo / jigging with a heavy jig.  Accurate at one time offered an ATD50 two speed reel with a low gear of 1.2:1 and a high gear of 4.4:1.  I would have to check my reel to confirm the low gear ratio but I am sure the high gear ratio is correct.
John

you jig with an atd 50!!! you must be a strong man
what kind of jigging are you doing ? throwing iron jigs and reelin them back or the japenese way (movin rod up and down all the way)??

[mohamedhashem21]

on top of my head Jigging Mater PE8 or PE10. next the Accurate 500 and 600 series namely Boss BX, DAWG POUND 2 Speed Reels and lastly but not the least DAUNTLESS 2 Speed Reels. here is a link to Accurate's site and then just click PRODUCTS.

http://www.accuratefishing.com/

also you can look at Maxel's jigging reels. Maxel is the manufaturer for Jigging Master...hope this helps!

thank you for these recommendations

[mohamedhashem21]

if u wanna jig. use a overhead reel

better drag
better line control
better cranking power

1/3-1/2 the price of a stella

thank you

[mohamedhashem21]

While I personally have no experience jigging Giant Bluefin Tuna, it is a subject that interested me, so I have read a little about it. The hardcore jiggers that use conventional reels mostly use the larger size Jigging Masters. I have a friend that has a Maxel jigging reel, which is a Jigging Master imitation for half the cost of the JM. He has had no problems with this reel. In fact, some have stated that the Maxel, may be even made in the same factory as the JM, but I have no verification of this.

I think the traditional big game reels, i.e. Makaira, Penn International, Tiagra etc. are not ideal for the type of jigging you would be doing. The "West coast" Yellowfin tuna jigging is essentially dropping a heavy "iron" such as a Salas PL68 and cranking it straight up with little or no rod action. Much different than Speed or Vertical jigging you would most likely be doing.

Good luck, hope you get the big one and share some pictures with us.

Scott

thank you for your help
actually i don't even know what jigging technique should i use for BFT most anglers here in egypt use spinners and the japenese technique (moving rod up and down) i don't know if the heavy iron jig technique is effective for BFT or not ! do you hink it can be used beacause if it's effective i can use my 50s makiras with no problem!!

[mohamedhashem21]

I too don't have any experience with this type of jigging or any type of on the boat saltwater fishing(that's about to change) but was so interested to learn more about it so i used google and youtube. to make the long story short it led me to this site 360tuna.com and it seems one of the most respected person's name in this type of jigging is Kilsong, owner of jignpop located somewhere in NJ and the virtual store is jignpop.com. i highly recommend that you register at 360tuna.com for more info. hope this helps...

thank you actually i have registered in 360tuna.com 2 days ago

[mohamedhashem21]

With a spinner vs a conventional reel with amost things being equal like stopping power, meterials used ect. a spinner will cost twice as much or more. I also like being able to adjust the reels drag during a fight accurately with a lever drag.

thank you
actually that's what i found after doing some searches

[mohamedhashem21]

Different tools for different jobs or in the case of spinners versus conventional different muscle groups too. I fish both to maximise my time with a lure in the water. There is only so much you can do before one arm or the other is worn out.

@OP you have to define your jigging technique more precisely for us. You *can* fish iron with a Mak 20. The question is how long can you do it? Most likely not very long.

Spinning is very popular worldwide because of the ability to do more things with the jig more easily and how much faster you can get deep (ie with conventional the lure has to pull line off of the spool in addition to fighting current). It is not only a familiarity thing, until you have used a Stella, Saltiga or Torque class reel you do not understand how capable these tools are on extremely big fish.

If you want to to jig with a very active style you should be looking at Shimano Talica 2-speed in the 20-25 size or a Penn Torque LD 2 in the 40 size. I couldn't recommend the Torque more highly.

Fundamentally you have to decide if you want something that is as light as possible and that will keep you fishing longer versus something that is ideal for the fight or the biggest possible fish but you simply cannot fish for very long due to it's heavy weight. Until you spend some time doing it and assessing your own fitness no one else can tell you what is best.

regards


ps SamiG of Saltywatertackle.com just landed a 442lb BFTon a Stella and 7' popping rod. Not saying anyone can do it but that the gear is up to it if the Angler is.

thank you for your well explanation
actually i stil don't know the jigging technique that suites BFT!!
the main idea is that i'm not convinced to put double or triple the value of a strong conventional reel in a spinner that wasn't originally designed for this use IMO stellas and other heavy duty are overly built to resist this enormous load and i believe that this stress on the connection between the reel seat and the reel's body and the stress on the rotor will cause them eventually to fail  , while an average conventional reel can take the same load without any problem or any future failures due to the simple design which transfers the load to more stable object , i know that jigging with conventional is harder but it's a matter of time to learn

thank you

[broschro]

I use my 113h narrow, and my 505 With the BP gears .just started to vertical jig last year and the tank and the 505 handled fish up to 40# without a problem

[mohamedhashem21]

now i'm totally convinced to get a conventional reel instead of a spinner
first i want to know what jigging technique suites BFT better
second i want to know what reels can be used any suggestion or recommendations will be appreciated
i 've thought of the following reels(i'm considering a 2 speed reel to help in winching tunas in case of live baiting)

1-okuma makaira 16ii sea           weight:40 o.z  line retrieve at high:39.2    line capcity in yds/lb     600/100

2-okuma makaira 20ii sea           weight:45 o.z  line retrieve at high:39.4    line capcity in yds/lb     700/100

3-shimano talica 20ii                 weight:32 o.z  line retrieve at high:46       line capcity in yds/lb     435/100

4-shimano talica 20ii                 weight:32 o.z  line retrieve at high:46       line capcity in yds/lb     610/100

5-penn intl torque 40 ld             weight:26 o.z  line retrieve at high:42       line capcity in yds/lb     565/80


i rally love the talicas but i was turend away from them after knowing that their frame is diecast aluminum not machined
i belive that makairas are the strongest among all but much heavier in weight
i don't know much about the torque but i like it's very lightweight

[johndtuttle]

You can see the full service and initial review of the Penn Torque LD2 on this site, if a slightly smaller size. The Accurate are also light and very strong.

Jigging techniques for BFT are the same as for any other species ie a quick moving jig in the right size and color. The trick is finding active fish that will bite a standard 200gm jig (silver/pink during the day, glow at night). You have to find them, moving often.

Jignpop.com has some very reasonable jigs that are proven.

Top water will cover more fish but in a top water bite jigs will get bit.

[basto]

I believe there are a couple of things that big spinners have that are, in my opinion advantageous to catching large fish like these and also for the jigging method.
One is the necessity of a strong anti reverse clutch, and spinners can accommodate a bigger, stronger one than conventional reels.
The other thing is that as far as I can see, these large spinners made for jigging have a higher drag rating [pound for pound] than most conventional reels.
Other things to consider is the ease of using an under rod reel and that you don`t need to guide line on to the reel.

I love my two Jigging Master reels, but I can see many good points to the specialist large spinners for the serious jigger.

cheers
Basto

[Tightlines667]

Personally of the reels on your list...

I like the torque the best.  Lightweight, strong, well designed, with good attention to details, not overly complicated, and has many nice little features/details.  Such as top notch drive train, solid spool shaft, theist washer and good overall design to negate the effects of the side load produced at higher settings on performance and logevity of bearings.  However the lower line capacity might be a factor, smaller spool diameter also works against you a bit in terms of efficiency, and changes w/loss of line (the markings on the spool keep you on track here though).  Also I'm not sure I like the fact both Antireverse dogs are not mounted directly or nearly opposite from one another.  I think the penn has top notch anodizing of alum, and quality/strength/durability/simplicity of internal parts, but should prob be serviced to ensure there are no dry spots.  I also like the drag curve and overall cam assembly design better (a little less steep, and smooth transition from strike on by). 

The Makiaras are good reels too, but a bit heavier/bulkier.  These reels have the best antireverse system, and I like the large surface area of CF drag washer, and truely sealed drag chamber, the longer handle arm and lower gear ratios along with the larger spool diameter, should give it greater power, while negating changes due to line loss (as compared to the Torque).  I believe this reel might also produce a slightly higher max effective drag though the steeper curve might limit range slightly.  There are more potential sources of electrolisis in this reel (w/more dissimilar metals in contact w/one another, and I don't think the drive train main/pinion gears, and drive shaft are quite as durable (though still top notch). 

Also don't count out the Avet Raptor series, the Accurates, or dare I say...the smaller FinNors.

Note:
I have no real world experience w/either reel.

[mohamedhashem21]

You can see the full service and initial review of the Penn Torque LD2 on this site, if a slightly smaller size. The Accurate are also light and very strong.

Jigging techniques for BFT are the same as for any other species ie a quick moving jig in the right size and color. The trick is finding active fish that will bite a standard 200gm jig (silver/pink during the day, glow at night). You have to find them, moving often.

Jignpop.com has some very reasonable jigs that are proven.

Top water will cover more fish but in a top water bite jigs will get bit.

thank you for help
i've just seen it , it's a great reel but i feel it is somehow delicate i don't know whether it can stand the stress from a a big tuna or not !  and actually i don't like the bolted foot to the frame it's not accessible to service, i want know whether i need to move the rod up and down with reeling (Japanese style) or just fast reeling an iron jig , most anglers in Egypt use the Japanese technique i's very effective but i need o know as if the iron jig style is effective too , then i'll buy a bigger heavier reel without being affected by the weight, tunas that chase jigs are mid-sized in the 200-300 range , bigger ones don't chase fast moving jigs or spoons they need live bait but those big ones are rare about 10% of total, what do you mean with top-water?,you mean surface popping??

thank you
mohamed hashem

[mohamedhashem21]

I believe there are a couple of things that big spinners have that are, in my opinion advantageous to catching large fish like these and also for the jigging method.
One is the necessity of a strong anti reverse clutch, and spinners can accommodate a bigger, stronger one than conventional reels.
The other thing is that as far as I can see, these large spinners made for jigging have a higher drag rating [pound for pound] than most conventional reels.
Other things to consider is the ease of using an under rod reel and that you don`t need to guide line on to the reel.

I love my two Jigging Master reels, but I can see many good points to the specialist large spinners for the serious jigger.

cheers
Basto

of course i'm not knocking down spinners but the problem is you pay too much to get x performance from a spinner while you can get a conventional with the same x performance at half the price, pf course spinners are easier to us and do tricks , concerning the one way clutch i thing that a conventional reel with a double dog system and an anti reverse bearing will do the same no less,of course the drag numers of heavy duty spinners but for a stand up fight whit is the max drag can a man hold in a long fight with BFT i think that very few people can stand more than 35 lbs of drag so the 60 lbs of drag at some spinners is not useful, i have a friend who use jigging master conventional he say that he couldn't be happier.

[SoCalAngler]

To your list above you may also want to add a Avet Raptor HX or HXW to look at.