which reel for surf?

Started by wirbelwind, June 01, 2014, 09:34:52 AM

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wirbelwind

hey guys! i'm pretty new here, was thinking of getting a overhead reel for surf but have no idea what to choose from, been reading the forums about daiwa saltist silver(old version), saltist bg20/30, catalina 20h , daiwa sealine, shimano torium, shimano speedmaster TSM IV till the point that i have no idea what i want now hahas, not looking so much for distance casting, so anyone mind giving me any guidance? cheers!

SoCalAngler

We need more info like what type of fish you will be catching, what pound of test you will use, will you spectra back the reel and if so what length of topshot will you use, the method like bait or tossing artificials and such. The more info you can give the better we can narrow down some reels you may want to look at.

wirbelwind

hey socal! i will be baiting for stingrays, groupers and snappers using 30-40lb braid, how much topshot is normally required?

CapeFish

If you have not casted with an overhead before in the surf then don't use braid. All those reels are good choices but if you are new at it you may want to get something with a cast control

SoCalAngler

#4
wirbel,

That kind of depends on how you want to set up your reel. For me I go two ways on my topshots. The first is to use a short topper of mono or fluoro (mainly bait rigs that I'm not casting often) that are around 6-7 feet long. This keeps the knot connecting the two lines out side of the rods guides during the cast. The other is long topshots (used on rigs that I use artificial's on) because I cast them often and I like casting mono better than braid. These toppers are longer than the best cast I can do with the rod and reel for that rig. Again this keeps the knot connecting two lines on the reel during a cast. Also  a backlash/overrun are much easier to get out of mono than spectra and no matter how good your are at casting sonner or later you will get a backlash.

You may want to rethink your braid selection as most 30 and 40 lb test braid is very thin and depending on the reel size you may get and pay for many yards of spectra that you may not need. Also, I like to have my spectra's breaking strength at least one line class higher than my mono or fluoro. This way if I do get a break off most likely it will happen in the mono/flouro and not in the braid. If you plan on using 30 lb toppers I guess 40lb spectra will be fine.

Casting takes time to learn with a conventional reel, its kind of like a golf swing meaning that it takes alot of practice to really get it down.

wirbelwind

hey socal! sorry for the delayed reply, have been busy with my studies lately. i have casted my mate's saltist and saltiga z20 with 30-40lbs braid before, so i guess i'll shouldnt have any problems with casting. As for the reel selection, i'll wait till release reel rolls out their surf reels! looks pretty decent at that price and its all metal unlike toriums

Jeri

Hi 'wirbelwind'

Waiting for the public launch of the Release Surf, is a good call. The standard Release SG can be a little wild for surf casting. The Surf SG has magnetic cast control system, which will certainly be needed with an 'all braid' plan.

Certainly going to be more robust than some of the other reels you mentioned.


Hope that helps.


Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri