"Long cast" spinning reels

[Makule]

Although this, perhaps, isn't quite the correct forum, I'll ask the question here since there are a lot of knowledgeable members.  I have been considering getting a "long cast" reel, those that have the taller spools than the conventional ones.  Some say these reels don't really cast farther, while others say they do.  Someone also said it's the specific spool design (i.e., the spool should be tall and tapered) that makes a difference.

My request is for those who have actually used "long cast" spinning reels to share their experiences.  Do they actually cast farther?  Do some work better than others (and if so, which brands and models should I look for and which should I stay away from).

[Shark Hunter]

Albert,
Its good to see you again Buddy. On my last trip to Pensacola, My Uncle brought two nice spinning reels on St. Croix Rods. One was a 710z and the Other, a Daiwa Emblem Pro. I waded out in the surf and did some casting with a 5/16 0z spoon with the Daiwa. I could not believe how far I was throwing that thing.
I hate to say it, but That was the nicest spinning reel I think I have ever held.
It was a 5000A.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Those type of spinners are very popular in the UK. Both beach and carp fisher use them extensively. 140/150 yds is well within their capability using a 13ft rod. Shimano and Daiwa are probably the most popular - Sizes 5000-8000 with or without baitrunner.

[Jeri]

Hi  'Makule',

We use these reels a lot in our surf casting, and as the use of fixed spool reels is a relatively recent development (in the last 6 years) with our surf fishing here – some of our results will be relevant to your question.

Having originally come to Namibia from the UK, and then being in amongst the first to try surf casting with braid and fixed spool reels, I immediately went for a tall cone style fixed spool reel – we had to import Penn Longcast from the UK, as none were available in the local market.

Various people tried the more traditional spool shape designs and immediately declared the whole braid & fixed spool experiment a failure. While others, mainly those that imported some of the early tall cone spools had great success.

The various reel importers responded as these tall cone spools were being asked for more and more, and now it is not unusual to see perhaps 25% of folks at a competition using tall cone spools with braid.

The point is that on the traditional shallow height, deep recessed spools, by the time 100 metres of line has gone out in the cast – the depth to which the line has dropped is causing huge friction on the lip of the spool, and the cast just starts to fail. The line struggles to 'climb' over the lip, and it all max's out at about 120 metres – if you are lucky.

With a tall cone shaped spool, by the same point – at 100 metres out, there is less depth of spool lip showing so the friction on the line is significantly reduced – so the casts carries on flying – well beyond 150 metres.

We have had folks using tall cone spools on our test field near our shop, and they have dropped sinkers beyond the 200 metre mark – so the reels are certainly more capable of serious distance over the traditional deep shallow spools.

However, as there is no such thing as a 'free lunch', the offset is a trade-off between drag available – a lot of deep shallow spool reels offer huge drag capabilities with the benefit of a relatively short length of shaft protruding from the main reel housing. On the flip side, the tall cone spools have a much longer shaft projection. And because the load is at 90 degrees to this shaft – there have been problems of shafts bending, when folks overload the drag on these reels. This is slowly being addressed in some models as more and more anglers are turning to surf fishing with braid and fixed spool reels.

In low stress situations, I personally like the Shimano Ultegra series, they offer me sufficient drag up to about 6-7kgs – which in most surf situations is plenty, and I have been using the same reel for 3 years now – I use the 5500, as it takes a small bottom load of nylon, then 300m of 30lb braid, and casts like a dream – easy 150m with 6oz sinker + bait. The bigger models take more line, but they are not necessary except for our big shark fishing. Other models that are popular are the Bull's Eye and the Saragossa. The Bulls Eye is perhaps the most popular for the shark guys, and we don't see many with bent shafts – and they are pulling about 12kgs of drag with 50lb braid.

From our repair shop side the Penn Sargus with its fibre/felt washers is problematic, and the Saltiga Surf is prone to bail arm body failures. The original Penn Longcast had the same problems as the Sargus. The lower price Diawas just don't seem to be robust enough, and we have seen quite a few break in various locations. The Shimanos tend to have the least problems, given that our anglers are particularly tough on reels, especially as we do a lot of wading and full immersion is regular, so our reels get seriously tested to their longevity.

I would not recommend reels with the 'bait runner' type mechanism, as they are designed for freshwater carp angling, and tend to have components that fail when introduced to salt water.

Personally I can certainly recommend the Ultegra – a great little reel that cast miles.

Hope that helps.


Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri

[Makule]

Checking the specs of both the Shimano Ultegra and Diawa Emblem Pro, they are both too large/heavy for my purpose.  I have been using old Diawa BG 20 and 30, and and the 30 has way more line capacity than I need (using 20 lb braid).  Any recommendations on something similar in size/capacity?  The fish will generally not exceed even 1 lb, so it's not necessary to be a super heavy duty reel, as long as it's good quality.

Thank you for the earlier comments.  I am inclined to try one of the cone shaped spool reels.

[Shark Hunter]

Yes,
22 oz is a nice size reel. It feels pretty light compared to the 12 and 14/0.
I think they only make two models of the emblem. A 5000 and 6000A.

[Tiddlerbasher]

For fish that size (1lb) I would be using a 20 or 30 size Okuma Trio. I've been using the 30 Trio for 4 yrs now. Tanized drag - 1 service a year - not had a problem - good value for the money . I use it for light reef fishing, bass, pike, trout and salmon (occasionally), if I'm in Thailand baramundi. If I'm not using a baitcaster I use one of the smaller Trio range.

[Jeri]

Hi  'Makule',

I think that you will find that for sea usage the Ultegra 4500 is probably the smallest tall cone style reel that you will get.

Otherwise you are going to be looking at one of the freshwater designs, basically designed for distance Carp fishing. The whole point of the tall cone reels is that they have reasonable capacity for the distances achieved with the reels. Capacity and distance are integral to the design.

The smallest tall con type Carp reel is probably going to be the Shimano Baitrunner XT-A LC (medium), but that still has a capacity of 200 metres of 16lb nylon (if you can believe the manufacturers spec sheets). There might be other dedicated 'Big Pit' reels that will have tall cone designs, but they are all going to be offering large capacity, as their name suggests they are for casting big distances in big waters.

Hope that helps.


Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri

[El Pescador]

CHECK out this contraption!!!!!

http://www.bunkerupfishin.com/index.cfm/u/sand-blaster-bait-caster


Ice Fishing buddy in Minn. just sent this to me, WOW!!!!!

Wayne

[otghoyt]

The description, tall, narrow, tapered spool says conventional reel to me.  I do like my conventionals but now days a spin-cast is just something to have in your quiver.  We used to make all kinds of coffee grinder jokes back in the 70s but today I always see a guy with 3 poles on a day boat and one of them will be a spin-cast.  They do fill a gap for the average fisher-person.  The spools change out quickly, you can cast any weight lure and never see a birdsnest.   
Tightlines bruddah!