Cranking power/Ease of cranking question

[toneill]

Over the past several years, I have done some serious damage to my right
(reel handle side of things) shoulder playing rugby. It has reduced my
ability to turn the handle while retrieving fish. I live on the east coast,
and most of my fishing is for shallow water bluefish, or cod and other
bottom fish in 100 to 450 feet of water.

On my last trip, I found it very difficult to turn the standard sized handle on
my penn 113h while retrieving 6 to 10 pound fish from 400 of water,
sometimes two at a time. I was offered other reels to try and began to
realize that I brought gear that was dated.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the factors affecting the ease of turning a
spool are the following: amount of resistance on the end of the line, size
of spool, gear ratio, and length of arm on the handle.

If you keep the resistance on the line the same, and you decrease the gear
ratio, it would take less force to turn the handle, right? If you extended
the length of the arm on the handle, you would lengthen your lever, correct? using a smaller spool should also help, as you are attempting to recover less line per crank, right?


I am thinking that the answer to my problem is to get a penn 146 or 501
(getting a smaller spool), and a lower gear ratio (with the 146), along with
a larger aftermarket handle will make my next trip less painful.

Am I wrong? Is there anything else that would help? Or reels that would be suggested?

I am trying to avoid buying a two speed reel. The species I fish for simply do not demand that much from a reel.

Thank you,

Tim

[Norcal Pescador]

Tim,
First, welcome aboard!

I believe you are absolutely correct on all of your conclusions even though I'm not an engineer. I'm old-school Penn by preference and I've got a few granny-geared reels. The 111 has even lower gears [2.25:1] than the 146 [3.3:1] so it is really slow to retrieve. However it has a 30/275 mono capacity and the spool is narrow like the 501. That may be too slow if repetition of the cranking motion is also a problem. Newells come in a wide variety of sizes and ratios and are simple reels that work well [I've got a 220-5.] Charkbait has a good collection on their web site.

A great addition to all of my reels I've put them on is the Kolekar grip that Alan sells. It greatly reduces cramping and comes as a complete handle or just the grip. I've also put longer handles [from MysticParts.com] on a few of my reels with the Kolekar grips.

There are lots of other reels out there that will fill your needs and I hope some of this helps.
Rob


"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[kamuwela]

welcome tim . just food for thought. i have seen rods built with off set guides. ( not inline) it is said to take away the load and torque on the right side by redistributing the load to the left. i too have rotator cuff issues, had this in my mind for awhile now. im thinking of having a rod custom made to try the theroy. bryan is an expert on rods he may be more help then me. just food for thought good luck
                                                         aloha
                                                          kamu

[alantani]

tim, is there any possibility that cranking left handed would help?

[toneill]

If shrinking the reel, lengthening the handle, and decreasing the gear ratio does not help, I will try to crank lefty.

Thank you,

Tim

[Fishead]

If you are looking for easier cranking power while keeping close to the same line capacity,try & hunt up an old penn 112 or 113 black side plate reel.They have a slower gear ratio that might do what you want.Penn also has a power handle with 3 holes for those reels.I would think you would find one that works for you.Then put one of alans offset grips on it & you will be set