Conventional reel for iron and jigs from the shore

[garrick]

Dear all -
I have been looking for a reel for some time and no-one seems to make it.  But well aware that I may not be able to see what is available being stuck in the remotest capital city  in the world.  So any suggestions welcomed.

The size - to hold about 300m of a #25 mono line. 
The shape - What I have seen on this site termed as "boxed out" - ie spool as wide as it is tall
The retrieve - high speed.  At least 6:1 and with some 40" plus per handle crank on a near full spool.
Characteristic - it must be built to take long-distance casting.  Some form of casting control is good, and bearings, not bushes.

I am currently using a Saltist 30H, which is a bit too wide (hard to keep the line wound evenly at high speed) and a bit slow after a long cast.  But it does cast brilliantly.

I cast lures between 2oz and 5oz on 11' and 13'6" rods from a shore stance.  They go a long way and they are intended for tuna to about 50lb, spanish mackeral to about 60lb and cobia to about the same. 

Well aware this is not standard fishing, and hoping to get find a faster reel than the 30H.

The closest I have found is the current crop of Daiwa Saltist 35; Torium 16; Fin-Nor 16.  These tend to be a bit on the heavy side, and taller than they are wide.  I have not been able to find out anything about a shimano speedmaster III, does not appear to be widely sold anymore.  The Penn 535 seems to be a wide reel, although I have not seen one.    Also not familiar with the Newells, which are probably a bit dated now.

Lookiog forward to the suggestions. 
   

[reddrum55]

On Hatteras Island, North Carolina, the Daiwa SL20SH and SL30SH on the Daiwa Saltiga Ballistic rods are very popular for surf.  We catch cobia, spanish and big red drum.  The reel are light, easy to service, and cast very far after Alan's bearing treatment.

[alantani]

progear classic series 501!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Gear-C-S-501-Fishing-Reel-Gold-New-/160535638182?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2560ab70a6

[garrick]

Like the looks of that reel.  But apart from that eBay link - no-one sells them anymore.  Does that introduce an issue with spares, etc?

I also went looking for detailed specs, but came up with nought.  Is Pro-Gear in business at all anymore?

[Bryan Young]

They company that makes them is still around.  The reel business is part-time only though.  You can get parts from Randy though eBay where you get the reel from.

Alan also has spare parts since he owns a dozen of the CS501s/CS551s

If your drags are less than 10#, and the reel is pre-serviced, probably the only thing you will need is bearings since they don't last forever.

[garrick]

OK... Final question and probably for Alan to answer as he has all those reels..

I am looking to fit 300yds of a #30 braid, topshotted with about 150yds of a #20 line.  Will that fit? 

alternatively #1, how how much line do you fit onto a 501? 
Alternatively #2, 350yds of #15 is based on what diameter #15? 

Many thanks for answers so far.  It does look like a good option.

[alantani]

20# test line for 50# tuna?

[garrick]

yep.. It is not standard fishing......

[wallacewt]

hi garrick,i just bought a okuma andros.cast terrific.100yds no prob.small reel,2 speed,large capacity.24lb max drag,will knock large tuna,samson marlin whatever.perfect for beach..has cast control and lever drag.big bucks $500 aud delivered

[garrick]

This to close it out with some remarks.  I got a silver PG CS501 from Randy (your contact on eBay - thanks Alan) that I had to route through my brother in Denver 'cause no international sales supported.    It arrived a few days ago, and have been playing with it and gave it a good test this morning with normal fishing here in Perth, followed by some "let's see what happens if I try..." casting of lures and sinkers off the beach. 

As others have remarked, this is one solid reel.  It is slightly smaller than I expected, but not a big issue.  I managed to put 300 yards of Poewer Pro #30 as a backing, which fills up about half the spool.  Then a topshot of about 160 to 180 yards of 0.40mm line (a #20 line) fills it to the edge of the shoulder. 

The drag is butter-smooth and very capable.  Over-designed for a #20 reel, but I appreciate the spare capability and one day I will be fishing a heavier braid on  it.  So pretty happy about that too.

The spool started out slightly noisy, but after about 10 casts settled in and now beautifully balanced.  I take that it was the oil I put into the bearings working away at whatever oil was originally in the bearings. 

I strated out with a 0.45mm line of about 120m and a 3oz sinker (nothing else) on a 11'6" rod.  I cast this lot out easily, with the mono-to-braid knot giving trouble.  When I dropped to a 0.40 line (fits about 26% more line for a given space) this was no longer a problem.

So the upshot is that the reel is happy to cast a looong way and to the practical limit of mono lines.  I have found that to be about 120m.  Anything further you get to feel the bumps but the hook-ups are not solid until the fish turns and runs away from you - some fish (particularly cobia) do not do that easily.   And then strong and quick bringing the lure back - I have no qualms about tackling anything I'm going to hook from the shore with this reel. 

That was good advice Alan and a nice ref to the eBay site.   I already like this reel so much I am tempted to find another just like it to be sure to be sure......Will post a pic or two when I get back from this year's trip.

[alantani]

i was pretty impressed when i first saw it as well.

[rodent]

Garrick, try going on Bloody Decks and search Pro Gear reels and you can find specifications for his line of reels.  Using the "reel capacitor" on the "setting up your reel for fishing" found on this website you can figure out the capacity that you will get with the capacity of the model that you want.  the cs 551 holds 20#/350 yards. The cs 625 30#/300 yards.  There is a 551 on eBay.  I recently purchased a 551 and able to cast 30# mono 120-130 yards shore casting here in Hawaii for bone fish and trevallys. I have 250 yds of 40 lb. hollow braid backing with 150 yards of 30 mono top shot loaded on the 551.

[garrick]

Thanks for the ref..  I had found it, and several others as well.  That was a part of my "research".   There is still a bit of uncertainty because you do not know what 350 yards of #15 means in real terms...  And I live in a part of the world where yards went out with chains and roods so no-one quite knows what a yard means in a reel capacity (about 91m).

#15 comes in diameters from 0.35mm through to about 0.42mm in popular brands of mono line.  That translates (in terms of relative area) to about 44% more line for the thinner line, so it is significant.  As you may have picked up, on a small reel such as this it is critical to have enough space for the full-cast topshot.   

In the end I decided to use Berkley Big Game diameter for #15 in the calculations.  Mainly because this is what Carl Newell used in his capacity tables and he was in SoCal and all the guys seem to have followed his lead in some fundamental matters.  The PG CS series is, to my eye, a Newell with the bugs ironed out and beefed up for braid use. 

Then looking at how the braid backing is also very variable in terms of what diameter it is and how it packs down and we get another level of uncertainty. 

And to where does a manufacturer fill the spool?  Manufacturers recommend 1/8" exposed, which is a fair bit of line.  I fill it absolutely full with only the shoulder exposed, so I will put a bit more on. So there is a third uncertainty.

In the end and after all the calcs I still did not know the reel was the right size.  All those in favour of quoting something quantifiable such as 350 yards of 0.40mm line please raise your voices.....

And as it turns out, I'm more than happy with the reel.  In terms of comparisons, the reel that it replaces is the Daiwa Saltist 30H - a very good unit as it is.  But this one is better in terms of casting performance and solidity and balance on the rod and fit into the hand.  As I have already said, will have to find another one sometime just because I like this one so much.

[alantani]

garrick, old friend, you worry too much.  spool it up with 25# big game and go fish.  come back and let us know how it worked out!!!  

[garrick]

You think that's worried?  You should be near me when I work out the tides when I do get to go fishing......