Reel Recommendation: $150-250, Live bait/Casting/All Rounder

Started by Vince, February 03, 2016, 11:39:12 PM

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David Hall

There's nothing in th Monterey bay that you can catch that is not easily handled on an Avet sx or MX.
That's where I fish regularly and I use the avers and a whole slew of modified old Penns. Small accurate and Small shimano.
Unless your shark fishing!


johndtuttle

#32
I would most definitely recommend a Star Drag reel as the superior all around reel for west coast fishing.

1. Easier by far to cast a live bait and the bait swims easier.

2. Easier by far to cast Iron.

3. Not overkill for 20-30# leader.

4. Less expensive, and easier to maintain.

5. Still a great reel for deep jigging or general bottom use.

6. Salmon, Lings, Rockfish etc.

A Classic 3/0 sized reel like Penn Fathom 25N would be my first choice as the all around reel. A 25NLD2 is going to be a poor second choice on a jig stick, casting a live bait and letting it swim. I will always reach for a star drag as my one all-around. A LD2 speed is great choice for one 40# reel which is a much smaller percentage of west coast fishing.

Honestly, when you get to know a reel like this and what it can do it will be your go to.


mackereljoe

If I only have 1 rig, it will be a star drag such as the new pro gear v40.  Will be backed by #50 spectra with about 100 yards of mono.  It will do surface iron to fly line live bait and during winter rock cod, strip the mono and loop to loop #65 spectra.  Or if seals are too much, loop to loop #80 spectra and 60-80 pound leader for surface iron and yoyo iron.  Of course the next rig would be PG cs500 for 20-25 set up.  The pro gear will be on the upper part of the price range but gets plenty of respect on the sportsboat. v40 or penn 25n on an 8' jigstick maybe 800m and the smaller pro gear CS500 or the new v20 on a 8' 800L/270h. 

DaBigOno

What's up Vince!


Looking forward to some pics of your decision and how you came to it.


With all the help here, I'm sure you'll find something that fits your bill.
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono

Vince

Quote from: johndtuttle on February 12, 2016, 01:36:40 AM
I would most definitely recommend a Star Drag reel as the superior all around reel for west coast fishing.

Hey John and MackerelJoe, it looks like you prefer the star drags to the lever drags due to some mechanical advantages- in particular, you mentioned that live lining and casting are easier. Is it due to a lighter spool/less mechanical moving parts that interfere with freespooling? I can definitely understand that simpler mechanisms are easier to maintain of course, but the casting part is an interesting aspect that I hadn't known about. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

MarkT

Yes, star drags cast better than lever drags.  The lighter the spool the easier it is to start spinning.  The spools on lever drags are heavier since the drags are on the spool and will often spin longer but don't cast as well.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

johndtuttle

Lighter spool, easier to cast very light baits and easier for that frisky Sardine to pull line off of the spool. This is partly why "free spool" can be misleading. A heavy spool might actually spin longer, but is very hard to cast as well or let the bait swim as a very light spool. Really, when we lube our spool bearings we are trying to make it as easy as possible to start the spool swimming to cast light baits and to let the bait pull line on its own.

In addition, a reel like a Fathom 25N has casting brakes that you can alternatively click on use to slow the reel down when you want to use it for casting iron to make it easier to control.

Lever Drag reels have the drag mechanism mounted on the spool which create a lot of inertia. They can be decent casters, but nowhere near as good as Star Drags for light weights (which is why there is no such thing as a LD reel for bass fishing in freshwater :) ).

A single speed lever drag reel is just kinda of for "show". It doesn't really have any advantage over a star drag reel of the same size. They start to shine when you need 2 speeds, really for fishing 40# leader and above, but that is a smaller percentage of fishing on the West Coast.

The Classic 3/0 star drag for fishing 30# line/leader handles 95% of west coast fishing until you get well south of San Diego and does it all better than anything else. Troll for Salmon or mooch....Lings/Rockfish or Albacore....White Sea Bass, Hali, or schoolie Tuna and Yellowtail off San Diego. Don't leave home without it.  ;)

SoCalAngler

Quote from: johndtuttle on February 12, 2016, 04:50:39 PM
A single speed lever drag reel is just kinda of for "show". It doesn't really have any advantage over a star drag reel of the same size. They start to shine when you need 2 speeds, really for fishing 40# leader and above, but that is a smaller percentage of fishing on the West Coast.


A single speed LD reel shines if your looking to troll with the reel. Like slow trolling live bait from a private boat or kayak. But even if I was going to do this a two speed LD reels offers you more options and worth the extra bucks IMO.

SoCalAngler

#39
I know where will be some loss in casting distance from lets say a Fathom 25N star drag v their lever drag two speed but does anybody know how much it will be? I sure don't and I'm wondering if we are talking feet, a yard or two or more? Maybe if someone has both reels or if I can get my hands on a Fathom25NLD we should measure the loss in distance?

Big Tim

I'm a nube when it comes to tossing live bait. I struggled mightily on my SOA trip, but I can cast a jig & with my Avet JX 6.0 I had no problem reaching the fish with a 3 oz. Lazer Minnow. That reel was on a Seeker Black Steel 7' 20-40 rod. Everything else was  on the YoYo and I did well. I plan on getting better on tossin' live bait but I fish the Central coast of California nearly year round and have for 40 years. I did go to High School in San Diego and fished live bait and jigs for anything Grandpa could find from Mission Bay to La Jolla and ??? But that was 100 pounds ago. Recently I took 5 reels to the park with a sandwich and a few brews, my new Phenix Abyss 8' 20-50 rod and a few small weights to try my casting out  :o:

The reels:




3 casts with the jigmaster and a 3 oz. weight...3 massive backlashes...She gets the vintage Seeker honey glass 15-40 rod for bottom fishing.

next up was the Avet MXJ loaded with #50 Power Pro and a #30 top shot...Same 3 oz. weight and after a couple of casts I was coming close to the fence. I didn't measure but it looked like it was way the hell out there  ;D NICE.

then we moved to the Fathom 25NLDII..It took about 5 casts an 1 backlash to reach the MXJ and I was satisfied that this reel could could hit the fence and have the power,speed and drag to handle a lot of different fish.

Lastly was the Fathom 15 star drag, spool control and centrifugal weights engaged ...same #50 braid and #30 top shot...2nd cast over the freakin 'fence by a 100 miles  ;D ;D ;D and it has the drag to handle some nice size fish.


Then this guy...Penn Conflict 6000 loaded with #50 power Pro and a 2 oz. sinker on a Tsunami Braid Elite 7' 20-40 rod....1 cast and it went farthest by another mile  ;D I knew this would happen because when I got the set up I decided to cast in my front yard and was was praying for the 2 oz. weight to stop before slamming into my neighbors back window of his new Chevy about 200 feet away



Summary...I don't know CRAP about casting or reels..I know what I like. I know that I like to purchase a rod n reel set up that will do multiple tasks for ME. I can tell you that each reel I've shown is reasonably priced for many budgets and will catch many sizes and different species of fish. What you need to do is find something you like and don't settle. Practice with it and move to the next one... God Bless.

BT out

johndtuttle

Thanks for that Big Tim!  ;)

Yea, I think that distance is not necessarily the be all and end all but the deal maker when making a rec for someone just starting out is ease of use. That will boat more fish and give the positive vibes flowing more than anything. :).

LD2 reels do fine (more than enough to catch a fish) with very heavy and dense stuff, and especially star drags excel at lighter stuff (like a live bait) but then spinning dominates any casting with extremely light stuff (easily 2x as far to scary far when casting braid and dense stuff.

Nothing is set in stone though, just food for thought for the OP.



Big Tim

Thank you John
BT

MarkT

If I'm throwing bait with a 2 oz sinker, distance isn't too important. An underhand toss with whatever is good enough. Tossing a fly lined 'chovie is another matter and my 525 mag (or Fathom 12) on an 8'6' rod with a light tip will do as well, or better, than a spinner. Been there done both.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

SoCalAngler

Quote from: MarkT on February 13, 2016, 04:54:59 AM
If I'm throwing bait with a 2 oz sinker, distance isn't too important. An underhand toss with whatever is good enough. Tossing a fly lined 'chovie is another matter and my 525 mag (or Fathom 12) on an 8'6' rod with a light tip will do as well, or better, than a spinner. Been there done both.

Yes I agree 100%. That is why I use a Newell 220 for light baits.

Some here are trying to look like the be all and end all then it comes to fishing, and I'm sure not but if someone talks about something they should back it up.

Heck, maybe I should bring my fly fishing gear on a sport boat. Then we can really talk about casting light stuff'