tld star 15/30 and 20/40

[otownjoe]

Dave, I've caught tuna up to 30 pounds on my 15/30 and it handled them with ease.

[raumati01]

Hey Alan , thanks for the tutorial. I just serviced an old one I scored at a good price and it's the narrow model too. What surprised me was the size of the drag washers in this little reel.

[jonathan.han]

You can easily put 40lb on this reel. Depending on the angler, you could catch 100lbers, if you have enough line. Of course, this depends on the angler. A friend of mine cought a 180lb bluefin on a Calstar 196-7, a ProGear Albie special, and 30#BG on a Tady. Almost spooled him a few times and he was 10 yrs. old. It really depends on the angler and if you can chase it down or not. If you can take 100-200 yds more on your reel, do it. It's not overkill.

[sundaytrucka]

Thanks for the tutorial and breakdown on these reels; I would have passed them up as some "old" reels, not fit for my needs, but I am going to get at least two for live bait fly-lining. How good is the casting ability with either reel, from an out of the box perspective, with a novice angler behind it? I have been looking at these for 20#-40# live bait setups, and with that you generally do not need to cast too far, the bait does or should do most of the work taking out line. 

When it comes to surface jigging, how would either reel stack up with constant casts and re-casts? Smoothness, freespool, cast control?

Thanks again for the write-up on these gems.

[alantani]

they are great reels, and pauline has two for sale.  then come with rods, though. 

[sundaytrucka]

Quick question...The Shimano website has both versions of the TLD Star Drag gear ratio as 5.2:1, but when re-searching the reels, I have seen random comments in forums and websites listing the 20/40 model 4.3:1???

Is it misinformation being passed around, or was an older production model of the 20/40 once sold with a 4.3:1 ratio? Just want clarification, as the 4.3:1, if it exists, would be a reel worth searching for.

Tackle direct has the 20/40 listed as a 4.3:1 (typo maybe?), but the 20/40 reel pictured is labeled with 5.2:1.

Link:
http://www.tackledirect.com/shimanotldstar.html

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

it's probably a typo because my 20/40 which i bought used has 5.2:1 ratio...

[raumati01]

I've never seen one in anything but 5.2:1 , just got mine spooled up. Even the narrow has a pretty huge capacity of 20lb braid.

[sundaytrucka]

Just picked up a TLD 20/40 two days ago, very satisfied and impressed; I see why Alan said the reel can handle 40-50# topshot. The reel is strong in many respects and the 20/40 is much more "beefy" than expected (In a good way). Paid close to retail for a used one (had to purchase a reel clamp separately, did not come with one), but it was near mint, came with fresh 30# Izo, and made in Japan. Normally I would be bothered with a near retail-priced purchase, but I am so satisfied with the reel that I cannot complain.

I initially bough the reel for a 30# setup, but it might be more suited for a 40#, reminds me of a Penn 3/0 in size comparison; fine 30# reel no doubt, but I feel the 15/30 is a better "sized" 30# reel. Really happy with my purchase, and will definitely be buying two more in the 15/30 model.

Going to upgrade the drag washers and add a bearing where the bushing is; have not fished it yet, but believe this is going to be one of my all-time favorite reels.

As mentioned before, I would have passed these up in the plethora of reels available if it had not been for the breakdown posted of this reel.

Thank you Alan!!!

-Scott

[alantani]

let me know when you're ready for a new handle arm!

[jd944]

Speaking of handles, here's a really nice Shimano factory handle that works great on 15/30's and 20/40's. I also have the same one on my Tekota 600. The Shimano part number is TGT0495.

[Fishermanny]

I have a question regarding the spool shaft bushing. These reels seem to be almost exactly the same as the Shimano Speedmasters. (The 15/30 is similar to the old Speedmaster III, and the 20/40 similar to the Speedmaster IV). Please correct me if I'm wrong, but can you change out the spool shaft bushing with a Speedmaster bearing? Would that work? Or are they different sizes?

[CapeFish]

I have a question regarding the spool shaft bushing. These reels seem to be almost exactly the same as the Shimano Speedmasters. (The 15/30 is similar to the old Speedmaster III, and the 20/40 similar to the Speedmaster IV). Please correct me if I'm wrong, but can you change out the spool shaft bushing with a Speedmaster bearing? Would that work? Or are they different sizes?

Yes it is a straight swap,

[PanamaTom]

I have been trying to purchase a couple of TLD Stars and being told by the dealers that the reel has been discontinued by Shimano. The reel is still listed on the Shimano website. Does anyone know if there is a direct high speed lightweight replacement for this reel?

[alantani]

i think they want you to buy the trinidad or the torium.  guess the margin on the tld star was not high enough, plus guys were buying tld's instead of aluminum framed reels. it's all about the money.