spinning reel advice , long distance casting

[laker]

Thank you everyone , you have given me a lot to think about and all very helpful.

jim

[Hamachi]

Be careful what you ask for.

[philaroman]

just remembered something:

http://www.usreel.com/products/SpinningFeatures.aspx
http://www.usreel.com/products/PROseries.aspx

as I recall, these things were FW size/weight & had HUGE spools on relatively tiny bodies (allegedly for distance)...  never tried one & vaguely recall complaints about too many plastic innards & durability issues, which is probably why they're history & selling for <1/2 original price on fleaBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=%28supercaster%2Csuper+caster%29&_osacat=36147&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X%28supercaster%2Csuper+caster%2C+US+reel%2C+U.S.+reel%29.TRS0&_nkw=%28supercaster%2Csuper+caster%2C+US+reel%2C+U.S.+reel%29&_sacat=36147

might be good enough for a couple years of walleye, but would probably explode if you horse a decent pike

[Porthos]

I had a US Reel 230G. Used it as my primary shore reel when fishing off the rocks of San Diego Bay or surf fishing. Use it for 5 years straight and liked the casting distances i got. Then, I noticed that the braid was slipping more and more under the line roller. The parts had worn down and the roller had a lot of play up and down the roller post. Tried to order new parts from US Reel by phone, and gave them all the payment info--credit card never got charged, so no parts. The complete opposite of customer experience from Daiwa or Okuma whom always sent what I ordered and sometimes even for FREE.

[sharkman]

Penn Spinfisher has a surf reel

[mley1]

For a long time I used Penn 704Z's fishing in the surf. I have a couple that I've put manual bail pickups on them. I had one on a 9ft with 40lb braid for lures, and live bait fishing. And, one on a 10ft with 50lb braid for dead bait. They work well for casting a long distance. Easy to service and maintain. You don't have to baby them. With carbon drags they do well on big fish.

If you're looking for newer reels, I've started using some Daiwa BG's, the new ones that came out this year. They are pretty good reels, and at a good price. I've got a 5000 on a 10ft surf rod that outcasts everything else I have, including hot rodded Abu 7000's and 6500's. The new Daiwa BG's can be had for under 100 dollars if you look. They have some good reviews, and since I've started using them I'm very impressed with them. I have a 4500 on a 7ft Ugly Stik Tiger Light with 40lb braid that I've been using for flounder this season. It casts an 1/8oz jig farther than any of the other rigs I own for lures. I was a bit surprised by how far it casts. The only rig that comes close in my arsenal is a hot rodded Abu 5500CL. And, with the Abu casting into the wind is a bit tough. Whereas, with the Daiwa there's no issues. With the light 1/8oz jigs and that Daiwa 4500 I was doing pretty good. For walleye fishing the 4500 size may be a little large. The 3500 or 4000 size may be better suited, but that's a personal thing. Where I fish there is always a possibility of hooking a much larger fish. So, I use gear that can handle an occasion bigger toothy critter.

[oc1]

Modern low profile conventional reels are more comfortable for repetitive casting (plugging) and will give you as much distance.  Matching the rod to the plug is very important too.
-steve

[Jeri]

Hi Jim,

A new reel that we have been testing for surf casting to maximum distances is shown below, on first attempts with the trrl, we were getting at least an extra 10-20 metres just by changing the reel. Spool shape is avsolutely optimum for top distances with fixed spool reels.



The reel is from a Spanish company called Yuki, and it has a dream drag of about 33lbs at maximum.

Hope that helps

Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri