Advice, Reel options for fishing 1800ft deep (Black Cod)

TongassFisher · March 15, 2018, 05:47:28 PM

AT community,

I'd like to get myself in the game to fish Black Cod at roughly 1800 ish feet deep. I fished this last year with a friend running a 100 hook subsistence set which was a ton of fun. Got a dozen black cod and even landed a few 100lbs Halibut at those depths but of course set them free as you cant keep bycatch. Those butts are tough, they swam right back down after pulling them up from those depths, incredible.

So as crazy as this sounds I'm thinking of trying to do this with a high line speed/ratio 2 speed reel. The black cod im not worried about needing a super powerful reel for but it is possible to hook into a bomber halibut with 1800ish feet out so I will need the reel to have some guts to handle big butt. Also the higher the retrieve speed the better. Also, I am thinking if I go with a nicer reel It can serve dual purpose too as I plan to do some down south trips at some point for real game fish, CA, Mexico, Hawaii, etc..

Is this ridiculous to think I fish these kinds of depths without power? Do I realistically need to go electric?

Any feedback would be much appreciated, reel recommendations too!

Thanks,

Trev

conchydong · March 15, 2018, 06:00:56 PM

Folks in S. Florida sometimes fish in those depths with manual reels for Swordfish but it won't be easy. Depending on your local currents and the amount of weight needed to reach bottom the effort to retrieve your line can be enormous, even without fish on. A reel crankie on a powerful cordless drill or Electramate Turnamate will be a great help. I use electric for anything over 400' as we have lot's of current (3-5 knots) due to the Gulf Stream current.

Let us know how it works out for you.

Scott

Vintage Offshore Tackle · March 15, 2018, 07:01:41 PM

Trevor, the higher the gear ratio the harder it is going to be the crank up heavy loads. You might be better off running set line gear instead of rod and reel.

handi2 · March 15, 2018, 08:06:38 PM

I wouldn't touch it without and electric reel or electric drive. At the minimum a Reel Crankie and a Shimano 2 speed reel.

TongassFisher · March 15, 2018, 08:27:46 PM

Quote from: handi2 on March 15, 2018, 08:06:38 PM
I wouldn't touch it without and electric reel or electric drive. At the minimum a Reel Crankie and a Shimano 2 speed reel.

Man I didn't know that the Crankie existed, I had to look it up! I'm thinking just a run of the mill 6/0 or 9/0 will do the trick with a crankie and a drill?

Thanks everyone for the responses!

Trev

Swami805 · March 15, 2018, 09:58:32 PM

One of my favorites to eat, nothing better. I've fished 1200' with a 9/0 and Dacron when I was young and two drops and I was worn out. I'd look into electric for sure
There's a few guys here fishing them but with commercial gear. I think they fish deeper than 1800

handi2 · March 15, 2018, 10:04:12 PM

You can make one of your old 12v or 14v cordless drills run off of the boats 12v. Solder the leads where the battery would connect and add clips for a 12v battery. That's what we do on one of our Swordfish reels.

TongassFisher · March 15, 2018, 10:22:21 PM

I'm curious how those crankies hold up continuous use?

Anyone use one often? Any thoughts?

Sure appreciate all the replies

Dominick · March 15, 2018, 10:24:44 PM

Quote from: handi2 on March 15, 2018, 10:04:12 PM
You can make one of your old 12v or 14v cordless drills run off of the boats 12v. Solder the leads where the battery would connect and add clips for a 12v battery. That's what we do on one of our Swordfish reels.

Keith, I am curious as to how one would attach the drill to the reel? Dominick

handi2 · March 15, 2018, 10:50:30 PM

The drill chuck attaches to the Reel Crankie or however its spelled. The Reel Crankie is rubber mounted to the reel. The handle stays attached. We use it when checking the swordfish bait. Our main Swordfish reel is a Krystal electric.

Dominick · March 15, 2018, 11:07:27 PM

Ah! I see. I went on YouTube and saw a video of it. Thanks. Dominick

handi2 · March 15, 2018, 11:15:23 PM

Although we have never boated a Swordfish we have lost a few. We fish in 3000' of water at night. I dont go on those long trips anymore. My son and his crew still go. As I see it we would have to catch $1,000.00 worth just to break even

David Hall · March 16, 2018, 03:33:46 AM

I think I would be tempted to hand line them off a long line and an electric downrigger.

boon · March 20, 2018, 10:22:58 PM

Probably a Talica 50. Holds around 3000ft of 80lb, nice and light, relatively fast retrieve with a decent low gear. People use them here for daytime dropping for swords in similar depths.

To be honest if I was just meat-fishing in those depths though, I'd get an electric reel every day of the week.

otownjoe · March 21, 2018, 02:27:06 AM

I've fished with some New England cod fisherman on south Florida deep drop trips. They were fond of the accurate bx2- 30. It seems to be the right combination of size and power. The boats they fished on didn't allow electric reels if I remember correctly.
Hand cranking is fine along as your not fishing next to people using electric reels. The slower retrieve rate of the hand crank causes your fish to come up at a different angle than the electric reel. This results in tangles on almost every fish .
If it was me I would use a electric. The diawa tanacom 1000 is a dependable reel at a reasonable price. The fish winch is also a good motor at a better price but not as user friendly.The hand crankie is made for retrieving your line only. It's not recommended for fighting a fish. I bought one for my International 50 w but was disappointed with the way it fit the reel. It was a hassle to hook up.
Deep water fish sure are tasty. I wouldn't mind cranking up a fish from 1800 feet. Reeling up a large weight and empty hooks from that depth would make me question my sanity. Joe