Quote:
Originally Posted by dniss
You sound pretty damn expert to me, or at least experienced and thoughtful. Thanks for you willingness to share......
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Your welcome. You know how it is.... people are always uptight about giving up their conventional wisdom on things, but ultimately they come around.
I remember when I saw my first spectra. Izor was the first to put it out local and initially they had nothing below 35lbs test.
I bought a spool of of white 35lbs Izor Spectra, dyed it Blue with spray paint and acetone, and tied on a eight foot topshot of thirty mono, and then took it tuna fishing. People actually thought I was totally insane. They treated me like some village Idiot that didn't know what I was doing fishing that small lever drag with thirty pound. I caught a ton of fish with it over the next few years including this nice 45+ albicore....
(you can see the TLD5 in the picture)
....but at the time I was the only person using a small lever drag with spectra that I knew. I actually had guys on party boats tell me it was unsafe to use and to not fish it.... It was a total trip.
Now to me it was just a obvious way to go. All I needed to fish tuna capacity wise was 300yds of line. With the diameter of the 35 spectra, baits would swim better with it, and I could fish a relatively small reel with a lighter spool weight to maximize bait presentation, but the problem back then was the reels in that size range did not have a enough drag to fish it.
The TLD5 with it's superior drag was the only reel in that size range that could fish thirty pound. So it was the ticket then and I still use them today.
Now in hindsight it's all easy to see. A decade later the market is filled with small lever drags designed for spectra, but back then no-one saw it coming.
Shimano certainly didn't, they had just discontinued the TLD5. They could of put it back into production and had a jump on the competition, but they didn't.. Back then those reels sold for 75 dollars new, Now they fetch 185 dollars on ebay. Shimano screwed themselves big time because they not only lost a potential money maker in the TLD5 but they also completely lost the small lever drag spectra market to Avet as a result of thier inaction.
I mean I just bought a Tyrnos 8 the other day..
...and it's a great reel. It's smaller then the TLD5 with a stronger frame, a faster gear ratio, and enough drag to fish forty pound, but in all fairness that reel is ten years too late for Shimano. They had a great shot and they missed it.
Where small lever drags have advanced largely due to Avet everything else is still lagging behind. Rod manufacturers are still pushing fast taper rods, even though they are less then ideal for spectra. Though there are some great small bass reels for casting spectra like the ABU Revo STX but there are few larger star drag reels with mag brakes for spectra. The Penn 525mag is the only one I have found that works well. I would love to find a similar sized mag replacement for my Daiwa SL20Shs but no-one makes one right now. You may have noticed that in the top Yellowfin photos I'm using a Daiwa Saltist 20H, that one is magged but I had to mag it myself. Penn to their credit is going to market one that size this year. The Penn 515MAG. Penn has already released a prototype of that reel and their new rebuilt 525MAG.
They sent those those particular reels as prototypes for testing in England.
http://24-7sac.org.uk/Tackle-Testing.php
The Brit casting nuts give it glowing reviews: "
Although the penn 515mag and the 525magare not really designed to tournament casting they performed really well casting our leads over 220yards"
I'll be buying one of those reels as soon as Penn puts them on sale here.
Spinning reels and spectra is going to be the next big thing though. Traditionally spinning reels are only good for up to thirty pound or really twenty pound if you want casting distance because mono is so stiff and the diameter is too big for spinning technology after you get past thirty pound.
Well spectra changes all that, and this time the manufactures are actually ahead of the curve. Shimano is marketing high end spinning reels to the long range crowd but I have no use for a $600+ spinning reel that's designed for fishing 80lbs spectra. I honestly think they are targeting the wrong market with the high end popper crowd, but they love to market to long range because those guys spend cash like nobuddies business.
Penn's marketing the Slammers like the one I mention above for under $150, and I am very impressed with those reels, as they are much better suited to local fishing..
Like I said My Penn 560 will cast 30lbs spectra further then any reel I have ever used. It also will cast the lightest pinhead chovie and flyline it like a dream. It's designed for spectra has enough drag for thirty pound, has a 1/4 inch stainless steel spool shaft and an instant anti reverse just like a conventional reel. I've beat tuna to thirty pounds with it and it's just an amazing reel. I also purchased a penn 760 slammer and spooled it with 450yds of forty power pro. That reel has the drag of a 4/0 senator, It's big maybe too much for La Jolla but I'm planning to use it for pitching baits to Marlin Offshore this year.
Ultimately I think Spectra is going to have a bigger impact on the use of spinning gear then it has had on conventional gear, but it's going to take a while for people to wrap their heads around that and catch on to it's benefits.
If you spool up a spinning reel with spectra and take it down to La Jolla you may find your the only guy out there with that gear on any given day. People may look at you funny, who knows they might even tell you it's unsafe to use, but the bottom line is that you will be able to outcast those guys and if the reel is made to fish spectra you will be able to land the fish you hook on it.
What I'm saying here is that you might be one of the first guys out there with that gear but you won't be the last because more people are eventually going to figure out the benefits of this gear down the line and then more people will end up using it. It just might take another decade before it really catches on.
At any rate good luck.
Jim