Fishing Reel Dilemma

[YakDout]

I would say since you are not yet familiarized with conventional reels, and you've been bouncing the idea of a lever drag reel around, go for it. You won't be disappointed in the strength of the drag. It can be a real advantage in my opinion. Reason being is the quicker adjustment of lever drag reel vs star drag. Some may say you have to put in free spool to adjust, that is half way true. If you pre adjust your full drag before you go out, to the line capacity and lb test, you're golden. Now your choice of an avet sx is good, but I'm assuming when you say trolling you mean from your kayak , because that reel would not handle a big yellowtail or dorado on the troll from a boat. The learning curve for casting with these new lever drags can be significant, however if you plan on just flipping out a bait on a boat it will work just fine. Hucking an iron from a kayak may be a different story.
By the way, I grew up in discovery hills. Right up the street from lake San Marcos. I bet you caught some hog LMB in there.

[RockyRaab]

I can't recommend an ocean reel, but your wife's comments reminded me of my favorite gun store story...

One regular visitor would handle and talk eagerly about the display guns, but never bought one. Then one Saturday he came in with a Cheshire cat grin and said, "I'll take that rifle, that shotgun, and that revolver." We were, of course, gobsmacked. What changed, we asked.

"It's like this," he chuckled, "For years my wife said 'You don't need another gun; you had a gun when we got married.' And that was that. Until yesterday. She went shopping and while she was gone, I took all the clothes out of her closet and hid them. Then I hung up her wedding dress. When she got home, she had a fit, and I said 'You had a dress when we got married.' And so here I am."

[Bowrider3]

Diawa Saltist, shimano torium or avet sx/mx are all great reels. ( I own all of them). Star drags are generally much easier to cast and work plenty well for local stuff. If you want to learn to cast (ie acquire an intelligent thumb) I would go with the torium or Saltist. Saltist is a bit more durable and has a bit better drag system but both are excellent reels for the money. Diawa sealines are also a great value and similar to the Saltist. If you are just going to drop straight down, the avet is terrific. It just takes a bit more practice to cast them because of the heavier spool. Level drags also will not cast as well as star drags all things being equal. If you are going to use it for drifting or trolling for halibut, you may also want to consider the shimano tekota, which is a level wind reel which works great.

[StinkyMatt]

Daiwa Sealine 20.





All the reels mentioned are very nice.

For the money , get a size 20 sealine. Very, very durable, small enough to work all day and big enough for e everything in a kayak found in southern cal(except sharks)

[alanw]

Buy Made in USA if at all possible.

[caddisx]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As far as irons, I still plan on using my spin reels. This community might not completely agree but I still plan on being a spin fishing guy most of the time. I just want to try something new and thought this might be the best way in. I realize it is a bit of a cheat if I plan on just dropping 60% + of the time but I like the idea of being able to let the fish take some line before I set the hook. Plus it will give me the opportunity to practice a bit and maybe in a year I can upgrade or expand. That will cause more un with the wife I am sure. As far as San Marcos. I started fishing there when I was 5. (42 now). When I was in HS I would drive to the lake and just take the boat out without ever seeing the grand parents. Needless to say, yes I have taken some HOGS from there. Love that lake.