Fishing reel questions - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Sheephead · 08-21-2016, 03:50 PM

I've had some friends give new advice over the past 3 months and have tested everything they told me on several fish but i'm still left with a couple questions I'm unable to answer because i'm still a noob when it comes to reels

.(Not a noob noob, just a noob) I'm looking to buy a new reel primarily for fly-lining to pair between a
6 1/2' Seeker Classic Series BSC 665-6 20, (30), 50lb and

7' Calstar BWC-870C 15-40lb

Here's what i'm wondering. I like to horse my fish in rather than fighting them for 20+ min like some people. Even if that means losing 1-2 but I've also noticed that buttoning the drag down close to max (20ish) can lose fish on head shakes. Is there any point in getting a reel with more than 20lbs of drag? I was previously thinking about buying a Talica 16ii or Accurate BX2-600 and spooling with 50lb powerpro and a 40-50lb mono topshot to allow for stretch to prevent losing the fish on head shakes but also be able to RAMP up that drag and get a better fight out of the fish. Obviously don't want to spend $400+ if i'm never going to turn the drag past 20ish on those reels.

Another question for those of you that own Accurate reels, do they break down easily and constantly require repair when kayak fishing and are they easy to service? Comparing servicing Accurate reels to Penn reels and Penn making you want to kill your self in the most tortuous way possible. Ho would you rate it? I wan't to upgrade from Avet and get either Fury FX-500 or FX2-500 if going over 20lb drag is pointless but don't want to spend big $$$ having a tackle shop service it several times a year.

THANKS in advance for your guy's opinions/ knowledge your willing to share!

YakDout · 08-21-2016, 05:20 PM

For kayak fishing I like saltist bg series for star drags and avets for lever drag

surfisher · 08-21-2016, 06:40 PM

Are you serious? Ive heard VERY good things about the penn fathom lineup.

Geno Machino · 08-21-2016, 06:47 PM

Penn fathom 30 2-speed...I put 2 big BFT (137 & 113#'s) on board back to back, with a lot more to spare. Straight 85# braid to 100# floro...for a little over $240.00. What more do you want in a reel? Granted I had it paired with a Calstar 800H. The fathom series comes in a 20 & 25 (2speed) size, along with single speeds. You should be able to find something to fit your sticks, I would think...

Sheephead · 08-21-2016, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geno Machino

Penn fathom 30 2-speed...I put 2 big BFT (137 & 113#'s) on board back to back, with a lot more to spare. Straight 85# braid to 100# floro...for a little over $240.00. What more do you want in a reel? Granted I had it paired with a Calstar 800H. The fathom series comes in a 20 & 25 (2speed) size, along with single speeds. You should be able to find something to fit your sticks, I would think...

Great to hear! That's a nice double. I don't plan on supporting Penn reels anytime in the near future though.

octico · 08-22-2016, 08:14 AM

I have two Penn Fathoms, they are really nice reels. I have nothing to but good things to say about them, a lot of times when I go fishing on cattle boats I will reach for my Fathom over my Talicas.

Mr_Fixit · 08-22-2016, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfisher

Are you serious? Ive heard VERY good things about the penn fathom lineup.

I have a Penn Fathom 25N and it does VERY well! Great setup, reliable, smooth drag, no corrosion, yada yada yada... And it looks good. Its affordable.. Yeah, if I ever need another pole, its going to have a 25N (2-speed).

YakHanded · 08-22-2016, 09:32 AM

I have the penn fathom FTH25NLD single speed lever drag and I love it killer reel - casts great and great for fishing bait too

taggermike · 08-23-2016, 09:17 AM

20 lbs of drag is plenty. Dont know what yak you're using but I've gotten enough drag out of an old beat up Shimano TLD 15 to almost flip my OK prowler 15. You don't need a $400 reel to horse in our local yt.

There are other factors besides drag. I'm fishing a calstar west coast rod (all glass) rated 20-50. Last month while fighting a thresher the shark was straight under the yak and the rod was completely maxed out, bent to the point where all its recoil could not move the fish. I was only using 30 lb line. Another 50 lbs of drag would not have helped me. Mike

taggermike · 08-23-2016, 09:25 AM

Sounds like you must have had a bad experience with Penn. I bought a Penn fathom 30 2 speed from takle direct. The reel had a slipping drag that I didn't find until I'd fought a yt with it. Still landed the fish. I sent the reel back to tackle direct. I got a replacement reel in 2 weeks. They transferred my spectra to the new reel and put in a free spool of braid as a bonus. New reel works great. Caught a couple yt and had a slug fest with a thresher, nice smooth drag and plenty if cranking power. Mike

maquinapescado · 08-23-2016, 09:50 AM

I have several Fathom lever drags. They are great. Smooth drag, cast well and at jandh.com you can get the singles for 130-155. You can pop the side covers off pretty easy for greasing. The only thing is that if you surf launch and submerge them, you'll want to pull them apart more often, like any reel. All you need to do is pull the clicker control cover off and put like 1-2 drops of oil down the axle. More drag than you'll ever need kayak fishing.

chris138 · 08-23-2016, 10:26 AM

TLD 15 all day everyday. Don't buy a reel for the kayak that you don't mind losing in the drink. 16-18# of drag is plenty to horse any fish in la jolla, including the blacks.

PescadorPete · 08-23-2016, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris138

TLD 15 all day everyday. Don't buy a reel for the kayak that you don't mind losing in the drink. 16-18# of drag is plenty to horse any fish in la jolla, including the blacks.

Yes indeed, a simple reliable lever drag reel. Replace the felt drag washer with HT-100 or Carbontex and it is just about bullet proof. I use a Daiwa BG35 geared down to 4.9:1 for a star drag.

I don't think I could handle 20# of drag on my Revo, that would probably flip me over. ~~~Pete~~~

CR Yaker · 08-23-2016, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheephead

I've had some friends give new advice over the past 3 months and have tested everything they told me on several fish but i'm still left with a couple questions I'm unable to answer because i'm still a noob when it comes to reels

.(Not a noob noob, just a noob) I'm looking to buy a new reel primarily for fly-lining to pair between a
6 1/2' Seeker Classic Series BSC 665-6 20, (30), 50lb and

7' Calstar BWC-870C 15-40lb

Here's what i'm wondering. I like to horse my fish in rather than fighting them for 20+ min like some people. Even if that means losing 1-2 but I've also noticed that buttoning the drag down close to max (20ish) can lose fish on head shakes. Is there any point in getting a reel with more than 20lbs of drag? I was previously thinking about buying a Talica 16ii or Accurate BX2-600 and spooling with 50lb powerpro and a 40-50lb mono topshot to allow for stretch to prevent losing the fish on head shakes but also be able to RAMP up that drag and get a better fight out of the fish. Obviously don't want to spend $400+ if i'm never going to turn the drag past 20ish on those reels.

Another question for those of you that own Accurate reels, do they break down easily and constantly require repair when kayak fishing and are they easy to service? Comparing servicing Accurate reels to Penn reels and Penn making you want to kill your self in the most tortuous way possible. Ho would you rate it? I wan't to upgrade from Avet and get either Fury FX-500 or FX2-500 if going over 20lb drag is pointless but don't want to spend big $$$ having a tackle shop service it several times a year.

THANKS in advance for your guy's opinions/ knowledge your willing to share!

Not for those rods. Rods are rated on line not reel drag. So divide those ratings by three. For 20lbs of drag you will need at least a 60lb rod.
Also consider with a mono hull kayak you can't really stand and fight a fish so your limits on ability to handle drag are a bit handicapped. That being said I don't think it's wise to max out a drag on a reel. So go bigger for a cushion and health of the reel and set your drag only to what you, your rod, or line can handle.
I'm using Avet Raptors on a Calstar 760L (rated 30-80) for trolling on my TI. Max drag set at 25lbs, 65lb braid.

YakDout · 08-23-2016, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PescadorPete

Yes indeed, a simple reliable lever drag reel. Replace the felt drag washer with HT-100 or Carbontex and it is just about bullet proof. I use a Daiwa BG35 geared down to 4.9:1 for a star drag.

I don't think I could handle 20# of drag on my Revo, that would probably flip me over. ~~~Pete~~~

Did you gear it down yourself? Where did you get the part at if so? Im looking to gear down my saltist bg's but cannot find the parts.

Sheephead · 08-23-2016, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taggermike

Sounds like you must have had a bad experience with Penn. I bought a Penn fathom 30 2 speed from takle direct. The reel had a slipping drag that I didn't find until I'd fought a yt with it. Still landed the fish. I sent the reel back to tackle direct. I got a replacement reel in 2 weeks. They transferred my spectra to the new reel and put in a free spool of braid as a bonus. New reel works great. Caught a couple yt and had a slug fest with a thresher, nice smooth drag and plenty if cranking power. Mike

Great point's and thanks for giving me insight on something so obvious I'm not sure how I completely ignored it. My penn jigmasters death is why I hate penn so much. Opened it up and everything spewed out before I took the cap off... Trying to replace my reels with easily serviceable one's so I don't spend $50+ every month per reel. Guess I'll have to give the newer penn products a chance.

Sheephead · 08-23-2016, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR Yaker

Not for those rods. Rods are rated on line not reel drag. So divide those ratings by three. For 20lbs of drag you will need at least a 60lb rod.
Also consider with a mono hull kayak you can't really stand and fight a fish so your limits on ability to handle drag are a bit handicapped. That being said I don't think it's wise to max out a drag on a reel. So go bigger for a cushion and health of the reel and set your drag only to what you, your rod, or line can handle.
I'm using Avet Raptors on a Calstar 760L (rated 30-80) for trolling on my TI. Max drag set at 25lbs, 65lb braid.

Good point on rod rating. Over looked that. Thanks for the tip!

PescadorPete · 08-23-2016, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YakDout

Did you gear it down yourself? Where did you get the part at if so? Im looking to gear down my saltist bg's but cannot find the parts.

Pardon my thread jack for a moment.

I did, being the gear head that I am.

Not cost effective but who cares, it's hot-rod fishing after all. You need the main gear, pinion gear and spool from the discontinued 30T. They changed the spool shaft from the 30T to the BG35 so you can't just go with the main/pinion. You also need the spool.

Best bet is to find a trashed 30T and use it for parts. I bought a couple of 30Ts when they were blowing them out, used them heavily until the paint wore off and then morphed them into BG35s 4.9.

Back on topic, for "heavy drag" rods, I use a Calstar glass WC 670C and a graphite 700M.

YakDout · 08-23-2016, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PescadorPete

Pardon my thread jack for a moment.

I did, being the gear head that I am.

Not cost effective but who cares, it's hot-rod fishing after all. You need the main gear, pinion gear and spool from the discontinued 30T. They changed the spool shaft from the 30T to the BG35 so you can't just go with the main/pinion. You also need the spool.

Best bet is to find a trashed 30T and use it for parts. I bought a couple of 30Ts when they were blowing them out, used them heavily until the paint wore off and then morphed them into BG35s 4.9.

Back on topic, for "heavy drag" rods, I use a Calstar glass WC 670C and a graphite 700M.

Thanks, lot of effort. Figured I couldnt get away with just the main!

Bajarick · 08-23-2016, 06:26 PM

Been reading through this thread. I want a 2 speed for the same reason....lower gear pulling power. I'm having a problem with how much drag pressure we can actually use from a kayak. Do any of you engineers know? I don't think it's more than 10 to 12 lbs before we get pulled over....that's straight down. I have a really hard time breaking 30lb mono when I catch the bottom and I've never broken off using the rod...unless a fish is on the other end going through the rocks.
For the original poster.....I've been using a Newell 332 for a long time and I've caught everything I've wanted. Drag maxes about 8 pounds. Newells were one of the first to improve on the Jigmaster. Hard to find anything easier to service than a Jigmaster. Alantani.com and learn how to put that back together.

08-21-2016, 03:50 PM	#1
Sheephead Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 115	Fishing reel questions I've had some friends give new advice over the past 3 months and have tested everything they told me on several fish but i'm still left with a couple questions I'm unable to answer because i'm still a noob when it comes to reels.(Not a noob noob, just a noob) I'm looking to buy a new reel primarily for fly-lining to pair between a 6 1/2' Seeker Classic Series BSC 665-6 20, (30), 50lb and 7' Calstar BWC-870C 15-40lb Here's what i'm wondering. I like to horse my fish in rather than fighting them for 20+ min like some people. Even if that means losing 1-2 but I've also noticed that buttoning the drag down close to max (20ish) can lose fish on head shakes. Is there any point in getting a reel with more than 20lbs of drag? I was previously thinking about buying a Talica 16ii or Accurate BX2-600 and spooling with 50lb powerpro and a 40-50lb mono topshot to allow for stretch to prevent losing the fish on head shakes but also be able to RAMP up that drag and get a better fight out of the fish. Obviously don't want to spend $400+ if i'm never going to turn the drag past 20ish on those reels. Another question for those of you that own Accurate reels, do they break down easily and constantly require repair when kayak fishing and are they easy to service? Comparing servicing Accurate reels to Penn reels and Penn making you want to kill your self in the most tortuous way possible. Ho would you rate it? I wan't to upgrade from Avet and get either Fury FX-500 or FX2-500 if going over 20lb drag is pointless but don't want to spend big $$$ having a tackle shop service it several times a year. THANKS in advance for your guy's opinions/ knowledge your willing to share!

08-21-2016, 06:40 PM	#3
surfisher Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 388	Are you serious? Ive heard VERY good things about the penn fathom lineup. __________________

08-21-2016, 06:47 PM	#4
Geno Machino "Relax" Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: O'side Posts: 553	Penn fathom 30 2-speed...I put 2 big BFT (137 & 113#'s) on board back to back, with a lot more to spare. Straight 85# braid to 100# floro...for a little over $240.00. What more do you want in a reel? Granted I had it paired with a Calstar 800H. The fathom series comes in a 20 & 25 (2speed) size, along with single speeds. You should be able to find something to fit your sticks, I would think... __________________

08-23-2016, 09:50 AM	#11
maquinapescado Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 326	I have several Fathom lever drags. They are great. Smooth drag, cast well and at jandh.com you can get the singles for 130-155. You can pop the side covers off pretty easy for greasing. The only thing is that if you surf launch and submerge them, you'll want to pull them apart more often, like any reel. All you need to do is pull the clicker control cover off and put like 1-2 drops of oil down the axle. More drag than you'll ever need kayak fishing. __________________ Climb, Surf, Fish, Repeat

08-21-2016, 05:20 PM	#2
YakDout Brandon Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,345	For kayak fishing I like saltist bg series for star drags and avets for lever drag

08-22-2016, 08:14 AM	#6
octico Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: The city of Orange Posts: 1,278	I have two Penn Fathoms, they are really nice reels. I have nothing to but good things to say about them, a lot of times when I go fishing on cattle boats I will reach for my Fathom over my Talicas.

08-22-2016, 09:32 AM	#8
YakHanded Thread Killer - sorry Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: San Clemente Posts: 256	I have the penn fathom FTH25NLD single speed lever drag and I love it killer reel - casts great and great for fishing bait too

08-23-2016, 09:17 AM	#9
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	20 lbs of drag is plenty. Dont know what yak you're using but I've gotten enough drag out of an old beat up Shimano TLD 15 to almost flip my OK prowler 15. You don't need a $400 reel to horse in our local yt. There are other factors besides drag. I'm fishing a calstar west coast rod (all glass) rated 20-50. Last month while fighting a thresher the shark was straight under the yak and the rod was completely maxed out, bent to the point where all its recoil could not move the fish. I was only using 30 lb line. Another 50 lbs of drag would not have helped me. Mike

08-23-2016, 09:25 AM	#10
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	Sounds like you must have had a bad experience with Penn. I bought a Penn fathom 30 2 speed from takle direct. The reel had a slipping drag that I didn't find until I'd fought a yt with it. Still landed the fish. I sent the reel back to tackle direct. I got a replacement reel in 2 weeks. They transferred my spectra to the new reel and put in a free spool of braid as a bonus. New reel works great. Caught a couple yt and had a slug fest with a thresher, nice smooth drag and plenty if cranking power. Mike

08-23-2016, 10:26 AM	#12
chris138 donkey roper Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pacific Beach Posts: 968	TLD 15 all day everyday. Don't buy a reel for the kayak that you don't mind losing in the drink. 16-18# of drag is plenty to horse any fish in la jolla, including the blacks.

08-23-2016, 06:26 PM	#20
Bajarick Junior Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: BCS Posts: 13	Been reading through this thread. I want a 2 speed for the same reason....lower gear pulling power. I'm having a problem with how much drag pressure we can actually use from a kayak. Do any of you engineers know? I don't think it's more than 10 to 12 lbs before we get pulled over....that's straight down. I have a really hard time breaking 30lb mono when I catch the bottom and I've never broken off using the rod...unless a fish is on the other end going through the rocks. For the original poster.....I've been using a Newell 332 for a long time and I've caught everything I've wanted. Drag maxes about 8 pounds. Newells were one of the first to improve on the Jigmaster. Hard to find anything easier to service than a Jigmaster. Alantani.com and learn how to put that back together.