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I have never used a conventional reel before in the surf, thought about trying for the heck of it. I noticed that there are two types of drags, lever and star. Is one type better than the other or what is experts preference? Any brand preferred over another?
Forgot to mention before the question is asked..Budget under $300.00
Generally lever drags offer more precision for your drag setting, but are more expensive.
That being said the Abu Garcia 6500 and 6600 have been 'standard' conventional surf fishing reels for the past 4 decades.
When properly modified they can outcast most spinning tackle.
Lever seem to be used trollong offshore, star drags for bottom bumping.....I would suggest a star drag for the surf.....pier#r suggest a good couple, also the shimano calcutta's 700 are good too
Pier, I always respect your input, could you briefly explain, ' properly modified'Quote:
Originally Posted by Pier#r
Basically I'm referring to adding rare earth magnets for better casting control and distance.
A LOT of guys on the East coast and Texas do this but not near as many around here.
As Bill mentioned the Calcutta 700 or even 400 would be good options as well.
Like Pier#r said. I have a "magged" Penn 140 Squidder that I glued rare earth magnets to the inside of the side-plates in order to slow the spool down and more easily prevent birdnests. Works pretty well, once you get the hang of it. If you get rusty, though, you'll make a mess, even with the magnets (I may need more of them). Of course, now they have newer, ready-made magged reels. There are lots of internet resources on how to mag your own reels.
I have a good friend that is solely a cast reel surf fisher. His two suggestions are these- the Penn Squall 12, or an Abu Garcia Ambassaduer 5000(or may be 5500), I personally have an Squall 12, but I use mine for my kayak. That being said, it has great cast control, is light weight, and has great drag. The Amanassadeurs are good to, but he does reel repair/upgrades and replaces the beairings with ceramic bearings and does some other stuff that makes it phenomenal. If you are interested, pm me and I will give you his contact info. He is located in Gulf Breeze and does great work and is one heck of a guy. He currently has a couple of Squall 12s for sale that he personally used in the surf, but has now replaced them with the ambassadeurs he upgraded.
Is anyone familiar with the Ambassadeur BlueYonder 6500BY?
WOW! Looks awesome. Right in line with what you want, and it's already magged...Quote:
Originally Posted by witler
Abu Garcia® Ambassadeur® Blue Yonder | Abu Garcia®
Pier, Again thanks for your input, any suggestions on a rod to pair this Blue Yonder 6500 with for surf fishing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Pier#r
Glad to help.
What do you plan to target? redfish or pompano?
I'm a big fan of Penn 525MAG if you can find one , get a USA made if possible, You can add more mags,use ceramic bearings,Lt. oil,and it will
throw a bait out there.
If you can't, the one that replaced it The Squall isn't bad at all,Or step up to the Fathom
All of them with magnetic braking are very forgiving to cast.
Let's say reds or generally just chunking cutbait and waiting. Would you recommend a different rod for red vs pompano? Keep in mind you are dealing with a 'simpleton' at the bottom of the learning curve.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pier#r
I would definitely recommend different rods to target those two species.
Light vs heavy (or medium vs medium heavy or heavy).
but if you chose that reel you are quite capable of picking a rod to fit it (and YOUR budget)...
For reds you will probably want to put a 300 yard spool of 30# braid on that reel.
The rod line rating should reflect that (probably 20#-40# and 3 to 8 ounce lures).
At least a 10 footer (two piece) medium heavy or heavy power.
there are many good conventional rods to choose from:
like a Tica, Tsunami, St Croix, Penn, Bass Pro, Ugly Stik, etc.
Hope this helps!
Witler,Quote:
Originally Posted by jollymon
If you pick up a used USA Penn 525 Mag, be sure to add 4 additional Neodymium Rare Earth magnets on the reverse side of the Mag Slider . . . Don't worry, it's very simple to do !
Shoot me a PM and I'll give you some tips on where to locate USA 525 Mag reels !
Tight Lines !
I started with adding 4 also but took 2 off ,Found it slowed it down to much,I was loosing distance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ez2cDave
Experiment a bit with different combinations till you find what works with your castings style.
The 525 Penn's are very forgiving to cast,So are Avet reels also US made(Well California if that counts)
I've upgraded it Avets ,if you get put off by the price, remember if you find Penn 525MAG in very good condition
by the time you swap out the bearings.add magnets and upgrade the drag washers you will have spent the same give or take.