Pucky's Battle of the Reels

[Pucky]

i've been going through this mess of reels to find the perfect reel for me. here's what i've fished at the skyway. (keep in mind this is strictly based on how i fish at the skyway)

Daiwa Saltist 50:
This is my first grouper reel. Very smooth. Plenty of drag at 22#'s (even more with carbontex upgrades). Lots of line capacity. And lots of torque to crank the fish out of the rocks. This is a very well proven reel to hang with the big fish offshore. My only qualms with this reel is that the star drag has stripped on me 2 times while tightening it down. I'm not so comfortable with this reel anymore. I highly recommend this reel despite my own personal problems with it. I have no doubts about fishing this on our Hubbards trip as my heavy rig for AJ's/Grouper.

Daiwa Sealine 350h:
VERY HIGHLY recommended. I love this reel for its size/weight and price. I can hold it all day. Its not as smooth as the Saltist but it definitely has as much cranking power. I believe it has 20#'s of drag as well and there is also a carbontex/smoothie drag upgrade for it. I bought mine for $55 off ebay and its worth every penny. I would recommend this reel to anyone just starting off to grouper fish or anyone that doesnt want to invest in a higher end reel. This is the same reel Scooter uses.

Avet LX 4.6:1:
MADE IN THE USA! Very high quality and craftsmanship. It's a lever drag with 15#'s at strike and 20#'s at max. I could make a huge list of why this is not a good grouper reel. My number 1 dislike with this reel is the increase of the lateral load on the handle at the upper end of the drag. I've only had it for 2 weeks and I've caught 3 grouper and 3 small sharks on it. It has the cranking power and the drag to pull up the big fish.... if you can deal with the lateral load on the handle. Many people don't mind the handle pressure at all. Honestly, you don't notice the pressure anyway when you have a fish on, but, you are doing most of the reeling with out a fish on.

Penn Senator 113h:
I've fished the 113h a few times on the skyway but have not hooked up with a fish on it. But I have fished the 113h from a charter boat. It's definitely a great reel to have but I will take a Daiwa Sealine over a Penn Senator any day. Shoot, EVERYONE fishes a 113, it must be good, right?

Accurate 665H (have not fished yet but maybe soon):
i've been in contact with a very well known reel expert named Alan Tani out of California. He recommended i check out Accurates after not liking the Avet so much. Today i looked at the 665h and loved it. It is a lever drag (just like every other high end reel), very high quality, machined aircraft aluminum, greased screw holes and crevices (it keeps saltwater out and should be done to every reel. only 2 companies do this from the factory), TONS of drag, and MADE IN THE USA!. Accurates are known for their twin drag system. Lever drags normally use one big drag disc on the handle side of the spool. Accurates have a drag disc on both sides. That means more drag and less pressure on the handle. I increased the drag to where I know its enough (actually way more than enough) for grouper fishing and the handle still turned smooth and the lever flipped up and down just as easy. Those 2 things alone already make it better than my Avet LX. I've read there actually is an increase in handle/lever load at some point but by then theres just too much drag than is necessary. Whats the catch?? The cost of 1 Accurate 665H = Almost 2 Avet LX's. At that price range you're into the Penn Internationals and Shimano Tiagras and Daiwa Saltiga. So you decide.



You can find a ton of info on all of these reels on the internet. Everyone will give you their opinion on which one is awesome and which ones suck. Just remember that everyone fishes differently and what one person likes doesn't mean you will like as well.

[Aqua_Finatic]

Good post Pucky, very informative.

[admin]

Very good post, we need more like that

[seafish]

Awesome reviews. Now that I've felt the weight of pucky's rigs, mine feels like a tank. I wish I could get a carbon fiber or aluminum frame for my 113h, to lighten it up a little. Although, I think part of it is plastic now, that may not help. Anyone have experience with the accurate frames for the senator?

[lizardfish712]

If you can find them, get an Accurate or a Tiburon frame for your Senator. They are well worth the investment. The trick is being able to install them correctly. I've fished different Senators and Jigmasters with Accurate and Tiburon frames and the upgraded frames definitely add to the performance of the reels. If you don't want to bother with a frame for your Senator, you can go with a Baja Special (my favorite Grouper & AJ reel). Incredible reel for the price. Lots of cranking power, excellent freespool, and plenty of drag. Besides those features, the Baja Special is topless and narrow which makes it an excellent reel for winding jigs. Charkbait had them for sale at $149 (formerly $249) a month or so ago.

[Pucky]

it took me several trips to the pier with my 2 rods and 4 reels to find the setup i like the most. you guys saw me fishing different setups alot and changing rod/reel combos. i've finally settled on the saltist and calstar rod. i'm not sure of the model of the rod but lizardfish could tell you... it was originally his rod and was meant for butterfly jigging.

i like it alot but i wish it had a little more backbone. the fish i caught last nite was the most strain i ever put on that rod and it handled it perfectly. i'm just scared what a larger grouper might do to it though.

[Aqua_Finatic]

Originally Posted by Pucky

i'm just scared what a larger grouper might do to it though.

You dont have to worry about the "larger grouper" just tell me where they are and let me handle them.

[lizardfish712]

pucky, the calstar is a GFX 700ML. the blank was designed with a more moderate taper for butterfly/knife jigging. the normal GF 700ML has much more backbone than the GFX because it is built with more graphite towards the tip of the blank. by the way, don't worry about what will happen to the calstar if you hang a bigger grouper than the one you caught yesterday. as long as you can keep the fish out of the rocks, that rod will handle the fight just fine ...just be careful not to do any extreme "high sticking" and always make sure that you don't allow the blank itself to get chipped...