Looking for opinions.

I went to BPS a couple weeks ago and was impressed with the Daiwa Saltiga and was wondering if anyone has experience with them. I'd like to get a reel basically for striper fishing 99% of the time but I always wished I had a reel that could handle a very occasional trip offshore for bluefin. I bought a Penn 330GTI this year and the drag was junk by the end of the year from fishing stripers. It's pretty obvious to me that a bluefin would go through that reel in seconds.

I don't think I'd use them enough to go through the expense of buying Tiagra's or Internationals for just a couple trips offshore a year, but I want something a little sturdier than the 330.

I've heard that the Trinidads are nice reels too.

Just wondering what you guys think. Thx.

You could look at the diawa sl 30sh.

Take a look at AVet. I have the MXL 6.3. Avet said that it will handle Bluefin in the 80lb-100 range. I use it for trolling on the kayak and it's the right sized reel that makes fighting bass fun without overpowering.

The LX 6/3 two speed holds 350 of 30lb mono. That might be worthy. Avet would give the low down on that reel. Tell them what you want to do.

I looked into the Avet Hoo-X and it looks interesting. They compare it to a wider version of a Trinidad 40.

It doesn't look like many dealers carry it. Maybe an on-line purchase?

You could look at the diawa sl 30sh.

+1. A great reel for $100.

take a look at tackletour.com. godd things to say about the saltiga and saltist

I'm hearing good things about the Shimano TLD's too.

Any opinions on those?

Take a look at AVet. I have the MXL 6.3. Avet said that it will handle Bluefin in the 80lb-100 range. I use it for trolling on the kayak and it's the right sized reel that makes fighting bass fun without overpowering.

The LX 6/3 two speed holds 350 of 30lb mono. That might be worthy. Avet would give the low down on that reel. Tell them what you want to do.


That MXL 6.3 looks like a fine reel. I think it may be at the top of my list right now.

The Saltigas are overpriced and heavy. For surfcasting, I see no need for anything more than a Daiwa Sealine SHA. The SHA 30 would probably hold enough 50# or 65# braid to handle school bluefin. Right around $100-$120 depending on where you get it. Much better reel than the SL-SH for almost the same price. And, I wouldn't be shocked if both the SHA and SL-SH had the exact same drag as the heavier and more expensive Saltiga ;)

Another great choice, for a little more money, would be a Newell 229. Either the S series for around $135 or the P-series for around $185.

+1. A great reel for $100.

You could look at the diawa sl 30sh.

yeah I really like the shv, it can handle alot; haven't tried the others

Torium 16 for bass. The thing is a tank. It last the entire commercial season last year without an issue. My abus couldn't. If you want one that will work for the baby tuna too get the 20. I got 165 yards of 65pound power pro plus backing on the 16, overkill for any bass in the sea but I would want a bit more line for the schoolies.

Fishn, I've got both an Avet LX 4.6 and Shimano TLD 15.IMO the Avet are smooth as silk but they are a bit over kill on all but Large fish. The TLD 15 seems to fit the bill for me it is small enough to have fun with schoolies and can easily handle large fish.

Fishn, I've got both an Avet LX 4.6 and Shimano TLD 15.IMO the Avet are smooth as silk but they are a bit over kill on all but Large fish. The TLD 15 seems to fit the bill for me it is small enough to have fun with schoolies and can easily handle large fish.

Thx for the info. I've been getting TLD recommendations all along. They're easier on the wallet too.

Have you looked @ the Shimano TN 14 or 16's?
They come in levelwind and non,the 14 has a gear ratio of 6.2:1 with a line recovery of 36" & weighs only 15.3 OZ,you can dump yards of 50-65# of braid on it.

The TN 16 has the same gearing but line recovery of 46" & weighs
19.9 OZ "the same as the Calcutta 700.
This reel could prolly handle a couple of off shore trips for "schooled BFT"
I have had a Calcutta 700 since 99 & once replaced the spool tension bearing about 6 yrs ago,it was my own fault,I forgot to lube it,thats the only thing & the drag is still smooth I got my moneys worth from this reel.
I don't fish hard like alot of guys here but I use this reel twice a week from May to November.

This spring I know I'll be getting one of these reels,prolly the 16.

5/0

Have you looked @ the Shimano TN 14 or 16's?
They come in levelwind and non,the 14 has a gear ratio of 6.2:1 with a line recovery of 36" & weighs only 15.3 OZ,you can dump yards of 50-65# of braid on it.

The TN 16 has the same gearing but line recovery of 46" & weighs
19.9 OZ "the same as the Calcutta 700.
This reel could prolly handle a couple of off shore trips for "schooled BFT"
I have had a Calcutta since 99 & once replaced the spool tension bearing about 6 yrs ago,it was my own fault,I for got to lube it,thats the only thing & the drag is still smooth I have gottin my moneys worth from this reel.
I don't fish hard like alot of guys here but I use this reel twice a week from May to November.

This spring I know I'll be getting one of these reels,prolly the 16.

5/0

I'd love to get a Trinidad, 5/0, but the more i research, it seems like I'd be over-reeled on that. I only have a 23' boat, so the weather would have to cooperate for me to go off-shore. It seems like those reels are a bit much for stripers.

The trinidad 16 is essentially the same reel as the torium just with more bearings. Definetly not overkill for bass. A lot of people opt for the 20 which i find to big unless you wont to put wire on it.

I'd love to get a Trinidad, 5/0, but the more i research, it seems like I'd be over-reeled on that. I only have a 23' boat, so the weather would have to cooperate for me to go off-shore. It seems like those reels are a bit much for stripers.


Fishin.I too think you'd be over-reeled w/ a Trinidad 16 or greater,where these are off-shore/boat reels.The TN's are a different class of reels,they are lighter,smaller and geared towards surf fishing.
I agree in the facted that there pricey but hey look @ a VS or a Zee Bass,it all depends on what you want out of a reel.......


5/0

dont mean to steal ure thread blues but im in the same spot of searching for a good conventional reel from the surf. looked at shimano torium 30. anyone fish wit that reel from the surf before? is it a good bait reel or is it more of a pluggin conventional type reel? not a bad price either it looked the last time i checked and def a name u can trust. anyone have any thought on it?

my vote goes to the Abu Garcia 6500 chrome pro rocket a close second is a black 6500 big game.. easy to work on.. reliable and beautiful

wats the difference between the big game baitcast and just the big game? is it lever or somethin...?

o and one more thing... i dont have alot of abu stuff so im alittle confused with wat the difference is between their pro rocket, chrome rocket, rocket chrome etc. i feel like this might be a dumb question but there u have it. cant ask enough of them in school either lol

I am not the right person to explain the differences, but the chrome pro rocket has chromed brass side plates and centrifugal casting brakes.. I use the CS version which means it has a level wind. If you want a durable, reliable easy to work on reel, this is th one to get. It casts like magic as well.

wats the difference between the big game baitcast and just the big game? is it lever or somethin...?

o and one more thing... i dont have alot of abu stuff so im alittle confused with wat the difference is between their pro rocket, chrome rocket, rocket chrome etc. i feel like this might be a dumb question but there u have it. cant ask enough of them in school either lol

The Abu Big Game series are all baitcasters. The difference between most Abu models is usually just cosmetic. I believe the only difference between the chrome rocket and the pro rocket is that the former has a chromed finish while the pro is simply painted (or powder coated). The major differences in all Abu baitcasters is whether they come with the push button release (like a 6500), or the thumb bar release (6600); the second difference is the number of bearings, three(C3) or four(C4), the fourth being the level wind bearing; and the third difference is the gear ratio, 5.3:1 or 6.3:1, there is a real low speed gear as well but I think only freshwater bass guys using crankbaits go for that. I'm not a big believer in spending a lot for an Abu, so I get the plain old C3 models, I have a 5500 C3 and a 4600 C3, but I also own a 6500 Big Game because it comes stock with the power handle for about the same as it would cost to upgrade the C3 model and it's meant to have a beefier frame. I also just ordered a 6500 TC or "Trophy Collection" because I wanted the higher gear ratio and it also comes with the extra bearing and the power handle and it was short money. Confused yet? Check out these guys, they've got good prices on all these reels and make it easy to compare different models. http://catalog.catfishconnection.com/ Hope this helped, I know how confusing Abu's many different models can be, I was asking the same questions as you a year ago. :btu:

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, a CS model means it has a level wind and a CT model does not. Here's another good site for info and parts on Abus, they also sell the best Abu drag upgrade I've ever used, super smooth and strong.

http://hatterasoutfitters.com/

I would skip the Abu's if you want to chase BFT's
Dont own right now, any but diawa sealines are nice rugged reels for the money, and hole plenty of line!

Went out cod fishing today off Minots w/ a friend that has a commercial license and got to try a Newell and a TLD-15. They were both pretty nice reels.(didn't catch which model the Newell was) The Newell was nice, kind of felt lie the 330GTI, but the Newell's star drag was superior to the 330's. The TLD was real nice too with some serious cranking power.

I think I liked the TLD's lever drag over the Newell.

We were slaying them for about 3 hours, btw. Nothing over 20 lbs, but plenty of keepers.

a reel that can do double duty for stripers AND bft?

ah, i dunno if such a creature really exists.

while the trinidads are nice reels, they are a but cumbersome for surfcasting (heavy, and lordy, that BULGE!). on school BFT, they might be adequate.

i suppose if you strictly limit yourself to a boat, a larger 5-series sized Newell could fit the bill.

charkbait has a number of newell models that some guys use to pitch jigs to wahoo, for example, and could easily be used for bass reels.

p.s. I have a Shimano TLD 15 convench for sale over at the b-s-t forum at SOL. $105 shipped. :fishslap:

sweet thanks for all the help.... trying to narrow down wat goes on the christmas list :)

oh i didnt notice the mention of tuna ..
in that case look no further than an Avet. I magged an SX and love it. its a tank and casts like a rail gun..............if you can control it ;)

I also missed the tuna reference. I don't do much fishing for schoolie bluefin, but I have a TLD 15 and I can attest that it's a great reel for stripers and I'm fairly sure it would handle the SBTs. I've heard a lot of great reports about Avets and the Saltists as well, and the Penn Torque is meant to be a great reel but it's fairly spendy. I am pretty sure that there isn't a bluefin in existence that an Abu will put the brakes on.