the 20 visx

[alantani]

just finished going through a penn 20 visx. very nice reel. i cracked it open and cleaned out some of the excess grease, opened up and relubed the spool bearings, greased the drags with cal's grease and rigged it up. it held a total of 600 yards of 100 pound jb hollow. the spool was first scrubbed with a lightly greased toothbrush, then i wrapped a couple of layers of flex wrap around the arbor and set the line tension to 20 pounds, which is two thirds of the strike drag. it was rigged in 100 yard sections - red, yellow, green, white, blue and white. then i added a 25 yard topshot of 100 pound seaguar pink fluoro. here's where it gets interesting. i set the drag to 50 pounds (or 50% of the line weight) at full, then checked the drag at different settings. full, of course, was 50 pounds, the number 4 position was 40 pounds, the number three position was 30 pounds, number 2 was 20 pounds, and the number 1 position was 10 pounds. yes, the drag curve was perfect. only this reel and the okuma makaira will give you a drag curve like this. penn, well done!!!!! oh, and ray, your reel is ready.......

 

[ripped]

Well done Alan, there is a reason you get the respect you deserve.

 

[JohnnieB]

Thank You Allen! just a couple questions, did you splice hollow to hollow every hundred? ...so six splices plus a fluoro splice, and do you think a guy would get the same impressive drag curve results strait out of the box? Thanks

 

[alantani]

yup, all spliced! and your reel should have the exact same drag curve out of the box.

when i serviced this reel, i just cleaned out some excess grease, packed the non-spool bearings fully with grease, removed the shields from the spool bearings and lubed them with TSI 301, and regreased the drag washers with cal's grease. i did nothing to the bellevilles except slather a little grease on them.

for the braid, i have different colors that i purchased from jerry brown. it's ALOT of inventory to carry, but i don't care. there are five colors of each line weight for 80, 100 an 130 - red, yellow, green, white and blue. i set the line tensioner to 66% of the strike drag, so it would be be 20 pounds of tension for 100 pound braid on a reel set to 30 pounds at strike. very few shops can do that. then i spool on 100 yard sections of the different colors. instead of a 1 foot splice (6 inches on both sides), i do a four foot splice (two feet on both sides). the splice is actually stronger than the main line because it's doubled up. so 600 yards of line means six different sections, all different colors, all spliced together.

my garage is a just a big toy box. i come out here and spend all day playing with my toys.....

 

[hucklongfin]

I thought it was a liquor cabinet with a bunch of fishing stuff!

 

[Pitchinwedge]

Hi Alan, I use a Manley 50lb spring scale and there are a couple of opinions on the best way to use it. With or without the rod, straight pull vs. bent rod, etc. Would you mind sharing a quick lesson on how you set and measured the drag with the VISX?

 

[alantani]

oh, i'm lazy. i set it on a straight pull when the reel is still on the winder. figure the rod will add 10% on a full bend when the line is moving through the guides. it really doesn't matter that much, because you are feathering the lever back forward depending on how much drag you need. as you gain line, you loose drag because of the increased circumference of the spool, so the lever only goes forward. even at full, you only have 50%.

remember that these fish like to hang somewhere between 100 and 400 feet in depth. for me, the magic angle has been 45 degrees. when the line is down at a 45 degree angle, i move the rod butt from my gut to under my right arm pit. if the fish is 200 feet down and at a 45 degree angle, then i have 300 feet of line out. that's 100 feet or one color's worth of braid. at that point, you could feather the lever forward to full and be at 50 to 60% of the line weight. it should not be physically possible to break the line with the rod and reel.

you own him. and this is how you land a 215 pound yellowfin in 15 minutes.......

 

[Pitchinwedge]

Good point Alan. Hearing you say it doesn't matter much is quite reassuring! I'll stick to doing straight pulls on dumbbells. I've found this easiest for me.

 

[alantani]

that works, too!

 

[alantani]

I thought it was a liquor cabinet with a bunch of fishing stuff!

basically.......

 

[maurice escobedo]

Thanks for the write up Alan. Will be sending my 20 your way in the next couple weeks.
Great reel. Landed 275 bluefin with one last year. Love this thing.

 

[alantani]

i'll need you to hold off. i literally have 200 reels in line right now. let's talk later and figure something out.

 

[maurice escobedo]

Yes sir. Thank you

 

[alantani]

oh, also, the visx series is pretty much good straight out of the box.......

 

[maurice escobedo]

oh, also, the visx series is pretty much good straight out of the box.......

It’s sure is. I got it New last year and caught a few fish with I on the troll, but that last fish put us through a battle. Don’t know if I want to chance fishing it this year without a look through a new line.
I watched a visx 16 freez on a guy and break off during the first run of a larger fish but one could tell that the reel hadn’t been taken care of.
If you think I’m good I’ll take your word for it and just change line until you free up some space.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Cago]

Man, would love to send you my new 20 to put line on and set drag. What do you charge for a service like that?

 

[alantani]

you have a pm...

 

[Cago]

Awesome! Ill be in contact real soon!

 

[Fishin_Buddy]

Nice rigging!

 

[JohnnieB]

Man, would love to send you my new 20 to put line on and set drag. What do you charge for a service like that?

Can I get the same quote Alan, I know I see you are 200 deep right now. Thanks

 

[jdmanowar]

Can I come over and play in that toy box!???

 

[alantani]

yup. the line winding is done when i am overloaded with reels and need a distraction. i'll send you a pm.

 

[Corndog]

Alan have u by chance done a handle swap tutorial or know of a link? I have a big handle to install on my 16visx

 

[alantani]

if you want to replace the arm as well as the grip, then you can use the wrench that comes with the reel. you remove the collar first, then there are two small phillips screws, and finally the handle nut. it's one of the easiest.

 

[Corndog]

if you want to replace the arm as well as the grip, then you can use the wrench that comes with the reel. you remove the collar first, then there are two small phillips screws, and finally the handle nut. it's one of the easiest.

Thanks Alan. I have the arm and handle from Penn (JohnTFT sold to me)

I'm always nervous working on reels due to some bad experiences when I was young lol. But your description seems easy enough to do in a rocking Galley so I sould be able to figure it out in the comfort of my home