Whats the smallest reel for 130lb?

[SemperFishing]

Greetings Ya'all from Hohenfels, Germany.

I just booked my 2nd extra long LR trip (14 day) for next year aboard the Star (I hope I won't have to cancel for a 3rd time, which sucks, but what are you gonna do?). I'm bringing my noobie friend who has only done (2) 8-day trips, and have a question: Whats the smallest reel that an Cow angler can get away with while fishing 130lb? The reason why I ask it that neither myself or my friend have a lot of cow gear, and we don't want to break the bank by buying new stuff, especially if we're only going to use it only a few times. (We are renting a lot of 100-130lb outifts to cover the bases). That said, there is a great deal of satisfaction of having one outfit that is purely yours and being your "go-to" outfit. But in that same breath, neither one of us see much need for a 50 or 80W outside of our one 14 day. We both want to buy a reel that is strong enough to fish 130lb, but no too large that it wouldnt be utilized on a 4-8 day trip or off some random trip to Mexico.

Any recomendations or opinions?

I have already bought the ATD30, which is full of 100lb. I will switch it to 130lb, and I think if I max it out on the drag, it can still fish 130 with confidence. I see 16 and 20s size reels, but I get nervous if I were to hook a demon fish/ anything over 200 on it, but since I personnally havent done it, maybe a BDer has experience to share about it.

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

[stairman]

leave the 100 on the adt30 and fish it....get a scale and set it at 30 pounds to set thr drag accurately,,,,then tie it off on a car bumper and imagine yourself pulling for an hour on 30lbs of drag.....yeah it hurts....what you need is line capacity and drags that won't fail and the 30 will be fine.The 100 pound spectra will give you that little extra capacity just make sure it is packed tight and FULL..you'll just wish that super cow you might hook was on a fifty sized reel for the torque and gear ratio.

 

[tunachris]

I don't like to fish 130 on anything smaller than a 50. Many will likely disagree, but that is my preferance.

I use a 30W quite a bit, but limit it to 100lb. I like the bigger drags and spool diameter of the 50's when fishing heavier line. That being said, all my heavy gear is ancient Internationals that have been updated numerous times by Cal over the years. My 30TW 2 speed actually gets more max drag.
Than any of my 50's, somewhere beyond 45 lbs. with full freespool.

 

[wahoodad]

I regularly fish a MK20 SEa with 130# fluoro, even though the reel is filled with 100# braid. I had no problems ever fishing an Accurate 30 with 130, or a Penn 30.
I'm a small guy and a 50 is just way too big for me.
Never once felt like I was hunting elephants with a BB gun.

To each his own, but a 30 sized reel works for me.

 

[Holi-e-Mackeral]

The ultimate challenge

 

[eddiefishtaco]

The ultimate challenge

My granddaughter likes that rod/reel combo but in spider man

 

[harddrive]

We only use about 20 foot of it, so I don't think it matter which reel as much. For me, I also set the drag the same on 100 as 130, so don't matter as much. But I do fish mostly fish the 130 on 50 size reels.

 

[darrenforeal]

Get a Mak 20 or 30. No great reason to go smaller than that on 130. I saw some good deals in the classifieds on a 20SEa.

 

[AKSalmon]

It's not just the drag that you ned to be concerned abut when fishing 130. It's also cranking power. There are several 30s that have enough drag but if they have a 2:1 low gear you'll wish you were fishing a 50 with a 1.3:1 low gear.

 

[Sactotuna]

Drag, gear ratios, capacity, AND, the things you don't see that an engineer does. Thicknesses of metal in places where torque and stress occur, etc. Let's not get all geeky here, but it's the reason I fish 100 on my ATD 30 and 130 on my 50's only. Maybe it is a little bit overkill, (but I really don't believe it is at all) but I'd rather have that than the alternative.

 

[Scold]

All very good points thus far. I hope I don't derail the conversation but I think this question may have some validity: what pound drag are you guys setting for 100 and 130# respectively (at strike of coarse). If it is the same, then it really shouldn't matter as you are only using the 130# for the additional abrasion resistance and therefor the same reel could fish either equally well.

 

[Sactotuna]

All very good points thus far. I hope I don't derail the conversation but I think this question may have some validity: what pound drag are you guys setting for 100 and 130# respectively (at strike of coarse). If it is the same, then it really shouldn't matter as you are only using the 130# for the additional abrasion resistance and therefor the same reel could fish either equally well.

30% then use that lever, less at first, strike most of the time, be careful at the end about going to full, bad things can happen close to the boat.

 

[spinner]

big baits big reels. little baits little reels. scratch fishing with sardines,the best free spool you can get and use the backup rig if you get lucky.goooooooooing

 

[SemperFishing]

Thanks for the replies guys. My line of thought coincided with Scold: "I think this question may have some validity: what pound drag are you guys setting for 100 and 130# respectively (at strike of coarse). If it is the same, then it really shouldn't matter as you are only using the 130# for the additional abrasion resistance and therefor the same reel could fish either equally well." I wanted to fish the 130lb on the ATD30 using 100lb spectra at the normal drag setting of 130lb flouro which (if I recall correctly) is about 30-32lbs? I dont have my fishing notebook with me at the moment. I guess my big deal is that I bought this ATD for $1,000 bucks and I havnt caught a cow on it...yet. I did bag an tough as nails 185lb on it though. The line capacity was never a problem, but man that fish would NOT come in. I maxed out drag on the 100lb flouro. The big drawback is the line capacity, which will suck ass if a demon 250lber eats your salami a couple hundred yards away from the boat. But, thats why Im renting (2) 130lb outfits with 50s on them, they will be used if its hot and heavy and/or if the bite is way out there.

 

[SemperFishing]

On another note: Sactotuna, how you doing my friend?

 

[SemperFishing]

Holi-Mack: thanks for the PM! I'll contact those shops and see what the turn around time is!

 

[darrenforeal]

Based upon my experience, and taking in the information of guys that have caught more cows than I have, I like to fish 32-34lbs from a straight pull with the scale. Both for 100 and 130. Then when I get bit I go to about 23 pounds or so. Then move it towards strike and beyond as needed. For 150 I tend to fish it heavier at strike even though it isn't necessary. I do 37lbs. And again around 23 or so for the initial run.


Beyond that, a proper working ATD 30 should not have a maxing out drag issue on 100lb. IIRC it should get around 45lbs at full.

 

[Sactotuna]

On another note: Sactotuna, how you doing my friend?

Doing great, but fly fishing for trout is driving me nuts. It's so so hard! Who knew?

I'll be back on the Star cow hunting likely next winter, certainly by the next.

 

[wahoodad]

My reasoning for the 30 sized reels is simple. I have plenty of line, ample drag.
Bottom line , I know what I can handle. The beefier line is for abrasion resistance.
When I fish big fish, I put in18-20 hours a day at the rail. That extra weight kills my wrists after a few days.
Never once thought "Wish I had a 50"when I hooked a fish!
I was born in the "Show me" state, and I've yet to be illustrated that I'm better off fishing a 50 than I am a MK20(30 sized reel)
You guys believe what you want, but for a lot of us smaller guys a 30 sized reel makes way more sense

 

[wes cerny]

The low gear ratio, the long arm and big handle, the smooth drag, and line capcity for big fish are all what the Okuma SEa reel versions are about. They have agressively targeted big fish fishing.

 

[screamingreel]

33 lbs at strike for 100 lbs. line and 43 lbs at strike for 130 lbs. line. Start out a bit below strike for the initial run. A 30 size reel (or Mak20) works for either. I prefer the 50 size for 130 lbs. line and above. Depends on what you are comfortable with using all day. To each their own. Depending on your budget, I suggest renting or borrowing something if you are only using it once or twice.

Enjoy your trip!

- Jeff Burroughs

 

[darrenforeal]

Jeff did I read that correctly, you fish 43lbs at strike for 130?

 

[hagridfish]

Yup. Me too! 43 to 45 lbs of drag at strike for 135 lb.. I must say, I've never had a deckhand want to tighten down my drag anymore.........

 

[bigfishsato]

Greetings Ya'all from Hohenfels, Germany.

I just booked my 2nd extra long LR trip (14 day) for next year aboard the Star (I hope I won't have to cancel for a 3rd time, which sucks, but what are you gonna do?). I'm bringing my noobie friend who has only done (2) 8-day trips, and have a question: Whats the smallest reel that an Cow angler can get away with while fishing 130lb? The reason why I ask it that neither myself or my friend have a lot of cow gear, and we don't want to break the bank by buying new stuff, especially if we're only going to use it only a few times. (We are renting a lot of 100-130lb outifts to cover the bases). That said, there is a great deal of satisfaction of having one outfit that is purely yours and being your "go-to" outfit. But in that same breath, neither one of us see much need for a 50 or 80W outside of our one 14 day. We both want to buy a reel that is strong enough to fish 130lb, but no too large that it wouldnt be utilized on a 4-8 day trip or off some random trip to Mexico.

Any recomendations or opinions?

I have already bought the ATD30, which is full of 100lb. I will switch it to 130lb, and I think if I max it out on the drag, it can still fish 130 with confidence. I see 16 and 20s size reels, but I get nervous if I were to hook a demon fish/ anything over 200 on it, but since I personnally havent done it, maybe a BDer has experience to share about it.

Thanks in advance!

Dave

Since you already have the ATD 30 and are renting extra gear from the boat, I assume, here is what I would do and have done.
Take that ATD to Cal, ask him to install the low granny gear, adjust or regrind the cam, ask about a 50 size handle, ask him about max drag that you want to handle all the way down.
Your ATD 30 will now be ready to be your go to reel for cows into the 300# range..
I have 3 reels done this way and fish them 100% of the time on 130# top shots.
I have 100# hollow for the bulk of my spool, 100yds of 130# braid, then 100ft of 200# for chaffing, birds, needle fish, sharks. You can pull on this set up until you hurt yourself.
Granted, you may want to get a bigger reel for kite, chunking, or big baits but you will fish this set up most of the time at the bank or the islands.

Garry

 

[CMY SIX]

Penn 30 VSX, Cal's hi-cap work done, it's a beast, 500 yards 100 the rest 130 you won't need a fifty, if your bound to have a fifty A penn 50S with a tib open top frame Cals FFS work done