rod and reel pairing opinions. tld vs baitrunner 6500b.help

[grantbudd74]

Hi guys

New to the forum and after some advice. Long thread but im giving you all you need to know to help me out :-)

I have 2 x new shimano baitrunner 6500b each loaded with 30lb mono. The rods are Ulgystik platinum 6ft 8-15kg rated.

Went reef fishing yesterday (Halls reef outside Noosa) for the first time on my boat and drifted. Fished through the high tide on a medium NW wind and moderate-light swell. We covered approx 1.5km's every hour.

Problem with setup: We used 8 ounce leads just to keep our lines down. When striking the stretch was beyond crazy....Even cranking down and striking you could feel the stretch in 20M of water.

Flicked out my river rod runnning 3kg braid and 1/2oz ball weight and it sank it easily with 1/2 pilchard!

I bought the 2 6500's for the purpose of being user friendly for the misses. She gets sick and will never go out to sea again :-)Questions below:

1) I like the idea of float lining a bait but am thinking with the stretch of mono and its buoyancy im going to lose out on bites etc? I know everyone says mono is best for this type of fishing but id need a heavier weight with mono or my baits will float up?

2) With bottom fishing im used to overhead reels. Im thinking of selling the gold 6500b and getting a TLD 25 and loading it with braid. Will the ugly handle a TLD? Its doesnt have huge eyes and when flipped upside down the base of the first eye is about 1/2 inch (12-13mm) from the rod so its not a huge spinning eye. can I use the rod?

3) lastly with the float line setup and wanting braid should I sell the last silver 6500b and get an 8000OC baitrunner? Im thinking for better braid layup thats all.

I will be going further out as I get more experience and fishing in 40-60m of water with an average of 40m but could be using upto 1.0 Lb weights or more as i dont know currents yet.

Done plenty of boat fishing in the UK as a boy but now returning after 25 years :-)

Thanks guys

Oh im chasing anything that swims really.....The floatline will be good once I get a handle on the right setup.

cheers

[JarrydA]

1) I like the idea of float lining a bait but am thinking with the stretch of mono and its buoyancy im going to lose out on bites etc? I know everyone says mono is best for this type of fishing but id need a heavier weight with mono or my baits will float up?

You will generally need a slightly heavier weight with mono but not much. Use Circle hooks, this way you dont strike at all, when you feel a fish simply flick your reel into gear and lean back, the fish will pin itself.

2) With bottom fishing im used to overhead reels. Im thinking of selling the gold 6500b and getting a TLD 25 and loading it with braid. Will the ugly handle a TLD? Its doesnt have huge eyes and when flipped upside down the base of the first eye is about 1/2 inch (12-13mm) from the rod so its not a huge spinning eye. can I use the rod?

I wouldnt use a spinning rod as an overhead rod personally, in saying that im not sure if it would work or not.

Ill leave question 3 to someone that used baitrunners.

[grantbudd74]

so what you are saying is for floating a dead bait just keep the mono and use circle hooks? Im very much a strike to catch fisherman so this is why I havent gone down the circle hook road although many people swear by them....Do you float dead baits? Any more advice as selling off the 6500's is better now while they are new and I can get my money back :-)

Maybe ill go to BCF and pair a TLD onto an ugly :-) I just dont want to go spending loads on new gear as im almost out of money....:-)

[JarrydA]

so what you are saying is for floating a dead bait just keep the mono and use circle hooks? Im very much a strike to catch fisherman so this is why I havent gone down the circle hook road although many people swear by them....Do you float dead baits?

Yeah whole pillies generally. Mono is fine, ive used both, i prefer braid for all my fishing but mono does the job when floatlining. Floatlining dead baits offshore is pretty much the only bait fishing i do with the addition of an occasional live bait session.

[sehrguht]

The 6500 handles braid fine i have caught a number of large fish on mime with 40lb which i know is overkill but at least when i tie a length of 30lb to it it never snaps at the braid to leader knot.

I find floatlining in deeper water easier with braid i was getting down with a 3ball on sunday in 60m with a pilchard.

The other thing to look at is a sea anchor or drogue. When the wind is from the north drifts can become very fast

The tlds are horrible reels to try to floatline with in my opinion. And flipping your rod the line may touch the blank when there is a fish on causing problems.

[grantbudd74]

ahhh bugger :-) Hmmmm I didnt think about the line touching the blank. Fortunately the uglys are well priced and bcf often have 20% off so maybe a proper rod for the TLD..

Ive seen BCF has a TLD 25 with a beastmaster for $189....Thoughts?

I would only use the TLD for bottom fishing. I find the 6500 a bit heavy and out of balance when under load... Maybe Im yearning for an overhead :-)

So hard to make a choice,,Ill get that sea anchor....Im going to call my boat PADI....Put another $$ in :-)

[Aggro101]

First thing is, don't get an OC model, the OC models are a cheaper version of the D. Outwardly they look the same, but the gearing inside is quite different. A few big fish on an OC and you'll start to strip the gears.

The D models are much better and on special at BCF at the moment. I have 2 x 8000D and 1 x 6000D. All spooled with 50lb braid and they have taken everything from small snapper to kingies with no problems. Float lining or bottom bashing doesn't seem to matter with those reels.

I also have a TLD30A which I use for float lining as well, but you do have to feed the line out slowly for that sort of fishing, so it is annoying sometimes, but not too bad. The TLD really is better suited to bottom bashing or trolling.

[grantbudd74]

funny you should say that I have read that the D models are what you describe about the OC...in the hand the OC is far better balanced than the D but then the D has the power handle...I think ill ditch one of my new 6500's and get the TLD special from BCF. that way im set for float and bottom work...

So you use braid for float work? I have a spool of 30lb that would go onto the 6500 but I read mixed reports about braid going onto the 6500 reels and line lay up issues etc etc...Guess i dont want to load the braid and cut it from the spool only to find it doesnt work well.

A reply above (sorry cant see your name right now, but she has no issues even on 40lb braid....This tackle aint cheep!

[crazywalrus]

Personally I would not get a TLD for offshore. I know a lot of people use them but when fishing deep or especially float lining, retrieving the line is painful with the Std TLD. The gear ratio is way to slow. It will quickly annoy you. I get annoyed enough with my Tyrnos. When float lining in 60m plus in some currents I can get up to 300m+ of line out. With a slow ratio that can take ages to retrieve.

[grantbudd74]

300m! well that leaves the baitrunner behind then and the TLD has the capacity but yeah it would take a lifetime!!! when I say deep ill not be going out to the big game reefs as I dont have a big enough boat. 40-60m is the max depth around the noosa reefs so I have to look at that. Where do you fish? Clearly for game fish though :-) I dont trawl as I dont want to run my engine hours through the roof and lose value on my engine and burn loads of fuel. Im happy to drift or anchor

[Bri The Pom]

I agree with Jeremy you will regret the tld for floatlinning a baitrunner with a full spool of braid is the way. I use the 6000D with 30lb braid and feel it with the current you will feel every knock. Tlds for trolling or real deep water.

[Fishars]

OK, some great questions for those starting.

1. Ditch the mono. Too much stretch. Go 20-50lb braid and fluro leader. BRAID has a far smaller dia than mono in same breaking strain and so less water resistance. It also lasts 2-3 times longer than mono. Use a fluro leader, myself I go a couple of metres as you get a flatter lay of line in the water and I hate retying leader material! Fluro will also sink as opposed to mono which will lay higher in the water & fluro has far better abrassion qualities.

2. Only use bait runners unless you are an adept large bait caster user for f/linning.

3. NEVER use an overhead reel on a rod designed for a spinning reel, apart from the fact your line will touch the blank, the runner spacings are ENTIRELY different and you run of chance of breaking your rod also.

4. Use circle hooks yes, but one of the biggest reason for missing bites on float linning is not letting the fish finish its run! It's during the "run" that fish such as snapper etc "kill" their food, THEN they stop n swallow. Any old timer will tell you, "don't touch the rod until he's finished chewing the bait" (running). When the run stops, count to 10 and lift, not strike hard, as the fish will finally have all the bait (and your hook/s) in its mouth or throat.

5. TLD's are a great reel if you like an overhead for bottom bashing. All equipment has its purpose, just use it accorrdingly.

Any other questions just pm me mate, only too happy to pass on advice.

Cheers n tight lines

[Bri The Pom]

Some great information there, BUT,

One of the best offshore fisherman on this site still uses mono and will produce a great bag most trips.

[Peter.T]

I have 2 bait runners a 6500 spooled with 20lb braid and a 12000 spooled with 30lb mono. I much prefer the 6500 with braid for floatlining it is a much lighter set up the reel freespools a lot easier as the 12000 requires assistance or heavier lead. I use the 6500 floatlining in 70m of water with no problems of line capacity. The 120000 doubles as a livie rig or bottom bouncer however not ideal for bottom bouncing deep water with the mono. For catch rates depends on the day both have outperformed. Much more exciting on the smaller set up I run a jewel 6-8kg

Cheers Pete

[crazywalrus]

300m! well that leaves the baitrunner behind then and the TLD has the capacity but yeah it would take a lifetime!!! when I say deep ill not be going out to the big game reefs as I dont have a big enough boat. 40-60m is the max depth around the noosa reefs so I have to look at that. Where do you fish? Clearly for game fish though :-) I dont trawl as I dont want to run my engine hours through the roof and lose value on my engine and burn loads of fuel. Im happy to drift or anchor

I do a lot of different fishing styles. I do troll for small marlin in close. Something you could easily do if you got offshore. We caught all our marlin last year in under 25m of water. 500m to 1km from shore.

Most of my fishing is done float lining from 55m to 100m deep. Even in 60m if you are float lining while drifting you can get a lot of line out. The whole idea of float lining is to have the bait waft down slowly. The last time I fished the 35s off straddie I was getting close to backing before I got a strike. I have 300m of braid on the reels. If you are not getting a fair amount of line out and your bait is going straight down you are not float lining.

I have never used a bait runner to float line ( I know quite a few do) however I have not experienced any issues using an overhead reel. It is hardly difficult. There are probably good points either way. Some folks have difficulty with an overhead with distributing the line on the reel. A bait runner does not have this issue.

[Fishars]

G'day Bri, hey I'm not slamming mono, to each their own and plenty of guys have their fav's. But I know there's a reason I drive a newer, improved, better performing vehicle than when I 1st got my Lic.

I too know old timer, even, well aged fisherman, LOL, who fish the the reef and only use 100lb mono or cord, HATE braid with a passion, (but its designed for rods not handlines), so to each their own. And yes, those that have fished areas for extended periods of time will catch fish continously, not so much because of their line, but because they know the area and what works.

Cheers n tight lines and great to read yr posts