Help With Choosing New Reel

[Ed.]

One thing you should be aware of as the line gets peeled of your spool because you have a big fish on it then the drag will also increase due to smaller circumference (leverage on the spool) and you need to make sure you don't exceed the rated lines capacity or it will snap. It isn't a problem if say you are using 40lb braid and your reel can only put out 10lb drag, if that is the case you will just get spooled and once that happens you will be still connected unless it is a really big fish,  also the angle of the line will also increase the drag to so when the fish runs away from you and then does a 90 degree  and keeps going the belly of the line will increase the drag too.

[Ed.]

5 minutes ago, Kat said:

Ooh that sounds handy - I am currently sort of trying to do that manually with the drag - adjusting it all the time.  But that is also because the reel I am using temporarily is horrible.

You still have to play with drags no matter which reel you use, just that the live liners/bait feeders give you a few more options which are easier to preset, but they do cost a bit more and are a little bit heavier that the standard reels.

As I mentioned once before you have to choose a reel/rod that is comfortable for you to use  but still do the job you want.

[Kat]

5 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Well it makes sense. It's in his username!  

A species you will hear this for a lot is smaller bull sharks. If you ever target them (anyone), the main technique is to let it run for a minute or so, then set the hooks. I have done it like this many times and been successful...

Got to wait until it warms up for some good sharks though!

Cheers Hamish  

I am almost too scared to ask - I may be up all night reading the answers but - what I want to know is how the heck does anybody know what they have hooked up until they have landed it (or almost landed it ).  I mean sometimes you can have a good guess by where your fishing and what your targeting but I generally have no clue what I have got - except that I now think I know what a Bream bite and fight feels like. Soo how do you know when to "set the hook", when to let it run etc? 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

22 hours ago, GregOug said:

I’m going to try it out on the guppies in my fish tank at home to start off with. If it survives that I’ll move on to some tadpoles next time it rains.

Come down to the local park GregOug. 

Let me fish with it, 1lb mono mainline, 80lb mono leader, the fattest live prawn you've ever seen, and wait for a salmon.

I want to see if the drag holds up  Or if the Stradic will burn to a crisp!  

Cheers Hamish

[Drop Bear]

2 minutes ago, Kat said:

I am almost too scared to ask - I may be up all night reading the answers but - what I want to know is how the heck does anybody know what they have hooked up until they have landed it (or almost landed it ).  I mean sometimes you can have a good guess by where your fishing and what your targeting but I generally have no clue what I have got - except that I now think I know what a Bream bite and fight feels like. Soo how do you know when to "set the hook", when to let it run etc? 

Practice. 

[Ed.]

You can sometimes tell by the fight the fish gives you, head shakes, a slow constant peel of line, tail slaps, comes with experience but it is still a best guess as each fish fights different. Setting a hook is also different as each fish will be different so again a best guess. Some fish if you don't strike at the first nibble you will loose your bait, others if you do that you will pull the bait and the unset hook out of their mouth. It comes with practice, you win some and you lose some.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

2 minutes ago, Kat said:

I am almost too scared to ask - I may be up all night reading the answers but - what I want to know is how the heck does anybody know what they have hooked up until they have landed it (or almost landed it ).  I mean sometimes you can have a good guess by where your fishing and what your targeting but I generally have no clue what I have got - except that I now think I know what a Bream bite and fight feels like. Soo how do you know when to "set the hook", when to let it run etc? 

Well this is a hard one Kat, and you'll probably get a million different answers from people on the forum - but 99% of the time it's going to be a fish that you know lives in the area... The other 1% - well that's a surprise. 

For example, when I caught an 84cm thready, the whole time I thought it was a good shark, and then when I saw the bugger I nearly crapped myself! You can often tell from what structure you're fishing - if you're fishing right up against snags, you may have a cod or a jack, but if fishing along a sand bar a flatty is far more likely. 

After much more practise over time, which is probably the most valuable thing in knowing, you will get to know where you are fishing and figure out what species you may be catching/fighting - and then overall predict what you are catching. 

The same thing happens with hooking up, but generally you'll feel some nibbles, then the rod will load up.. This is the time to strike and try to set the hook into the fishes mouth - hope that's not to complex.

Cheers Hamish  

[Ed.]

As Hamish said,  practice... However if you use circle hooks you need to wait for the fish to swallow it before setting the hook.  so you may need to let the fish run and then set the hook slowly, that is one scenario where live liners are great.

[Kat]

Thanks.  Going to check out the reels at BCF in the morning and will post pic of the winner.  And hopefully a pic of the first fish I catch with it.

 

Cheers Kat

[Ed.]

Personally I rarely just go to BCF only, especially if your budget is tight, they are rarely the cheapest and often are more expensive. I would go to them to check out what they have and then also check out Freddys, Outback Adventures, Anaconda and any others that are near you. Everyone will stock a slightly different range and have different prices for the same gear, in some cases the price difference can be huge for the same item.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 minute ago, Ed. said:

As Hamish said,  practice... However if you use circle hooks you need to wait for the fish to swallow it before setting the hook.  so you may need to let the fish run and then set the hook slowly, that is one scenario where live liners are great.

Yep, I was just about to mention that. Bait runners would come in handy in this situation, or in reality you could use any reel. They are the perfect thing to have on your line that will be in the rod holder, just make sure you set a loose drag. 

Read the first post below for a funny/embarrassing story of mine when I failed to do so! Lol.

Cheers Hamish

[Ed.]

Last time I went to BCF was about a week ago and their range had diminished greatly due to Covid-19 and unable to get new stock from China?.

[GregOug]

43 minutes ago, Ed. said:

The Bait runner/live liners are a different sort of reel to the one you purchased, on mine there is a secondary brake which once you cast your line in  and if there is too much current, what will happen is that you will have to loosen up the drag so it does run out but that also means that if you have a fish bite your bait then you will have to tighten up the drag before you strike  or hold the spool . It also allows you to set it so the bait stays stationary with almost no drag on the line and when a fish bites and goes for a run it won't detect the drag, then when you turn the handle it goes to the main drag and you can fight the fish with the set fighting drag.

Good explanation ED

[Kat]

One more question - this is an Alvey Reel and has been passed on to my nephew by his grandad.  My brother in law wants to know what the round metal loop is for? model 400/A1/7

 

Cheers Kat

[Ed.]

If you want to save some money narrow down the reel/rod you like and check out the prices from the various stores , also E-Bay is good to get a feel for what those items are being offered at as most stores nowadays have an online presence. For example my Penn Spinfisher VI2500LL is selling for $219 at BCF and at Dinga you can get it for $160 including free delivery if you sign up for a free membership. My Okuma Makaira 50W was $540 at Freddys and everyone else had it close to $850, so look around and save some cash.

[Ed.]

Gets rid of loops/minimizes them from the line (big spool) when casting as far as I know but I have never used an Alvey.

[GregOug]

13 minutes ago, Ed. said:

Personally I rarely just go to BCF only, especially if your budget is tight, they are rarely the cheapest and often are more expensive. I would go to them to check out what they have and then also check out Freddys, Outback Adventures, Anaconda and any others that are near you. Everyone will stock a slightly different range and have different prices for the same gear, in some cases the price difference can be huge for the same item.

The BCF I go to will price match anything.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

3 minutes ago, GregOug said:

The BCF I go to will price match anything.

Is that BCF Virginia?

[Ed.]

Yes they will, but I would prefer to buy from the store that has them on special, helps to support them, if they are willing to drop their prices regularly then that is good for the customers. BCF usually charges full retail unless it is on special and then their prices are usually still higher then their competitors normal price.

[GregOug]

The big hoop is just to direct the line towards the first runner on the rod, when you have turned the spool on its side to cast. 

[GregOug]

1 minute ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Is that BCF Virginia?

Yes

[GregOug]

1 minute ago, Ed. said:

Yes they will, but I would prefer to buy from the store that has them on special, helps to support them, if they are willing to drop their prices regularly then that is good for the customers. BCF usually charges full retail unless it is on special and then their prices are usually still higher then their competitors normal price.

I could not go past the service I get at BCF. I take my rods with a broken tip to them and they remove the old tip, and heat glue the new tip on, all for the price of the tip. I bought a rope for use as a launching rope and the guy spent over half an hour splicing loops on both ends, once again, just for the price of the rope itself.

[Ed.]

If that is the service you get from them in that store  then fair enough, but not my experience with some of their other stores.

[Kat]

To be honest I am a little too impatient to shop around much.  I definitely am not waiting for online delivery!  Fishing is my saviour/therapy at the moment and as I said the reel I am using is reely reely horrible.  But will use your shopping tips for my better rod and reel in a few months.

[Ed.]

Stores such as BCF do not carry the full range of the brands they sell, so they only stock what they think will be popular and ignore the other models, hence I like to go and see what each has and whats new, I take the misses to the Gym occasionally so have an hour or 2 to kill before picking her up and going for a "Coffee and cake" afterwards. So in my area there are the Big 3 stores within 5 minutes of each other so I kill the time and do the rounds. Usually I do some research and know what I want to buy before going to get it anyway.

[Ed.]

Some items you have to feel the item to appreciate whether they are good or not suitable. Rods in particular , most of the main rods makers are terrible in respect to where the guides are located on the blank. I have seen some from even the likes of Shimano, Daiwa and Shakespeare  where the guides are out by 15-20 degrees to where they are supposed to be. Or not enough guides so under load the line will rub on the blank. Not so much an issue with spinning rods but critical on overhead rods.  Same goes for reels whilst some may look good on specs and on the advertising blurb, some of them, the way they feel and operate just grate on my nerves when turning the reel, with loud anti reverse dawgs making a constant racket and some just feel much better when in your hand.

[Kat]

11 minutes ago, Ed. said:

Stores such as BCF do not carry the full range of the brands they sell, so they only stock what they think will be popular and ignore the other models, hence I like to go and see what each has and whats new, I take the misses to the Gym occasionally so have an hour or 2 to kill before picking her up and going for a "Coffee and cake" afterwards. So in my area there are the Big 3 stores within 5 minutes of each other so I kill the time and do the rounds. Usually I do some research and know what I want to buy before going to get it anyway.

I have already jumped online to see which store I am visiting first in the morning so thanks.  BTW coffee and cake is the last thing I would be eating after the gym - you would just have to go back to work it all off again

[Ed.]

It gives us a chance to catch up and relax so small price to pay, besides its only once a fortnight and she goes to the Gym about 3-5 times a week and I do like like Coffee and Cake. We have an exceptional place we regularly visit which has fabulous home made cakes. So have to support the local store and I am willing to take one for the team!

[ellicat]

Im out fishing, so I have locked this thread until I can have a look at home. Be happy, people.

[ellicat]

Okay, I've removed the off topic posts.

This is a friendly site and everyone is entitled to express their opinions provided there are no personal attacks. Remember - disagreement doesn't necessarily mean dislike.

If anyone ever gets a PM that they're not comfortable with, please send a copy to me or @Do$tylz for our further action. Do not engage with them, especially if they say they are a previously banned member. They would hold that status for a good reason.

 

There is no threat of a ban on @Breaming with bro with the information I have or can see.

Thread is now unlocked.

 

So let's move on and see what Kat gets at the shop.

 

[Kat]

Hiya Everyone ....drumroll please....

[Kat]

From Doug Burt's Tackle World - Doug gave me a great price!  Didn't need to shop around at all.  First and last stop.

[Drop Bear]

2 minutes ago, Kat said:

From Doug Burt's Tackle World - Doug gave me a great price!  Didn't need to shop around at all.  First and last stop.

Nice one Kat, Now get get em!

[Kat]

I am so excited I feel like a kid again on Christmas morning!

[Drop Bear]

1 minute ago, Kat said:

I am so excited I feel like a kid again on Christmas morning!

I think we can all relate to that haha. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good one Kat, I have the exact same reel.

It will sure catch you some good fish  I'll be excited to hear about it. 

25 minutes ago, Kat said:

I am so excited I feel like a kid again on Christmas morning!

When I got mine I did feel like a kid on Chrissy morning - because I was a kid on Chrissy Morning!!  

Cheers Hamish

[Brodie_S]

Certainly a very good choice you can’t go wrong with a reel that’s light and features hagane gear x ship and g free body love Shimano’s Sedona-Stradic range very good reels 

[Ed.]

Kat, you do realize that your on the slippery dark path now, now that you have started looking at different reels and rods and have more than one, next you will be thinking that you will need another set  for a different class of fishing and so it will go on and on! . There are birthdays, X'mas,  Mothers day and more and the justification to treat yourself to a new set will be easy!

[Another Wazza]

Oh what a slippery dark path it is, and heaven forbid Kat gets the taste of using a nice overhead, it’s all down hill from there.....

[Brodie_S]

Yeah I wouldn’t go around looking at new Stradic’s a word of advice . But I actually needed that reel and I didn’t have a silly reason to buy it unlike my daiwa Nero legalis lt which comes with a rod I want and it’s half price $150 instead of $300 excuse but really buying that rod alone Without the reel would have been $150 I just got it because a good reel like that coming with a Rod I want is like hitting the jackpot