The last ten years have been very pivotal in the evolution of reels. The engineers of our grandfather’s reels could not imagine it; their sons, the engineers of our father’s reels dreamt it, now their sons have achieved it. Comparing a reel that was made 15 years ago with something made in the last five years will show you exactly what I’m talking about.
Although the basic structure is retained, there are a lot of changes in the construction of the reels. Reels that were previously thought as “fast” are now “normal” speed reels. Specialty reels such as two speed reels are now pretty normal, what’s even more startling is the fact that even with all the technological advancements, good reels, are more than ever, affordable.
The hulking reels of yesteryears have also shred the gargantuan shell, advancements in metallurgical processes as well as the advancements in manufacturing made it possible for baitcaster sized reels in blue water arenas – and are consistently slaying giants!
Without going too geeky and technical on this, let’s try to see what kind of reels are used for what type of fishing, what they can be used for aside from the uses that they were designed for and also taking into consideration that we are not all blessed with deep pockets.
Over the years, I have collected a number of reels that work for me, so I will break down exactly what I use them for. Take note though, that my reasons for picking the reels I show here are totally because of preference. There might be better reels for the use, some of them are pretty old, but are good reels for what I use them for. Use this as a guide and a starting point to figure out your preferences, with that in mind, you would have less fumbles and you put your hard earned money on or pretty close to your ideal. Take into mind that each of these systems have their own set of advantages and disadvantages and it’s up to the angler to decide on where his or her preference would lean to. As people use more systems and find where they are most comfortable with, they find their preference and form their fishing style.
Spinning Reels: The pros and cons
The most noticeable difference between spinning and conventional systems is how they are mounted on the rod; spinning reels are mounted below the rod blank, while conventional reels are mounted on top of the rod blank.
Spinning reels were invented for two reasons – firstly, baitcasting reels (a kind of conventional reel) required a degree of skill to be able to cast. It took a while for people to learn how to use baitcasting reels and quite a lot gave up just because it was too complicated or took a long time to learn.
Secondly, they were not efficient tools for casting lighter lures and baits especially when casting towards the wind. Lighter lures and baits make it hard to get the rotation on the spool to make the cast, the challenge gets even more complicated when wind is involved.
Spinning reels made it easier for people to get into fishing because the system requires very little time to learn how to cast and reach a decent distance. This is largely thanks to the fixed spool design of the system (that’s why in some countries, a spinning reel is also called a fixed spool reel). In recent years, manufacturers are making top end spinning reels with light but strong alloy bodies, spool design has also advanced with shallower and wider spools and tapered lips allowing very long casts. The recent rage of popping both in the offshore and inshore arenas have placed spinning reels into new light with very impressive catches of big giant trevally inshore and tuna offshore, fish in previous years requiring hulking trolling reels to catch; proving that spinning reels are just as tough as their conventional counterparts.
For the more technical user, the spinning reel gives you something that no conventional reel can give you – the perfect drop back. This means, with the line rigged on a release clip and with the bail arm open, the line can freely flow off the spool without any sort of resistance, trolling or drift fishing live bait on kites or flat lines for sailfish and other fish that “mouth” baits before they flip the fish around and swallow them head first. A spinning reel fished like this would not give the fish any warning signals because of the resistance of the line turning a spool giving it more confidence to flip the fish and into its gullet.
Here’s the bad news
While it sounds like the perfect system, it does have a few drawbacks. The line bends at a 90-degree angle from the spool to the rod, this is via the bait roller that evenly distributes line to the spool. While it may sound trivial because of the design, this is a weak point and either it would break on a big fish if the drag weren’t set right, the bail roller will get worn up from the line going back and forth on it. This is something that needs to be replaced after a while and something that a lot of anglers overlook (I already see a few guys going for their reels and checking them…). In time, the roller will nick your line and damage it, even if it was braid, especially if you fish in saltwater like we do here in the UAE. Another disadvantage is the reel stem. That’s the stem just before the reel foot, this happens in extreme cases, but that part snaps off, even in the best of reels. Although manufacturers have addressed this by reinforcing it even further, it does not negate the fact that that is the thinnest part of the reel. Although the casting may be easy and a decent distance can be achieved, in skilled hands that gets amplified even more – people that know how to cast will always outcast those that have just learned – but it won’t be that much. This is because as the line goes off the spool and diminishes, it also has to fight its way up the spool and off the lip, which creates friction and slowing the velocity of your cast. These things however are not the reasons that put me off spinning gear – the fact that no matter how good or expensive spinning gear is, it is the system that will give you a lot of headache because of line twist.
Conventional Systems: The Pros and Cons
While spinning reels are mounted on the bottom of the rod, conventional reels are mounted on top. Your thumb stops the spool when you engage the clutch for the cast.
Advancements in manufacturing have made conventional reels smaller and stronger. You cannot see really tiny conventional reels catching giant fish both inshore and offshore. This is also the only type of reel that you can get more than one retrieve ratio, being able to switch one to the other with just a press of a button. Tiny conventional reels such as the Avet SX Raptor are very small – about the same size as a baitcasting reel. This is one of Avet’s top-of-the-line reels and it has the strength of a 40kg class trolling reel (for the technical types, the max drag of the SX Raptor is 13kg. Standard drag setting for any type of reel is .3 [max] or .25 [min] of line breaking strain; 0.3 of 40kg is 13.3kg and 0.25 of 40 is 10kg) although it doesn’t have the capacity to go after marlin and other giant fish because of the capacity, the over-engineering of this reel means that you can take it offshore and have a chance to land something big, or have a chance at a big shark when you are inshore. And guess what – it’s two speed.
The Avet SX is just an example of an extremely tiny conventional reel with all the bells and whistles a manufacturer can put in a tiny package, however it does come with a price – at almost 400 USD in the USA. For that price however, you have the conveniences rivaling the most expensive spinning reels and their ease of use.
Conventional gear as mentioned above are a bit more challenging to cast. That is offset by the more advanced cast control systems modern reels have. Baitcasting reels (a type of small conventional reel) have centrifugal cast control systems, both in mechanical and electronic form. Other cast control systems employ the use of magnets and a handful of reels utilise the use of both cast control systems for a truly backlash proof system.
Since the line feeds off the spool and through the rod rings in a straight line, there is very little friction involved. The revolving spool also eliminates friction from the line coming off the spool, which makes conventional tackle the farthest casting system one could ever hope for. Anglers have been recorded with casts around 286m with a 150g lead weight – all the world records for distance are from conventional reels. In an ordinary fishing scenario, in the hands of a capable beach fisherman, a cast made with conventional gear would reach water that is not as fished as the ones that are closer in.
Advancements in the cast control systems in recent years have made casting conventional gear easy. Reels such as the Avet SX Raptor have magnetic cast control systems that enable it to cast lighter lures without the worry of having a backlash. You just dial in the ideal magnetic resistance on the left side plate and off you go. You also don’t have the line twist problem that spinning reels are known for. Even if you reel against a running fish, the spool just slips – if you do the same with a spinning reel, you would be changing your spool of line after the trip.
The verdict: Which one is better?
To make it simple, the spinning gear is easy to use, great at casting light lures, to fish with in windy conditions and, more importantly, an almost worry free system to use for all types of anglers. When you don’t know anything about fishing and you walk into a tackleshop with a mind of taking a combo, you are guaranteed to walk out of that shop with spinning gear.
There are people who say that baitcasters are more accurate. I believe accuracy is a matter of practice; in my experience, you can be very accurate at both (spinning and conventional) systems if you put in the time to practice.
There are things that are easier to accomplish with spinning reels and although also doable with conventionals, are just easily done with the eggbeater – such as skipping lures. The cost for a decent conventional reel is more expensive than a decent spinning reel. Going to the top end however, prices are almost identical.
The cast control systems of conventional reels also have come a long way and if you are already proficient at casting them, the new generation anti-backlash control gives you that extra security, especially when you’re fishing at night, in windy conditions, or both. So with a little patience you would be able to cast well… most of the time. When shore fishing, I use only conventional reels and use a light spinning outfit to cast light lures from shore while waiting for a bite.
Honestly, both systems should not be compared as they are meant to fill the gap that the other has. I use my spinning reels to cast tiny jigs and other light lures. For someone who has mostly conventional gear, I still have no reason to get rid of my spinning gear because there are just some things they do best.
If you stick to it, you’ll find a preference towards which gear to use for what purpose, which is exactly what it is supposed to be. Offshore, conventional tackle is still king and they will continue to be for a long time to come.
As gear development advances you will notice a size reduction in all of them as it has in the last few years. Even spinning gear is going even lighter with the introduction of reels that can fish 1kg line and under, the same with baitcasters such as the Shimano Calcutta 50.
Choosing which one is a matter of preference and what you want to use them for, there is no better system, only a better system for what you will be using them for.
Till next tide change,
Kit Belen
thefishingkit@gmail.com
