Craziestozzy

The boss had a bitch fit when she tried out the alvey. She ended up with the Daiwa Emcast 6000. Good price and spool designed for holding a long length line and long casting. Especially like the strong shaft the spool sits on. Very little flex when fully extended during winding.The pic is the Penn Senator 114H 6/0 reel and looks rather small against my tall lanky body. The fish is 50cm Mangrove Jack, renouned for fighting like Pig Dogs and this one did not disappoint. Fished a small estuary surrounded by a mangrove swamp the other night, with the 15 foot "surf rod", 100lb line and a size 10 Gamakatsu Live Bait Hook.The extra length of the rod allowed me to just drop the line into the water and fish a deep channel with me safely away from the crocs.Not much room to move and I knew if I had to land a big brute, it would have to be "South Oz Tuna Style".The bait was suspended just beneath the water, so just had a 60lb rated ball bearing swivel seperating the main line with a 100lb shock leader trace....to make a long story short, the Penn reel behaved flawlessly in handling this brutal fighter.I don't think that reel even broke a sweat when I fought the Jack and stopped it from gunning it to the shelter of the mangrove roots and the reel did not cringe when I dragged the Jack out of the water and threw that pig over my head with a thrust of my rod. The size 10 Carbon Steel Gamakatsu Live Bait Hook was up to the task and held its shape.Very impressed with this American made reel.PS....there actually is such a thing as reel envy (akin to penis envy). Size does matter and when I stand on a creek bank with the 15' rod and that 6/0 Penn reel, I actually do have the bigger balls and notice the other fisherman with their tiny over-priced reels and fancy rods dropping their jaws at my setup.

The boss had a bitch fit when she tried out the alvey. She ended up with the Daiwa Emcast 6000. Good price and spool designed for holding a long length line and long casting. Especially like the strong shaft the spool sits on. Very little flex when fully extended during winding.The pic is the Penn Senator 114H 6/0 reel and looks rather small against my tall lanky body. The fish is 50cm Mangrove Jack, renouned for fighting like Pig Dogs and this one did not disappoint. Fished a small estuary surrounded by a mangrove swamp the other night, with the 15 foot "surf rod", 100lb line and a size 10 Gamakatsu Live Bait Hook.The extra length of the rod allowed me to just drop the line into the water and fish a deep channel with me safely away from the crocs.Not much room to move and I knew if I had to land a big brute, it would have to be "South Oz Tuna Style".The bait was suspended just beneath the water, so just had a 60lb rated ball bearing swivel seperating the main line with a 100lb shock leader trace....to make a long story short, the Penn reel behaved flawlessly in handling this brutal fighter.I don't think that reel even broke a sweat when I fought the Jack and stopped it from gunning it to the shelter of the mangrove roots and the reel did not cringe when I dragged the Jack out of the water and threw that pig over my head with a thrust of my rod. The size 10 Carbon Steel Gamakatsu Live Bait Hook was up to the task and held its shape.Very impressed with this American made reel.PS....there actually is such a thing as reel envy (akin to penis envy). Size does matter and when I stand on a creek bank with the 15' rod and that 6/0 Penn reel, I actually do have the bigger balls and notice the other fisherman with their tiny over-priced reels and fancy rods dropping their jaws at my setup.

If budget is what you are after without the "you get what you pay for" slogan thrown at you, the Shimano Beastmaster 153 (15 footer) is a good rod with a wood pike. Great taper and doesn't oscillate like jelly. Guides are spaced correctly for casting on a threadline reel. Costs around 90 to 110 bucks. I have just brought two of them, with a view to modifying them at a later date as I like the fibreglass work. I think the guides are zircon mix (SeaGuides brand) and the reel seat is plastic which may prove sloppy after use on a heavy reel and need re-tightening on occasion...hence my future upgrade to SiC guides and aluminium seat.Reels to suit for long cast ability and rod ballance are MITCHELL Compact Copper Surf 800 at around 80 bucksPENN SURFBLASTER 8000 for around 130 bucks...and as others say, the Penn Spinfisher 950 SSM and don't spend more than $140 on that reel. I don't like the narrow inner diameter and short length of that reel for long casting use - but people cast long distances using braid on this reel. The reel is super strong (blooody strong) with an extra long shaft seated at the rear with a bad-ass bearing support...they actually had to extend the rear of the reel to support the 60lb drag load. Reel has a locking bail arm I believe and a non reverse spool as the reel drag is rated at like 60lb and there is nothing strong enough and small enough that would work without busting up. From what I know, their drag washers won't need upgrading, unless you plan on chasing the Titanic....just my input from a newbie