Just looking for opinions as have yet get hands on reels I’m considering.
Avet raptor mxj or jx
Shimano torsa
Shimano Talica
Penn torque star drag
Reel is for only bottom fishing, pairing with a custom Rod for grouper stick. Noted would like keep light as will use for grocery fishing as well. Also open to other reels if have good opinions or input. Thank you
I’ve got a pair of Penn trq 25’s that are awesome for grouper. You won’t be disappointed
Edgewater 245cc
Just got a Raptor MXL, I like it a lot. Already had the standard MXL but wanted more drag. They claim 400yds of 80 but it’s more like 350.
Sure would be nice to use it more but this dang wind just keeps blowing.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Does the mxl not feel too large?that’s why I was consider mxj, narrower.
Penn baja special…great reel!!
SAFMC you suck!
Go with the torque, it’s pretty much bulletproof. If you pair it with a blue water carnage rod you will have a great set up. That combo is great for fishing for scamps, red snappers, Vermillion snapper’s, triggers and blackfish. It just does not have enough ass to pull a large gag out of the rocks. It is very hard to fish a 16 ounce lead or anything heavier on that combo, but it will work fine with eight and 10 ounce egg sinkers in a Carolina rig or 8 to 10 ounce bank sinkers on a Chicken rig.
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Thanks for input. I’m really interested in no nonsense get anything off bottom though ha. Was gonna pair with a black hole 350 sprial
I have a black hole 5 foot two, Cape Cod spinning rod. With the Stella 30 K with 100 pound braid… It will pull anything in the boat. I want to catch a swordfish on it this year.
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
They make great rods. Opinion on a raptor or torque on it?
Has anyone ever fished torsa? Having such terrible time finding a tackle shop carries any the reels I’m looking at. Quite annoying
I have heard about issues with avets being not as durable as other reels similar in price and performance, if you get a lot of big fish on them. The talic is a good all day reel a lot of guys fish them on the multi day trips for there reliability and comfort. Never heard anything about a Penn torque or shimano torsa but from what I’ve heard and read from reel experts and repair people Penn isn’t as good as shimano and usually need servicing more often but that is not about the particular models you mentioned more of just a generalization. A Okuma Makaira SEA 15 is supposed to be a great reel, and is similar to what you mentioned, I don’t own one but want one. It has a offset power handle to aid in long battles and Okuma will even send you separate gearing for when you want to fish light drag with really fine increments and the other gearing is strong for heavy drag, and has 5 years free servicing, but the closest service center to us is Georgia. I have used a raptor before and it felt really good and wasn’t that big but don’t remember which model it was.
The torsa is a bulletproof winch for its size. Discontinued so hard find. If can get one I’d pull trigger asap
quote:
Originally posted by 40inchredsI have heard about issues with avets being not as durable as other reels similar in price and performance, if you get a lot of big fish on them.
I would disagree. I’ve got an HXJ that has gone 8 years or so (purchased right after they released them) catching plenty of large creatures with minimal service. I’d go with an HXJ or HX raptor - MX raptor is only a couple pounds extra drag over a standard HX. Plus, you’ll eventually want the extra line capacity.
I run 4 HXW’s in my trolling spread, they are very nice reels. My only complaint, the clicker could be louder. But since this thread is about bottom fishing reels, here is my two cents worth. There are a lot of very nice and expensive options being discussed here. However, for the routine grocery list bottom critters you can get by with a lot less. My go to bottom fishing reel is a TLD 15 with 65 lb. braid. It is inexpensive, simple and easy to service. A new one is $149, on ebay a nice used one, $60. It will handle 16 oz. of lead bank sinkers, max drag of 22lbs and catches black sea bass, vermillion, pinkies, triggers, and even red snapper all day long. For the big grouper, we put a more substantial reel on a live bait rod. But the 19 ounce TLD 15 is a very comfortable option to the other reels weighing, and costing twice as much.
Pioneer 222 Sportfish
Yamaha 250
I actually went with torsa 20 with jiggingworld tbar and custom 50# drag cam. Pics soon!
Nice you should do a full review once fished. Would like to here/ see a report on it. I’ve used Tiagra’s and they have smooth power with good Torque conversion so there is less strain when reeling, my buddys 80w is rated at 44lbs but some people have told him it will actual produce much higher drag especially on lower spool levels. The down fall to a tiagra is they are big and heavy. This is like a mini beasted out tiagra interested to hear a detailed opinion. Just looked at it online and saw it has a similar interchangeable drag cam system like the Makiara except with more options, 8 which really makes this reel a do it all reel and at 700yds of 50 it could be any rod in the spread or a bottom beast. 50#s of drag is no joke.
why would you want a bottom reel spooled with 700 yds of line?
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
quote:
Originally posted by Bonzo72why would you want a bottom reel spooled with 700 yds of line?
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
The same reason you’d buy 700’ of anchor line…
May all your favorite bands stay together…
I had 500yds on my 8000 series and ended up having about 60 yds after the tax men came through a few times one nearly got me for everthing but I got a lucky break and was left enough line to fish. The more drag I gave the faster it went at 30lb of drag I thought my real was gonna melt or catch fire. I have caught 8 fters on the same setup fairly easily and what ever this was made an 8fter feel like a sharpnose.
less line on the spool = more drag
comes in handy with the groupas! sure you could get spooled but it’s yet to happen to me. ive come close but lost the knot connection to the top shot both times. kept the braid, lost the mono. ill take that trade 
“mr keys”
quote:
Originally posted by northchuckyless line on the spool = more drag
exactly…even bottom fishing in 200’ of water, do you really anticipate a fish going horizontal a quarter of a mile on you?
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org