I have a nice trevala rod that I purchased last year.
The reel that I purchased for it doesn’t work well at all. Just plain uncomfortable.
Any recommendations on a nice conventional reel with level wind that would be good for small tuna/cobia and the usual snapper/grouper crowd?
I’ve resorted to the senator lately. I love the senator as Ol’ faithful, but I would like something nicer without thumbing the line.
Take a look at the Shimano Charter Special, levelwind and lever drag, think model #'s tr1000ld or tr2000ld, I believe the 1000 holds 17/250 and the 2000 holds 20/300,
Ambassaduer 7000-10000, Daiwa Saltist would also work if looking for star drags
Ya know, it must be nice living in Neverneverland. Remind me to come visit you, when I need a break from reality.
How about that shimano takota? The tek500 looks good but I don’t know anyone who has one.
How useful is the line counter? Looks like it would only cost another $7 for me to get one.
*** World Cat 266 SC ***
Don’t waste your time on a level wind reel for grouper/snapper imo to much to go wrong with them holding up. If your on a budget an old penn 6/0 114h is tried and true. If you want a level up and stay with a star drag get a shimano Trinidad 40 or diawa saltiga 40 I have both and have put a lot of big grouper into submission with them. Ima star drag guy myself for bottom fishing always will be.If you can find them the Trinidad tn40n is a good real I swapped the darterium drags out with a cals custom drag washers and never looked back. I know for some thumbing the line back and forth can be a problem but I’ve never seen it as a issue but to each there own on that note.
Just reel or get broke
^^^ what he said, get a narrow boxed out reel so you won’t really have to worry about the line lay. Bunch of good ones out there. Right now okuma probably has some of the strongest contenders but I fish a Baja special and a narrow jigmaster bc I like old school stuff. Too each there own.
If you just have to have the levelwind the Penn international 975 will do the job, I spool mine with 65# Powerpro, great drag, beefy reel, use it in Costa Rica with 20# mono for sails
Wow, those are some good options.
That International 975 looks awesome, but thats a lot of gas money. I might have to go for one of those when bonus time comes around.
*** World Cat 266 SC ***
Avet sx and mx narrow would be great reels. Made is the USA too!!!
Penn makes the Fathom, Shimano makes the Tekota and Okuma and Daiwa both make one as well. I have used the Fathoms extensively in AK bottom fishing and salmon trolling. The Fathom and Tekota both have lower gear ratios and retrieve ~2ft of line per crank. That may sound like a lot but most conventional reels nowadays have higher ratios so these reels will seem slow when used alongside others. The slower reels have good torque for pulling up stubborn bottom fish but require a good bit more reeling when just pulling up to check bait. It may be a nonissue for you but I prefer a faster reel. I can’t say anything about the daiwa or okuma as I have no experience with them except that I believe the Daiwa has a higher gear ratio.
I would forgo the linecounter feature as that is just another part to break and not necessary for the type of fishing you will be doing. It is very handy for a type of salmon fishing called mooching in the PNW and Alaska. I would venture to say that the demand created for the linecounter in that fishery is the only reason they are in production.
Personally, I would opt for a narrow nonlevelwind reel as suggested above.
Another vote for a narrow, non-levelwind reel. A narrow spool helps with line lay, and most have enough capacity where you can fill it half-full with heavy braid and be fine. Then, you have plenty of room even if it does happen to stack up a little in one area.
1994 Hewes Redfisher 18, 2004 Yamaha 150 VMAX
Malibu X-Factor Kayak
You must be careful with the level wind reels. A big fast fish will have that reel spool turning so fast line will become embedded in the spool. resulting in line breakage. Some folks take the level wind off their reels for this reason. You just have to remember to use your thumb as a level wind.
I got the new US senator last year, narrow version. Essentially the old Baja special. Absolutely awesome reel!!!
“mr keys”
I fished a Penn 320 GTI for many years with 80 lb braid- it handled everything thrown at it for over a decade of heavy use. It took a trip to the bottom to seal it’s fate.
Great reels for normal bottom fishing, caught plenty of big fish including some very large sharks. They are used by charter fleets regularly because they have a level wind.
I have a 2 each Avet HX 2 speed and LX 2 speed reels that are new in the box if you’re interested. They would be perfect for what you want to do minus a levelwind.