Trolling rods line weight

[Gazzetta]

As far as I know, NO there isn't any difference.  They are all flouro carbob lines.  We say leader when use 2 different lines and the part closer to the lure is referred to as leader.  Shock leader is the same part, the line closer to the lure and shock refers to the the strike of the fish which is sort of the shock (increase in tension) the line gets when the fish strikes.

Chris 

[redbus9]

when beach casting,if your reel line is 20 lbs breaking strain usually you put about 25 ft of heavier line eg 40 lbs to take the strain or shock when you cast out the weight.

[maltembu]

I have decided to go for a shimano hyperloop or catana 20 - 30lb rod and shimano tld25 for albacore.. Any opinions ? Would they be ok to use by the fish farms ? Kubrit of around 15kg are being caught over there right now..

[The_Gaffer]

The tld25 is aj ideal reel for albacore and kubrit. Mine is loaded with 40lbs momoi diamond line which should be more then enough for that type of fishing. Make sure your leader is rated at 60lbs. This should be sufficient for anything upto 40kgsnj depending on the rod and fish fighting technique applied. Let's have a chat about this on Friday

[Gazzetta]

I have a hyperloop and till now I give it a 10+   

Chris 

[ganni]

however remember that hyperloop is on the lower side of shimano!! i would go for a bit better mate.

angler centre has quite good rods, the mark is Profile. They cost 115euros. however they are rly good. i have one.  for a gd shimano rod in my opinion you must buy at least a beastmaster.  mr fish has exage, however their action isn't rly gd in my opinion, even if im a no. 1 fan of shimano

[maltembu]

Finally i decided and got a Mitchell 30 to 50lbs carbon rod with roller guides.. looks like a good rod.. Time will tell.. Re reel i think i'm going for penn..

[ganni]

hey maltembu, it was nice seeing you 2 day

im glad you baught that rod, its a really gd rod. if you want my opinion, dont go for a penn

[The_Gaffer]

Gianni, can you share you"re opinion why he shouldn't go for a penn please

[bigboy]

I have a senator 115 and found it to be a very good reel except the wheight of the reel as it is quite heavy

[ganni]

Of coarse Gaffer!!

Penn reels don't have a very good drag system, it is not that smooth!! Not even the Penn International Gold Series. Lately i have read an article on a magazine (i don't remember which but its not the first time) and there was a review about them.  The quality of the Tiagra and the Albacore outcompetes them.  The daiwa alos have some good models and then there are the DUEL.

The thing i don't like that much about DUEL is their mechanism for single and double speed, well i haven't tried one but i think its a bit wierd

[The_Gaffer]

I have been using Penn 113's and 114's now for over 6 years, and I never had this supposedly problem you mention about drags not being smooth.  Unlike you, I experienced Penns 1st hand by using them, instead of relying on articles written by people who might be on someones payroll.  If you have to compare, you need to compare like with like.  Tiagras are Shimano's flagship reels, so you should compare them with Penn International gold series reels.  As for smooth drags, I can personally vouch for the smoothness of Penn 113 and 114 drags.  Never had a problem.  I know of 1000's of charter captans in the US who use Penn international and Penn Senator reels with success on their daily trips.  You must be reading a magazine financed by Shimano!!
I also have a Shimano tld25, very comparable to the penn 114 except that the tld has a lever drag as opposed to the star drag system on the 114.
From what I gather on the net, in Australia, Tiagra's are the preferred option for fighting marlin.  However, lately, alot of charter boats and recreational fishermen are turning to Okuma reels as they are on a quasi equal match with Penn International and Tiagra but for a fraction of the price.  One should be careful before shooting down reels, especially if you haven't experienced them firsthand!

[shanook]

i have Okuma and penn reels. I prefare the Okuma as it is lever drag, apart from being cheaper than Penn. In my opinion Okuma are very good reels. They used to make parts for Shimano, Penn etc and then they started to make their own reels.
For Maltese waters i think they are perfect.
easy to use, u can set the trolling, strike and max drag from home so no fiddling while fighting a fish.
I would go for an Okuma just for the above reason. Mithcell and Okuma are imported in Malta by the same dealer.

Ur call maltembu

[ganni]

 @ Gaffer, when you said: "Tiagras are Shimano's flagship reels, so you should compare them with Penn International gold series reels." infact in my comment i was talking about the international gold series :"Not even the Penn International Gold Series".

And yes gaffer i used to owe a senator and a commander 20LW but i sold them, and a close friend of mine has 2 senators which i have used a no of times, they are good reels for albacore and other similar fish, but we don't use them anymore for AJ's and dentex.

And lately i used a 330GT2, it had the same drag problem, maybe my friends don't service them as they sould.

@Shanook, yes okuma are good reels and they are rly improoving, and its a really good thing that they are being sold locally with a warranty

[skip]

Okay let me add my two cents here as it's always been an area that interests me! To a certain extent, forget the reel model, manufacturer etc and focus on the core which is the drag washer itself. Cheaper reels use fiber based drag washers, eg. The Senator series, the GTI series, most of Okuma's reels except the Titus Gold, etc etc.

When Shimano entered into the reel market they made sure they had a unique selling point and that was their drag system. Aside from the drag material you've also got the drag lube to look at in terms of the type used. Some manufacturers/models go for a dry drag, others a wet drag. A wet drag is alot smoother but at the sacrifice for some drag pressure. The Tiagra's use top notch Carbon drag washers and Shimano drag grease, and was started by Shimano to eliminate the Stick/ Slip --- Breakaway Spike or Inertia From A stationary state to one of motion. which was an old problem they were experiencing

Penn, with their International series were starting to lose out (all international's are gold that's a classic identifier), and the early models like the International II's etc didnt have some a good drag. Penn addressed this in their International V series, when not only did they switch to dura-drags (a fancy name for a carbon drag), but they also include a type of washer which you can install to further increase drag pressure. The dura-drag replaces their previous HT-100 drags and they are now wet drags

What you want to avoid is drag hesitation/shudder, when a reel doesn't do that it's referred to as a smooth drag, something that Shimano got a reputation for. As to whether the dura-drags are as good as those found on the Tiagra A series or Alutecnos Albacore etc is a matter of debate.

If you really want to upgrade your reels, check out smoothdrag.com and invest in their Carbontex drags along with Cal's drag grease. These exist for most of the Senator reels and even the TLD25's.

Okuma are good for their price but their quality cannot compare to the equivalent Penn's or Shimano's, we won't notice it so much here as you're unlikely to ever hook into a big enough fish to put them to the test!

Ganni, the Commander 20's and 30's were an embarrasment to Penn and should never have carried their brand name, (just do a search on the net), they were meant for your once a year fisherman!

I don't like star drags much but the Senator's are bullet proof reels for a fraction of the cost of most others and they will definately outlast just about every reel at the same price/line class. Switch over to Carbontex drags and you've got a winner!

For me forget Daiwa and Duel when it comes to trolling reels! What some people say is that Penn are either stingy with their drag grease or even don't apply it properly so if you're fighting big fish or want it ultra smooth, open your reel and get some of Cal's drag grease in there!

Skip

You can read more about drags here
http://www.westernangler.com.au/forum/m_136969/mpage_1/printable.htm