Need suggestions for game fish trolling and drop fishing reels

What do you plan to fish for?

CS78 said:

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What do you plan to fish for?

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This, trolling for marlin or tune is a bit different from Mahi or Kings. Dropping for grouper is gonna be different from deep dropping for swords.

Im selling some gear that would fit that bill.

https://texags.com/forums/50/topics/3548921

CS78 said:

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What do you plan to fish for?

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Yep and do you want an electric deep drop and what do you want to troll for?

You can get silly with the SPJ stuff and Seaborg 400J.

I just bought 2 Shimano saragosa 8000 series around OP's price point at FLU. Had them in mind for tarpon, ling , kings, snapper type fishing. Haven't used them much yet but they are smooth.

Have noticed the bails won't engage with the handle , have to flip it by hand. Does that sound right to this group?

halfastros81 said:

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I just bought 2 Shimano saragosa 8000 series around OP's price point at FLU. Had them in mind for tarpon, ling , kings, snapper type fishing. Haven't used them much yet but they are smooth.

Have noticed the bails won't engage with the handle , have to flip it by hand. Does that sound right to this group?

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That's normal on spheros but not saragosa.

I want to fish for:

Trolling for

kings
mahi
wahoo


drop fishing for
red snapper
& anything that will bite and fight


State waters and federal waters - from surfside I can safely go 250 miles

How about an electric reel and rod combo recommendation - I know it will be above $350 but would appreciate some guidance.

Gig 'em

I've got 3 charter special 2000 and a 320gt with upgraded drag on ugly sticks that I'd let go, then you'd be covered on the kings and snaps. Also a pile of terminal tackle that could go with them.

halfastros81 said:

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Have noticed the bails won't engage with the handle , have to flip it by hand. Does that sound right to this group?

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Never fished any of the big reels, but I manually flip the bail anyway. It's habit to look at the spool, flip the bail over by hand, pull the line to the line roller so it doesn't wrap funky, then reel tight.

Maybe unnecessary, but it's automatic to me. Doubt I've missed many fish in the short delay - probably prevented some knots though.

I agree it's not really a big deal but I just wondered if they are supposed to engage with the handle . I knew some of the bigger sized spinning reels do not.

do you have photos of the reels and rods?

For someone just starting to buy gear, I like the idea of reels that can do both. That price, I'd go speedmaster 12 with 300 yards 80lb braid for your bottom rods. And speedmaster 20 with 500 yards 80lb braid for your trolling rods.

The 12 could also be used for light trolling and the 20 used for heavy bottom.

Don't be tempted to go with lighter line. People will tell you 80 isn't needed but you'll lose way less fish on it. You want the extra abrasion resistance for the times when your line rubs against the hull, bangs around the boat in waves, etc. People will say you can't break 50-65lb braid but big fish do weird stuff to tackle. They can bend hooks that shouldn't bend and break line that shouldn't break.

The 20s are small enough to troll for kings but big enough that if you get the chance to fish for AJs, chunk for tuna, or hook an 80lb wahoo, you won't be undergunned. Pretty much anything you could run into except marlin.

millerjohnr said:

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How about an electric reel and rod combo recommendation - I know it will be above $350 but would appreciate some guidance.

Gig 'em

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I went with daiwa seapower. They are similar to the tanacom but with a better motor. Ordered directly from Japan, via ebay, they cost about what the tanacom cost here. Around $675-$700. They're going to be the strongest and best without spending a lot more.

millerjohnr said:

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I want to fish for:

Trolling for

kings
mahi
wahoo


drop fishing for
red snapper
& anything that will bite and fight


State waters and federal waters - from surfside I can safely go 250 miles

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Ok so wahoo will cause you to need different gear.

I can't attached a picture, but I was on a trip to the flower gardens in Feb where we caught 22 wahoo and were using 50/80 because we had to reel them in while on troll thanks to sharks. Reeling in a 40# wahoo at 15 knots sucks. That size is WAY overkill for kings and mahi, but its heart breaking to loose a nice wahoo to the tax man.

As far as deep dropping, as long as its not swords, the Banax Kaigen 1000 Reel is really popular. They are even sold at check bottom. I have a Tanacom 1000 I bought used, but I was going to get the Kaigen 1000.

https://www.deepdropper.com/collections/banax-electric-reels/products/banax-kaigen-1000-reel

thank you for the information

Gig 'em

That boat likes to use oversized gear and drag the fish to eliminate the fisherman from the variables. They do the same thing with swords, marlin, etc. Hook it on an 80 full of 200lb braid, put the boat in gear, let people take turns cranking in low gear, high fives and pictures for the website. I was signed up for one of their wahoo trips until I found out they don't want you using your own gear, no throwing bombs or anything.