[Bill McIntyre]

This is great stuff.

Since I use "American Style" guns for want of a better term, they have line anchors under the muzzle that the reel line can be run through, so there is no necessity to add a ring of some kind. However, I don't run the reel line through there anyway. I prefer to have it just running off the reel to the fish without pulling my gun around so that its always pointed at the fish.

I use both 2 mm and 3 mm Spectra, depending on the capacity of the reel. If he reel is big enough to hold at least 100 feet of the 3 mm, then I prefer it because its much easier to grab as well as easier to see down in murky water wrapped through the kelp. But of course few reels have that capacity, so I use the 2 mm on the smaller ones. I'm not sure what value this will have, but here are photos of a reel with 145 feet of pink 3 mm Specra, and two others with 170 feet of yellow 2 mm and white 2 mm.

I agree with Miles about horizontal vs. vertical reel mounting. I can't really notice any difference in handling, although I suppose its a bit easier to reel line back onto the reel with the vertical mounting.

Edit- in case anyone wonders what I meant when I mentioned the line anchor under the muzzle of tree trunk type guns, I notice that the photos with the yellow reel line shows one. In this case, its where it is for use as a rest tab when cocking the gun, but its the same thing that is screwed to the bottom of the front end of most tree trunks- Rifffe, Alexander, and Wong for instance.