I've been meaning to get this started for a while now. I'm a dedicated reel guy for many reasons but mostly just because I hate using a floatline for a multitude of reasons. We can get into pros and cons if you like but mostly I want to open a thread to discuss various reels, techniques and most of all safety. Lots of people know I'm a reel guy so I get calls over the course of the year from guys asking about all sorts of stuff regarding manufacturers, line, line guides, styles etc.. etc.. I'm hoping to open up some discussion to help the newer guys and also learn myself. If you've got a question post it up and we'll do our best to answer or argue the point
For now I'd like to point out the pros and cons that I experience from using a reel.
Pros. Freedom is key. I love being self contained on a boat, on a shoredive and on paddies. I love jumping into big gnarly surf entries and not having to worry about my floatline getting tangled in the rocks behind me. I love having my gun always connected to the fish. Whether in the kelp or in the blue, I can shoot my fish and toss my gun not having to worry about my gun getting lost in the kelp or current. It's always connected. I love not having anything in my legs while I'm diving or constantly having to be conscious of anything other than pointing and shooting. Another pro is it's one less thing I have to remember to bring on a trip as it's always on my gun and doesn't take up any more bag space. I love trimming down and not showing up with a ton of gear when diving other people's boats. Reels help me minimalize.
Cons. The only cons I experience is there is a chance of jamming or tangling if you don't play the game right and in certain situations you have a limited line capacity. That's about all I can think of at the moment and the inherent hazards with a reel IMO are far outweighed by the freedom and pros I get by using one.
This is not a thread to convince you to use a reel. This is a thread dedicated to reels and a discussion surrounding them. If you are not comforatable with a reel YOU SHOULD NOT USE ONE. I'll update this as time goes by but for now let start with a story.
Let me tell you a quick fish story about how I became a reel guy. I was in Baja and the yellows were big. 30-35lbs big and the current was SCREAMING. I was using a 62" 4 banded Mori gun and a floatline with a breakaway set up. I shot numerous fish with that gun that day and at one point I blasted a 35lbish yellow and threw the gun on my arm as the floatline broke free of the gun. The fish raced back up on the reef I was drifting over and became straight up and down in only about 20' of water. As the fish was spinning me in circles and I was trying to avoid getting tangled in my floatline (same thing happens with reels but it's probably more dangerous) I noticed my gun was not on my shoulder. I looked down current and there was my gun floating away. I tried to swim down to get it even as the determined yellow was racing upcurrent trying to bury itself in the reef. The boat was nowhere in sight and I almost didn't make it but eventually I regained my gun.
After resting for a bit, I switched to my smaller 55" Mori gun that was outfitted with a reel. And then the fish got bigger. I started shooting yellows over 40 and my biggest were a few 44lbrs that day. What a dream that reel was. I'd dive down, blast the fish and let it take a tearing run out to open water as I drifted up. At that point, I'd toss my gun and fight the fish off the line that was already spooled out between me and the fish. It was wonderful not having to worry about my gun and not have it on my shoulder throughout the battle. If the fish went on another huge run as sometimes they did, they would eat up the reel line in the water and my gun would come right back up to me and I'd use the same technique that day as I do today. I would catch the nose of the gun in my fish (like making an OK sign) and hold tight as more reel line would peel of the reel back behind me. When the fish would back off I'd pull it in and let the line spool up beside me as I slowly swam upcurrent (keeping all the reel line on the surface away from me.) When I finally had my fish in hand and under control, I'd either put it on my stringer and respool or throw it in the boat and respool there which is always preferable.
After shooting numerous yellows over 40 that day on the reel and feeling those burning runs I knew a reel could handle just about any of the normal game fish including big seabass that I normally hunt. That was around 6-7 years ago and from that day on I've been converted.
Here's the reel I was using and still prefer to all others that I've used. I'll go into why I like this reel later and the advantages I see in it.
Here's what the fish box looked like that day as we finally called it quits.
It is spearing forum so pictures of dead fish with your reels will be appreciated