Recommend me a heavy duty fixed spool

[ukspearo]

Thinking about getting a big fixed spool to match the Major Craft popping rod I have had for Xmas ! 
Not planning on spending mega bucks on one - a shimano saragosa or diawa bg20mq might be in the running in 18000 or 20000 size. 

but, what else is worth considering ? 
is a Penn spinfisher 10500 worth considering? Are they big or tough enough ? 
 

Are Van Staal fs any good? Reports seem to say they’re agricultural? What about okuma makaira? Again, I’ve no experience of any of these reels so any advice would be greatly appreciated! 
 

Thanks guys 

[Saintly Fish]

29 minutes ago, ukspearo said:

Thinking about getting a big fixed spool to match the Major Craft popping rod I have had for Xmas ! 
Not planning on spending mega bucks on one - a shimano saragosa or diawa bg20mq might be in the running in 18000 or 20000 size. 

but, what else is worth considering ? 
is a Penn spinfisher 10500 worth considering? Are they big or tough enough ? 
 

Are Van Staal fs any good? Reports seem to say they’re agricultural? What about okuma makaira? Again, I’ve no experience of any of these reels so any advice would be greatly appreciated! 
 

Thanks guys 

How about a Shimano Ultegra Ci4 10'000 big pit reel?? I have two and they are excellent. 

[Malc]

I'm just doing the opposite, I have a fin nor offshore (6500 iirc) and its agricultural but I got it originally for heavy/deep fishing for tope but we might use it for popping lures on occasions, so I need a rod.

It's heavy but the drag stack is something to behold, but you wouldn't want to be doing it for more than an hour, but I don't suppose most people would???

Reading broadly I would say you are in the ballpark, VS apparently are another agricultural job, okuma have a good following but the yanks, sorry our transatlantic cousins, think them lesser than penn. Shimmys are my fave apart from the price but when you are expecting big nasty stuff you need metal casings and reel seats, good gearing and if doing it often enough good saltwater resistance. Finally the guys across the pond seem to put bail roller bearings in if they have bushes in them which indicates the possible problems. 

[JDP]

You can't go wrong with Saragosa's for the money. I use a 10000 for pitching lures at tuna or when I head to the tropics for large species that live among corral. I also use a 6000 which is big enough for those styles of fishing too but mostly I use that for beach shark fishing. Ive caught marlin of around 150kg and tuna of 70kg without issue with my Saragossa's, if you want a bit more line capacity the 14000 might be worth a look. 

On the cheap scale the Penn Battle mk3 is ok, another reel I use on beach sharks which has stood up well over the past couple of years. These are heavy though, I use the 6000.

 

[ukspearo]

Thing is I’ve got plenty of experience with fixed spools 3000-8000 size and I get the steps up in size - but is a 14000 or 20000 size that much bigger than an 8k reel ? 
 

obviously build quality and drag pressures are better on bigger reels but do the sizes 8000 and larger generally refer to line capacity rather than physical, overall size of reels ?

[Odyssey]

What you targeting? 🙂 If it’s big stuff pay attention to the drag, you need it nice and smooth….

In still toying with the idea of a popping outfit but sadly don’t get enough time myself to fish so can’t justify it….

[JDP]

21 hours ago, ukspearo said:

Thing is I’ve got plenty of experience with fixed spools 3000-8000 size and I get the steps up in size - but is a 14000 or 20000 size that much bigger than an 8k reel ? 
 

obviously build quality and drag pressures are better on bigger reels but do the sizes 8000 and larger generally refer to line capacity rather than physical, overall size of reels ?

It comes down to line capacity and ease of use, I wouldn't bother trying to cast with my 25000 saragossa as its simply to awkward and heavy. I only have it for line capacity when targeting broadbill as here we catch them in depths of 450-750m. I have caught plenty of tuna and marlin using it while trolling lures but really don't like it as its simply to big and there's no way I would consider taking it to a beach.

If you have plenty of experience with reels up to 8000, then what's the issue with an 8000 you already have, where is that size letting you down ?

An 8000 Saragosa has 16kg of drag which is double what most people will ever need on game fish. If you are fishing from a boat and hook something that looks like it's getting the line low on the spool, simply follow it with the boat to get some line back. Most game anglers I know even in the UK start the boat engine ready to manoeuvre the boat once they hook into bigger fish. I do it fishing on my own from my boat, I control the boat and fight the fish at the same time quite easily. 

What 8000 reels do you already have and what's the max drag they go to ? Put one on your popping rod and tighten the drag to around 8kg and test to see how even a light drag of that is through the rod and you will soon realise the big drags of many of these reels are not needed. Use a set of drag scales or if you don't have any simply fill two 3lt bottles with liquid which will be around 6kg and see how that feels with the rod. Most max drag settings will break the rod before the line.

I have many reels for game fishing but would put the 5000 6000 and 8000 at the top, above those sizes and they become heavy and unbalanced when casting lures all day. Ive owned 14000 and 18000 but got rid of them as I found I simply didn't like using them. The 10000 sized reels tend to be used as trolling reels or reels I lend to friends. 

Line capacity on my 8000 is 400m of 63lb ocea pe3 braid with a top shot of around 40m of mamoi diamond 50lb mono (which is actually 82lb mono). The top shot mono gives me some stretch and forgiveness in the system as well as allows me to handle the line without cutting my hands on braid when landing fish. If I'm targeting smaller species from the rocks I will often drop down to the 6000 Saragossa with 300m of the same strength braid and mono. With both reels Im only able to use around half the reels drag, any more would end with a popped popping rod!!!!!!.....https://fish.shimano.com/en-AU/product/reels/saltwaterspinning/a075f00002k2gakqam.html. check the specs.

 

[ukspearo]

So it’s going to be used for a very variable selection of fishing- I’m planning on a Gulf of Mexico trip so hopefully some GTs and yellowfin tuna. 
but also likely to encounter sharks a-plenty. Im also hoping to get to Norway for some halibut fishing…. It needs to do that too.
 
here it’ll be pressed into service with blue sharks I guess …. Just to get some use out of it…

I’ve got Penn battle 3s in 3,4,5k & 8000 flavours but I’m concerned that they aren’t tough enough- I’ve seen the frame flex unnervingly and I’ve bent main shafts on the 8000 pulling for a break after getting snagged… so…..

tougher would be better but like I said I’ve got no experience of anything better built or with more capacity

 

Edited December 28, 2024 by ukspearo

[Saintly Fish]

8 hours ago, ukspearo said:

some halibut fishing…. It needs to do that too.
 

No way would a FS reel be any good for Halibut fishing. Having been and done it you need nice strong multis for that style 

[ukspearo]

Yeah I know it’s not ideal but given that these are likely to be once in a blue moon fishing expeditions the tackle has to be a jack of all trades. I’m sure the major craft popping rod won’t be ideal either but - other than that rod the heaviest outfit I have is a 30lb boat rod… so it’s compromises all round.  
 

since I have the rod now - I need a reel to match it, and of course that can’t be a multi.. 

[Saintly Fish]

3 hours ago, ukspearo said:

Yeah I know it’s not ideal but given that these are likely to be once in a blue moon fishing expeditions the tackle has to be a jack of all trades. I’m sure the major craft popping rod won’t be ideal either but - other than that rod the heaviest outfit I have is a 30lb boat rod… so it’s compromises all round.  
 

since I have the rod now - I need a reel to match it, and of course that can’t be a multi.. 

well so be it. Personally though I'd stay well away from Penn and Okuma fs reels. Ive seen too many dissolve in salt water

[willyhookit]

On 12/26/2024 at 8:13 PM, Malc said:

I'm just doing the opposite, I have a fin nor offshore (6500 iirc) and its agricultural but I got it originally for heavy/deep fishing for tope but we might use it for popping lures on occasions, so I need a rod.

It's heavy but the drag stack is something to behold, but you wouldn't want to be doing it for more than an hour, but I don't suppose most people would???

Reading broadly I would say you are in the ballpark, VS apparently are another agricultural job, okuma have a good following but the yanks, sorry our transatlantic cousins, think them lesser than penn. Shimmys are my fave apart from the price but when you are expecting big nasty stuff you need metal casings and reel seats, good gearing and if doing it often enough good saltwater resistance. Finally the guys across the pond seem to put bail roller bearings in if they have bushes in them which indicates the possible problems. 

have a look on ebay    d a m  black tuna rod    thing there about £130      well worth the money     or  portland tuna adventures      ( just forget the name of the rod )  but its  £140  a few mates have them    its a  ( Sunset  Baradour trainer  spirial wrap  rod )      

Edited December 29, 2024 by willyhookit

[JDP]

On 12/29/2024 at 8:35 PM, ukspearo said:

Yeah I know it’s not ideal but given that these are likely to be once in a blue moon fishing expeditions the tackle has to be a jack of all trades. I’m sure the major craft popping rod won’t be ideal either but - other than that rod the heaviest outfit I have is a 30lb boat rod… so it’s compromises all round.  
 

since I have the rod now - I need a reel to match it, and of course that can’t be a multi.. 

Plenty of halibut over 200lb caught on heavy spin gear, not just Norway but North America too. However these are often on short parabolic rods, with Black Hole being a popular halibut rod. Having a reel you can drop down to a lower gear ratio will always come in handy when you have a big stubborn fish that doesn't want to come up and for that a multi will be better.