SportFishing and Charters Forum - Off shore spinning reel

What would be the best spinning reel for the money to keep on my offshore boat for casting to tuna and other large gamefish. I plan on spooling it with some braid and need a lot of capacity. I do not plan on using the spinning reel for trolling just more less for sight casting and poppers etc. Thanks.

For the money there are a few options. The Fin Nor Offshore is nice but it's heavy. I have caught tuna up to 160 with the OFS75. If you want a more high end reel a Van Staal or Stella is another option. I looked at the Penn Battle and that's another nice reel for the money. Because you mentioned tuna the Fin and Penn would be good for smaller fish but for the fish say 200lbs and more look for a reel with the line capacity and drag to handle them.

The break point is tuna about 200 pounds....

For tuna over 200 there are really only three options that I am aware of:

1. Stella 18k and 20k
2. Van Staal 275 and 300
3. Diawa Dogfight and 6500

For tuna under 200 pounds there are a lot more options. I will let everyone else chime in on those options.

Mike

What he said for the big guys, for everything else I thoroughly endorse the Diawa Saltest spinners, 6500 /w 80lb braid handles everything you can through at it.

The break point is tuna about 200 pounds....

For tuna over 200 there are really only three options that I am aware of:

1. Stella 18k and 20k
2. Van Staal 275 and 300
3. Diawa Dogfight and 6500

For tuna under 200 pounds there are a lot more options. I will let everyone else chime in on those options.

Mike


Absolutely 100% correct. I see small bft on average of 50-80lbs come over my rail and I have a Fin Nor OS850 and a Shimano Saragosa 18000. Both are sweet. I like the lip on the spool of the Fin Nor a bit better for casting. But I find the drag and speed of the Saragosa on retrieve is better.

If you want to get into the Japanese style of high speed jig retrieve you need to make sure you have good lip on the spool to catch the line as you jig and retrieve at high speeds. I learned this the hard way by overloading my Saragosa.

See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQGUkUYV4I&feature=related

So I suggest go as big as you can and just under spool it a touch so you always maintain a good lip for high speed jigging and poppin.

The break point is tuna about 200 pounds....

For tuna over 200 there are really only three options that I am aware of:

1. Stella 18k and 20k
2. Van Staal 275 and 300
3. Diawa Dogfight and 6500

For tuna under 200 pounds there are a lot more options. I will let everyone else chime in on those options.

Mike

Please forgive my ignorance. Could you explain why its necessary to spend over $1000 more than the cost of the Fin-nor Offshore spinners for one of those you mentioned?;? I looked up the specs on all of them and the Fin-nor(s) measure up pretty damn impressive actually having more drag than the Stella(s) and the Van Staal(s). I am stumped.

Fish some big fish on both and you will see the difference.

Fin nor is rock solid. Why spend more? I agree with NW.

Anyone can make a reel with huge drag numbers. Two rocks pressed together can generate big drag numbers. The trick is to put out a consistant drag number over long periods of time (long runs) over multiple fish. If you do some reading on what is working and failing up in the NE on bluefin, you will see that the guides up here all use the reels I mentioned. One statistic doesn't tell the whole story.

I am not picking on any one manufacturer either. For instance Shimano make the Stella which is up to the task of many 250 pound bluefin and the Saragosa which may handle a few if you swap out the old stock drags for new improved drags.

If I could find a less expensive spinning reel that would last for many 200+ pound bluefin without a major overhaul needed after a fish or two or three, I would buy it. If you may catch a fish over 200 pounds every three or four seasons, don't buy the Stella grade reels. If you are catching 50 to 80 pound tuna, you do not need to use the most expensive spinners on the market. Lesser reels are just fine. I personally don't see why people buy the smaller Stella's to fish for bass either. Seems like a waste of money to me. But I do see why they use them for big tuna.

Mike

Anyone can make a reel with huge drag numbers. Two rocks pressed together can generate big drag numbers. The trick is to put out a consistant drag number over long periods of time (long runs) over multiple fish. If you do some reading on what is working and failing up in the NE on bluefin, you will see that the guides up here all use the reels I mentioned. One statistic doesn't tell the whole story.

I am not picking on any one manufacturer either. For instance Shimano make the Stella which is up to the task of many 250 pound bluefin and the Saragosa which may handle a few if you swap out the old stock drags for new improved drags.

If I could find a less expensive spinning reel that would last for many 200+ pound bluefin without a major overhaul needed after a fish or two or three, I would buy it. If you may catch a fish over 200 pounds every three or four seasons, don't buy the Stella grade reels. If you are catching 50 to 80 pound tuna, you do not need to use the most expensive spinners on the market. Lesser reels are just fine. I personally don't see why people buy the smaller Stella's to fish for bass either. Seems like a waste of money to me. But I do see why they use them for big tuna.

Mike

Because they can. I fish for squawfish(northern pikeminnow) in a river casting 1/8 and 1/4 ounce Kastmasters with a G. Loomis GL3 and a Van Staal 100. Same combo for steelhead and salmon.

Same as putting 35" tires on a truck and driving around town.
Same as buying a Ferrari and never going to the track.
Different strokes for different folks.

Should add to the high-end spinners that are big [over 200 pounds] tuna-capable, the Penn Torque series spinners, which are certainly not inexpensive [$650-$700].
Agree that if schoolie-size tuna, or just about any inshore species is the target, you can do fine with quality mid-price reels.

Please forgive my ignorance. Could you explain why its necessary to spend over $1000 more than the cost of the Fin-nor Offshore spinners for one of those you mentioned?;? I looked up the specs on all of them and the Fin-nor(s) measure up pretty damn impressive actually having more drag than the Stella(s) and the Van Staal(s). I am stumped.

Fin nor is rock solid. Why spend more? I agree with NW.

Because I have read to many horror stories of lost fish do to mechanical failures with the Fin-nor's, besides the point they are heavy as a brick and I couldn't imagine have to cast one all day. Trust me for the past 10 years charter captains, and recreational anglers, including myself, have been testing, breaking and punishing every spinning reel imaginable on bluefin tuna of all sizes off Cape Cod. I started with Penn 9500SS's and it worked for the first year or so on a small fish here and there but was not up to catching multiple fish everyday. I then upgraded to a Van Staal 300 which was much better and I began landing fish but overall I thought the reel was to heavy for casting all day. I then bought my first Stella an older 10000FA. I swapped the spool out with a 20000 spool, loaded it with 80 pound braid and caught dozens of Bluefin up to 68" on that reel. I was so impressed by the Fa Stella that I bought a Stella 18000SW when they came out. Between both my Stellas, they caught a lot of fish and for 5 years never needed anything but routine yearly services. My latest buy is a VS250 with a bail and I love that reel. I loaded that with 70 pound braid and I use it for everything from tuna and sharks both jigging and casting but I also pair it up with a surf rod for stripers and blues form the beach.
Sure you can buy a Fin-nor, Shimano Saragosa, Penn, or any other lower cost spinning reel and it will probably work fine on one, two, or even 5 tuna to 200 pounds. Problem is I want to buy a reel that will catch and perform flawlessly every time and catch lots of fish and give me a fighting chance if I should accidentally hook into a fish over 200 pounds.
They say pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll let a few years worth of pictures do the rest of the talking.

What would be the best spinning reel for the money to keep on my offshore boat for casting to tuna and other large gamefish. I plan on spooling it with some braid and need a lot of capacity. I do not plan on using the spinning reel for trolling just more less for sight casting and poppers etc. Thanks.

Why don't you check out Alan Hawk's website for spinning info? He is the master of Spinning reel reviewer.

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lists.html

The Saragosa 18000 does a very good job on 50-100lbs tuna, both for jigging or tossing poppers. If you catching 200lbs+ fish a step up would probably be required, you gotta pay to play.

I'd reccomend the Penn Battles. If the fish get but so big its time to break out for the big $$ reels. Put some mono on the topshot if you're going to be casting with it.

Please forgive my ignorance. Could you explain why its necessary to spend over $1000 more than the cost of the Fin-nor Offshore spinners for one of those you mentioned?;? I looked up the specs on all of them and the Fin-nor(s) measure up pretty damn impressive actually having more drag than the Stella(s) and the Van Staal(s). I am stumped.

The reel with the highest drag #'s does not make it the best reel.
For anyting or anyone to be the best, you need to do everything great all the time, not one thing really good once in a while.
The stella stands head and shoulder above the Fin-nor. The Stella is more $$ and there are many reasons why.

The Stella is Alan Hawk's #1 rated best offshore spinning reel in the world.

The Fin-nor is #2 in Alan Hawk's list of reels he does not recomend at all.

That is a big differance in reels coming from the man who is considered by most to be the most knowlegable when it comes to spinning reels.

Like others have said, please go read Alan Hawk's website and even email him with any questions. I have a few times and he always is willing to respond.

Kinda funny that the two reel gurus(spinner and conventional) are named Alan....
but I digress.

I agree that up to a certain price point, say 400 bucks or so, most reels are on the same level...for the most part. But once you get into the "super reels", there is a considerable difference with materials, engineering, etc. There is no way in hell that I'd ever compare the FinNor OFS to a Stella/Saltiga/Torque. If you routinely catch monster bluefin, you HAVE to ante up for the high end reel. It will make a difference. Period. Constantly replacing the anti-reverse bearings or the cheap crap metal gears in the lower priced reels will quickly show why a Super Reel costs what it does.

I've got five Shimano Sarragossa 18000's that I've had for four years. For the money they can't be beat. I've only had one mechanically fail after many a battle with large tunas. Caught a few 200# plus tunas but wouldn't want to push it much further.

True. A Stella 20000 is a sweet piece of machinery but I'd rather have three $289 Sarragossas than one $900 Stella. Just me. I can't see paying that much for a spinner.

The Stella Is the Only Reel that has not failed yet in North Carolina on the Big BFT... Therefore I would say they are built much better then most reels on the market...

Having said that, For fish 200lbs and smaller I would Go with the 10k reel for your average Tuna..

If you plan on targeting fish 150lbs or Bigger, Go with the 20k.

As always I thank you guys for clearing up the cloud in my head.

As always I thank you guys for clearing up the cloud in my head.

No cloud at all. Good question. And better to ask than drop a ton of dough on something you don't need.

I thought the same thing with the year class we were catching 7 years ago. They were all 50 - 80 pounds. Flash forward 7 years and these fish have given me an education. It also helps that we live in a place where we routinely fight 200+ pounders.... well not as routinely as I would like, but on any given day....

Tuna Meltdown's reel odysee has been pretty standard for us up here... and Dan always has the best toys! We all got educated as the fish grew.

Mike

The Stella Is the Only Reel that has not failed yet in North Carolina on the Big BFT... Therefore I would say they are built much better then most reels on the market...

Having said that, For fish 200lbs and smaller I would Go with the 10k reel for your average Tuna..

If you plan on targeting fish 150lbs or Bigger, Go with the 20k.

The only Stella I know of that had a catastrophic failure was a few seasons ago when Capt Terry Nugent had the neck on a Stella snap during a fight on a BFT in CCB. Not sure what the exact reason for the failure was, but i am pretty sure it was a fluke and not a design or manufacturing flaw. For what it is worth I do believe with some quick thinking and re rigging he landed the fish which was a cookie cutter 150lb BFT.

Mike You should remember that one.

I've got five Shimano Sarragossa 18000's that I've had for four years. For the money they can't be beat. I've only had one mechanically fail after many a battle with large tunas. Caught a few 200# plus tunas but wouldn't want to push it much further.

True. A Stella 20000 is a sweet piece of machinery but I'd rather have three $289 Sarragossas than one $900 Stella. Just me. I can't see paying that much for a spinner.

X2 - me too - love my Saragosa's, and if I ever get that 200 lb plus tuna and my Saragosa fails, I'll still be happy. :thumbsup:

http://www.accuratefishing.com/products/twinspin/sr50.2.php :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

heres a little piece I just wrote
http://extremejigging.com/forum/reels/32-whats-best-offshore-spinning-reel.html

Stella. Hands down. I used one this weekend. Many will suffice for snapper, amberjack, etc. But, if Tuna is your game, and your spending the dollars to get out to the bite, don't skimp when the time of truth comes. Buy it, you will not regret it. Good Luck.

Van Staal or ZeeBaas they are beasts and designed to be beat on.....Second is the Stella

I compared the VS and the Stella when I decided it was time to upgrade and I like the VS better. It was lighter, which balanced out the outfit better and has fewer parts. Doesn't hold as much line and is no way near the smoothness as the Stella but for what I like in a reel I went with the VS.

Because I have read to many . . . . . . . . . etc.

The rod in your first picture - the one with the sun in the background appears to have a lot of backbone. Do you recall what rod it is?

If you want the best go Stella

You can't go wrong with a Saragosa!

I have pulled up 60+lb ajs from 280ft of water with mine

The rod in your first picture - the one with the sun in the background appears to have a lot of backbone. Do you recall what rod it is?

I remember the rod well, unfortunately they are no longer made. It was a Cape Fear offshore. It was 7' long and rated like 30-50 pound line. It had a soft tip for slinging lures but plenty of back bone.

Thanks. I had 3 of those - 2 were new & never used & I just sold those 2 to a guy up near you. The one I kept has unfortunately not caught anything of substance. Out of curiosity, do you have other heavy spinning rods - and if so, what are they?

has anyone used the new sustain 10000? i am being told that its built better than the saragoosas but it doesnt have the drag from what i can see in the specs.

The break point is tuna about 200 pounds....

For tuna over 200 there are really only three options that I am aware of:

1. Stella 18k and 20k
2. Van Staal 275 and 300
3. Diawa Dogfight and 6500

For tuna under 200 pounds there are a lot more options. I will let everyone else chime in on those options.

Mike

I think you hit the nail right on the head. If your throwing poppers at breaking fish there is always a chance of hooking a 200+ fish (I have it happen a few times every summer) and any one of the three reels mentioned is your best bet at landing a big fish.

I bought four Fin nor off shore 6500 a few years a go for tarpon fishing. Loved them the first year told everybody how much I loved them after the first year. Talked to my buddy and he said that the handle near where it connects to the real was spilting on both of his and had to order new parts for both at 65 bucks a piece. Went home pulled mine out of the closet and sure enough, 3 of the 4 had the same issue. Now i tell everybody to stay away! I need to get in touch with them about this!
Rank

I think the Accurate Twinspin is up to the task

So you guys are referring to the saragosa 18000F that lists for about $300, right? I have a new offshore spinning rod on the way, bought it for throwing at tuna, mostly YFT. I tend to be striper fishing instead of BFT fishing in the winter, but I suppose I could find myself out there now and then.

Yes, Shimano Saragosa 18000F. Hard to find under $300 unless you buy it with a rod, then the dealer can discount the combo.

Yes, Shimano Saragosa 18000F. Hard to find under $300 unless you buy it with a rod, then the dealer can discount the combo.

appears to be $268 right here on E bay, am I missing something?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Shimano-Saragosa-18000F-18000-F-Spinning-Reel-/190668140916?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA% 252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D390347 728306%26ps%3D54

You might be. It looks like the right reel, but I'm not sure that is a US seller. It also might be a seller that buys overseas and sells around the world. I buy a lot of stuff on fleaBay, but I'd hate to find a problem with a reel from that seller and want to return it.

I've got five Shimano Sarragossa 18000's that I've had for four years. For the money they can't be beat. I've only had one mechanically fail after many a battle with large tunas. Caught a few 200# plus tunas but wouldn't want to push it much further.

True. A Stella 20000 is a sweet piece of machinery but I'd rather have three $289 Sarragossas than one $900 Stella. Just me. I can't see paying that much for a spinner.

What rods do you use with the 18000's?

18000k Is usually for casting poppers and the 20k is for jigging... However I found the 20k to be my favorite when fighting fish over 200lbs... The lower gear ratio really helps the angler when fighting with 30++ lbs of drag...

There another thread like this going on here.. http://extremejigging.com/forum/reels/32-whats-best-offshore-spinning-reel.html

If you fish for tuna where there is a possibility of tuna over 200#s there is no better reel than a stella This fish was 89" estimated at 350-380#s and performed flawlessly at 36#s of drag for 53 min and has since caught close to 100 more yellowfin/bluefin including a 155# yellowfin with nothing more than routine service from shimano

Nice fish, that looks like Oregon inlet fishing center, did I get it?

Difficult for me to spend that much money on a spinning reel. My rod should show uo today or tomorrow and I will have a better feel for what to do.

Nice fish, that looks like Oregon inlet fishing center, did I get it?

Difficult for me to spend that much money on a spinning reel. My rod should show uo today or tomorrow and I will have a better feel for what to do.

you hit it right on the head...my second favorite place on earth. Good luck in your search for a reel

On a budget... Go with the FinNor OffShore series. Beefy but very rugged and for the price something that should last a few seasons. I have used a lot of the cheaper ones, Penn 9500's and the newer Penn 950ssm's, Okuma Salina, Vsystem, Cedros, Shimano Saragosa.

The FinNor feels like the 9500 made in the USA Penn. Plenty of line cap and more drag than you will need.

You can buy a Stella 20000 SW but for what you are paying you could have several FinNor's. Not to mention I have seen the Stella's fail just like every other spinning reel. They are amazing but the bluefin people are hooking onto in the NE are not always under 200lbs.

my .02

The reel with the highest drag #'s does not make it the best reel.
For anyting or anyone to be the best, you need to do everything great all the time, not one thing really good once in a while.
The stella stands head and shoulder above the Fin-nor. The Stella is more $$ and there are many reasons why.

The Stella is Alan Hawk's #1 rated best offshore spinning reel in the world.

The Fin-nor is #2 in Alan Hawk's list of reels he does not recomend at all.

That is a big differance in reels coming from the man who is considered by most to be the most knowlegable when it comes to spinning reels.did'nt he rate the penn torque high as well?

these stellas have anywhere from 30-40lbs of drag on them.. 11 fish released that day with no issues..

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6154.jpghttp://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6241.jpg
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6250.jpghttp://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6101.jpg

On a budget... Go with the FinNor OffShore series. Beefy but very rugged and for the price something that should last a few seasons. I have used a lot of the cheaper ones, Penn 9500's and the newer Penn 950ssm's, Okuma Salina, Vsystem, Cedros, Shimano Saragosa.

The FinNor feels like the 9500 made in the USA Penn. Plenty of line cap and more drag than you will need.

You can buy a Stella 20000 SW but for what you are paying you could have several FinNor's. Not to mention I have seen the Stella's fail just like every other spinning reel. They are amazing but the bluefin people are hooking onto in the NE are not always under 200lbs.

my .02

Fin Nor Offshore reels are disposable junk. Saragosa would be the only option if he is on a budget.

these stellas have anywhere from 30-40lbs of drag on them.. 11 fish released that day with no issues..


Nice pictures. Those rods look like they have a lot of backbone - can you identify each one? It looks like there are only 2 different rods in all of the pictures - one grey and one blue one.

Fin Nor Offshore reels are disposable junk. Saragosa would be the only option if he is on a budget.

I've broken those too. Had the drag caps melt...

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I've gotten a lot of 100+lb fish on the 9500's, 950's, and Okuma's... and for the money I would rather have two cheaper ones than the Saragosa priced around 300.00. Again they all will break even the Stella.

While the reel is very important I would rather have a nicer rod. If you have a rod with backbone you can work these fish and overcome a less than stellar reel.

Great pictures guys. BIG FISH ON SPINNERS!

The Blue One is a Spinal which I believe is Discontinued and the Black and Silver one is one of our Bushido Warrior Custom rods..
Its 350g 7'6''.. Heres a link.
http://www.terminatortackle.com/bushido-warrior-popping-rods.php

Joe you fish down in NC right?
Those look like some great rods! Game changers.
How long is it typically taking you to land a fish? ballpark...

I've had some unfavorable experiences with less than adequate rods in the past. Mine and friends... To the point where we had to leader in fish out of the death circle by hand. No fault on the reel just a lack of backbone on the rod. Anymore pressure and they would have snapped.

This is me on a small BFT a couple of years ago off OI, NC, not by boat, not my gear so I dont know what I was holding. We had several fish spool us, this is the only one we hung onto that day. In the pics you can see I was in several layers. Before it was over I was shirtless sweating bullets.

What I remember about this is the rod would not lift the fish, it would give and not respond making it very difficult to gain any ground on him. It was actually quite a miserable experience. I have caught hundreds of tuna but this one left a mark becuase of the lack power in the rod.

Here is my question. What can an uber expensive spinning reel do other than long casting that one of the new lightweight convention reels cannot do? I ask because I have a pathological loathing of open face spinning reels.:grin: In the past, if we were fishing for sailfish etc, and had some spinners on the spread, i would let someone else have a fish that was supposed to be mine if it hit a spinner instead of one of the conventional reels.

There are not many people I know that can cast conventional reels. I learned to cast a bit last year. It's hard but fun as hell!

I have used this with my 50w before... :)
http://www.mtmscientific.com/fishwow.jpg

This is me on a small BFT a couple of years ago off OI, NC, . . . . . . . etc.

What I remember about this is the rod would not lift the fish, it would give and not respond making it very difficult to gain any ground on him. It was actually quite a miserable experience. I have caught hundreds of tuna but this one left a mark becuase of the lack power in the rod.

That's why I asked Joe the question above about the two rods in his pictures. Spinning rods that are capable of lifting & landing 200+ lb tuna were not available as recently as 6-8 years ago, but that spinning rod technology is advancing rapidly as more and more anglers are targeting these fish on spinning gear.

Joe you fish down in NC right?
Those look like some great rods! Game changers.
How long is it typically taking you to land a fish? ballpark...

I've had some unfavorable experiences with less than adequate rods in the past. Mine and friends... To the point where we had to leader in fish out of the death circle by hand. No fault on the reel just a lack of backbone on the rod. Anymore pressure and they would have snapped.

Anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.. Mostly depending on the angler, technique, and size of fish..

I was using 40lbs of drag and getting them in in 15-20 minutes but that Tuff Guy approach did not last long before my body started to fail me. lol...

The rest of the day I used 25lbs of drag and the average fight was less then 30 minutes.

This is what 40 lbs of drag looks like..
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6123.jpghttp://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6111.jpg
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/terminatortackle/IMG_6122.jpg

We have an effen spammer

I bought a saragoosa 18000F from Melton spooled with 80# braid. I was curious why terminator did not have this reel on his web page?

I bought a saragoosa 18000F from Melton spooled with 80# braid. I was curious why terminator did not have this reel on his web page?

The Gosa Is a great reel for fish up to 200lbs.. But for the last 3 years I saw about 10 get burt up on fish over 250lbs..

Where I live in NJ, Its a perfect reel for jigging and popping YFT or our BFT which are between 50-150lbs

The Gosa Is a great reel for fish up to 200lbs.. But for the last 3 years I saw about 10 get burt up on fish over 250lbs..

Where I live in NJ, Its a perfect reel for jigging and popping YFT or our BFT which are between 50-150lbs

which one do you like more the Shimano or the Diawa 6500h saltist?

What about the "cheaper" Van Staals, the grey anodized ones in the under $500 range?

Please forgive my ignorance. Could you explain why its necessary to spend over $1000 more than the cost of the Fin-nor Offshore spinners for one of those you mentioned?;? I looked up the specs on all of them and the Fin-nor(s) measure up pretty damn impressive actually having more drag than the Stella(s) and the Van Staal(s). I am stumped.

I will answer it for you. They will destroy all lesser able reels. They cannot simply hold up to the pressure and heat that the big tuna can dish out. Remember the old addage is for sure true in this case. You get what you pay for and if you want you can do like I did and still pay more in the long run plus tons of frustration in between. Buy cheap and you will regret it.