Tuna Jigging-Most durable Spinning Reel

[SeaCoast]

Looking for a Spinning reel for jigging and casting for BFT's in the 100lb Class
Stella or Accurate?
FYI-the new search blows
Thanks in advance for you comments

[taJon]

i'd get the twinspin. I know a bunch of guys that use the spheros 14000 too.

[saltwaterdreaming]

I don't get to whoop many Tunas, but pound for pound my Stella 4000 has been the most incredible reel I have ever used. From monster Tarpon, AJ's, Grouper, 20lb snook under dock this reel isn't scared of anything. I really can't imagine a reel sicker than a 10000 or 20000 Stella. In fact, I named my yellow lab Stella!

[CB Haws]

Guess you have not fought may 100# class Bfins. Make sure you buy lots of jigs and line you are going to need both. You also better ask what rod. I use a 300 Torque loaded with 400 yds 80# braid on a custom Bogan Jig Rod.

[SeaCoast]

why do you say that?
spin reel isnt the best choice-but is sure fun
all of my fish have been inshore and less than 100lb class
I would agree that 100lb class fish is a totally different animal

we have been whipping SBFT with striper rods and flyrods for 10 years +
Now I have a bigger boat and not really interested in the troll-
so its casting, jigging and some live baiting-

I need something that wont blow up after a few fish-thats why I am asking
Rod is the problem-junk spinning reels are

[andyp262]

there are alot of newer shiny reels out there and i have fished a good bunch of them. i spent a short amount of time late in the season with the fin-nor so im not sure how that will hold up. in my opinion, no matter how you maintain it, every one of them is going to break. they just arent intended for being connected to a 100# tuna. thats why i keep breaking out the penn 9500 with 50# powerpro. its going to break and when it does you can find parts to fix it anywhere.

[SeaCoast]

Andy-
Hows it?
I am going crazy-spring cant come fast enough
You hanging onto your boat for another season? looks sweet
Tim

[Steve Moore]

Tim: The Stella 10000 has the higher 6.0:1 ratio for better butterfly jigging. It's a killer reel but there are a lot of reels out there capable of landing 100-pound bluefin. We got this one with a Spheros 5000!



I have heard a rumor that there may be a new Stella 10000 coming out sometime in March. Not sure if you can wait that long, but it might be interesting to see what they'll do to it. The new Saragosa looks like it has potential to fall in between the Stella and Speheros, and the new Spheros has been upgraded to include an 18000 model and the 14000 now pulls 44#s of drag according to the spec sheets.

Steve

[SeaCoast]

Thanks Steve!
I can wait while I save my pennies-
Miss the days of pro-form!
Nice fish-
I have had good luck with older fin-nor and cabo 60's

Some of the slobs that I saw last year got me all worked up!
I just left Richardson a message-Time for a shed party!
Will put you on the call list
Best
Tim

[andyp262]

hey tim. how about some pics of the pathfinder? i thought i had a deal in place to sell the albie but it fell through. my listing agreement is up and i just put about $8k into it so im going to hang on to it. there is alot to like about it and now that im not paying a marina its pretty cheap. im waiting for the cod opener before i do anything although ive heard of a pretty decent bite to the south from some friends who are draggermen.

[Bill Erhardt]

Tim........ I have caught many yellowfin, but no bluefin, on Penn SS's and and a Shimano Thunnis 12000. Here is a photo of the Thunnis taming a 150# striper. You will not get big fish to the boat as fast with a spinning outfit as with conventional gear, but as long as you are not tying up others who would prefer not to spend their time on the water watching you land a fish, go for it.

[CB Haws]

I have landed several 27"-30" Bfins on a Penn 950 with 50# momo. I have to tell you it is not much fun and not good for the fish being released. Jig fishing is usually done from a dead boat (not trolling). You will have very little control of that fish. If you want to have fun jigging fish with a spinning reel stick to bluefish. Show a little more respect for the Bluefin. By the way yellowfins are not in the same league as Bfins. You are not going to put many 100# Bfins in a boat with a pi$$ant spinning reel.

[Steve Moore]

A 27-30" bluefin on a Penn 950 should take no more than 5 minutes (and closer to 3-4 minutes) and should be able to be released without even taking it out of the water. The fish in the picture I posted above weighed 105 pounds and was caught on a Shimano Spheros 5000 reel matched to the Trevala 80-100# rod. It was landed in 11 minutes and would have been landed in 10 but I blew the first gaff shot. I have landed similar sized fish on the same Trevala rod with the Sustain 8000 reel in 7 minutes or less.

[andyp262]

i have to agree with you there steve. whipping a little 27-30 inch fish on a 9500 is cake. its all about setting your drag with a scale and not touching it mid battle, using good knots and terminal tackle, and when the time comes, if that fish isnt pulling drag you had better be kickin its ass.

steve, what are you using for line on the spheros and what knots are you finding work best with that line. i fish 50# power pro on my 9500's mostly because i use them for casting too and the casting difference between 50 and 65 or 80 is alot. the problem with casting to fish is that id like to use a swivel but i cant make the leader as long as i want without it getting into the rod guides. i have been messing around with mono to braid knots and there just doesnt seem to be any consitency from one knot to the next. of course all of this is not an isssue on a jig set up.

[Steve Moore]

Andy: I used different dedicated rigs for jigging and casting. My casting rods are 7 rods like the Tallus 70MHH. the reels on these are either Spheros 12000 or 14000 with carbontex drags installed (the new Spheros appears to have the drags changed over to Dartanium and supposedly pull 40#s out of the box). For line I have settled on the Sufix 50# braid. I use either a Slim Beauty, Yucatan or back-to-back Uni knots to tie my fluorocarbon leader to the bimini in the braid. I typically use 5 feet of 30 or 40-pound flouro for leaders. Breakoffs are minimal.

My dedicated jigging set-ups are the Trevala F-Series rods matched with a variety of reels including the Sustain 8000 & Stella 10000. On those I have 65# Sufix braid. For leaders I have used the 17-foot premade wind-on leaders in 65-80 pound test. I also use the same knots listed above to make my own leader which I usually only make 8-10 feet long. I do not use snaps or swivels on any of my gear.

[andyp262]

thanks for the great info steve

[quakah]

Hey CB, using smaller boats and lighter spinning gear to chase topwater tuna is the only way some of us inshore guys can go after these fish. If I blow up a Stradic 8000 on a couple 80lb fish each summer, so be it. Doesn't mean we don't respect the fish, if anything I think it's the other way around meathead.

quakah

[SeaCoast]

Thanks Boys!
Just came here looking for some info-
Thanks Steve for providing it-
We are set up the same way-however I prefer the uni to uni
I did see the slim beauty this summer and it looked all whacked-but seemed to work really well.
I have been fishing fireline forever-but have switched in the last few years to power pro-High Vis
Haven't really had much in the way of line failures.
no hardware also
I carry some 20lb and 50lb set ups.

CB-We do value the fishery and respect it for that matter.
As you can see we have some very talented guys who are progressing techniques in all methods of tackle.
Like Steve -I have had days where we caught school fish all day-all under 10 minutes. (using stradic, sustain, and stella 4000)

Even My boss can catch 10-20lb fish on a stella 2000 and a good rod!
The hard part is teaching someone how to put the screws to the fish.
Check out some of the vid of NE guys and what there doing on fly
-no spot naming * this means you!

I am interested in a larger class of fish and need something to stop it with.
I am still shaking from some of the fish I have seen-
And Don't Worry-we know how to jig as we are striped bass fishermen-

Could the best Spinner Please Stand up?

[andyp262]

tim i think that new stella or spheros that will crank 40# of drag would be more than sufficient to put the brakes on a bigger fish. thats alot of drag. you could even fish 130# braid if you wanted with that although it would be absolute murder on your body if the fight lasted more than a few minutes. lol. im not so productive at work after a week off in july. lol. ive had claw hands trying to drive the boat back on more than one occasion, thank god for autopilot. anyhow, the worcester show is right around the corner so we can go there and crank handles and whatnot. i do need to work on my terminal gear a beat although i can only think of 2 broken off fish this season and one was by a first time angler trying to palm the spool. the other one chafed through 80# florocarbon attached to a swimming plug after near an hour. that fish was up on the bank proper and it was one of those 150 class fish that just turn sideways and makes you slug it out with him.

[SeaCoast]

Andy-
Your boat is sweet-and so is that trailer!
what speed does she cruise at=what's the power?