Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Heavy duty spinning reel for Salmon?

Standard gear here for river fishing is a Mod 7000 Abu Garcia bait caster, 30 lbs test line and a heavy duty 10 ft river casting rod, casting one half oz of lead. My lady, loves Samon fishing, but does not have quite the upper body strength to get out there in the river where she needs to be with this rig, even with more lead. Thinner line is not an option. I thought of a spinning reel not exeeding 20 oz in weight, with say 40lbs test fire line.
What reel and rod would you recommend??
Any better suggestions then mine??
I like better then average to good quality equipment.
Most fish we get are Chum 12-25 lbs, and the odd 20-40 lbs springs.
Thank you for your advice.

Id suggest a good shimano reel, like a symmetre or stradic 4000 size. Should work great with your choice of fireline. Im a HUGE fan of shimanos, and except for the old standby abassadeur casting reels, i dont think i will buy anything else. I really like the shimano spinning reels, but all i use is the 2000 size for steelhead. Lots of guys use the 4000 here for salmon, but like you i switch to casting gear for the big boys.

For the rod, it sounds like you want a longer rod for increased distance casting. I pick a Loomis ST1086 (9ft , 10-20lb line) or a ST1265 (10.5 feet, 10-20lb line) or something close to equivalent.

In the last two years i have had three rainshadow blanks built into custom rods and i really like them. Very sensative, simalar to a Loomis GL3 at about 2/3 the price. I know some good rod builders if you want some names... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Some pretty good advice by Sean on equipment. I don't get out as much as I would like to for salmon and steelhead but will second the Shimano line of reels. In casting reels it's a toss-up between Shimano and Penn IMO, for spinning reels I prefer Shimano.

Another good choice in rods is Lamiglas, I have one of the 1000 series for mooching and love it. Local shop here claims they have a low return/breakage rate. Their warranty policy is something to consider also, more on Lamiglas here.
You can find Lamiglas rods on sale at some of the better Pro-shops or on-line at some pretty good prices.

MtnHtr

I'd vote a Penn coffee grinder(spinning reel),because they have all metal guts. For tasks mentioned,that is heap big important.

I used to dote on Lamiglas,but their current crop is junk IMHO. Loomis is so far above and beyond in all aspects,a comparison is a lopsided comedy affair.

No offense to you Mtn Htr,but Lamiglas has really slipped,as of late.....................

Thanks guys for the advice.
Will have a look at the Penn and Shimano larger reels and the rods recommended.

Stick,
I went with Lamiglas over the Loomis on the advice of not one but several salespeople from Delta Bait and Tackle sports shop. They see far more Loomis rods returned due to breakage than Lamiglas especially the trout rod variety. Don't know if thats true but this sport shop has about 5 west coast stores who sell a ton of fishing gear. I picked up my Lamiglas on sale about 1/3 off the price of Cabelas, now don't tell me that was not a sweet deal!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

MtnHtr

Stick and others. the Stick man has it nailed Penn is the holy grail of heavy spinning reels in my world, The world according to Bullwnkl, as it were. I use Shimano for the light stuff and love em, I surf fish with an Alvy, and salmon and steelies get the Penn. I recently bought a top of the heap Pinnacal, the ten ball bearing model. Never had a smoother reel. I have yet to get it wet but it handles fine out on the lawn. Anti back lash is a neat idea.

Bullwnkl.

I was on the creek at daybreak,armed with an itty-bitty Fenwick graphite rod and a Shimano Sahara 2000FA coffee grinder w/ 8lb test. Sort of a little lightweight I use to tease Steelhead,though it were fruitless today.

Shimano makes my favorite itty-bitty to medium sized coffee grinders,but going up from there,Penn's internals are pretty tough to beat for high volume horsing of nice fish.

Anti-backlash promotes reel longevity,as you can't slam a hookset and put the clangity-clang,upon the reels guts. I break lotsa reels,due to my penchant for plum serious hook sets.

The less the backlash,the more better,IMHO.................

Hi,

I added a post to the classifieds today for a Penn 5500ss. Thought you might be interested in this spin reel. Overall size is good for larger fresh water applications. Very tough reel, with extra spool included. $50 shipped.

Warren

I went with the Penn 5000 (aluminum body, metal gears, not the graphite 5500) and threw it on a Shakespear heavy duty Ugly stick with 20 lb. line for sore mouthing stripers. I too like serious hook sets and the lack of backlash on the Penn really rips their lips off. I troll them at 7-8 miles an hour, when they hit, you need good gears, a good rod and you better be hanging on to it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />. I haven't fished for salmon, but I can't think that a salmon could EVER hit harder than a big striped bass. I use the shimano 1000 and 2000's for everything up to 10 lbs., after that, the Penn gets the nod. Flinch

I use the penn ss model spinners for all of my spinning needs. they are durable and a fair price. the hold up to the salt h2o pretty well also. You may want to check out the 7500 and up.

Oooh, buddy. Look no further than for a Zebco Cardinal, size 7. Made up until the early '80's for Zebco in Sweden by ABU before they merged with Garcia. Usually Ebay has 1 or 2. The older ones are green and cream colored and the later are brown and cream. I've had both and they are equally awesome. I used them for shovelhead catfishing forever. (went to baitcasters 'cause I fish a lot at night and got tired of missing bites. Also began to fish from shore and started using surf fishing techniques that required baitcasters.) Anyway, there is no better bigwater spinning reel IMHO than the Zebco Cardinal. Brickwall strong and 2, count 'em TWO bailsprings!! Good luck!

I use a Penn Liveliner 5600 for stripers.
The Slammer in the same size would be less expensive without the baitfeeder clutch. Have caught a 48 inch shark in the surf on it.

With a Star 9 foot graphite surf rod and 30 lb PowerPro super braid, a 100 yard cast with a 1 oz sinker is no problem. It throws 1/4 oz spoons and plugs 75 yards all day. Holds 325 yards of line.

The Stradic 4000 is really nice and salt water tough.
They make some even better models, but you don't need to spend $250 for a reel.

For Kings I use a Shimano Symetre loaded with 30-pound Power Pro. I matched this to a Rogue rod (SM-907) rated from 12-25 test. This is my set-up when fishing salmon jigs for the big hawgs.

Mark

I have been a spinning reel user all my life. I have a few conventional reels but much prefer the feel of a spinner and for some reason think the line belongs under the rod rather then over the rod. Just a character defect of mine I suppose?

Anyway I have used a lot of high end Spinners to get the same drag quality that a conventional reel has. Many spinning reels have an inherant problem with the 90 deg angle the line must come off the spool and then have a small diameter drag washer which requires a very tight setting to give you any drag force.

There are a few reels made that over come this with exceptional design and materials. Nobody beats the Fin Nor product for a smooth drag capable of heavy settings for hooksets and keeping fish out of places they should not go into. Brush piles, log jams, undercut banks, etc. The real problem with the majority of spinners under 100 bucks is that they have a high breakaway to get the drag pulling however once it breaks away it is too light. Most guys will pull line with their hand to see how it feels. But if you put the time in to measure it you would be surprised at whats actually going on. I can take a reel of good quality and set the drag for 5lbs force on a scale. However the moment it breaks away and begins slipping the consistant force to pull drops way down to a couple pounds or less of drag force. At about 100-150 yards it will climb up through the roof to 10 pounds or more as the line diameter on the spool decreases. 100 yards is not all that far away when you consider that your beginning retrieve might be 50-70 yards at the end of your cast. That means a fish only has to run 25-40 yards before the drag tension goes right up to the breaking point of the line.

Fin Nor Ahabs and megalites have a huge lubricated cork drag washer that is the big exception in the spinning reel market. To equal that in any other reel you would have to go to the Shimano Stella, Van Staal, Accurate, or Diawa Saltiga. The Fin Nor's don't work as well with Braided line as the newer worm gear reels do. If you want braided line to work properly on a spinning reel you need to buy a high end reel, or adjust for un-usable light drag settings. Nothing else will function without eventual trouble.

Braided line under high drag force will burry itself into the spool of line on your reel and then hang-up in the compressed wraps, not allowing the spool to rotate under drag force which will eventually break the line, or the rod when a big fish heads out of town on you. This is such a common problem using high drag settings on spinning reels that it's kinda like an industry standard of knowledge now. Hence the reason to engineer better gearing design for proper line lay on the spool to correct for this. Spinning reels also have line twist issues that require very good development engineering to over come. To solve these problems it requires more expensive parts and exceptional roller bearings.

If long drag screaming runs are not in the future many less expensive reels will work with mono line. I have just returned from Florida and caught several dozen sharks over 6 foot a couple over 8 foot and between 100 and 300 pounds on a 7 foot Biscayne rod ( 15lb saltwater rating) with a Fin Nor Ahab 12lb class reel. I spooled it with 15 lb mono and had only a single fish break off in a weeks fishing. On occasion that spool was so hot you could smell the grease cooking in there. The drag was smoken hot to the touch as well!

One very important thing to learn with spinning gear is to set the drag to 25% of the line breaking strength and use your palm to increase resistance on the base of the spool when needed. That way you can always just let go on a hard run and you will never break your line with only 25% drag force. Also when using braided line make sure you set the drag to the weakest breaking point which may be the rod not the line!

Closing the bail by hand when using spectra line as the lure hits the water will also greatly reduce the loops and slack line wrapped on the spool of a spinning reel. Spectra line has some great advantages but is really a pain the A$$ for many people including me at times. I have been loading my reels for salmon with 200 yards of 50lb spectra and then on top 75-100 yards of mono for salmon. This allows fantastic line capacity with the ease of mono for fishing.

Spinning reels have some limitations when using the lower cost production models. The high end reels can handle even Giant Tuna though! These are the strongest fighting fish in the sea pound for pound and they get into the hundreds of pounds. So don't be fooled into thinking that spinning reels cannot function as well for the majority of fishing. they can if you buy a good one.

Aside from the Fin Nor Ahab and Megalite series the next best affordable reels made are the Quantum Boca and Cabo series. These are saltwater compliant and have the gear design to use braided line effectively. They are also light weight. I caught way over 100 fish that last week in Flodida with mine up to 30 pounds and those Jack Crevalle are the best fighting fish pound for pound I have ever caught in my life. They will strip off 30-50 yards of line 6-10 times before you get them to the boat! Even a big spanish mackeral will smoke the drag for 50-75 yards a few times. My Quantum Cabos were perfect for these fish with only 10lb test and the drag set to 3 pounds.

One final thing I have seen. Over the years I have stripped down and replaced or rebuilt parts in countless spinning reels. The Ahab reels gear set is more like a small car differential then a spinning reel. Some of the others when you open them up will surprise you with the plastic bits and sleeves and just plain junk they are made with. The cost difference between a very good high end reel is worth the price when dealing with big strong fish.

I was told by a guy at an old reel repair shop in the Keys that the cost to build a good spinning reel is about 2X the cost to build an equal conventional reel. They are so much more complex. So think about what you paid for the reel you use and then budget twice that or more for an equal spinner.

I can cast about 30% more times per day with a spinner then a conventional reel and it matters not if it's windy or my lure is light weight. I never get a backlash and never need to spend 30 minutes untangling my spool. Even the experts on the rivers here can be seen staring at their spools in stunned amazment at the mess they have now and then. In cold wet weather those spinners have a lot of advantages, at least for me!

As for rods, I have several Lamiglass which I have no compliants with. Several G Loomis which are beautiful and very functional. I have a St Croix which may be the best of the three. However there is something about fishing the rivers with all the possible crap to deal with that makes an ugly stick a good idea sometimes. I have three of those to!

My "go to" rod is my 7 foot Key Biscayne spinner thouugh, it's the best freaking spinning rod ever made. Casts light lures far and fights 7foot 250 lb bull sharks with a fair level of confidence. It's a 300 dollar plus rod though! I still find myself using ugly sticks pretty frequently, especially now with my 3 year old son!

Picked up a big handful of Penn and Shimano coffee grinders this week at Wal-Mart... Had them on some serious close-outs... 75% off or so... Penn 5000 for 35... 5500 was 20... some of the Shimanos were 15 in the same relative size (though clearly not the same quality) and I go through so many of them and mine are getting pretty ratty...

I flinch BTW every time I see a reference to Ugly Sticks... I was given a set of them to use as a "team charter boat" and could not get any service from them at all. Mostly the guides popped off or lost their inserts. None ever lasted a whole season without failure. They kept replacing them gratis, but it got ridiculous and I finally had enough of it and pitched the works in the dumpster.
art

Make mine a Penn and Loomis. I like the flex on the loomis glass and I find with their rods I get a much better cast. I have been tempted by St.Croix. They are a good buy for the $$. For me the only spinning option is Penn.