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kilroy69

Brand new Reels

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Last year I wore through reels. I had one pike basically cause a meltdown on a ultralight while fishing for bass. I had another just lock up. Frozen dead. I had one that the drag was just crap. Like pure crap. I would rather fish with a canepole. I have 2-3 months till it starts to get nice enough to get out and do some kayak fishing depending on when the water breaks(its open now but super cold and its gonna freeze again). 

I plan on blowing a grand total on a complete refit and this is the first start. I picked up 2 brand new penn battle 2 4000s and they will be here this week. I am gonna pair them with 2 ugly sticks. Each one will cost about 80 bucks when its said and done. I want to get a new kayak that is more comfortable and a gopro. Then spend some money on a lure lot. Something that is not plastic because these pike kill that shitt quick. 

I am looking forward to using these battles. 

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Not a baitcaster guy?  I do mostly largemouth fishing, but have a couple Abu Garcias that Ive had forever and are great when I go for big cats. I only use spinning reels for light plastics or smallmouth. I would inagine though that spinning reels may be more user friendly in a kayak.

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My late fishing buddy had Penn Battles and he landed some monster offshore fish, they will hold up to anything in fresh water.

 

 

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5 hours ago, kilroy69 said:

Last year I wore through reels. I had one pike basically cause a meltdown on a ultralight while fishing for bass. I had another just lock up. Frozen dead. I had one that the drag was just crap. Like pure crap. I would rather fish with a canepole. I have 2-3 months till it starts to get nice enough to get out and do some kayak fishing depending on when the water breaks(its open now but super cold and its gonna freeze again). 

I plan on blowing a grand total on a complete refit and this is the first start. I picked up 2 brand new penn battle 2 4000s and they will be here this week. I am gonna pair them with 2 ugly sticks. Each one will cost about 80 bucks when its said and done. I want to get a new kayak that is more comfortable and a gopro. Then spend some money on a lure lot. Something that is not plastic because these pike kill that shitt quick. 

I am looking forward to using these battles. 

I spend each winter going through all my gear and cleaning it.  I just cleaned three reels yesterday.  I use a variety of brands and go with the mid range models most of the time.  I don't want to be cheap with my equipment but I also can't afford to go high end.  I have Abu Garcia, Lew's, Daiwa, Pflueger and just added a Shimano.

I also kayak fish and do a lot of tourneys.  What model kayak are you looking to buy?

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1 hour ago, Hawkeye21 said:

I spend each winter going through all my gear and cleaning it.  I just cleaned three reels yesterday.  I use a variety of brands and go with the mid range models most of the time.  I don't want to be cheap with my equipment but I also can't afford to go high end.  I have Abu Garcia, Lew's, Daiwa, Pflueger and just added a Shimano.

I also kayak fish and do a lot of tourneys.  What model kayak are you looking to buy?

Im in an otter right now and its just a dugout. There is nothing fancy about it. It floats. I am looking at possibly a sit on top but that worries me. I feel like I were in one of those when i got caught in a storm it would have flipped. I had some crazy hit me out of the blue that was like 30 mph winds and huge focking wave troughs. I will never fish another way though.I have seen the light when it comes to kayak fishing.  

Got both the reels today and they are everything I wanted. I am gonna get the ugly sticks tomorrow and probably the go pro next month. 

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1 hour ago, Fireballer said:

Not a baitcaster guy?  I do mostly largemouth fishing, but have a couple Abu Garcias that Ive had forever and are great when I go for big cats. I only use spinning reels for light plastics or smallmouth. I would inagine though that spinning reels may be more user friendly in a kayak.

I can't. I mean seriously. You would have a better chance of me talking Chinese to you right now with no training than me use a baitcaster. 

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12 hours ago, bandrus1 said:

I would go with Shimano stradics

This guy fishes.  👍
 

Anytime a rod/reel combo costs less than a hundred you will likely be unhappy.  I’ve had stradic reels for 30 years.  Will not buy anything else.

 

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I have Penn International's, Shimano Saragossa's, etc but I do not understand this price snobbery of fishing reels. The Battle II is a great reel and in that price range, sub 200 dollar reels, is probably second best to the Daiwa BG.

 

I have personally seen the Battle II land monster AJ's, bull Mahi, 50+ pound cobia, etc. It is a beast(although it is no Daiwa BG)

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21 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

I have Penn International's, Shimano Saragossa's, etc but I do not understand this price snobbery of fishing reels. The Battle II is a great reel and in that price range, sub 200 dollar reels, is probably second best to the Daiwa BG.

 

I have personally seen the Battle II land monster AJ's, bull Mahi, 50+ pound cobia, etc. It is a beast(although it is no Daiwa BG)

As it is I am jumping up in class tot he 4000 series and the BG is just bulkier than the battle. I am doing all freshwater fishing but I am landing a lot of really big pike. In the 35" plus routinely. Last year I fished with a 20 dollar optimix 40. I was not taking it serious at all and still did well. This year I am going to take it more serious. 

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i told you before in other thread. i love penns. fierce III's are just as good as battles now. i did have issues with new international series VI...but as always penn stepped up. i caught a 80lb bluefin on a battle 6000. i know people love BG's....but i'll take penn all day...penn factory across the bridge. parts readily available.

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19 hours ago, kilroy69 said:

Im in an otter right now and its just a dugout. There is nothing fancy about it. It floats. I am looking at possibly a sit on top but that worries me. I feel like I were in one of those when i got caught in a storm it would have flipped. I had some crazy hit me out of the blue that was like 30 mph winds and huge focking wave troughs. I will never fish another way though.I have seen the light when it comes to kayak fishing.  

Got both the reels today and they are everything I wanted. I am gonna get the ugly sticks tomorrow and probably the go pro next month. 

I've gotten pretty serious about bass fishing over the last 5 years.  I started with a Pelican Catch 120 which I was able to win some money in a tourney fishing out of and then I used that money to upgrade to a Nucanoe Frontier 12.  The Frontier 12 is awesome for fishing.  I fish boat tourneys as well but with my brother-in-law or uncle since they're the ones who own boats.  I usually spend most of my winter organizing and cleaning my gear, studying maps, adding new gear and learning as much as I can.  I'm hoping for a very short winter.

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6 hours ago, Alias Detective said:

This guy fishes.  👍
 

Anytime a rod/reel combo costs less than a hundred you will likely be unhappy.  I’ve had stradic reels for 30 years.  Will not buy anything else.

 

No doubting that Shimano makes great reels but I like to recommend the Pflueger President for an affordable, quality spinning reel.  I think it's the best spinning reel for the money.

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33 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

No doubting that Shimano makes great reels but I like to recommend the Pflueger President for an affordable, quality spinning reel.  I think it's the best spinning reel for the money.

That’s what I have on my St Croix trout rod.  Great recommendation.

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1 minute ago, Alias Detective said:

That’s what I have on my St Croix trout rod.  Great recommendation.

Pflueger and Penn are actually owned by the same company, Pure Fishing, along with Abu Garcia and a bunch of other brands.  If you guys are looking for good deals on them I recommend checking out this sight occasionally for deals, http://www.ffo-tackle.com/ffo-reels/

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7 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

No doubting that Shimano makes great reels but I like to recommend the Pflueger President for an affordable, quality spinning reel.  I think it's the best spinning reel for the money.

I was going to go with the president but I ended up coming across 2 penn battle 2 4000s for 60 bucks each. New in the box. 

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3 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

I was going to go with the president but I ended up coming across 2 penn battle 2 4000s for 60 bucks each. New in the box. 

I really got into bait casting reels once I learned to use one. 

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Just now, Hawkeye21 said:

I really got into bait casting reels once I learned to use one. 

I just can't. I literally can not use a baitcaster. If you said speak Chinese or use a baitcaster I would have a better chance of suddenly speaking Chinese. 

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Can you explain the advantages to using a baitcaster over an open face? 

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6 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

Can you explain the advantages to using a baitcaster over an open face? 

You are completely fine fishing a spinning reel for your application. Don't worry about it

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20 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

Can you explain the advantages to using a baitcaster over an open face? 

It depends on what you want to fish for and the techniques you want to use. It also depends on how serious you are about it. If it’s just casual fishing then I there really isn’t a need to use one. There are benefits though. 

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2 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

It depends on what you want to fish for and the techniques you want to use. It also depends on how serious you are about it. If it’s just casual fishing then I there really isn’t a need to use one. There are benefits though. 

I work from home and hit the lake probably 20 hours+ a week in the summer. My new years resolution was to catch the Michigan state record pike. But I just do not see any benefit that a baitcaster would bring. I was using 65 lb powerpro on a smaller reel than this and it worked. With a 4000 series I can't imagine hooking into anything that would really strain that combo in the waters I fish. 

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2 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

I work from home and hit the lake probably 20 hours+ a week in the summer. My new years resolution was to catch the Michigan state record pike. But I just do not see any benefit that a baitcaster would bring. I was using 65 lb powerpro on a smaller reel than this and it worked. With a 4000 series I can't imagine hooking into anything that would really strain that combo in the waters I fish. 

I don’t think it would matter for you either. I see it as more of an advantage in bass fishing. 

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8 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

No doubting that Shimano makes great reels but I like to recommend the Pflueger President for an affordable, quality spinning reel.  I think it's the best spinning reel for the money.

I've had both. Both are great. I can't use a baitcaster for the life of me :mad:. All my reels are spinners. Haven't fished in a long time since selling my bass boat. Sometimes I miss it enough to buy another

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11 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

@kilroy69 What else do you like to fish for, or do you mainly focus on pike?

I actually LOVE to bass fish. That is what I was looking for last year. I ended up with a 24 incher in march. Still the biggest bass I have ever caught.  I got a pic of me smiling ear to ear and my boy named her Angela before I put her back in. 

That being said I fish a spot called goose lake. It is a spring fed lake that has no inlet and no outlet. I have fished this lake from the shore for years and would never have guessed the pike population was this big. I ended up catching 30 last year and probably lost another 10-15 due to different reasons. I love to bass fish. I do. But man pike are a different beast. I had one literally almost rip the pole out of my hand. Sitting in the kayak I often don't reel it all the way in. I just loop my cast behind me and open the bail. As I was looping it for another cast I had a pike grab it and run. For a min I was reeling in over my shoulder backwards. 

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2 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

I actually LOVE to bass fish. That is what I was looking for last year. I ended up with a 24 incher in march. Still the biggest bass I have ever caught.  I got a pic of me smiling ear to ear and my boy named her Angela before I put her back in. 

That being said I fish a spot called goose lake. It is a spring fed lake that has no inlet and no outlet. I have fished this lake from the shore for years and would never have guessed the pike population was this big. I ended up catching 30 last year and probably lost another 10-15 due to different reasons. I love to bass fish. I do. But man pike are a different beast. I had one literally almost rip the pole out of my hand. Sitting in the kayak I often don't reel it all the way in. I just loop my cast behind me and open the bail. As I was looping it for another cast I had a pike grab it and run. For a min I was reeling in over my shoulder backwards. 

I enjoy catching large pike but man, do they get annoying when focusing on bass.  They really drive me crazy when I'm fishing a tourney.  I fish the Mississippi River a lot and it's loaded with pike.  I'm not sure what my biggest one is but I know I've caught a bunch around 36" over the years.  Last year I caught my personal best largemouth at 5 pounds 12 ounces that was 21.5".  If you caught one that was 24" that had to be around 7 pounds.  That's a hawg.

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30 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

I enjoy catching large pike but man, do they get annoying when focusing on bass.  They really drive me crazy when I'm fishing a tourney.  I fish the Mississippi River a lot and it's loaded with pike.  I'm not sure what my biggest one is but I know I've caught a bunch around 36" over the years.  Last year I caught my personal best largemouth at 5 pounds 12 ounces that was 21.5".  If you caught one that was 24" that had to be around 7 pounds.  That's a hawg.

Not only was it a freaking hawg I caught it on a zebco 33 micro with 3lb line . The rod was bent into a U but it did not snap and the reel was up to the task believe it or not. I had to wear her out but I got her.  I was super naive last year as to what was swimming around in there and would not use that setup ever again.  

Last year I caught 2 pike over 40 inches and 3 that were at least 35. All from the same hole in the wall lake. 

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1 minute ago, kilroy69 said:

Not only was it a freaking hawg I caught it on a zebco 33 micro with 3lb line . The rod was bent into a U but it did not snap and the reel was up to the task believe it or not. I had to wear her out but I got her.  I was super naive last year as to what was swimming around in there and would not use that setup ever again. 

That's awesome.  I'm in the process of buying a new rod for flipping do go with my new Shimano SLX reel.  I plan on buying a Dobyns Fury flipping rod but waiting to get a good deal on one.  This is the time of year I always spend the most money on fishing, trying to get ready for the season since I can't actually get out and fish.

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2 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

That's awesome.  I'm in the process of buying a new rod for flipping do go with my new Shimano SLX reel.  I plan on buying a Dobyns Fury flipping rod but waiting to get a good deal on one.  This is the time of year I always spend the most money on fishing, trying to get ready for the season since I can't actually get out and fish.

Same here. I scour things like offerup and craigslist. Last year I ended with  a wheedler as part of my tackle box finds. And they bass loved it. Fishing with a lure from the 60s made me smile. 

 

https://toughlures.com/products/arbogast-yellow-wheedler-snake-in-box-2500-y

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2500 is a fine size for smaller game. We use 3000's on fall salmon up to 35 lbs. No bass or Pike is going to come close to spooling you

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38 minutes ago, bandrus1 said:

Although I believe you could catch them on a 2500 fine, probably a bit under gunned

so the 4000 series should be good is what your saying? lol 

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I have started using some smaller reels(6500) for much of my offshore fishing, even when I have been targeting Cobia, mahi, and other not so small fish. Before that I was using 10000 class reels with Jerry Brown line.

I switched to the below line, you can see that you can get 45 pound line in a .009 diameter. For example PowerPro of the same diameter is only 20 pound test.

https://www.finsfishing.com/FINS40G-p/fns40g.htm

 

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4 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

 

I switched to the below line, you can see that you can get 45 pound line in a .009 diameter. For example PowerPro of the same diameter is only 20 pound test.

https://www.finsfishing.com/FINS40G-p/fns40g.htm

 

Dude. Yes. Thank you. I am going to order some today

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