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Hunting and Fishing Rifle, Shotgun, Handgun, Archery, Blackpowder Saltwater and Fresh Water

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  #1  
Old 05-27-2020, 11:53 AM
bombadillo bombadillo is offline
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Default Penn Squall 60LD or Shimano TLD 25 Lever Drag?????

So I'm on the hunt for a new Sturgeon reel. I've been using my old Penn 330 GTi on an Ugly Stik 12' Heavy for LARGE oversized sturgeon. I'm talking probably 6-10 foot river monsters. We get 7-8 foot fish regularly and this stuff needs to stand up to week in, week out fishing for these things. Needs to be able to handle sub freezing nights, and 100 degree days. I do a lot of cold-weather fishing in the snow and rain, so waterproof is better but it's not a required thing. These two reels are in my budget, and that's right around 200 dollars right now.

I am trying to set up my gear to be able to beat up on the rocks from time to time, but not spend 600 on a reel. Something that will hold up for a decade of this type of fishing, but be something that if it gets scratched I won't go crying. I try to take care of my gear, but things happen out here. We hike some NASTY rock hills to get where we are going.

So, all that said, any thoughts? Must have 30 pounds of drag or more, (more is better) and must be able to hold at LEASTS 250 yards of 150lb test Braid 0.66mm is the general thickness.
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Old 05-27-2020, 2:55 PM
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Casting from shore or boat fishing? What rod are you pairing it to? Whatever you do, don’t buy a level wind again. I’m partial to the tld 25. It’s commonly used as a rental on the party boats and by the Mexico panga fleet so that should tell you about reliability. It takes a beating and keeps on working. I’d even buy a lightly used one without hesitation. I’d say parts would be way easier to source for a tld 25. The squall looks like every other reel that gets put out and discontinued a few years later. The tld will be available.

I use penn senators for 200lb bat rays and I haven’t found anything that pulls nearly as hard besides a marlin. The tld cast way better though.

Last edited by deckhandmike; 05-27-2020 at 3:03 PM..
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Old 05-27-2020, 4:05 PM
bombadillo bombadillo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deckhandmike View Post
Casting from shore or boat fishing? What rod are you pairing it to? Whatever you do, don’t buy a level wind again. I’m partial to the tld 25. It’s commonly used as a rental on the party boats and by the Mexico panga fleet so that should tell you about reliability. It takes a beating and keeps on working. I’d even buy a lightly used one without hesitation. I’d say parts would be way easier to source for a tld 25. The squall looks like every other reel that gets put out and discontinued a few years later. The tld will be available.

I use penn senators for 200lb bat rays and I haven’t found anything that pulls nearly as hard besides a marlin. The tld cast way better though.

I actually have a TLD 15/30 and use the crap out of it spooled up with 100lb braid. It has been one of the most reliable reels I've had, but for the same price, I can swing the Fathom 60LD and it's an aluminum reel frame, as well as 40lb drag. I think the smoothness of the drag of the TLD seems better IMO, but I don't have much experience with the PENN reels lately. My current PENN 330gti has been a tank though. It's gone through hell and back.
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Old 05-27-2020, 4:26 PM
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From what I’ve seen the newer lower end penns in that size range are crap. They make some great reels but the good ones aren’t cheap. I’m sure someone will come along and say otherwise but I doubt anyone will say the tld 25 is crap. It’s a flip of the coin honestly, old reliable tld 25 or try out the penn. Either should work fine fresh water. Sturgeon are heavy and the current sucks but they don’t smoke reels pound for pound like some other species.

Last edited by deckhandmike; 05-27-2020 at 4:30 PM..
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Old 05-27-2020, 6:06 PM
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I was just having this discussion with a friend . And for Around $200 I Suggested Okuma Slx Solterra I have a couple in Different sizes and they take a beating from big sharks and batrays. Never a Issue
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Old 05-28-2020, 7:40 AM
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Im a penn guy and just bought my son a squall levelwind 15 to use for northern ca saltwater. Think rockfish, halibut, bay strippers and it has been a good reel but he is only 7 and we have used it 6-7 times. With that said between those two reels I would recommend a used made in Japan TLD. About as tried and true as it gets. BUT at $200 you can move up to the Fathom line. Arguably the best value in saltwater reels out there. for about $220 shipped you can get a Fathom 25 or 30ld2, a two speed that will put the hurt on any sturgeon you hook.

http://www.srmo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc...enn-conv-Reels

Edit:

Seeing you are casting a 12' rod leads me to think you are bank fishing. If that's the case and you don't need 2 speed I would stick with star drag models for their castability. The fathom star drag reels are some of the best casters out there. I fish the 25n as my surface iron reel on a 9' calstar jig stick. It will blow you away coming from your GTI levelwind.

Last edited by luckylogger6; 05-28-2020 at 9:34 AM..
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Old 05-28-2020, 10:06 AM
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You should immediately remove that level wind on your kids reel! I’ve seen kids (and newbies) get their fingers stuck in them when there snagged on the bottom, and then the boat drifts wrenching it down tighter. It can cut a little guys finger off. I’ve had to dismantle several reels to free fingers. The level wind won’t go back till it repeats a full revolution wether a finger is in there or not. Highly dangerous.

We used to rent level winds and people would get hung up on the bottom with 50lb Dacron and then cup the spool trying to break it off, boats drifts, there grip on wet spool slips and smash.

At the very least give the little guy a good demonstration of where not to ever put his hand and have him show you that he understands. Kids aren’t dumb if you teach them well.

Last edited by deckhandmike; 05-28-2020 at 10:38 AM..
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Old 05-28-2020, 12:00 PM
luckylogger6 luckylogger6 is offline
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Thanks for the tip.
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Old 05-28-2020, 12:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luckylogger6 View Post
Im a penn guy and just bought my son a squall levelwind 15 to use for northern ca saltwater. Think rockfish, halibut, bay strippers and it has been a good reel but he is only 7 and we have used it 6-7 times. With that said between those two reels I would recommend a used made in Japan TLD. About as tried and true as it gets. BUT at $200 you can move up to the Fathom line. Arguably the best value in saltwater reels out there. for about $220 shipped you can get a Fathom 25 or 30ld2, a two speed that will put the hurt on any sturgeon you hook.

http://www.srmo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc...enn-conv-Reels

Edit:

Seeing you are casting a 12' rod leads me to think you are bank fishing. If that's the case and you don't need 2 speed I would stick with star drag models for their castability. The fathom star drag reels are some of the best casters out there. I fish the 25n as my surface iron reel on a 9' calstar jig stick. It will blow you away coming from your GTI levelwind.

after looking at other options as well as what you said, I'm actually considering the Penn fathom 60 lever drag. I already have a bunch of star drag reels and I'm just wanting to try a lever drag I need the cast roughly halfway across the Snake River here in Idaho to get to the whole I need and I'll never have to cast any further than that but with 16 oz of land I can get that puppy moving no matter what reel I use. What do you think about the cast ability between the fathom lever Drag versus the fathom star drag because I'm really liking the aluminum body, the 40 lb drag, and it will be the 60 series no matter which will I get whether it's the Squall, bathroom, or TLD. I'm using 200 lb braid 8 strand Hollow core and I'm casting massive weight up to 20 oz at times and I either use a tiger Rod broomstick heavy action or a 12 foot ugly stick.
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Old 05-28-2020, 1:25 PM
luckylogger6 luckylogger6 is offline
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All the fathoms will cast well but with that much weight I don't think you will notice a big difference between star vs lever drag. I think they will all impress you.

Not trying to push you away from leverdrags, just throwing out options...you might take a look at the US Senator. the Narrow version was introduced as the Baja Special due to its durability and versatility for the baja panga fleet know for lack of maintenance and brutal abuse of their equipment. Latter the wide versions of the same reel came out catering to the Hawaiian surf casters needing a tough great casting reel with the capacity the hold enough 80-100lb mono. Seems like it might be similar to your needs.
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  #11  
Old 05-28-2020, 2:00 PM
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Why #150 braid?

seems like about 7x stronger than your reel could break against drag and 15x stronger than a 12' rod could break since they are typically so parabolic.

The star drags cast just a bit better than the fathoms but until the anchovies come back it won't matter,

the difference in your application would be about like the difference between using 16oz. of weight or 16 1/2 oz. of weight.

I love my herd of TLD's but for what you are doing i would use my Fathom 30 2 speed which is full of #80 braid.
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Old 05-29-2020, 6:08 AM
luckylogger6 luckylogger6 is offline
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My guess is the heavy braid is for abrasion resistance
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Old 05-29-2020, 6:54 AM
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Quote:
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My guess is the heavy braid is for abrasion resistance
your guess is correct. I would like to be able to use my braids for more than one season hopefully two maybe even three seasons if I'm lucky and I'm getting about one-and-a-half to two seasons max out of hundred pound.

my plan is to do a hundred fifty to two hundred pound braid likely the 200 Mark is going to be what I actually use and between the abrasion resistance and tensile strength hopefully I'll be able to add my river monster I've been looking at for years. I landed a 10ft 2in monster in the snake and we got photos of it and sent him back into water and then once Idaho Fish and Game told us that we needed to have something a verifiable length in the water with us too get the record, I was pissed off and a broken off a few 829 foot fish on hundred pound recently so I'm going to switch it up to the braid that I think will actually bring it in.
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Old 05-29-2020, 9:09 AM
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Why not fish from a boat? 10x more effective for landing fish and you can use lighter gear that produces more bites. A river boat is dirt cheap.
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Old 05-29-2020, 9:36 AM
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Why not fish from a boat? 10x more effective for landing fish and you can use lighter gear that produces more bites. A river boat is dirt cheap.
I have a boat, I just enjoy bank fishing for sturgeon. It's challenging when you get a fish that's 9 or 10 ft long in the middle of the current in the snake and you have to battle the current, the fish, no cheating by running it down with a boat. I think it's an absolute thrill to bank fish for these monsters.
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Old 05-29-2020, 9:45 AM
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You ever bust out a kayak? We use them for bat rays sometimes. Nothing like a mud marlin sleigh ride. Quite the thrill.
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Old 05-29-2020, 11:37 AM
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You ever bust out a kayak? We use them for bat rays sometimes. Nothing like a mud marlin sleigh ride. Quite the thrill.
no but I actually plan on selling my boat and buying a couple kayaks one really nice one for me for fishing in something like a Hobie Mirage or a Mako 12-footer and something a little cheaper for my wife that she can just get out and put around every now and again. I will use mine a ton she will maybe use hers a few times a year.
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Old 05-29-2020, 1:56 PM
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Just be careful, it’s not very safe. But I’m sure you know what you’re doing.
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Old 05-29-2020, 2:00 PM
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Just be careful, it’s not very safe. But I’m sure you know what you’re doing.
yeah I've been around the block with boats and honestly I'm kind of tired of the maintenance and upkeep on what I feel like I need. bank fishing has been so much fun lately and I forgot how much fun I have doing it. I plan on doing the kayak at some point in the near future and I'm going to try to get something with an outrigger system that will help for stability and maybe even make a platform on it. I plan on running a small trolling motor as well just so I can be lazy. no matter what I get I'm going to get a pedal drive whether that's a prop pedal drive or a mirage system is to be decided. and you're right we are bold I almost every year in the spot I fish below the dam on the Snake River. It's colder than people think when the mountain runoff comes out of the Sawtooth mountains and people die virtually every single year.
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Old 06-05-2020, 10:30 PM
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Well I ended up with a Penn fathom 60 series 2 speed lever drag. By no means what I was intending to go get, but what ended up presenting itself at the best price. got it for under $300 and a few bucks tax shipped to my door and it seems like an absolute tank. All night is cast aluminum frame, perfect damper system for exactly what I need, really loud Clicker, and generally the whole thing just exudes quality that some other reels don't have.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Pycwogs7aCX8qVA7
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Old 06-07-2020, 1:43 PM
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WELL, all that said I picked up a Fathom 60 Lever Drag 2-speed. What a fantastic reel. I'm glad I went with what I WANTED rather than just the minimum. I'll be able to winch out a 10' Sturgeon from the snake out of ANY hole with 40lbs of drag. I like the push button 2-speed setup as well. I ran 200lb "Cat Cable" in bright yellow. I've never run the line before and was considering a 4 carrier braid for abrasion resistance, but we'll see how this stuff does. I'm set up fairly well for large fish. It's on a 7'6" BigCatFever rod that will dead lift a 200lb man, so I'm fairly certain that it's gonna hold up just fine. Now to hook up !
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Old 06-07-2020, 2:30 PM
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Pics for reference.

Last edited by bombadillo; 06-07-2020 at 2:40 PM..
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  #23  
Old 06-07-2020, 4:32 PM
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Damn, you might as well use a rope and hand line it, lol.
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Old 06-08-2020, 10:39 AM
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I don't get it but it's good you got your specialty rig dialed in the way you want.
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