Back around September last year, after this spool was released, I said I would acquire one of the above spools, give it a proper workout and report back on how it went. I was hoping to test the spool out in October but the trip got cancelled so I had to wait till this month before I had an opportunity to use it.
The primary objective of the test and review was to assess if the spool was a viable (and cheaper) alternative to Studio Ocean Mark's brilliant 16000 No Limits spool. It was not to test whether the spool could actually handle the drag pressure claimed by the manufacturer (something ridiculous like 35kg). First, I'd struggle like hell to managehalf that pressure myself and two, I expect that a drag pressure of that magnitude would destroy my 10000XG.
The spool pretty much has an identical capacity to the SOM 16000. I got about 240m of Varivas GT PE8 onto the spool. Cosmetically, I don't think it looks anywhere as good as the SOM No Limits but that is a personal thing. The finish on the SOM just looks so good whereas the JM just doesn't looks as well finished.
I decided it would be best if I just fished the JM in an identical fashion to my SOMs. I matched the reel which carried the JM onto a prototype Carpenter rod and used it primarily for throwing various lures from 160g to 200g.
So how did it go? Well, I really am going to have to eat some humble pie. I was pretty sure that the JM would fail to match it up to the SOM No limits. I sort of expected that the spool might survive the trip but that the drag wouldn't be as smooth. Well, I was wrong.
I was fortunate enough to be able to give the reel a really tough working over including one fish that in one run, almost managed to spool me. A the fish continued to take line, I continued to wind the drag down till I had the drag wound down to such a degree that I actually had to point the rod at the fish. Overall, the performance of the spool was terrific. It was silky smooth and through the five days I used it, it performed flawlessly. At no time did I have the drag wound down anywhere near its maximum capacity but it was already at a level beyond what I would normally be fishing.
Will the spool pull 35kg? Well, I don't know but that is irrelevant in any case. What I can say is that based on my experience over this trip, the JM spool matched the SOMs in performance in every way and I have no hesitation in recommending the spool for anyone looking for a larger aftermarket spool for their 8000/10000 Stella. Since release, I have used the SOMs and have learnt to trust the spool. The highest praise I can give the JM is that I actually forgot I was using the JM during the trip.
I had some doubts about the number of cosmetic holes in the spool as I was concerned that it might permit water to get into the drag. The reel it was on got drenched continually when we were moving spots during the trip but there was absolutely no impact on the performance of the drag.
I will continue to use this spool and report back on it periodically to see how it performs long term. I will strip the drag back when I have a moment to see how that looks but for now, my congratulations to Jigging Master for bringing a top line aftermarket product onto the market.
My thanks to Fishhead for sourcing the spool for me.
