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Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) => Tackle & Techniques => Topic started by: Andrew Williams on January 08, 2011, 12:23:10 AM
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Have any of you guys ever used Tuff Tackle Reels and what are your thoughts? Thanks
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Andrew might I suggest you do a search of the forum?
There has been some rather controversial discussion on this subject before and I suspect nobody will want to go over all that again.
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Not just here. There are some hilarious threads about them on Fishwrecked (http://fishwrecked.com/forum/banax-kingpins-busted-day-one#comment-195398) and 360tuna (http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f60/tufftackle-diablo-9000-series-3-a-5170/).
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Thanks Guys
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I'm not sure that Luke and myself thought that episode was that hilarious - especially that idiot we banned.
Not just here. There are some hilarious threads about them on Fishwrecked (http://fishwrecked.com/forum/banax-kingpins-busted-day-one#comment-195398) and 360tuna (http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f60/tufftackle-diablo-9000-series-3-a-5170/).
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apologies that this is a late statement but personally i believe theres a reason why they dropped so much in price oer night and that is because there price really reflects what there worth. no good in my opinion. and this was on kings and sambos
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Game on
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lot french people have big problems with tuff tackle....reel seems not built for jigging.........
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every time I see this topic, I want to cry! :'(
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It makes my head bleed. :o
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I can't believe I am the person to bring this up but I just finished reading some of the threads on the new Brawn and sadly, it seems like the same old story. TT love Alan Hawk!
Some of you may find this hard to believe but i was genuinely hoping that they could actually put together a quality product that would hold together, notwithstanding the grief that we had on this forum. I got nothing against them personally and would welcome another viable alternative on the market although I suspect that in the years to come, this is more like to emerge from brands we give a hard time today like Okuma. I say this because 30 - 35 years ago, we used to laugh at Shimano products.
The reality as those of you who fish often enough for GTs will know is that none of the brands we use are bulletproof and the cost of replacement of key components (which in my opinion should hold up in the first place) are eye-watering.
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Yep, really hoping that there can be decent alternatives to the 2 main brands there are dominating the market currently. More competition can only be good for the consumers like us!
Based on my observations, the reels available now (outside of Shimano and Daiwa) are either:
Materials - inferior materials / components to withstand the demands of GT fishing.
Weight - too heavy
Aesthetics - none look better or even as good as what we are using
Design - always some design flaws hindering actual application or making process less efficient (due to lack of R&D)
After sales - either lacking or non existant
Price - Could be more attractive (to get seasoned anglers to even consider giving them a chance)
Track record - lacking one
Just sharing some of the issues that is preventing me from buying an alternative brand currently. Really hope there will be more choices available some time down the road. The prices of the Stellas and Saltigas just keep going up and needs checking!!! ;)
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Yep, there is a huge market there for somebody to grab hold of. Most of the efforts so far have been disappointing.
My tips are that TICA or Okuma are the most likely of existing budget manufacturers to fill that void - but it seems a long way down the road. Or perhaps we will see a Chinese offering come out of nowhere.
Another interesting one would be if JM moved into the large spinning reel market. They have an established reputation for producing decent quality gear at prices below the premium Japanese and American offerings.
If you have access to them in the US, the Penn Torque range is clearly highly regarded and they seem to be a fair bit cheaper (in the US at least) than the equivalent Stellas and Saltigas. Alan Hawk's review score on the Penn Torque was still a bit adrift of that for a Stella, but was almost identical to the much more expensive Saltiga 2010.
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Mark, the JM reels cost quite abit. They are about the same as the more established brands like Accurate, Shimano OJ and Daiwa Saltiga overhead. I gotta say they have made a name for themselves in the conventional reel market. But not sure if they will ever enter the spinning reel market tho. The guys behind JM are almost exclusively 100% conventional reel users by the way.
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Hi Steve
The fact that JM have just produced a range of after market spinning spools mean some of the job is done already. Given this and that they already produce well priced popping rods, it might make sense for them to move into the large spinning reel market.
On OH reel pricing, having just checked you are dead right - little difference these days. I seem to remember that was not always the case, but I stand corrected :) .
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No worries Mark..... JM did increase their reel prices for their latest (recent) models.
I guess anglers have to depend on the mid range or second line products from Shimano and Daiwa as the most decent alternatives for now...... :-\
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In regard to the Brawn or at least the 8000 JIG model (one of the first 70 or so)...I have one
I was interested to see the reel myself so purchased one earlier in the year when they were released. There are many posts about this on another site and I wont go back over that now, but in short there were a number of issues with the design of that particular model.
The main issues
1) Angle of the line roller in relation to the line exiting the spool; it caused the line to slide across the roller and placed the line perilously close to the bail arm.
2) Bail arm did not clear the spool when the spool was at its highest point (due to an additional washer used in the spool to create more drag)
3) Bail wire was a straight design with no bend which meant the bail arm was relatively close to the spool when open for casting
4) Significant angle on the reel stem compared to known brands (reducing the space between the rod and the bail arm)
5) Bushes used in the line roller as opposed to bearings - no rotor brake - tolerance of the handle housing relative to the shaft (under pressure the housing touched the side plate)
There were a number of other points discussed...
I fished the reel in Musandam a couple of times, really to see if it would function correctly, It actually cast as well as anything I had cast before (despite the points above)...the reel used a loco styled oscillation (similar to Saragosa etc)
Retrieve was ok but the the non moving roller would likely cause problems in the long term. The best thing from my perspective was the drag...silky smooth using hard coated alloy washers and LSD oil (wet system), at full spool and 40lbs it was magic
I believe some of these issues have been rectified in the newer option but I have not seen it personally...I am modifying this one myself as a project including a new molded CF rotor..will see how it all goes once finished
The intent was there with this reel, but many things including the marketing campaign could have been improved
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lot french people have big problems with tuff tackle....reel seems not built for jigging.........
I made a search, found those threads. Looks like they sold a bunch of Brawn's to French fishermen and when reels failed the company did not return there emails. The 15 years warranty sounded too good to be true anyway.