Spinning reel size for GT's on Kiribati Christmas Island

[Dave Sinnott]

Let me start by saying that it has been years since I've handled a spinning rod and reel.  I am a fly fisherman here in Canada. 

I have a trip planned for Christmas Island November 2012 and would like to take along some spin gear for some GT fishing.  I know the Stella's, Saltigas, Catalina's and Twin powers etc. are the reel of choice but I'm thinking of maxing out at $300 Canadian bucks.  $200 Saltist, $300 Saragosa.  Hopefully the reel will last for the size of GT's I will hopefully catch.  I think they average 30-50lbs.  There are some bigger ones from what I have seen and read here.

My question is:
I thought you needed a very large 300 to 400 M line capacity reel such as the Saragosa 14000 or 18000 or Saltist 6000 or 6500 which are all around 25-30 oz's.  Of course there are others like the Cabo 80, V System 80, Penn's etc also all around $200.   From what I have read here, many of the people use 4500, 5000, 8000 and 10000 models which only hold around 200 - 250 m of 50 lb braid and weigh in at 20 or so ounces.  I won't be casting for more than a couple hours at a time between GT fly fishing so maybe it is a weight issue ?  Are these smaller reels for a specific type of GT fishing ?  I believe the fishing I will be doing at Christmas Island will be on foot casting out to the drop off's.  I thought 80lb braid is kind of the minimum ?

Hopefully someone here can set me straight as to what size of reel I should be looking for.  Will have to be imported of course.

Also, is a manual bail preferred by most of you ?  Saltist has it but the Saragosa does not.  Saltist also has the faster retrieve but could one get away with the Saragosa's 4.9:1 for a week ?  I also surf and boat fish in Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize so maybe the lower gears would be better.

Obviously no 3 or 4 piece GT travel rods so that will be my next challenge.  Damn airlines !

I look forward to any help you can give me.

Thanks
Dave

[Jay Burgess]

The people who are using the smaller reels generally have an upgraded spool (such as SOM no limits 16000 for Stella 10000SW) which allows them to fish around 250m of PE8 which is fine for most situations. 300-400m of line is not generally needed when casting for GT's provided your line (and reel) allows you to fish an adequate amount of drag.

Since this reel (or Saltiga 5000H) doesn't fit into your budget, I'd suggest you get a Saragosa and fish PE8.

[Mark Harris]

Hi Dave

Some good questions there.

For a maximum of $300 I would not hesitate and just get a Saragosa 14000 or 18000.  In that price range I have no doubt that this is most suitable reel for topwater GT fishing.  The relatively slower speed of a Saragosa is no great hindrance when using poppers or sinking stickbaits. For surface stickbaits you can just make do  I am sure. 

You ask about line capacity. For general GT fishing, my rule is no less than 200 metres of PE8 line. So unless I am expecting smaller GTs and fishing PE6 or PE5. then I would not use a spool size smaller than Shimano 12000.  I suspect you will find many other GT anglers who would say similar to that.  Yes, Shimano 10000 size reels get used a lot in our world but usually with an aftermarket spool - eg SOM No Limits 16000, Yumeya 12000 or switching a Twinpower 12000 spool onto a Stella 10000.

Personally I bloody hate automatic bail arms and God only knows why Shimano use them on the Stella models smaller than 18000. Anyone who has had an automatic bail arm mysteriously click close (tripped by the wind maybe?) when going for a real effort cast may well agree with me!  I once hurt my right thumb so badly when this happened that I could not fish again for 2 weeks. But I guess there must be people who like automatic bail arms otherwise Shimano would not make them.

I hope that helps a bit.

Cheers

MARK

[Al Morrison]

OK, time for some out of the box thinking here. I have friends who have fished Xmas island a lot for GT's - mostly flyfishing with 12-14wt fly rods, and they get them up to 40kgs on fly gear on the flats. Away from snags etc, using 50-80lb leaders and the like. So, its highly likely you may get big fish in places where they certainly will strip 150m of line on the first run, and its OK to let them. The fly guys reckon after that one long run - and a quick sprint across the flats to catch up, they wind them straight in with very little fight left. I'd maybe want to see that before i believed it totally, but it was recounted by more than one angler.

Now, if its not really going to get used a lot a reel i'd suggest (note that isnt a recommendation) is a Shimano baitrunner BLC or a Thunnus. I use mine for sailfish - which is a totally different fight, but might be akin to flats GT fishing, and plenty of others use them for heavy surf fishing (sharks and the like). I've seen and used a Thunnus on PE 6 popping gear and landed moderate GT's up to around 35 lbs on it with no problems. The drag is certainly powerful enough to apply 8-10kgs. I think they are rated to around 12 kgs. The old 6500's arent really up to it. These would be excellent surf reels and are designed for distance casting. Auto bail arm though and dont go tripping over and flicking the baitrunner feature by mistake !!

Buy a FOX travel GT rod and review it ..... I'd like to read a report on one !! 

[Dave Sinnott]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
My fly gear is all heavy duty salt and offshore stuff I have used for years in Mexico etc. and know it will be more than sufficient for CI.

I was stumped on the GT fishing reel sizes and your explanations make sense to me so I will concentrate on the larger reels since I will only be using it sporadically for the trip.

My buddy uses a Saltist 6500h and has yet to encounter problems with it but there is a mixed bag of reviews so I think for my Trip the Saragosa 14 or 18 will work.  Also would make a better reel for Mexico fishing.

I have looked into the Fox sportfishing travel rods and the price of their dedicated GT popping rod is way more than I wish to spend.  The Tarpon Trek or Sailfish Trek are $300 CAD and I can get the same rated travel rod here in Canada for $150.  Called a TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) Teaser rod.  This rod was designed specifically for chucking hookless plugs and poppers to draw in the GT's so they will be within a fly casters range.  I will be bringing one of these rods to see how it handles the GT's.  If it breaks, no biggie as $30 will repair it right here in Canada.

I want to bring along a dedicated popping rod as well and will pay the oversize baggage charges and I see a few that will not break the bank,  Shimano GT special and the OTI Tuna sniper.

Again, thank you for your replies and I look forward to reading more replies and searching out information on your site.  Very helpful.

Dave