Kil JM reel testing?

[Paul H]

Do you have the PE-4's in stock? They aren't listed on your web page.

[kilsong]

Do you have the PE-4's in stock? They aren't listed on your web page.

I am going to list most of products I carry soon. I have to.
I have one PE-4 in stock and I'll get new PE4 II next month.
PE5 reels should be avaiable in Aug or Sept.
Contact me directly to get info.

I tried hard to land a 100 plus blueifn on PE4 out of Cape Cod, MA yesterday, but I got a few dogfishin instead. When bluefin bites start out of Cape May, NJ soon, I can give some report how the PE4 performs.

[kilsong]

I just got a new shipment of JM PE4 II reels.

Here are pictures.







comparison of PE4 II with PE4 I

[Taz575]

Hows the new handle feel compared to the older one??

[kilsong]

Hows the new handle feel compared to the older one??

Old one is not bad. I like it. But I feel I can give more pressure with the new one and it is less slippery as it has holes.

[kilsong]

Some asked whether they can use this reel for tuna jigging.
While it is a joy to use this tiny reel for tuna jigging and the reel is capable to land a decent tuna, the reel is designed for inshore jigging.
PE4 II is exactly same size as Shimano Ocea Jigger 1500P, but with more powerful drag, better free spool, reinforced double dogging system and long custom handle and much stronger internal parts.

[kilsong]

I finally fought 90 lbs, 130 lbs and 150 lbs tuna with JM PE4 II reels. The small reel is not designed to catch big tuna, but I wanted to test the reel to see how strong it is, because if it can handle big tuna, it can handle any fish inshore.




review of the reel

comparison with Ocea Jigger 1500P

Both reels have similar sizes , but PE4 has bigger size inside.
Though two reels are almost idendital in size, the parts used inside are totally different. Much stronger and bigger shaft is used along with parts for PE4 II and no plastic can be found inside of PE4 II.
Longer arm and power handle of PE4 II make much easier to crank.
Freespool of OJ 1500P is not bad, but freespool of PE4 II is superior. The max drag of reels is no contest as PE4 II has more than 25 lbs max drag at strike without much binding.





comparison with Blue Heaven L50

Blue Heaven L50 is a little taller and bigger than JM PE4 II.
Blue Heaven reel is regarded as one of the best true jigging reels.
In deed, I saw Yong landed a 130 -140 lbs bluefin tuna with Blue Heaven L50.

I don't see Blue Heaven is better in terms of max drag, smoothness of drag, freespool and strength of reels. In fact, PE4 II's custom handle is much easier and convenient than Blue Heaven's round knob handle when I tested both reels alternatively.
PE4 makes clicking sound when reeling as it has double dogging system while Blue Heaven reel is pretty quiet. We got rid of dogging system out of PE4 II and it became quite. But JM highly recommend to have dogging system in PE4 as they believe anti-reverse ball bearing alone is not strong enough in smaller reels.

comparison with Accurate Boss 197/270

Accurate Boss reels have improved vastly in recent years and are regarded as one of the best small lever drag reels made in the US.
PE4 II has everything Boss 187/270 has. Both have duel drag system,smooth drag,and excellent free spool. But PE4 II has more max drag with little binding. While Boss has 6 ball bearing, JMPE5 has 11 ball bearings. The major difference between two reels are PE4 has double dogging system and more fancy and powerful handle with longer arm.
The advantage of Boss over PE4 is after-service.

*I am associated with JM and Accurate reel as a dealer.