50w's or 80's

[Innovator]

Given the size fish we have been experiencing over the past 2 years 80's may be the right choice. The draw back to 80's are they are significantly heavier than 50's, and you need to decide what type of rods you are going to fish, stand-up or out of the holder. Anything outside of Giant fishing (130's out of the holder) I prefer stand-up. A 5'6" shorty bent butt and a quality harness- Braid or Gameface Gear, makes for a lot of fun with either a 50 or 80.

As far as ebay- do your home work on the seller and ask a lot of questions, and plan on respooling the reel even if they say the line is barely used. I have bought and sold reels on Ebay with good results. Rods are tough to buy on ebay, you are better off going to your local shop so you can really feel the action and balance of a rod. CMS or JB Tackle has some of the best rods available locally and the quality is top notch

[Col. Kurtz]

not that i dont disagree with you about having fun with catching them but at the same time have gear that isnt big enough can be just as bad in the sense if you snap of 300 yards of line on a fish especially if it has a squid bar in its mouth what are the chances that fish will live or not have serious problems. so while i love to catch them on light gear and have a blast i also realize there is that line you were talking about between winching them in and having fun but there is also the line between having fun and endangering the fish's life just to snap it of. just my two cents

Excellent point Cam and I don't disagree. Again though, I have yet to experience it (line breaking) and in all honesty I am not targeting the really big boys. Next season I will be just as happy with this younger class of fish when they're in the mid- 50" range as I will if we land one of the 2004 class fatties in the 70"s.

[Col. Kurtz]

Given the size fish we have been experiencing over the past 2 years 80's may be the right choice. The draw back to 80's are they are significantly heavier than 50's, and you need to decide what type of rods you are going to fish, stand-up or out of the holder. Anything outside of Giant fishing (130's out of the holder) I prefer stand-up. A 5'6" shorty bent butt and a quality harness- Braid or Gameface Gear, makes for a lot of fun with either a 50 or 80.

As far as ebay- do your home work on the seller and ask a lot of questions, and plan on respooling the reel even if they say the line is barely used. I have bought and sold reels on Ebay with good results. Rods are tough to buy on ebay, you are better off going to your local shop so you can really feel the action and balance of a rod. CMS or JB Tackle has some of the best rods available locally and the quality is top notch

Up on the South Shore, I buy my rod & reel outfits through Pete Belsan at Belsan's Bait & Tackle in Scituate. Competitive prices and excellent selection of custom rods.

[colad]

I too have been going through this process...I have 114's now and would like to be at much better tackle for next year. One thing I have been wondering is coudl you get away with Avet 50 W since they claim almost double the drag of the other reals...spooled with appropriate braid and topshot?

They claim 50 pd max drag at strike on the Pro EX and 100lbs on the T/RX?

http://www.avetreels.com/reels/avet_pro_exw_2spd.html

[Fortunamate]

Excellent point Cam and I don't disagree. Again though, I have yet to experience it (line breaking) and in all honesty I am not targeting the really big boys. Next season I will be just as happy with this younger class of fish when they're in the mid- 50" range as I will if we land one of the 2004 class fatties in the 70"s.

see the thing is yet again not saying you will hook a big one but the 81" i cought with greg was on a bar after catching 6 smaller ones.and look at eric stewart trolling for smalls hooks a 700pounder and ive had a giant hit a bar and damn near spool me so quick before spitting the hook i think i had maybe 200 yards left on the spool. but there again just my 2 cents
-cam

[tuna101]

I too have been going through this process...I have 114's now and would like to be at much better tackle for next year. One thing I have been wondering is coudl you get away with Avet 50 W since they claim almost double the drag of the other reals...spooled with appropriate braid and topshot?

They claim 50 pd max drag at strike on the Pro EX and 100lbs on the T/RX?

http://www.avetreels.com/reels/avet_pro_exw_2spd.html

I was also thinking about getting the Pro Ex. I have heard very good things about this reel, but for the T/RX, I have heard bad things about it. And think about it: 100 lbs of drag on a 50 is a little unreasonable.

[54bullwinkle]

50 v 80 dilemma is stand up v chair/holder.... I know there are guys standing up with an 80 and a harness, but add 4 foot seas, a wet slippery deck, clumsy foulies and it gets pretty tough to do with an 80. Jump from 50 to 80 is a big difference in weight.

If you go 80, you will find yourself fishing in the chair/holder almost all the time.............Still fun!

[colad]

I was also thinking about getting the Pro Ex. I have heard very good things about this reel, but for the T/RX, I have heard bad things about it. And think about it: 100 lbs of drag on a 50 is a little unreasonable.

Hi Tuna, I agree, 100 pds of drag would also be short of impossible on a standup but since companies are often known to overrate things didn't know if that was the case here. ya know?

[hotreels jr]

We use both 50 wides and 80s on short bent butt rods. Lately we have just been sticking the rod in the holder and fighting like that. Its a tough call, because these fish that we saw most of the year (62''-75'') will be for the most part 73''+ fish next year. Who knows if they will stick around our area or go up north where there is bait. Whats good to see this fall was the 40''-55'' fish around. Those fish should be around next year, and for that I would stay with 50 wides. Its really a toss up. Like others said, you can fight 80s and 80 wides stand up, so why not go with those? Check out the classifieds, you can pick up some good deals

[gmoney]

If your in a harness and all strapped in, go with 80's. if you decide its a small fish, take the drag down a hair and have fun with him. if your getting ur a$$ kicked in the harness, go to the rod holder.

And yes, the Braid harness is absolutely awesome, takes the strain off your back, you really end up using your thighs and butt muscles, and you can put the hammer down on the big fish.


next year I'd like to try and stand up to a giant (not an 7 or 800 lb fish but a 75 or 80 inch class fish)