Reel for DFA planer rods

[John_Bray]

I finally bit the bullet and have BayRunner Rods making me two DFA planer rods. I am trying to make the best decision on reels since these setups will be used for more than just dragging a planer - I will use these same bent-butt rods/reels for Blue Marlin in the summer and for dragging high-speed Wahoo lures in the fall. I have viewed all the technical stuff on the various reels but still have questions.....so here goes.

If a #16 Old Salty planer puts 50+ pounds of pull on the rod/reel at trolling speed, how can a Tiagra 80 work properly? According to its published specs, it only provides 44 pounds of drag. I was back in the states a few weeks ago and took a hard look at the Tiagra, 50 and 80, and the Avet 50 wide which, according to Avet, provides 57 pounds of drag. To be honest, I would love to go with the Tiagra 50 wide since its only $25 more than the same size Avet but it is not capable of the same amount of drag as the Avet. Nothing against the Avet as it looks like a quality piece but since I live in a remote area, it makes more sense (to me anyway) to spend 25 bucks more and go with the Tiagra (if the 44lbs of drag is enough).

Help a rookie planer guy out here please, I don't really know which way to go and definitely do not want to spend $1,300 - $1,700 on two new reels and find out they won't cut the mustard.

[John_Bray]

One more thing I'll add that may affect recommendations, we don't have huge BFT out here like on the East Coast. The "norm" for our species in these parts is:

Wahoo - up to 50lbs
Blue Marlin - up to 300lbs
Mahi - up to 40 lbs
Yellow Fin Tuna - up to 70lbs

There are exceptions naturally but the above sizes are the "norm" at to about 15 miles from shore where I tend to fish the most. I mention this in the event the only reason I should go with a Tiagra 80 (over the 50) is line capacity.

[anthony]

John,

I really should just let the BOX answer this but he can add anything that I leave out. 50 wides will NOT work, will not put enough drag to keep the planer from stripping line off the reel. The Tiagra 80wide is a proven product, the BOX uses it everyday and seems to catch fish on it everyday. Can't really comment on the Avet, I'm sure it is a quality piece but they are a new company and what happens if they go out of business down the road and you can't get parts for your big $$$ reel? Personally, I would buy the Tiagra 80wide. Good luck to ya.

[John_Bray]

Thank you Anthony...the trouble in understanding all of this for me is that both the Tiagra 80 and the 50 provide 44lbs max drag. This is according to the 2005 Shimano product catalogue I picked up at a tackle dealer in San Diego two weeks ago. If this is either b.s., a misprint, or my misreading it, please let me know. I understand an Old Salty #16 will pull 50-55lbs at trolling speed and if the drag numbers I mention above are accurate, I can't understand how a Tiagra 80 will work either. I have no problem ponying up the extra $400 for 80's (over the cost of two 50 wides) but I want to make sure I actually need the bigger reels. We don't have giant BFT out here that can strip 500 yards of line from you in an instant and the vast majority of our YFT are puny by east coast standards. Thanks for sharing....I'm just trying to understand all of this.

[flatbottom]

this snapshoot is from the 2006 catalog in a pdf format from shamino website. I think it is max drag with FREE SPOOL.

[Bite Me]

I'm going to chime in here and in doing so will no doubt be stepping on my own jimmy.
Penn 80's Shimano 50's may and I repeat may get the job done with a #16 at shallower depths. But if you want to go deep, I mean really deep, they won't hold. Don't even think about a 24 and even with the 16 if you get any kind of following sea your going to strip line like a banshee. You can crank the drags down to the point that they will hold but in doing so you loose your free spool. Like the man said, " I know some of you will want to try and change it." Well, I did and I think you know the rest of the story.

[John_Bray]

BITE ME - Thanks dude Just to be clear here, I'm not questioning Marty's or anyone elses technical expertise on reels and such, just trying to understand the underlying logic...I actually thought the T80 had more drag capability and was very surprised when I read the specs from Shimano that said their 50 and 80 both had identical drag numbers

[Going Deep]

I recently bit the bullet as well and had a DFA rod built..did the same research as your doing now and ended up spending the bucks to do as suggested...Tiagra 80..you won't be disapointed.....if you decide to go that route, let me know as I found a dealer that will let them go for $690 each..these are the 06 models.....all that's left is filling them with power pro which isn't cheap

Do it right the first time, you won't be disapointed

[Bite Me]

Just bought a Tiagra 80 brand new on E-bay for 600 bucks........
Look around like Going Deep says, buy it right, buy it once.

[Capt-D]

Just bought a Tiagra 80 brand new on E-bay for 600 bucks........
Look around like Going Deep says, buy it right, buy it once.

Lou,

Your so kind. And to think my birthday isn't till October

-D