"newell 338,trinidad 40, or torium 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by tptrench
Which one would you use for throwing surface iron? Thanks
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Whew...thank goodness for the change in weather because my arms couldn't take much more. Being that it's my first day off work in a while, I'll bite
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Unless these are reels you already own...I'd suggest keeping your options open.
#1 The Newell 338: This reel has outstanding free-spool and is the go to reel for most deckhands on the West Coast. So if you're trying to fit in wearing your folded down Extra Tuff boots---go for it! Besides the great free-spool and looking cool aspect, I think most guys still use this reel for the easy service associated with it. It's easy to breakdown, easy to put a couple of drops of speed X on the bearings and most sportboats carry extra parts for these reels, too. Personally, not my favorite reel but obviously capable of doing the job. In my professional opinion, this is not a wise choice unless you are already casting at an expert level.
#2 Shimano Trinidad 40: This would be my go-to, straight 50 lb mono, yo-yo iron reel for sixty pound Cedros Island Yellowtail over heavy structure with forty guys standing shoulder to shoulder. It's too big and heavy, in my opinion, for a local surface-iron reel. It's an awesome reel, but the last one I'd pick out your reels you listed. I feel the same about the Torium 30; it's too big and heavy. Not to mention, the spool on Torium 30 is a little too wide. I know this because I used to have a Torium 30 on one of my Uluas, but eventually switched to the Torium 20.
#3 Shimano Torium 20 : It's a fact, you can cast farther with a Torium 20 due to the perfect height and width of the spool. Which is really what you should be considering when you purchase a reel, specifically for casting iron with a long rod. A few other reels that have this same perfect height and width of the spool are the Newell 338, Daiwa Saltist 40, Daiwa Sealine 40...to name a few. Enough of that, back to the Torium 20: this is the reel I used to love on my jig-sticks. Those days are over, though, and I'll tell you why. For one, I've broke the anti-reverse bearing on the Torium 20 over thirty times (a.k.a. The Knuckle Buster!). I've not only got the scars to prove it, but I'm pretty sure I fractured a finger in the process, too. It was swollen and hurt for five months, but I only go to the doctor when I can't stop the bleeding or can't breathe
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Not only that, but you need to be an engineer to service this reel yourself. For the guys that can do it, or are stubborn enough to do it...good for you. I'd rather go fishing myself. When you open this reel, it's a cute little mechanical bomb. And be prepared for springs and $h!^ to go flying everywhere. This is when I pack all the little parts, I can find, into a brown bag and send it in for service by a professional. If you insist on buying this reel, at least, put in a double-dog anti reverse and save your fingers!
If you're buying a conventional reel to cast surface-iron, for the kayak...I'd suggest picking up one of two reels. The first is a Daiwa Sealine 40. It's free-spool is just as good as a Newell 338. I can cast this reel just as far as any deckhand with a Newell (so can you with practice). It's durable as hell and takes abuse and keeps on ticking. It's got the perfect height and width as mentioned above. It's $109 at Squid Co. and I bet Charkbait has it on the cheap, too. It's easy to service and I've never had bloody knuckles from fishing with locked-down drags on bruiser Yellowtail with it. I'm man enough to admit that if the color scheme matched my four jig-sticks a little better...I'd have it on my jig-sticks, too. Unfortunately, black and gold would clash with any of my beautiful girls so it's not an option for me. The annoying clicking sound when you wind kind of bugs me, too (same for the Newell).
I use the Daiwa Saltist 40 on all my jig-sticks today. I've caught hundreds of Yellowtail on these reels and never broke the anti-reverse. Not once. Having bloody knuckles is a choice, apparently, so I'll leave that up to you. While this reel doesn't quite have the free-spool of the Sealine (I'm talking a tiny fraction of loss in free spool here). This reel is made to pull hard and is built a little better in my opinion. It's easy to service, doesn't make that annoying clicking sound and is priced below the Torium 20. They look like a tight mini-skirt on my beautiful girls, too. Which is important to me because I fondle them daily.
If you want to spend a little more and know that you're going to be distance challenged, I'll add another option. The Avet JX with Magic Cast. This reel is bullet proof, made for fishing heavy drag, easy to service and from what I've heard casts well. The only downside to this reel is you'll have to service it a bit more frequently than either of the Daiwa reels I mentioned. Not an issue since it's easy to do it yourself, though. The Avet LX would be the same as a Torium 30; too wide for efficient, repetitive casting and winding.
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If you know you're never going to be able to cast, long distance with control...don't rule out the coffee-grinders with spectra. Looking cool is an option; one we all face as the individual we choose to be. Remember, above all, catching Yellowtail on the surface-iron is much, much cooler, than simply looking cool.
In the words of Andre 3,000: " What's cooler than cool? Ice cold!"
