Reel advice - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Phishphood · 03-27-2021, 10:02 PM

Hey guys- trying to get all my gear in order with a new life-plan and game plan for how often I'll be able to fish and for what.

I'm aiming to hit LJ by yak maybe 3 or 4 times a year with a 1.5day cattle boat trip and maybe a 1/2 day per year. In short- not a lot of water time but I'll live with that. Mostly try to target YT on the yak.

My current kayak setup has me bringing out 2 old reels for most of my work. I tend to like to drift with a greenback out and would like to start doing more jig work, whether it's surface irons or yoyo-ing or SPJ-ish. I paddle blindly without tech, so the more ground I cover and with various methods seems to get the best results.

I have an old Daiwa SG27LC spooled with 20lb braid that I use on a lighter rod for smaller lures, mostly for bass, cuda etc. It works, but retrieve ipt is pretty abysmal so doesn't really work well for any type of jigging. Managed to get a 30#+ YT to gaff (botched the shot and knocked the hook) but not sure I want to repeat that experience with this reel.

My bait reel has been an old Daiwa Sealine LD50h spooled with 65 braid. It works, but drag is definitely lacking which isn't a big issue on the yak but won't work well if I hook up to a YFT on my one trip a year. It's an old style particle board type drag washer that doesn't have a Carbontex equivalent.

Also at my disposal are:
Penn Squidder 140 with 20# mono
Daiwa Sealine 50h with 40# mono
Penn Senator 4/0 113h with 60# mono
Saltist? big, with LD and 2 speed spooled with 80# braid for the big fish
these 4 need work to be usable:
Penn - 113, 113h, 114h, monofil 25

I know I can make it all work for most trips, but everything is pretty dated and definitely feeling the slower retrieves when I try to yoyo etc. I've been thinking of picking up a smallish 'all-purpose' reel that would be my main jigging reel on the yak but could pull it's weight if needed on my 1.5 trip for schoolie size tuna. Mostly have it narrowed down to a Fathom 15 XNLD2 or a Shimano Torium 14. Any thoughts on either of these and/or strong suggestions for another reel? Definitely looking to keep it in the smaller size and price.

03-27-2021, 10:02 PM	#1
Phishphood Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 345	Reel advice Hey guys- trying to get all my gear in order with a new life-plan and game plan for how often I'll be able to fish and for what. I'm aiming to hit LJ by yak maybe 3 or 4 times a year with a 1.5day cattle boat trip and maybe a 1/2 day per year. In short- not a lot of water time but I'll live with that. Mostly try to target YT on the yak. My current kayak setup has me bringing out 2 old reels for most of my work. I tend to like to drift with a greenback out and would like to start doing more jig work, whether it's surface irons or yoyo-ing or SPJ-ish. I paddle blindly without tech, so the more ground I cover and with various methods seems to get the best results. I have an old Daiwa SG27LC spooled with 20lb braid that I use on a lighter rod for smaller lures, mostly for bass, cuda etc. It works, but retrieve ipt is pretty abysmal so doesn't really work well for any type of jigging. Managed to get a 30#+ YT to gaff (botched the shot and knocked the hook) but not sure I want to repeat that experience with this reel. My bait reel has been an old Daiwa Sealine LD50h spooled with 65 braid. It works, but drag is definitely lacking which isn't a big issue on the yak but won't work well if I hook up to a YFT on my one trip a year. It's an old style particle board type drag washer that doesn't have a Carbontex equivalent. Also at my disposal are: Penn Squidder 140 with 20# mono Daiwa Sealine 50h with 40# mono Penn Senator 4/0 113h with 60# mono Saltist? big, with LD and 2 speed spooled with 80# braid for the big fish these 4 need work to be usable: Penn - 113, 113h, 114h, monofil 25 I know I can make it all work for most trips, but everything is pretty dated and definitely feeling the slower retrieves when I try to yoyo etc. I've been thinking of picking up a smallish 'all-purpose' reel that would be my main jigging reel on the yak but could pull it's weight if needed on my 1.5 trip for schoolie size tuna. Mostly have it narrowed down to a Fathom 15 XNLD2 or a Shimano Torium 14. Any thoughts on either of these and/or strong suggestions for another reel? Definitely looking to keep it in the smaller size and price.