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Posts: 2027
| Disclaimer- I am not a professional and fish less and catch less than almost all of you, so this is not review. Nor is it a Tranx... So zip it Tranx lovers.
I had a NaCl 60 and enjoyed the feel of it for palming and it pulled 10s well with the power/jigging handle in the furthest position. But, I had issues with it engaging on the cast at times, and had to have it repaired.
Along comes the Toro S, which Steve Worrall let me try out last summer. So, I decided to order the Toro S 60 this winter for a Christmas present to myself. It comes with the stock balanced power handle, which didn't pull 10s as easily as I would prefer. So, I got an unbalanced power/jigging handle from someone on here. Tested it out and settled on the middle position, which worked well for 10s. I rarely throw 10s anymore, but just wanted the option to easily cast them.
I was able to fish Kinkaid for 2 days this weekend and I can now confidently say, the S is a great reel. It definitely outcasts the NaCl,with the disengaging levelwind. You can also hardly feel a Showgirl sized lure either. We were not moving fish, so I tried 10s and 9s and they were easy to work-I even put on a small Dawg out of desparation... The narrower spool and taller frame made reeling more comfortable and less fatiguing. I have small hands and palming is not an issue with the fat TI handle. I used it as my main reel and had it in my hands most of the time. I didn't have 1 incident of the reel engaging, whereas with the NaCL it was engaging almost daily on me at the beginning of a trip (simply because I was not used to casting as I only use it a couple weeks a year). The narrower thumb bar also depresses each time without issue. Line pickup was great with bomb casts, and I had to slow down to slow roll spinners through timber.
The only negative I had was with lighter lures. I had trouble dialing in 1 oz spinnerbaits and stock showgirl size lures. But my homemade showgirl sized lures are weighted heavier and I had no issue with them, or 2 oz spinners.
Overall, I'm very pleased I sold my NaCL and paid $40 over what I got for it. The 3 extra inches of pickup (that's what she said) will make it easier to zip in the showgirls. It may not burn them like some other HS reels, but for slow rolling 10s at night, it'll be a great reel for me. Get a jigging handle for it and you'll be set. | |
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Posts: 283
Location: US | I got one this winter as well, but have yet to try it as season is still closed here. Glad to hear you like it, looking forward to trying mine out.
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Posts: 859
Location: MN | Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I picked one up myself to use on my bigger bait rod. Sounds like things should work well for me. | |
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Posts: 267
| What is a jigging handle? Can you post a link? | |
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Posts: 283
Location: US | It's basically a power handle without the balancing weight opposite the handle. They have a tendency to engage on the cast since they aren't balanced.
https://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/products.php/nav_id/40/page/2...
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Posts: 143
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Or if you're certain people on a certain facebook group you think they also cause to much torque on the reel and cause issues. I use one and its great! | |
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Posts: 2027
| Smell_Esox - 4/19/2016 2:34 PM
What is a jigging handle? Can you post a link?
Like anderj85 said, it's a power-handle that is not counter-balanced. The one in the link posted is for the NaCl, and has 2 positions. The new power/jigging handle that fits the Toro S is from a Toro Beast, but fits the Toro S, and has 3 positions. The 2nd/middle position on the Beast power handle is a bit longer than the NaCl one in the longest/2nd position, and works well for me on my Toro S. The Toro S and Toro Beast handles are all interchangeable between the two, but will not fit a NaCl, or older Toro model. The problem with the unbalanced NaCl handle was that they engaged on the cast, especially bomb casts for me. I did not have that problem with the Toro S. Maybe because it was in the middle position? Maybe because the taller frame? Maybe because it's narrower and the thumbbar is also narrower, so I am engaging it easier. I don't know, just that I didn't have any problems with it engaging, and that means no wearing out the gears from my mistakes.
Yes, some on that group have posted about the increased torque on the reel ( but there's a lot of BS on that group too). But, it's not the handle causing the torque, it's the big blades being brought in. Since the gearing is beefed up on the S and Beast, we'll have to see if that's a real issue over time, or one people are simply wondering about. People have been using extended power handles on their reels with lesser components for a while, so it's not the handles causing the problems, it the baits we are throwing with what reel. A Curado 300ej or Lexa 200 shouldn't be used with 10s and a long power handle, but people do... | |
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| Thanks for the thoughts. Can't wait to use mine this year. Only 10 days left! If you have issues with the reel engaging when you cast, try turning the rod so that the handle is on top (spool's axle pointing UP) when you back-cast and keep in that position so the handle is on the bottom when you finish the cast. That way, there's no torque to the handle which might make it rotate, which is usually what causes the reel to engage on a cast. All it takes is a slight turn of your wrist before casting... Doing this, even a heavy, unbalanced power handle can be managed. | |
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Posts: 2027
| Tried it, but motor memory doesn't get conditioned that easily. Which means I tried and it alway didn't work because I don't get to fish consistently. My only point was I had a problem, but did not have the problem with the S. | |
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