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Posts: 12
Location: Bowling Green, Ky | Hi all. I live in Bowling Green, Ky. and like to fish for Musky in the Barren and Green Rivers. I am in the market for a good musky reel. I know that most musky fishermen like to use baitcasting reels; but, being female, I am not comfortable using those large reels (and besides, I spend more time fighting backlash than I do fighting fish). I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good heavy spinning reel? I have been thinking about a Penn ss series or a Shimano Sahara. The Penn is basically a saltwater reel but it's about the same size as the Mitchell 300 and I can handle those pretty well. Does anyone have any experience with either of these reels? I'm wanting to stay under $100.00 if possible (you know the kid's got to eat and all). Thanks.  |
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| I have tought a handful of girlfriends to use a bait caster in just a few minutes.
Trust me, get a baitcaster, you will be much happier in the long run. If you are having problems with backlashes, just tighten up the magnets.
Midge |
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Posts: 152
| If a spinning reel is what you want The Penn would be a good choice. Penn reels are solid and have a good drag. They are like a shovel, nothing fancy, but they work. Later |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Ditto on the quality and durability of the Penn. The new Mitchell reels are good too.
I greatly agree if you spend some time with a bait caster it will come along with time. My 8 yr old boy spent a few long afternoons casting a bolt I tied on out in the yard and got the hang of it quite well. Don't be afraid to tighten that knob on the side that slows down your spool (usually behind the star drag by the handle). After tying on your practice casting plug, tighten it so that the lure will freefall with the spool released but the spool will not keep spinning when it hits the ground. That is set just about right. For starters you might want to tighten it just a wee bit more. Forget about distance for now. Just work on casting without a backlash. Then work on casting accuracy and no backlash. Then slowly loosen up the cast "controll" knob and you will see better distance. Also for beginners..don't cast into the wind. The lure will slow down fast and the spool will keep running.
I think you will find casting large lures with leaders will be much better with a baitcaster. With an open face the lure can tumble and your treble hooks will foul on your leader. With the baitcaster the lure will tend to stay straight and pulling the line out with far less tangles.
Best of luck with whatever you fish with. Welcome to the board and the disease! |
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Posts: 1438
| I've got a Shimano Stradic 4000 that I use on my jigging rod.
Spool that with some medium weight superline and you should have a decent outfit.
Slight over 100 bucks though. I think it was 129 but not positive. |
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Posts: 12
Location: Omaha | I was a big fan of my Mitchell 300 until a 13lb catfish busted out the worm gear in it. Maybe I had a lemon, but I would look at the Penn reels like you were thinking. |
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Posts: 12
Location: Bowling Green, Ky | Thanks for the info lobi. I've tried baitcasters before and I just get too frustrated with them ( I'm not known for my patience when it comes to something messing with my fishing.  ) And I have caught two nice musky fishing with a Mitchell 300. The problem is that the Mitchell is about 30 yrs old and is beginning to show it's age and I just don't want to be playing the fish of my life when it finally passes on to reel heaven. I might give the baitcasters another try ( my husband has a few) I really like being able to backreel when playing my fish. I just feel like I have better control. |
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Posts: 12
Location: Bowling Green, Ky | Thanks theedz155. I haven't looked at the Stradics. I've been using 40# spiderwire braid on my Mitchell. |
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Posts: 12
Location: Bowling Green, Ky | Thanks Duggert. Like I told lobi, I've caught two nice fish with my Mitchell but it's just getting too old. |
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Posts: 12
Location: Bowling Green, Ky | Someone has offered to sell me a Tica Libra 3500 spinning reel with a 6'-6" St.Croix rod for $100.00. Has anyone used one of these reels? I had never heard of them but after doing some searching on the web, I found lots of info on buying them but very few reviews.  |
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Posts: 32959
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Tica makes a fine spinning reel, you would be happy with the rig, I think. I use spinning rods alot for my cranks and creatures because they are way faster than a casting rod. I use a couple Mitchell Titanium reels I got quite some time ago, very happy with them. |
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