The last handful of times out were great catching trips for me, but today wasn't. Wound up putting a nice skunk on the boat. Fished several southend places, found fish, but couldn't get them to commit. I had plans of pulling a lot of leadcore today, but changed my mind after I had to reel the line back in a couple of times. There is nothing fun about leadcore, but I will admit it catches fish. It hit me like a ton of bricks today "why in the hell did I not buy a reel for leadcore that has a high speed retrieval ratio"???? Have any of you ever thought the same? I'm convinced you could put a few more colors of lead on a Penn 330, but dear Jesus they wind in slow - you have to crank your a$$ off to get the line back in.

Last Saturday, I had found a couple of places to fish all by myself, but I noticed today there were 10 boats in most places I wanted to go. Saturdays on Lanier....ya can't beat em.

The wind was awful, but there were plenty of fish to be caught - I just didn't get the job done. Too much football on the brain to concentrate on the stripers this time of year for me I guess.

Till next time.

Shimano Speedmaster with 6:1 gear ratio works good for leadcore. Today was very tough day, only managed one, and lost a downrigger ball.

How much are those speedmasters? Do they have line counters? Whay is the ratio of the Penn 330. That is what I use. Thanks!!

The speedmasters are not cheap, but they are about as fast a retrieve as you can find. I use them for lead core and for offshore trolling for kings, etc. They hold a ton of line also.

Corey
Your Saltists are all high speed6:1 gear ratio

I think the Penn 330 is something like 3.6:1 vs the 6:1 on the speedmasters. Don't think the speedmasters have a levelwind on them though, if that matters to you (I may be wrong). I'm currently having to fix 3 levelwinds on the shimanos I use for downlining (cheap fix though), but the drags are great and the ones I use are pretty cheap. I think the issue on my level wind is anglers in my boat pulling directly against the reel when they get hung in the trees, putting too much pressure on the level wind.

If you don't need level wind, try an Avet SX or MX. Great reels with great customer service and made in the US. If you get the MC feature you can cast a mile with very little if any backlash. I have an LX which is basically a #30 reel. The SX is a #10 and the MXL and MXJ are #20. I can cast aroumd 70 yards when its mounted on a surf rod and I am not that good at casting. Anyway, the SX runs around $158 without the MC feature (magnetic cast control) and $199 with. The MX with MC is around $219. May be a little pricy, but these reels compare to reels that cost a great deal more. You may want to ask Avet about the South Florida drag cam, Lets you have less drag at strike and still have drag in the bait position. It cost between $15 and $25 depending on whether you order the whole drag lever, but Avet sent me mine for free. Oh, if you put a non MC in free spool and spin the spool, the dang spool will spin for close to a minute before stopping indicating how well made these reel are.

My LX is a 4.6:1, but I would recommend a 6.1:1. I think both the SX and MX reels are 5.8:1. There are two speed model available, but the cost quit a bit more.

Anyway, come the fall and spring, I'm going to be able to reach out a bit further from the bank. I got a little frustrated last spring watching stripers rolling just beyond my cast range.

Yeah, I had the leadcore on Saltist reels last year, but changed them back out for big fish fishing.

Honestly, I'm a leadcore hater and that is the reason I put the lead on the Penn reel gitty-ups I got. I had these rods and reels wound with 50 lb Big Game for big big fish fishing, but seems like I can't ever go. Boo Hoo.

Kepler, if you're a bank fisherman and fish are rolling just past your casting range, don't sweat it...throw out cut bait. They will come to cut bait.

Im with you Corey, trolling is not much fun, especially if you had dbls and triples on Downlines before. When I take my 6yr and 4yrld, nothing beats trolling. I put them in the back, open a bag of snacks, and they are content for a bit. I even bring their Nintendo DS to pass the time.

HOWEVER, when by myself or with my brother, trolling is fairly boring. Any carpet bagger or carpet muncher can catchem trolling sooner or later.


Keepler,

Even a boat, the stripers are always just out of reach.

Now thats funny.....I don't care who you are.