Question about Spinning Rod

[tdwcapt]

I own a Chaos 7' spinning rod that is designated as a STSP 15-50. It has a 12" grip, an aluminum reel seat and a butt section with a gimbal. Definately a high end stick. But I was wondering what reel and line I should use and whether or not it would be a good popper rod.

[gman]

it depends on what fish you are targeting. I would assume tuna so with that assumption. I have several Chaos rods and liked them. On the high end for tuna I would suggest a 10000 stella spinner loaded with 65lb braid. On the medium range I would suggest a Quantum Cabo or Boca 70 or 80 size spinner with 65lb braid

[tdwcapt]

Yeah...tunas, hoos, kings etc. What kind of line capacity should I be able to get with 65lb on that Stella?

[gman]

On a 10000 you should get 300 of 65 easy. If capacity is an issue I would suggest buying a 20000 spool as it fits and gives you more capacity or just buy a 20000 its the same body the only difference is the spool

[thenewkid]

hey glenn,

i recently read on the shimano website that the stella fa 10k pulled 65 pounds of drag where as the 20k pulled only 58 pshh only cant believe i said that only 58 pounds. and anotehr difference was the line retrieve with the 10k surpasing the 20k 47 inches to 41 inches is that true or did they misprint that because i find it wierd that a smaller model reel would pull more drag, the line retrieve i kinda get because of the higher gearing with the 10k being 6.0:1 and the 20k being 4.4:1 lol boy im confused hope you can help me out here.

[txseadog]

You're on the money about the line retrieve. The 10K and 20K are the exact same size with only difference being gear ratio. The spools are interchangable on current 10k and 20K FA and SW series -- sometimes called 2003 models The SWs are the Japanese Domestic market (JDM) versions that come with a 16K spare spool and a few extra goodies not packaged with the US version. The spools on the older F-series (98 model) are not interchange.

The reason the 10K puts out more drag is spool design. It has a casting spool with slightly different lip and larger drag washers on the top of the spool.

Originally Posted by thenewkid

hey glenn,

i recently read on the shimano website that the stella fa 10k pulled 65 pounds of drag where as the 20k pulled only 58 pshh only cant believe i said that only 58 pounds. and anotehr difference was the line retrieve with the 10k surpasing the 20k 47 inches to 41 inches is that true or did they misprint that because i find it wierd that a smaller model reel would pull more drag, the line retrieve i kinda get because of the higher gearing with the 10k being 6.0:1 and the 20k being 4.4:1 lol boy im confused hope you can help me out here.

[gman]

First you need to decide what the reel will do the most ... cast or jig or equal. That will help make the decision. You are correct, on all facts. To me the choice is simple if you plan to cast with the reel buy the 10,000FA. It has both the higher drag & higher retrieve but to be honest anything over 35-40 lbs. of drag on a spinner is irrelevant because most wont hold up long.

For casting I only use the 10,000 FA, for jigging I use the SW20000PG (Japanese Model/Power gear). All our casting set-ups are the 10,000's with either the 10,000 spools or the 20,000 spools.

[tdwcapt]

I'll be doing a lot of casting and some jigging. Poppers for tunas and the iron for wahoo and kings. Sounds like the 10K with a 20K spool is what I need. I don't think it is realistic to be able to put more than 30lbs of drag on a spinner as the rod would probably blow up. I've used spinning tackle for years, mostly 20lb and under for sailfish, tarpon, etc. But this heavy tackle spinning for tunas, hoos and AJs with this gear is completely new to me.

What kind of drag settings are you guys using when fighting these fish? I don't really care what any reel can get out of the box. I mean you'll never really put 65lbs of drag on a tuna with a spinning rod that is rated for 40 or 50lb. I'm only interested in what it will do on a fish in a real fight.

[skip]

How does the Cabo 80PT compare to a Spheros 14000FA without any upgrades?

Am looking for a spinning reel for Tuna as well, Bluefin max 75lbs.

Thanks