This would be for throwing poppers or any other surface lure one calcutta 700 with 65# Power Pro one 7foot ugly stick tiger 20-50 rate
Ragman will be along shortly and tell you about the drag limitations of this reel. I have watched him use the reel. And use the reel... And.... He caught the yft. Throwing ain't the problem. It does that well. I think that your rod would be good for that too. Putting the brakes on the fish is the problem. It ain't fun knowing that the bite could end at any moment and everybody on the boat is watching the seesaw between one angler and his fish.
JoJo- I am no expert, but have been gearing up for an upcoming 52hr. the article written by Minnow on this site (go to Community lounge > articles ) has some great info on what to take. good luck MO
get a good spinner for throwing tops(I am not an expert in the tuna field but have been there and done that) There are quite a few affordable ones. The 700 will get raped and you will work your butt off to land a big fish on that reel. Casting will be easier and quicker using the spinner, as you do not have to worry about backlashes. I thought about using my 700 matched with trevalla but after having caught a 145lb tuna, i wouldnt pick up the 700 if fish were around. I would hate to hook into anything over 80lbs on the 700 and using anything lighter than extra heavy trevalla will be like fishing with a noodle. If you do use the 700, upgrade the drag. Affordable spinners are the thunnus, bait runner, Cabo, and maybe the penn 8500 or 9500. If you have tons of rods and reels and cash to spare, I am sure McGolfer has a few good ideas.
Don't take a knife to a gunfight! Remember the longer you fight a yellowfin, the less chance you have to land it.
Hey JoJo and welcome to the site! DSG writes of my 700TE that I've promised everyone that I will not use for topwaters at tuna anymore. A big tuna grabbed my popper, unfortunately at about 3:30 a.m.! Long story short is that Rick and Bret had to splice me onto my bigger reel to end the fight. The drag just could not handle what this stubborn tuna was handing out. I've since got a rig that will put out at least 20#'s of drag, a big spinner. BTW, the 700 had just been serviced and had 16#'s of drag easy. It's got 18# now with new drags, but I'm not taking a chance on a big boat in holding my buddies up on what happened to be the last drift on an excellent bite! Everyone was great about it, but I felt bad about it. I still believe I could fish tuna with it, but some of these YFT's can be real hard pullers.
jojo- It certainly has the line capacity (if you use spectra), but I'm not sure of the drag. Most like to chunk with a 2-speed because you usually pick up bigger tuna on the chunk. I haven't fished the Saltist, but you'll get some info here from those that have. If you're just building your arsenal and getting into this thing, you would do well to watch the classified boards from here, www.2coolfishing.com, and AllCoast http://www.allcoastsportfishing.com/forum/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=348 and look to go used, but in great condition. That's how I started until I figured out what worked best for me. If you get your topwater tuna rig (40-50#), then a jig set up (50-60#) and maybe a heavy duty chunk/bait rig (80#) you will cover 99% of the fishing in the Gulf. Penn is a real good previously owned reel, that if you find one in good shape, like a 30W, you'll be good! EDIT: http://www.allcoastsportfishing.com/forum/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=348&topic_id=46408&mesg_id=46408&page=4 Penn 50W with line, older, but says in good condition for $200.
The 50W and 30W were single speeds from the factory. The 50S and 30S are factory 2 speeds with narrow frames. The 50SW and 30SW are factory 2 speed, wide frames. Key words in searching for these type reels are Cal Sheets and Cofe. They both upgrade/blueprint reels. Cal Sheets preforms 2 speed and left hand conversions.
I also have a new 8500ss that I would like to use for popper.I was told there is no way to inprove on this drag system
LOL, you can PALM a baitcaster to get more drag too! If you can't retrieve line then what are you gaining? What did Txseadog do to his 8500? I want to say that he changed a plastic washer for a drag washer. Unfortunately, I can not search the board where that was posted.
