Top Water Reels...
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79641
Printed Date: 06 Jun 2026 at 5:47am
Topic: Top Water Reels...
Posted By: tas-tackle
Subject: Top Water Reels...
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 7:38pm
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Been looking at Reels to use for topwater and LBG and even a "fish your feet" surfcaster.. I like my fishing gear to be versatile if I can...The thing is not everyone can afford a Stella or Saltiga.. so we want the next best affordable reel money can buy when on a budget.. The Stradic 8000FJ seems to be the go to mid range reel but I thought I would have a look see at others in this range.. Baitrunner 8000D and the Penn Conquer 7000 were the next reels around that price bracket... Baitrunner 8000D 50/290 braid.. 25lb drag.. 3+1 bearings.. 4.8:1 ratio 21.7 oz Stardic 8000FJ 50/265 braid.. 29lb drag.. 5+1 bearings.. 4.8:1 ratio 20.5 oz Penn 7000 Conquer 50/250 braid.. 32lb drag.. 10+1 bearings.. 4.8:1 ratio 18.1 oz Now there are many differing features that all three reels have and I particularly like the EAS system of the Penn .. The Stradic is the dearest, Baitrunner next and finally the Penn.. Construction material and waterproof drags aside, the features listed above seem to me be the ones a buyer would most likely initially look for ... so I cant figure out why the PENN would not be the more popular choice... Your thoughts and opinions.. .  ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow">  http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Replies:
Posted By: Moocha
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 8:27pm
| Why no http://www.fishingdirectnz.co.nz/shop/Shop+By+Brand/Shimano/Shimano+THUNNUS+BTR+CI4+8000.html - Shimano Thunus 8000 CI4 in the mix extra bearing , smoother etc ... |
Posted By: ponty
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 8:49pm
| Depending what you are doing the most, you hear people say casting a heavy reel for top water fishing is tiring, so I got a stradic 8000fj. However if you are going to be doing more lb and surfcasting I am sure a baitrunner would be a better option. stradic 8000fj have dropped in price recently to 300 so it is pretty dam good value for money. |
Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 8:56pm
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moocha.. price.. all the others are under 300... Ponty... specs of Penn are better... its lighter.. more drag... also 100 cheaper than stradic ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Posted By: ponty
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:00pm
Totally they def seem like the value for money reel. I know marine deals always have good prices on the penn. I am just branded fisherman and waste money on "branded" reels. The drag system itself is better in the stradic but do people really notice stuff like that. |
*fisher* wrote:Posted By: petethemeat
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:07pm
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Fin nor Offshore spin 5500? 48lb drag, Cap 50/375 (braid), bit heavier at 26oz though.
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Posted By: Moocha
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:13pm
I bought me a Shimano Thunnus 8000 well under $300 off here today complete with couple hundred meters of 50lb braid...it can be done 
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Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:15pm
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The Penn has HT100... pretty good stuff really....32 pounds You hit the nail on the head...ponty... are we so brand orientated we dont look further... Have we been brainwashed by good marketing to go for the "brand" when we want to get gear... I haven't looked at Fin Nor yet but always thought they would be too heavy casting over and over.. .. and I am also guilty of brand buying... Sometime a little bit of investigation can reveal some specs one wouldn't assume ... ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:16pm
You were lucky ... I had my finger on the trigger as well for that thunnus... but decided to go a different route...Moocha... I was more thinking about purchasing a reel brand new... ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Posted By: Moocha
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:20pm
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Same but too good to pass up at that price , had a preliminary pull apart and she is sweet and even with a service and new drag (not that its needed) money well spent
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Posted By: Lineburningthugs
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:30pm
| does no-one cast overheads anymore? |
Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 9:45pm
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Good price. have had a couple of reel from him and all good... Lineburningthugs... so what o/h reel would you recommend under 300 bucks to be competitive.. I had a Saltiga 30 Surf and it was a magnificent reel but it was just too fast for me.. Prob is this class of reel is over the 300 mark and then what rod would you put with it... are there a lot of choices as there is with spin rods and reels which seems to be the norm for top water... ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Posted By: ponty
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 10:16pm
| Totally agree with you about brands. I am finding after 8 combos of shimano I am starting to look at daiwa and go man that is such a good price oh wait I have the shimano version. I think then penn would do the job fine. I think you would only notice the difference between the stradic and penn if you were casting every day of the week and lets face it most of us go once a week max. I have never heard of top water fishing with oh. I am sure people out there can do it, I can cast more than 5m with oh so would never think about it. |
Posted By: Titahi
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 10:34pm
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I picked up a small 4500 Diawa Catalina landed for $350 from Plat which where having a garage sale on them owing to making room for the new catalinas and saltigas. 10 kilo of drag and an indestructable waterproof reel that could fit the bill? Slightly smaller than the ones you mentioned, but nearly as much drag, and a unbeatable reputation ------------- "I love standing by the ocean and just knowing what its for" |
Posted By: scuzzymoto
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2012 at 10:52pm
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alot of the guys in Hawaii use O/H for top water off the bricks, also the guys in S.A, here in NZ and Aussie we tend to use more egg beaters, ------------- "It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled” Mark Twain |
Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2012 at 3:09pm
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Titahi..... Nice reel with a good drag... I think price/affordability will always dictate what we buy and hopefully in the brand we want... Shimano have a great rep just as Yamaha have with outboards but Honda, Suzuki are all up there now.. Daiwa, Penn and to some degree Fin Nor are now coming to the fore ... Why?? because they are now better products and competition at affordable prices.. scuzzymoto.. I was in Hawaii last march/april and went to about 5 tackle shops in Oahu and Maui... Not a stickbait in sight... not a baitcaster in sight.. and the smallest reel I saw was a 30 size... They seem to cater to the game fishing punters ... sure there were some Stella s and other LARGE size spin reels...and if you wanted a 50 or 80 reel you were well catered for.. ponty "would only notice the difference between the stradic and penn if you were casting every day of the week" I agree... not a great deal of weight difference but my point is that the Penn is lighter.. cheaper by 100 bucks.. more drag.. more bearings.. EAS system for self servicing... but we buy a Stradic because its a Shimano... and everyone else has one .. ------------- http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz |
Posted By: subaruboi
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2012 at 6:10pm
| stradic 8000fj $275 on ebay including shipping :) |
Posted By: Manoa
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2012 at 4:45am
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What about a new Okuma Vsystem. They are reel good.
------------- SAVE THE TUNA |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2012 at 10:40am
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Look around, you will find Quantum Boca 80 reels for a stupidly cheap price.... if any are left that is. Great reels, I have been using them now for a year or so, faultless for poppering here in the islands. All the drag you'll need. Plenty of line cap. and, if they are still in the shops, they should be around the 200 mark I think. When they come back into the country, expect them to double in price at least. These are not a cheap reel, they were just sold very cheaply to clear the shelves ready for the next batch to arrive. I wish I hadda picked up a couple more really...
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Posted By: fishmad1
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2012 at 8:42pm
------------- www.hi-ika.com |
Posted By: useless
Date Posted: 16 Jun 2012 at 4:00pm
| what about okuma salina 16000? i brought one for the wife as backup, i use it heaps now, massive drag....you can get 2 differrent ratios, super smooth....best bang for bucks reel i have |
Posted By: straks007
Date Posted: 16 Jun 2012 at 10:33pm
| I recently picked up the Okuma Salina II 16000 High Speed reel and although I am yet to use it in anger it feels like a beast of a reel. Bloody good reel for its price. |
Posted By: PoppinTonga
Date Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 8:34pm
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There is some great opinions on reels on this thread. To add a thought to your purchase decision, make sure you are going to be happy with the parts and service you may need for your reel. I personally only have experience with Penn Spinfishers and Shimano Saragosa and Stella and I am happy with being able to get parts for these models. I have noticed with some of the Penn reels that have come and gone recently that the parts support is not there anymore. (I could be looking in the wrong places though) Nothing worse than needing parts, or service and not being able to get it.
------------- Tis better to have hooked and lost than never to have hooked at all. |
Posted By: jaypeegee
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 9:00am
NecroBUmp Anyone? Just started looking a possibilities for this Have a Quantim Boca that I will sacrifice to the gods of Trademe if there is a possible candidate Guessing I need a few kg of drag and levelwind Would a baitcaster be sufficient/capable? This to be used from the bricks Thoughts/? ------------- "You don't have to be smart to laugh at a fart, but you have to be stupid not to." |
Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 4:48pm
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O/H I use a shimano TSM4 and a fin-or 5500 OS for spinning also have sl50sh for the O/H if needed the tsm4 has a power handle on it. ------------- Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland |
Posted By: jaypeegee
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 6:48pm
I forsee issues without a level wind mechanism tho? How do you get around this? Issue or not? I am probably too uncoordinated to work a lure on retrieve and also lay the line just yet.. ------------- "You don't have to be smart to laugh at a fart, but you have to be stupid not to." |
Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 6:59pm
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no issues mate a well trained thumb helps, level winds are great for very slow retrieves like salmon fishing hence why the abu is a favoured reel ------------- Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland |
Posted By: jaypeegee
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 7:09pm
I got a couple of sl20shb's a while ago and the ohead design has resonated deeply with me. But i am still getting used to the retrieve.Not sure how much I could sweep a lure and focus on the line lay. Still, time willl tell I have the feeling that I will end up using only free spool reels at some stage and want to explore options so I dont have fixed and free spool oriented rods (and associated cost/investment) If I can find a valid target to aim at then That helps my med term strategy regarding purchases ------------- "You don't have to be smart to laugh at a fart, but you have to be stupid not to." |