During the two decades of fishing the beaches in the UK I was always armed with a multiplier reel, usually an early Penn model; a Penn 160 or 180 being highly favoured at the time. During the 70's, ABU of Sweden introduced their Ambassador range and these chalked up most of the casting records at the time. However, in as much as I would like to have owned the ABU reel, the price was many times that of the Penn, so by necessity I remained satisfied with what I had.
When I arrived in New Zealand, my early months were spent in the far north and at that time I was quickly converted to a fixed spool. I was unused to fishing big surf beaches and these reels were without doubt the way to go, espeially with the conditions one generally encountered on the likes of 'The Ninety Mile Beach'.
Now four decades later, and well into my senior years, I am tempted to make a change and once more trial a multiplier reel, but of course the brands that are popular today are completely unknown to me. Normally I would seek the advice of a local retailer, but unfortunately it's not unknown for some to be more interested in the sale than the client's actual needs.
I would happily make the purchase from Tackle Tactics, but first I would like to handle the reel to be sure it would work well with a Veritas rod. I am concerned the reel seat on the Veritas is fixed (a common design fault) and when using a multiplier I would prefer to have the reel seated at the lower end of the butt section. This issue can be overcome with reel clamps, although it would make the rod look very untidy.
So the crux of the problem is just what reel would be recommended by regular users? I have mentioned many times I only fish with light tackle, five and six ounce sinkers find no favour, so the reel must be at home with four or five kilo breaking strain line and four, preferably three ounce sinkers.
Recommendations based on personal experience would be much appreciated. I have used multiplier reels for many years so I have no worries with over runs and would expect the occasional bird's nest. Some things in life never change.
Penn's 525mag is a solid basic reel if you can find a good second hand one. Mine has withstood all forms of abuse and neglect without problems. It would hold more than enough of your 4-6kg line for most fish. A big ray might see the end of the spool though.. They're not available new these days as far as I know, having been superseded by later models under different names ( Phil would be in the know there)
Not sure if your veritas rod would suit a freespool reel. Freespool rods usually have different guide spacings to avoid the line touching the blank under full bend..
Hi Hangler, the Veritas has not been built to take an overhead reel, but I believe there are enough guides to give it ago. A super safe reel is the new Penn Squall 15 or my favorite the Daiwa SL30SH. Both reels are well priced with good factory backup.
Have a look at the new Penn Squall SQL 15. It has an adjustable magnetic casting brake. Set half way I have had no over run problems and it handles fish well. I have caught smooth hounds to six or seven kilos and a bunch of kahawai with it. Mark Roberts had a cast with this reel on a 12 foot Penn Prevail surf rod and had good things to say too. This is the reel that supercedes the Penn 525 Mag. The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
First up I would run a line through the guides of the rod and see how the line angles look when its bent and whether the line is touching the blank.
If the line is getting bent to acute angles through the the guides or touching the blank you could get a few more guides added or use that as an excuse to get a new rod.
The Penns are a good choice but another to look at would be the Akios 555 or 656 they offer a choice of chrome plated brass frames or cnc machined ally frames .Also come with a choice of handles and are very very smooth.
Many thanks for the responses, they were very helpful. Someone must have read this thread because this morning I was collared and offered a PEN Squall 15 at a very favourable price.
I won't be fitting this to one of my Veritas rods, I took the opportunity to purchase a another rod in case I can't take to the multiplier system ... and that would be the best excuse I could think of at the time. I had a very good reason to take this option (a third rod) but I will go into this if what I have in mind pays dividends.
Anyway, thanks to those who gave advice, it was well received. Today I took delivery of the hooks I ordered from the UK: expensive ... very. Worth it? Many times over. It is said nobody ever regretted buying quality, they are worth all I paid and they fit the 'Splash Down' bait release system perfectly.
Hangler, I agree with the others. I fish Daiwa SL30s on Okuma Solaris rods, high mounted reel with no problems. If the line is making too much contact with the blank it isnt hard to add more guides as noted. Tight lines, PhilipTight Lines, Philip Takapau
on 29/5/2013, 3:11 pm
