# TLD 20,25 question



## mayday 57 (Nov 18, 2008)

I would like to start putting some tackle togather for trolling mainly for wahoo, dolphin, and some tuna. I plan to use 400 yards of 65# braid with 20yard top shot of 50 # mono for shock leader.

so I was comparing tld 25 to 20 and found the 25 will hold 980 yards of 65# a max drag 22lbs 

tld 20 will hold 745 yards of 65# and has max drag of 23 lbs , same retrieve for both.

If I am over looking anything or aformentioned line choice might not work or you like another reel ( in same general price ) thanks for any help.

Merry CHRISTmas !!


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## bombtosser (Oct 5, 2007)

i bought a four 25's and a 20 when i started learning to troll. the 20 was the first reel i got rid of and stepped up to a 50. if i had it to do again i would save my money and buy one 2speed tld 30 at a time. they are a great reel, and you would never have to worry about going bigger later on. if thats out of the question, buy the tld 25's you can't go wrong. i just spooled them with 30 lb suffix and got over 500 yards on them. That should be plenty on a small boat and it should give us a fighting chance in turning around and going after them. we usually troll in 400 feet or less. as far as tuna goes, you'll be able to catch blackfin, the yellowfin might be another issue.


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## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

here's a link to a rebuild on both reels, you may be interested in

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=36.0

He goes over the max drag setting after the rebuild


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## DreamWeaver21 (Oct 3, 2007)

We fish a mix of TLD 15s, 20s and 25s. Mostly bottom fishing though, I don't troll a lot. Still with braid on there, short of a blue marlin or a big yellowfin tuna, I think you can catch about anything that swims in the gulf on a 25 or even 20. This is assuming you get a strike and stop the boat clearing lines.

I put enough 50lb mono on to fill the spool halfway or so and then 300yds of 65lb braid and then depending on what kind of fishing I am doing I may or may not put a top shot of 50lb mono on the line.

They are awsomereels. Except for a rinse after a trip, I really don't do anthing to mine.I just this year found out that for 35 bucks you can send them back to Shimano in CA and have them fix anything that breaks. I had one that after 5 years of use wouldn't go all the way into freespooland had a bent handle. Took a couple of weeks but it came back in great shape.I have to admit I got better results sending the reel off then havig it worked on locally.


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## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

The tld25 will serve you well but personally I wouldn't tangle with a yellowfin with anything less than a 50wide. Also I wouldn't use braid for trolling,just spool it with a quality hi-vis mono like Mamoi diamond or the like. Other than that,slap them reels on a Star rod and your good to go and if ya upgrade to heavier stuff the tlds will be great for bottom bumpin.


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## LuckyLady (Oct 2, 2007)

Bonita Dan offers good advice!!


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## mayday 57 (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks for everyones help so far, does it seem od to anyone else that tld 20 has higher drag preasure than the 25?


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## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

Don't be fooled by reels boasting super high drag capability cause you'll never use it. A preset drag pressure of 7-8lbs will be more than enough for what ya plan on doing. Heck I've landed a couple 70lb.wahoo on just 4lbs of drag. Ain't that right Scott!


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## bombtosser (Oct 5, 2007)

the 20, and 25 are the same except for a larger spool capacity on the 25. Reading through the repair thread put up a few posts before, they can make more drag at the max setting. I agree with bonita dan though, you will rarely ever go past strike, as the reel makes more drag as the spool gets smaller. for the same price you get more capacity on the 25. have gone and held the reels in your hand? the 20 just felt too small to me.


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## mayday 57 (Nov 18, 2008)

dan you say you would not use braid to troll . what would be drawback to trolling braid , provided using a shock leader


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Use a longer topshot than 20 yards. My TLD 25's have 450yards of 65lb power pro with 100 yards of 50lb on top. You need a little more shock built in plus having a longer topshot means if you break off a little you still have plenty left so you aren't reconnecting topshots every time. The drag washers in the 2 reels are the same so the drag is close enough to where I wouldn't let a pound or so of drag make up your mind on choosing which one. I usually don't use more than 12-15lbs of drag trolling anyway and it is enough drag to beat most of what you are likely to catch including blue marlin. With the braid backing however you can push the reel a little further and I've never had a second thought about using mine chunking or livebaiting yellowfin but be aware that the TLD's do not boast a lot of torque so expect a little bit longer fight with old yeller. 

The TLD series of reels is one of the most successful and widely used and I wouldn't trade mine for anything.


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## samiams (Feb 3, 2008)

i love my TLD's, got the 15s and some 20's but i use only 20lb mono on the 15's (kings/ wahoo to 40lb and mahi to 30) with no problem. I have 40 lb mono on the 20's (wish i could say have had bigger fish then the 15's on the rigs but i cant). I dont ever horse em thou and let the drag work for me. on the 15's i set the drag a 7 and the 20's at 12-14. but i love a good fight.


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## Eastern Tackle (Jul 6, 2009)

> *tunapopper (12/20/2009)*Use a longer topshot than 20 yards. My TLD 25's have 450yards of 65lb power pro with 100 yards of 50lb on top.




I agree, but for different reasons. If as a beginner you rig a bait that is not exactly right and its turning about once every 20 seconds or so, it won't take long to turn your braid into twisted weed eater string. You can let it out behind the boat to straighten it, but its just never the same.



I agree about the drags. Way overstated.



Another great starter reel at about the same price I think, is a penn 6/0. Those have whipped more big yellowfins than any other budget reel out there I would bet. They aren't quite as smooth as tld, but have more torque for the big boys.


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

IMO and experience you will not go wrong w/ TLD's. I have 11 ranging from 15s to 50s. 3 of them were bought in '92. My TLD25s have caught decent sized YF and even a Blue that we estimated 325-350. For $175.00 they are great reels. I stick w/ mono so can't weigh in on the braid. One comment was about Penns. Penns are old techology and unfortunately the new ones are not as well built as the old ones were. I have 5YR 6/0 w/ moderate use that is already shot....


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## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

TLD 25's are great reels. Weve caught alot of fish on ours including blues big wahoo and a few tuna to about 80lbs.I do not recommend braid for trolling. I dont like how it feels and the lck of stretch even with a topshot. Its a different story for strictly tuna fishing though. My favorite reel to tuna fish with is a taigra 16 with 80lb pp and weve caught them up to 150's on it. I would get a few 25's and you will be fine for 99 percent of what your going to catch troling around here unless you plan on amking alot of long runs


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## CATCH-ALL (Oct 6, 2009)

What Bonita Dan said. 

TLD 25's are fine for Balckin but TLD 50/ Penn 50/ Whatever 50 are necesary for any decent sized Yellerfins. 

He's right about Star Rods too - I used to have all Seeker Rods but their warranty "service" I found to be lacking. Have had very few problems with Stars and their warranty service is excellent.

Catch


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I have to second Freespool's comment on the Tiagra 16. They are by far IMO the best "all around" reel. Mine have seen action with big tuna, marlin, swords, etc. and have never had to replace the original drag washers even after using up to 30lbs of drag with them. They cost more but are well worth it to me. Since I mostly use mine for live baiting and chunking,I spool mine with 600 yards of 80lb hollow core spectra and then top shot with 100ft. of 60-80lb mono.


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## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

while we're on the TLD subject, I'd like to point out that the TLD star 15/30 and 20/40 models are fantastic light weight high speed reels for bottom fishing and jigging. I have a couple of them and use them for bottom fishing.

caught a monster Jack Cravelle last year on one, that fish about whipped my butt !

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=17.0

the gears shown in this reel service tutorial are alot larger than those in the Torium or Trinidad

(open the link and read thru the pictures)

quality reel for a budget minded fisherman

you can find them used for about $30.00 to $50.00 bucks


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## mayday 57 (Nov 18, 2008)

thanks for everyones help I will go with the tld 25s with probly 40# mono . 

looking forward to wahoo and dolphin fishing in 2010.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

I agree with magic236. Penns are old school and the new ones aren't worth the powder to blow them up. If you go that route get a Daiwa sea line 600H. By far a stronger reel than Penn. Penn used to be the measure that all other reels were judged by but now they don't even make good anchors...too light.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

You won't be dissapointed with it. Good luck this coming season.


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