# Best Reel



## Renegade_2010 (Jul 8, 2008)

What is the best reel for grouper and amberjack fishing as well as trolling for wahoo and dolphin. I was thinking about a Shimano TLD 25 let me know if there is something that would be better.


----------



## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

Yeah, I'd say the TLD 25 would be a good choice. I'd check out the shimano tynos reels also. I've got a couple of tyrnos 30sand they are really sweet.


----------



## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

> *true-king (12/1/2008)*Yeah, I'd say the TLD 25 would be a good choice. I'd check out the shimano tynos reels also. I've got a couple of tyrnos 30sand they are really sweet.


Ditto...TLD's are great reels!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

What price range are you trying to stay in?


----------



## Renegade_2010 (Jul 8, 2008)

I would like to stay under 200 my parents were wondering what I wanted for Christmas and I decided i wanted a good offshore reel, also is there a specific rod that you combine yours with?


----------



## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

My opinion is a Shimano Torium 30 they are light weight so you wont get tired of holding it and wear yourself out with the weight of it while waiting on a bite. Easy to jig with for the AJ and they have the fastest gear ratio on the market. I have 8 Penn 114s I hardly use anymore after I got my first Torium. If you get anything else and try a Torium you will have 2 reels. You will always use the Torium and your guest will get the other. I LOVE my Torium. They are a bit pricy but well worth it in my opinion.


----------



## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

TLD 25. We have caught pretty much everything that swims offshore on these reels.

Do toriums have a lever drag?


----------



## dailysaw (Jan 22, 2008)

> *sniper (12/1/2008)*My opinion is a Shimano Torium 30 they are light weight so you wont get tired of holding it and wear yourself out with the weight of it while waiting on a bite. Easy to jig with for the AJ and they have the fastest gear ratio on the market. I have 8 Penn 114s I hardly use anymore after I got my first Torium. If you get anything else and try a Torium you will have 2 reels. You will always use the Torium and your guest will get the other. I LOVE my Torium. They are a bit pricy but well worth it in my opinion.


sniper hit the nail on the head! can not go wrong with a torium. ilove mine as well


----------



## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

No they dont have a lever drag they have a star drag but I have done plenty of trolling with star drags. I think if I was going to have just one reel for bottom bumping, jigging and trolling it would NOT be a lever drag. Star is the way to go. Only advantage to the lever drag is trolling. TORIUM all the way!


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

> *sniper (12/2/2008)*No they dont have a lever drag they have a star drag but I have done plenty of trolling with star drags. I think if I was going to have just one reel for bottom bumping, jigging and trolling it would NOT be a lever drag. Star is the way to go. Only advantage to the lever drag is trolling. TORIUM all the way!


I agree and disagree. I troll all the time with star drags along with lever drag reels and there is nothing wrong with them. But as far as the advantages of a lever drag it can't really be summed up by saying they're better for trolling. The preset mechanism on a lever drag is by far the biggest advantage on the reel no matter what type of fishing your doing. On a star drag reel, setting the drag is a matter of pulling until you've reached the desired tension. Should you need to change the setting during a fight you have no clue what drag pressure you're putting on the fish. If you back the drag off after the trip like you should do, the next trip you'll have to set the drag again. With a lever drag you can set the drag where you like it or what is appropriate with the line size you're using. If you have to make an "on the fly" change to the drag, you not only know exactly what pressure you're exerting, but you can return to the original setting by just pushing the lever back to the corresponding point. My favorite thing about a lever is that when I back my drag off at the end of the day, allI have to do the next trip is slide it back where I want it and I'm ready to go.I haven't really found any advantage or disadvantage casting, I think the reel make is more important than whether its star or lever for that department. Either way I'll always use both. I'll definitely agree that a star is a better all around reel ifI had to pick just one, but it would take a little while to pick it out.

Sniper, didn't you buy a 6/0 from me this year?


----------



## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

I may have bought one from you. I bought a few this year. I have 8 6/0 now. I think I have enough of them now. LOL


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

You can never have too many reels of any size. Or at least thats whatI tell my wife


----------



## Captain Jake Adams (Oct 3, 2007)

In that price range, you will be hard pressed to find a better reel. The tld 25 is proven, holds a ton of line for its size, has plenty of power, decent drag system, lightweight and is a great reel for a wide variety of fish.


----------



## Renegade_2010 (Jul 8, 2008)

I was looking at the TLD 25 but then i was looking at the TLD 20 and was wondering if anyone knew what the differences were. It looked like to me it was just a smaller spool.

Thanks


----------



## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Renegade_2010 (12/5/2008)*I was looking at the TLD 25 but then i was looking at the TLD 20 and was wondering if anyone knew what the differences were. It looked like to me it was just a smaller spool.
> Thanks


pretty much


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Yeah the drag and inner workings of a TLD 20 and TLD 25 are identical the 20 just has a narrower spool


----------



## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

a similar topic has been started before; i don't like to "multi-task" my reels. if i am in an known area for good grouper and am specifically targeting them and amberjacks with live bait, i like a good ol reliable penn 6/0 with braid. if i am just doing standard bottom bumping (average snappers, triggers) ijust use a 4/0.i dont have much experience with the TLD reels but they seem a bit undermatched for a good sized, determinedhooter. assuming your parents already have a boat and you fish offshore a couple times a month in the summer, take your dad over to top gun tackle in orange beach and let a convincing, knowledged chris vecsey sell your dad on a good offshore arsenal, with specific reels for specific applications. last thing you want is an angry blue tearing your small trolling reels all to shit.


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Woody, what do you want!? J/K


----------



## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

> *The Blue Hoo (12/6/2008)* they seem a bit undermatched for a good sized, determinedhooter. .


I caught a 92lber on a TLD 25 two or three years ago and it was no problem


----------



## SUNDAY-FUNDAY (Apr 17, 2008)

i agree those ol tld 25's are great all around reels. as for a hooter they are plenty of reel. they hold around 400yds of 50mono. thats actually all we fished last trip to CR and i tagged 4 blues 2 stripes and 4 sails. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MAN AT THE WHEEL, NOT THE REEL.


----------



## roofordie (Sep 24, 2008)

Okuma


----------



## chasintales (Sep 29, 2007)

I use the 25's a bunch and they have not let me down. I do move up to a 30 2 speed when I go west hunting Tuna in the winter. They are both light and the handles give you the control you need to fight just about anything standing up. There has been an upgrade since '06 on the 25 and 30's. I did have one reel actually break apart at the carbon base and the spool come out the front. Shimano has addressed that since. 


Chris


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Yeah shimano did have a few issues with the graphite frame occasionally breaking at the foot of the reel but it is very few and far between and i have personally never had a customer return one for that reason. The upgrades mentioned above were on the 20,30,50 two speed, not the 25. They also made these models alot cheaper. A TLD-50 used to go for a little over 400.00 but now we sell them for 379.99.


----------



## Renegade (Oct 2, 2007)

The tld 20 or 25 are great versatilereels. We have caught a handfull of 25 lb snapper, several large wahoo (90 lbs being the largest) and more 40+ lb kings and donkeys than you can shake a stick at on those reels. However, I do like the good ole 4/0 and 6/0 for bottom fishing the best. If I had to have one reel for the money you mentioned it would probably be a tld 25.

pj


----------



## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

> *roofordie (12/7/2008)*Okuma


sicksick Sick joke to add that to a shimano thred sick:sick


----------

