I have a couple shimano curado 300 EJ, they are nice sized low profile, hold enough line, and a good retrieve, they come with a power handle already (the 300 E is a couple inches of retrieve less, and comes with a paddle handle you could upgrade) and are made specifically with oversized gearing. I used it all of last season and it held up great.
"Kingfisher" said:
I need a smaller reel with the right gears for double 10's for Michelle. Is the Revo Toro a small profile reel? Suggestions please. She has the St. Croix 250 and 300 reels now. Are there power handles available for them? Mike
I assume you are looking for a low gear ratio to make them easy to retrieve and not something to burn them with – right?
"Will Schultz" said:
[quote="Kingfisher"]I need a smaller reel with the right gears for double 10's for Michelle. Is the Revo Toro a small profile reel? Suggestions please. She has the St. Croix 250 and 300 reels now. Are there power handles available for them? Mike
I assume you are looking for a low gear ratio to make them easy to retrieve and not something to burn them with – right?
Im not really sure. Michelle says she wants to burn them. I am telling her that the best bet is a power handle for her St croix 300. But I am open to suggestion. It seems that I get better results at least somewhat burning them fast enough to bulge. I noticed that Saric uses a 250 St. Croix in some of his videos. Im going to try and find a power handle for one ofher 250/300 reels first. They are 5.1 to 1 . That is middle ground I think between the 6 to 1 and 4 to 1 reels. Vano also told me today that she needs a different rod for these big Bucks. Any suggestions? Mike
Id suggest a Revo Toro Winch 50. Small profile so it can be eaily palmed and has a 4.6:1 ratio. Gear ratio is pretty low which allows for very low fatigue level on the body, but still can get the double 10s moving at a pretty good pace. Not going to be able to 'burn' bucktails like one would with a saltist or even a 5.1-5.3:1 ratio, but you can still get them moving enough to bulge at the surface.
What kind of rod does she have? I like a little stiffer rod for double tens as reeling/figure 8ing them with a lite rod can be pretty tiring.
Putting a power handle on a reel is asking to toast gears. If she wants them truly burning you want something made for that purpose, don't try to male it work with something that doesn't have the ability to crank trash can lids through the water at 5 mph. I've been happy with my Saltist 20 and it will burn a XX at 5mph.
If she really just wants the to buldge the 300 would be fine but again the warning about the gears with a power handle. The low gear ratio reels will make them easy but you will not be able to generate any real speed. Does it matter? I've had low gear ratio reels in the front of the boat pulling XX's and caught all the fish from the back because I was making two casts for their one.
The best rod I've thrown XX's on is my legend tournament big nasty, its light and stiff enough to provide fatigue relief and minimal flex in the figure eight. However, it really is a waste of that rod and I normally use the Okuma 9'3" xh for most XX work and especially burning because I can park the Saltist on it and have a designated rod for burning tens.
All that said, I only truly burn XX's for a small part of the year.
Well she has a pretty stiff St Croix Premier I thinks is 7 feet 10 inches. She will need a new rod Im sure. My guess is she is not going to burn tens much at all. I burn them with my Records using regular double handles but not for hours. 10 to 20 casts then Im switching out . She is going to need a rod around 8 feet and most likely a lower geared reel. They however rebuild the 300's for 10 bucks so Im not afraid to burn one up. Im not sure she can burn one up. As it is she throws a double ten makes about three casts and its off. She wants to be more flexible.
Scott, Fish are bigger now 😀 . There was a time when I got zero action on them. I was not however fishing much big fish water. Today is not that day ha ha ha . I have a double ten all black that has done the trick to Move several nice fish this year and last. I still move ten times more fish on small baits.
However since I have given them more time I have moved some serious fish with them. But the truth? Since I started using double tens? My numbers are less then 30% of what they used to be. Im not catching those 30 to 38 inch fish anymore when Im fishing big lures. Last 4 trips zero fish in the boat. I fished big all day all 4 times. I moved three monsters on big baits but did not hook one. Its getting painful and old fast. However, This Michigan Fishery is growing into bigger baits. We have to transition with them. Both Michelle and I want to close out our musky fishing adventures with 50 inch fish taken casting. Once we do that Ill give you my double tens. Ill go back to enjoying musky fishing without the pain. Mike
It's tricky when you say 'burn' too cause that is different speeds for different people. I'm sure I was reeling my baits faster than most with my 5.1:1 reels, but now I have a saltwater reel similar to the saltist and really know what burning bucktails means. I would still look into the revo toro winch 50. My dad has one and can use XXs most of the day up in Canada without hassle. Maybe we can meet on Murray sometime and Michelle can try it out to see how she likes it. He pairs it up with 8'6 Heavy rod and it does the job just fine.
"Will Schultz" said:
The right rod and reel makes a huge difference. My Dad, in his mid-60's btw, can burn XX's for hours on end.
That is exactly where Im going with this. She needs the best reel and rod combination that #1 she can handle and #2 gives her the best speed she is capable of. It will take a little testing . She is Not going to match any of you younger guys in this endeavor but I think once she is set up and locates her big fish she will have the extra tool to finish. Most certainly not going to be searching with one. I have two brand new Records for me to burn up so Im not in need. They just keep giving me new ones. Mike
The rod part is kinda hard with 10's because of the light weight of the lure being cast and the excessive pull while retrieving… a moderate fast action and a shorter rod are easier to cast accurately, but a faster taper, and more length make holding on easier. the st croix slingblade is a great all around rod for it, and like i told you there is a lamiglass saltwater blank i used that I really like, especially for casting, and is perfect for little claws too, but is a little light for retrieving the big blades. a bit of a conundrum.
"Kingfisher" said:
Will, what model Saltist do you have and what is the gear ratio? Dan, Ill keep that offer in mind. Im sending request to Jim Saric for information on upgrades to the St. Croix reels that he uses. Mike
I have the 20LW, Dad uses the 30LW. She's welcome to try it out any time were on the water together.
You may want to get in touch with the guy on Muskie First that does reel work, he'll know more (Chuck I think). Could also check with Daiwa since I believe the St Croix reels are still built by Daiwa.
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