The Spoonpluggers Forum

Thanks everyone.
I bought a couple of the Shimano's that Bink was talking about on Ebay.
Bill... The Daiwa looks good, and very affordable, I'm going to give that one a try too. The Penn international looks great too, but at $300... I'll wait a bit.

I'm sure by mid summer I'll be wondering why I didn't switch years ago. Looking back at it, I have had many issues on the water with my 109's throughout the years. I've fished with Jerry a few times with his electric reel. I can understand why he uses it, especially when in Canada in the fall.. but if I bought one of those, I would definitely burst into flames!!

I love the Penn 109 for wire they are the best, plus I have enough parts to last my lifetime. I wish I fished as much as John, I am jealous

Gino

When trolling, we put a lot of tension and pressure on our equipment. The spools will flex and this is why it is important to buy a reel that has a one piece frame and made out of metal, not plastic. Beware of anything other than metal. I think the cheaper to mid range diawa's are composit frames although the guys seem to be having good luck so far. Once you use the newer line counters, you will wonder why you didnt go for it earlier. When we got rid of the penns way back, we started using the garcia ambassadors. On a trip to Florida, Kenny and I had trouble reeling in the bigger fish. The 5.3 gear ratio did not have the guts to reel in a heavy fish. We lost a few because of that and thats when I changed again to the Okuma's. I still use a couple of old direct drive ambassadors for no bo and when we run the smaller lures. These are ancient but I found a couple of them that had little use and they work so good for me that I can't part with them. While we are on the subject of tools I must say that most of my older rods I never spent much more than wal mart prices. There are parts of my season that I will cast all day. One day I fished with a bass dude and he suggested I use one of his high dollar rods. Boy has that cost me some money since, but I learned that not only do I need the best equipment for trolling, it also comes into play when casting. Lighter and more sensitive rods make casting much more enjoyable. If there is one casting rod I could suggest, it would be the Avid series made by St. Croix. 200 big ones but it is well worth it and you could spend a lot more these days. Lews baitcasting reels are pretty awesome too. I messed one up this spring while trying to oil it and had to send it in. They fixed it for twenty bucks including shipping. Not bad for my mistake. The ice is off of my lake. What a pretty sight. Thank you Gino for the fine italian sausage. Deb doesn't like it so I have it all to myself. John PS.... We talk about braid and the feel is better when casting. Yes the feel is better but if you count on feeling a bite, then you will miss a lot of fish. Most of my hits are detected by watching the bow in the line and seeing the line jump or move. If you are not a line watcher, you should be.

Well said John!
The test for any tool whether it be a boat or a reel is "Does it allow the Spoonplugger to keep his lure "In Position" (the right depth and speed) and if I may add, "as much of the time as physically possible".

I try and look at every fishing day as a set amount of time and goal #1 is to keep at least one lure in position (can't control my partners lure or his or her distractions, ha ha just saying) on a known productive structure situation. & 2nd a lot of times spend some of that day checking out something new. 

Part of that test is also "As much of the time as physically possible". If I have reels that are breaking down which we had a lot of with the 109's and forced to spend some or part of our time on the water or back at home either fixing reels, switching reels or talking them to get them fixed it cuts in to that "As much of the time as physically possible" thing...

There are so many good quality reels today, so many that are much more pleasant and easier to use, it's hard to say one brand reel will allow the fishermen to keep his lure in position better than another (talking level wind trolling reels). Gear ratio as John said does play a part in the decision process/ 4:1 works well. I too have tried the c3 5.3 reels and came the the same conclusion, however I love them for casting and jigging. Before I get too far let's put this on the table, They ALL break! And at some point they will ALL wear out if used. Some may last, some hold together a bit longer but you better have at least two for both trolling and casting.

I like many of you have at least 20or 30 109's, 9's &10's and still use them, when trolling rip rap in particular. I'll set up 4 or 5 rods all with a different lures 500- 200 and instead of my partner and i switching lures, we switch rods. The 1st three sizes will be light action Buck rods with either 12lb or 17lb on 109's. The handles spinning around looks kind of cool... But that's it, after that I've gone to the Okuma Convector 20d line counter, about $80. I like many of you have hundreds of dollars in parts for those penn reels, really? We use to tear them down every winter and replace and repair, I guess because we had nothing better to do. 

I tell this story a lot but the kids and I caught our first really good muskie at 45' in August, in Canada on an 800 with a lot of 20lb wire trialling behind. That fish hit on the side of a bar where we were headed for an inside turn. When we netted the fish our boat was in 20' and getting shallower because of the long line needed to hit that depth. It was then when I knew we needed a lure that ran deeper, it's a long story and tying not to bore you but that is when we tossed the 109 and beefed up! Trolling with a reel, line &rod that could handle the added stress (Okuma Convector 30d, (added line capacity for extra deep water trolling) 30lb, wire, rod brands have changed through the years) And now with the JB2 and the EReel is like night and day from where we started. Can a 109 with 12/17/or 20lb wire on a 41/2' rod troll in 50'? Can we row troll around a lake? Tools inprove with time they are eaiser to use and give the spoonplugger added information (line counter). They are more reliable today and as long as one does not loose focus of depth and speed his fishing day will be more satisfing. Jim you will be very happy with your choice.