Big Game Reels— The Next Step
In the Tackle Basics article that began this section I recommended people to the Penn 113H and 114H as two reels that will handle the broad spectrum of fishing opportunities to be had in La Paz. Taken care of, these two reels will last for a decade or more. But what about all those big gold and platinum machines with testosterone just dripping off of the 4” long price tag? The world of premium big game reels, long dominated by Penn with the occasional Finish or Australian entry, has blown open in the last 15 years. Many vendors have entered this race, bringing material science and technology to the front. Typically these reels have single piece frames machined from a block of aircraft aluminum, lever drags, and many have 2 different gear ratios. These are all features that put them way ahead of the traditional star drag big game reels. While your Penn 113H is a very strong candidate to remain in your arsenal, the first reel to replace is the 114H. You will use this reel on large fish, cubera snapper, marlin, big tuna and while the Penn will do the job these premium reels offer some substantial advantages when dealing with fish that may well be bigger than you are. The single piece machined billet frames are a lot stronger than the post type frame on older reels. This not only results in longer life, but also makes your task easier. I once participated in a demonstration by Tiburon, one of the early makers of retrofitable single piece frames for Penn reels. They had a stock Penn 114H and one that had had the frame replaced with their single piece frame. The rods and reels was clamped in place and a 15 pound weight was attached to the end of the line sitting on the floor. They wanted you to reel the dead weight up three feet off the floor without any pumping of the rod. The single piece frame reel was significantly easier to reel. Even though the traditional post frame reel appeared rigid and tough it was clear that the side plates were not kept parallel under load and that the slight deflection caused by the dead weight added significantly to the effort required to reel. The premium reels that we are discussing are all carved from a block of aluminum maintaining the critical alignment of the mechanisms. Lever drags are also universal in the class of reels that we are discussing. There are two real advantages to this feature. The first is that there is much more drag surface available in the lever drag set up. The traditional stack of quarter sized fiber washers is replaced by one (in some cases two) large disc of drag material giving you more surface area and superior heat dissipation. That’s a good thing. The other advantage isn’t as obvious and isn’t really a drag issue. In a traditional reel like the Penn 114, when you take the reel out of gear that handle and spool are disconnected. Let’s say you are drifting bait for tuna, or trolling slowly with live bait. The reel is out of gear with the clicker on. When a fish picks up the bait and starts to run your spool is spinning, at speeds up to 60 miles and hour if you’re lucky enough to encounter a yellowfin or wahoo. At some point you decide to set the hook and put the r