Charter Special

[hambo692]

Hey Everyone

Looking at getting a new combo for landbased fishing for mainly Jewfish and Kingfish around the harbour, don't care about the rod too much but for the reel was thinking a Baitrunner 6500B with 30lb braid, but then thought maybe overhead (Charter Special about same price)... Get more drag and line capacity... The only problem is I'm not too sure whether the casting limitations would make it worthwhile. The guy at the tackle shop said it'd be ok but would the Baitrunner be a simpler and better option?

Thanks

Hamish

[Blood Knot]

Hiya Hamish

Yes a Baitrunner (if thats what you have decided on) would be a far better option for casting than the charter special. Look to what sort of fishing you will be mainly doing - casting lures or soaking / casting baits whatever... and let the purpose guide your choice of rod and then select a reel to suit the rod. Sorry if that sounds a bit the opposite of where you were coming from but I think you will be happier with the result.

Cheers Blood Knot

[pjbink]

Being a lever drag with all the drag washers attached to the spool the Charter Special is poor at casting. If you want to go for an overhead then you would be better off with a star drag.

[fishmaniac]

If you use braid, you will have more than enough line on the bait-runner (you would probably get 300m of 30lb if you buy good quality line). A Sydney King or Jew is not going to spool you on either of those outfits.

For Land Based Fishing the spinning outfit is the best decision. Unless you were fishing from a boat or balooning large live baits out, I would not even consider an overhead.

If you want more drag from the spin outfit and it is close to being locked up just palm the spool.

Edited September 5, 2011 by fishmaniac

[Rafinx]

I have the 8000 baitrunner with 300 yards of 30lb braid. It holds its line well.

[Pongrass18ft]

Have a look at fin nor reels , i use the 9500 offshore and have done me proud spooled with 60lb braid 500-55oyds.

They are capable of stopping anything you hook onto and very well priced.

chris.

[PRED-ATOR]

Hey mate,

I got the charter special with IGFA 15kg mono on there, its no good at casting.

As mentioned above go the bait runner, and if your were going to gas balloon, the charter special would nowhere near be my first choice. Its an awesome reel but good for bottom bashing and trolling (boat use).

Cheers, Predator

[outdoordan]

G'day,

From land based spinning for salmon and tailor to casting livies off the sand for big Mulloway, I exclusivly use overheads. But certainly not a lever drag model. I consistently out cast threadlines when throwing lures. It is much more comfortable to cast big baits and livies, due to grasping the spool with your thumb rather than capturing the line with your finger while loading up for a cast. You can fish the reel out of gear and feather the line with your thumb to allow a fish to pick up the bait and run with virtually no tension at all, then engage the reel and set the hook. Also I personally feel more comfortable fighting big fish on overhead tackle.

When i first started brawling beach Jews I used a ABU 7000C3 with an upgraded drag and 30lb braid. Despite catching a few good Mulloway, several big whalers and more than its fair share of dunkings and only basic maintanence, the reels still performs flawlessly. They are a simple, well constructed and reasonable priced reel, which would suit your purpose like a glove. Not to mention, they cast brilliantly.

HOWEVER! and its a big however. To cast an overhead takes alot of practice and a little while to master. When starting out you can expect some monumentle birdnestsb (over runs), which when fishing with braid can become extremely expensive and frustrating. But once mastered you'll never look back.

A baitrunner would also make a great choice, and is much simpler to use and doesn't require the dedication of an overhead. But its just not my personel preferance. As for extra line capacity, don't be too concerned. A few hundred meters is more than enough when fishing genuine 30lb tackle. I've never had a jew run anywhere near that far, and a king will have you dusted well before you conceed that much line.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you go

Cheers

[the one that got away]

G'day,

From land based spinning for salmon and tailor to casting livies off the sand for big Mulloway, I exclusivly use overheads. But certainly not a lever drag model. I consistently out cast threadlines when throwing lures. It is much more comfortable to cast big baits and livies, due to grasping the spool with your thumb rather than capturing the line with your finger while loading up for a cast. You can fish the reel out of gear and feather the line with your thumb to allow a fish to pick up the bait and run with virtually no tension at all, then engage the reel and set the hook. Also I personally feel more comfortable fighting big fish on overhead tackle.

When i first started brawling beach Jews I used a ABU 7000C3 with an upgraded drag and 30lb braid. Despite catching a few good Mulloway, several big whalers and more than its fair share of dunkings and only basic maintanence, the reels still performs flawlessly. They are a simple, well constructed and reasonable priced reel, which would suit your purpose like a glove. Not to mention, they cast brilliantly.

HOWEVER! and its a big however. To cast an overhead takes alot of practice and a little while to master. When starting out you can expect some monumentle birdnestsb (over runs), which when fishing with braid can become extremely expensive and frustrating. But once mastered you'll never look back.

A baitrunner would also make a great choice, and is much simpler to use and doesn't require the dedication of an overhead. But its just not my personel preferance. As for extra line capacity, don't be too concerned. A few hundred meters is more than enough when fishing genuine 30lb tackle. I've never had a jew run anywhere near that far, and a king will have you dusted well before you conceed that much line.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you go

Cheers

I highly reccomend these reels. There great, tuff reels and can take alot of punishment. Iv'e lost how many times ive dropped my Abu 7000 down rocks and onto solid concrete and dunked it acouple times and still works perfectly. They cast an absolute mile. But i do agee with OutdoorDan, they take a while to get used to but once you get over that, there great reels!

Cheers, Zac

[hambo692]

Alright thanks heaps everyone... Think I might just go with either the baitrunner or an equivalent spin reel to keep it simple, maybe try an overhead next time. I'm having trouble finding a rod 10-12foot that can cast reasonable weights (80 gram sinker + mullet/pilchard/yakka/squid)- the only option seems to one of the big grey rods at the markets which are the same as the one I found illegally dumped- 10 foot and solid, not sure how much they cost but don't appear to be too good quality. I'm pretty happy with my one though. Anybody got any suggestions? Thanks again