Spare spools for cheap reels

[jgrant666]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone knows a good place to find spare spools for some cheap reels we've got. I'm taking the family & boat down to merimbula over new year and want to switch from mono to braid as we'll hopefully be getting in some deeper water reef fishing out of twofold bay if the weather co-operates. I've been quite happy with the 15lb mono currently on our reels for estuary fishing (and also since after merimbula we'll be heading up coffs harbour way and will probably get some freshwater fishing in round copmanhurst), so would rather try and find some spare spools for our reels if I can. Seems a shame for all that mono to go to waste otherwise.

The reels in question are only cheapies we picked up in combos a few years ago before we got the boat, and I'd prefer not to have to buy new reels given all the usual expenses with Xmas then family holidays

The reels i question are:

Shimano Alivio 4000 FB (I managed to find one site stocking spools for these but not the others)

Shimano R2000

Shakespeare AXIOM 045

Any general suggestions appreciated or please PM me if you know specific shops/sites as per the site rules.

I'm thinking 30lb braid would be about right as a good balance between strength and spool capacity, as we'd be mostly targetting your garden variety reef species like flatties, mowies & snapper, but could probably stand up to a kingy or something bigger that happened along if played correctly

Any tips, pointers suggestions greatly appreciated as always - Thanks Raiders!

[oz_brett]

Im thinking why would you use mono at all? avoid spending money on the spools and replace the line with Braid other then amount on the spool the benefits of braid off shore are the same in estuary, a 20lb braid in estuary would have to be better then 15lb mono and as long as your care full with it would be enough for occasional off shore.

[rockfisherman]

Hey grant

So much to say.

Brett would be on the mark when saying you should just replace the mono with braid, it will save you money.

If you get on a good king,I don't think those reels will handle it very well, the alivio 4000 has about 5kg worth of drag.

I have a bunch of braid going at a good price, pm me if you're interested, there might be some other interest in it.

[jgrant666]

Im thinking why would you use mono at all? avoid spending money on the spools and replace the line with Braid other then amount on the spool the benefits of braid off shore are the same in estuary, a 20lb braid in estuary would have to be better then 15lb mono and as long as your care full with it would be enough for occasional off shore.

Thanks mate. Would 20lb braid stand up to the weight of both the fish and those big snapper sinkers you need to get offshore though? In 70m the charter I was on had HUGE sinkers to get down. Maybe 30lb is a better compromise, and I can always use a long lighter leader in the estuary before my rig so the fish don't see the heavier line?

I'm new to braid so thanks for your tips and feedback [emoji2]

Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

[NaClH2OK9]

I charter fished for 5 years once a month with an rsl.

Average reef was 70m

Average sinker required 3/4 lb

Most guys used 40lb with some on 50lb

You "may" find your boat is lighter so more susceptible to drift requiring more weight.

Conversely without 10 other fisho next to you. You can afford a bit more line out.

What ever you go for breaking strain. Get a good brand. Not cheap fleebay rubbish.

[Scratchie]

Lol. There's nothing cheap about fishing! The more experienced you become, the more addictive it is, the more expensive it gets!

No wonder I'm broke

Cheers scratchie!!!

[big Neil]

I think by now you are convinced that replacing your mono with a quality braid is a better option to trying to find extra spools. A good 30lb braid is still very small in its cross sectional profile and you can change your leader to suit the type of fishing you are doing. As always you will need to pay particular attention to the drag setting on your reel. I would suggest you learn the FG knot for joining your braid and leader. It's strong and offers few problems when passing through rod guides. Good luck on the water mate.

[jgrant666]

Yep, I think I'm convinced! 30lb braid all round and I'll just vary leaders/rigs to suit where I'm fishing

If you get on a good king,I don't think those reels will handle it very well, the alivio 4000 has about 5kg worth of drag.

I have a bunch of braid going at a good price, pm me if you're interested, there might be some other interest in it.

Thanks Mate, I wasn't aware those reels had so little drag strength! I'm not targetting Kings specifically but of course anything is possible and I wouldn't mind if one decided tohave a crack at me! I'd love to upgrade all our reels but I think that'll be a long term project to slowly add better stuff....... Might have to drop a few hints to the fam when my birthday comes round.......

I charter fished for 5 years once a month with an rsl.
Average reef was 70m
Average sinker required 3/4 lb
Most guys used 40lb with some on 50lb

You "may" find your boat is lighter so more susceptible to drift requiring more weight.
Conversely without 10 other fisho next to you. You can afford a bit more line out.

What ever you go for breaking strain. Get a good brand. Not cheap fleebay rubbish.

Thanks mate and Good advice. Charter we were on they were using 50lb and same sinker weight. I'll need to get my confidence with boat handling up a bit more I think though before I take the kids out into that kind of depth, so for starters I reckon 30lb should cover us. I know Fleabay stuff isn't ideal but the charter guys we went with were using a brand called spectra dyneema braid and seemed really happy with it, and it was $40 for 1000m from China. anyone else had any experience with this stuff? It seemed ok to me but of course that was the first time I'd used braid so have nothing to go off

Lol. There's nothing cheap about fishing! The more experienced you become, the more addictive it is, the more expensive it gets!
No wonder I'm broke

Cheers scratchie!!!

Haha you're not wrong there Scratchie! Spent 4k on the boat and probably 1/4 of that already just on gear and fishing stuff. Might have to send the kids out to work so they can pay me board and I can buy more fishing gear

I think by now you are convinced that replacing your mono with a quality braid is a better option to trying to find extra spools. A good 30lb braid is still very small in its cross sectional profile and you can change your leader to suit the type of fishing you are doing. As always you will need to pay particular attention to the drag setting on your reel. I would suggest you learn the FG knot for joining your braid and leader. It's strong and offers few problems when passing through rod guides. Good luck on the water mate.

Cheers - i'm gonna try and get to this talk at Camden tomorrow that a friend of one of the site admins is hosting, and knots are high on the agenda. I think I've read as well that you can't put braid straight onto your spools, so needs a bit of Mono there first for it to grab onto? If that's right it sounds like the FG knot is what you'd need for that?