Reel Problems...

[JSG2891]

I apologize for this stupid rambling essay but things haven't been going well, haven't even been able to get out recently due to equipment difficulties/work and its happening all this week right around the full moon which is the best time for my target species . Anyways I made the mistake of buying a penn 555...anybody own one of these things? I do not even know how the reel actually performs fighting fish, casting, ect..I haven't used it yet, and probably won't ever so I can return it ASAP because there is a MAJOR issue with the line capacity. I'm new to non levelwinds but I packed this line down tight and evenly enough, felt nice and solid up against the spool, and i only used a few yards of mono backing. It is printed on the box the reel came in, numerous web pages, and even the reel itself that it holds 600 yards of 20 lb mono/.45 mm diameter. I was trying to put 80 lb power pro (18 lb/.43 diameter) onto the reel. After several attempts as well as blisters and cuts, I have come to the conclusion that either this reel holds slightly more than half of this amount, or I got an excellent deal on a 500 yard pack of power pro. I could MAYBE squeeze 350 yards of my line on there. Also, at second glance, the spool seems awful small to hold the amount of line this reel is supposed to. It is about the same size as a penn 320gt2 which only holds 320 yards of 20 lb i believe. Am I spooling up wrong or could it be that the product information is WAAAAAYYYY off? Anybody own one of these things? I doubt this thing could hold 600 yards of 20 lb braid let alone 20 lb mono, this has got to be a joke right? I've been waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up at my house right now. When did Penn start employing Jerry's Kids? I have about had it with them. I am not going to make another attempt at putting 20 lbs of crap in a 10 lb bag, I need to take this thing back ASAP and get a reel that is capable of doing what the company that makes it says it is capable of if there is such a thing anymore. I wish I could go back in time and get one of the old penn reels brand new.

Anyways I am sorry for coming off as a douche bag and sorry for the essay. There are alot of cool people here, and alot of very helpful and informative people. I've just gotten so discouraged about finding a reel that can do what I need it to. I'm basically convinced I am going to have to build/invent one somehow and for me that would be like building a space shuttle. Equipment failure has kept me from fishing at an oppertune time. Also, I understand some of this is my fault due to a few mistakes, as well as my demands: I need something with high line capacity that can cast about 50-70 yards and hold up against 100-200 lb fish.

99% of the fishing I do is tarpon fishing from the beach. The other 1% is tarpon fishing from bridges, or tarpon fishing from piers, or tarpon fishing from sea walls. I have developed a deep passion for both beach fishing and tarpon fishing this year. It is my first year back into fishing after about 8 years of drinking, alcoholic at age 17 . I'll be an alcoholic forever but I will never drink again. Getting back into fishing helped put that behind me. I went to this new park by my house one day back in March, out of nowhere to fish the canal right off the river. I have no idea why I even decided to go but it changed my life. I went down there with nothing more than a beat up old light spinning setup, 12 lb test line and a rapala. Ten casts later I caught my first snook. It was only about 20-22 inches but one of my proudest moments because up to that point it was probably the biggest fish I ever caught (did mostly bass fishing as a kid) and I had always heard that snook were a prized game fish and tough to catch. If that snook hadn't hit my plug that day, there is a good chance I'd probably still be a drunk. A couple months later, I jumped my first tarpon.

It was by far the most exciting moment of my life. I had my catfish tail out there no more than 2 minutes, then all the sudden my spool took off to the point where it could have backlashed. I let him take some line and fed the fish good, then i started to crank that circle hook in, this 6 foot long bright silver giant comes leaping clear out of the water, streched out as if striking a pose before he summersalted back into the gulf, parting the hook in the process. My girlfriend said she never saw me smile like that before. I don't care about snook anymore.

Soon after that I became quite familiar with that spot and searched for similar spots, there are quite a few in this area fortunatly. Since that day I have spent countless hours studying, researching, learning, and fishing for tarpon. I quickly learned that the further out I get my bait, the more takes I get so I began swimming my baits about 100 yards out. I even went out and bought scuba flippers to aide me in the process. I drag about 8-12 ft of leader behind me incase something happens, my hope is that the shark will go for the bloody bait instead of me. I also do this to get an idea of how deep the water is. Once I get to the drop zone, my bait doesn't touch the bottom from where I am holding the line. I realize the more I am out there with bloody pieces of cut bait, the greater my chance of a shark attack. I have caught several good sized sharks at most of these spots, I only fish with cut bait. It is either take the risk or hope to get lucky as I can only cast about 100 feet or so with most of my reels I have owned or tried, and usually the tarpon are rolling out a little further. Instead of getting my things together for the trip I wanted to take today I am wondering and looking online for the reel I need for this style of fishing. I hope to go later on today late afternoon/early evening if I can find a suitable reel in time or I guess I'm going to be getting my Michael Phelps on.

Does anybody have any recommendations on a good casting reel that can hold about 5-600 yards of 80 lb braid that won't cost me a paycheck? I do not want a surf rod, I love my 8 foot star rod, it works EXCELLENT fighting these fish and nice sized sharks. If I must get a surf rod I will stick to the swimming for now and save up for a kayak to paddle baits out I guess. I do not like surf rods for several reasons, they even look annoying to me, I dunno, I just love my star rod. If there are any reel experts out there, your knowledge is much appreciated, I don't trust reel companies or dealers anymore and thank you for bearing with me through this rambling stupid essay/autobiography. If there is no such thing as what I am looking for then I guess that I am going to become one hell of a strong swimmer, and a possible shark attack victim because I got to get my tarpon fix and this is going to be the last good month of the year and after that I will be anticipating the next tarpon season. Its pretty much hit or miss November - February from the info I have gathered. Plus the water will be too cold for swimming,

[bolo]

Accurate reels. I've fished with other brands and they do not come close.

[MitchellOrdonez]

They cost alot though. SOME cost more than a van staal

[JSG2891]

Well, by a paycheck I meant like 400-800 bucks. I don't want to spend more than 3 on something I'm going to be using in the surf due to sand, salt, ect. But was hoping for something in the 1-150 range. I don't think an accurate fits into that category. I'll look at some shimano calcuttas, see what sizes they have. I just can't believe this penn 555 claims to hold twice the amount of line it is capable of!! Anybody run across anything like that before? I mean I feel like an idiot myself now for even believing that.

Anyways, I got alot of good practice on levelwind retrieval by trying to spool up that reel, LOL..It was my first time, and i got it packed down nice and hard and even with no peaks and a nice criss cross pattern that doesn't seem to take up more spool capacity than my levelwinds.

Also..when swimming out bait I know it isn't smart and I need to quit but I try to look at it as part of the game for now and I take as much precaution as possible. If the water is too murky I won't go out, I know how to swim out of a rip current, I won't swim out too early or too late in the day, try to wear neutral color bathing suits, I don't splash at all when I kick out there, and there is always somebody watching because I need somebody to keep the line taut after i drop the bait. I even got a few of my other friends doing this with me, a couple of my friends and my brother started coming with me once they saw that there is a decent amount of action, they went out and got some tarpon gear and we looked through their dad's garages for old rods and reels that would be able to do the job. We got mostly old penn reels on 7 ft. boat rods, not the greatest things for casting but good for holding up and fighting the fish. Thanks all for your opinions though..I've already got some good advice!!

[JSG2891]

And on another note incase others may be concerned about the fish themselves, I may still be new to this but have put in the time and effort to learn as much as possible so I handle these tarpon with the most respect and care. I realize many of these tarpon are probably 10-25 years old judging by the size of them. Most of them are right at the hundred pound mark, some slightly bigger, some slightly smaller. I got the 80 lb spectra and 250 lb leader to muscle the fish in quicker so he doesn't get too exausted. They are tired but not too tired I'll have somebody hold the rod on shore while I wade out a little bit and leader the fish. I use gloves because their mouths are abrasive, gently turn the fish on his side to keep it calm and remove the hook or cut it off as close as possible if swallowed. They are never brought onto the beach, but sometimes are lifted out of the water briefly for a pic. Then I will guide the fish along and let water run into his gills and wait until he starts swimming away on his own. To me, this is the most beautiful part of it because at this point I honestly feel that the fish knows I respect him and want him to do well. I haven't had one belly up on me yet, no shark attacks, no dead tarpon washing up on the beach at any of our spots and that is my proudest achievement so far as a tarpon fisherman. We have also gotten really good at landing these fish, we probably get 7-8 out of 10 to the shore, this is much better than in the very beginning when we would probably land maybe 2-3 out of 10 hooked fish.

Oh and if we do get a shark, they are released as carefully and quickly as possbile however we do bring them onto the shore..we are becoming very efficient at releasing sharks as well, we have developed alot of love and appreciation for these big fish and it is as important to us that they do well as it is to catch them.

[JSG2891]

Yeah but the line capacity isn't gonna cut it with those calcuttas. Right now I am thinking about either an Avet LX or a Daiwa Sealine 50xsha