On ocean and estuary, mismatched tackle falls into the hands of far too many anglers. Creating a rod and reel combination starts with the line. The first step centers on determining the breaking strength of the line with which you want to fish. Factors involved include the species you seek, your skill as an angler, your personal preference (heavier or lighter tackle), and the conditions under which you expect to do battle with your quarry.
Wrestling some unseen denizen out of a rock-strewn lair or snaking an oversized critter from an orchard of pilings dictates stronger lines and a stouter rod. If you fish shallow water without obstructions and you want to enjoy the reel-screaming runs of a speedster, opt for lighter line and corresponding tackle.
Choosing the right reel for the rod you plan to use focuses on three primary features: adequate line capacity for the breaking strength you will use, a smooth drag, and a size that allows you to recover line at a comfortable rate. This approach applies to any type of reel. For smaller species, think in terms of 200 yards of line as a minimum. You can live with less line capacity on a bait caster or small spinning reel if the fish you are targeting aren’t noted for sustained runs.
The problem with too little line capacity and the size of the reel spool lies with the retrieve, even if the fish you expect to catch won’t clean the spool. Regardless of the retrieve ratio, if the diameter of the spool is small, you can’t recover much line per rotation of the handle. This has become a problem with some anglers who use braid instead of monofilament and because of braid’s finer diameter can get more line on a smaller spool. On the other hand, too large a reel simply overpowers the rod and makes the combination awkward to use.
The drag on a reel is not a brake, but a resistance to rotation. A good drag releases line smoothly at precisely the preset pressure without change. It should have a wide range of adjustments with small increments between each setting. You can read drag performance through the rod tip. When line is being pulled off the reel, the rod tip should remain steady. If it bounces up and down, the drag is erratic.
Spinning reels suffer from space problems. The design of the reel must provide ample room to position the necessary number of drag washers of an effective size. Rear drag reels rely on smaller washers because larger ones simply won’t fit. That’s why front drag spinning reels almost always incorporate a better drag system. You also need to consider the gear ratio. The higher the ratio, the faster the spool turns and the more line you recover with each turn of the handle. In the tradeoff, you lose power when there is a load on the end of the line.
Matching rod, reel, and line makes sense. The right combination enables you to feel the strike with more sensitivity, hook your quarry more consistently, and bring a greater number of heavyweights to the side of the boat. That makes it worth the effort to choose tackle carefully.
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