Fishing Equipment

[mike mcmenamin]

Friends: I am getting back into fishing. I have noticed that the reels are now using numerical numbers to indicate the size of the reel. I purchased a couple of bait casting reels from Diawa that use the numbers 80 on the box. I am assuming that the number indicates the size of the reel. I was wondering if there is a rule of thumb to follow when purchasing a new reel. All the help you can give me is greatly appreciated.
Mike

 

[Chobeemauga]

I am not sure on the questions you have about the Diawa reels you purchased. Search their specs, usually reels are sized based on how much line they hold.

As far as choosing reels. What techniques do you fish? What species? Deep water trolling and casting to a weed line requires different equipment. Also the gear ratio is important to the techniques you might use. Texas rigged worm does not require a fast retrieve but crank baits or frogs over a weed bed a higher gear ratio/ faster retrieve is a plus. Your rod choice is also going to be specific to techniques and species also. Line choice also influences my rod selection.

It would be helpful to know how you fish [techniques] and what you are fishing for [bass, stripers, catfish]. Then you could get some opinions on what others are using and why they like that set up.