Big Pit Reels

[terry m]

Anyone on here have any experience with the higher end big pit reels?

Whilst I am a Shimano fan, I do have Daiwa Emblem Spod reels for spodding and marker rods. Daiwa seem to have more big pit offerings.

In particular looking for user feedback on the Basia QDA or QDX (is colour the only difference)?

 

[Roto Fryer]

i have Daiwa Infinity X 550BR Reels. they are superb. Nowt wrong with shimano reels either
go with what makes yo happy

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I too have the Daiwa Infinity BR reels and have been really pleased with them.

Mine are the 5500's . . . . . that take a little more line than the 5000, about 70m more in fact.

I also very much like the way the bait runner level lies flat against the reel when disengaged.

 

[mikench]

I know nothing about them ( that is probably obvious)but a few rhetorical questions come to mind;

Who needs 470 metres of 20 lb line on a reel and who could or even would try and cast anywhere near this distance?

Whilst the reel and rod will no doubt sit on a pair of axle stands most of the time, the reel with line weighs nearly 2lb. How can you play a fish at such a distance and with such heavy gear!

Is winching in a large fish any fun?

As I say rehetorical questions! A carp on ( relatively) light line and gear provides tremendous sport and has a chance of evading the net which, after all, should be what fishing is all about!

 

[sam vimes]

Who needs 470 metres of 20 lb line on a reel and who could or even would try and cast anywhere near this distance?!

Very few, it's more that such reels are often made with markets other than carp in mind. However, you can fish at ranges well beyond casting distance, some certainly do. It's also the case that plenty of big pit reels have less spool capacity. You could have the same conversation about the vast majority of normal reels on the market. Most are produced for multiple markets and have far greater line capacity than we really need.

How can you play a fish at such a distance and with such heavy gear!!

Quite easily.

Is winching in a large fish any fun?!

It's a myth that you can winch big fish in with such gear. Try to do it and you'll just wreck your reels and lose fish.

A carp on ( relatively) light line and gear provides tremendous sport and has a chance of evading the net which, after all, should be what fishing is all about!

You'd be amazed at just how many fish can be lost, even on seemingly heavy gear. Sometimes, overly heavy gear can actually make getting fish at the smaller end of the big fish spectrum more difficult to land.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Who needs 470 metres of 20 lb line on a reel and who could or even would try and cast anywhere near this distance?

Think about large reservoirs both here and in France and then think about . . . . bait boats . . . . . Using mine I have caught Carp at 300m from the bank, and played it easily to the landing net.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Is winching in a large fish any fun?

Best I can suggest is for you to handle some big pit reels and see how superbly efficient the drag is on most of the expensive makes.

You don't "winch them in" at all, and at long distance playing a fish to the net is still as thrilling as one caught close in.

 

[mikench]

One lives and learns ! Thank you gents for enlightening me!

 

[mikench]

Are free spool reels still preferred for carp fishing or those with a fast drag like certain Diawa models?

 

[sam vimes]

Are free spool reels still preferred for carp fishing or those with a fast drag like certain Diawa models?

It's simply a question of individual preference. There are way more quick drag pit reels than there are lever operated "baitrunners". However they achieve it, they are all effectively freespool reels. How exactly the freespool operates isn't particularly important beyond that question of preference.

I know you have a bit of a thing for Daiwa now, but don't go thinking they are the first, or only company offering quick drag reels. They were actually rather slow to pick up on it, if truth be told. For many years, the only way to achieve QD on a Daiwa pit reel was with an aftermarket spool cap or spool modification.

 

[Roto Fryer]

a reel that holds 100M of line would be great for 75% of most peoples fishing. 200M for 95% + more than that is for the 1-5% of times you may need more line. The point is that we have 1 bigger reel to cover all eventualities.