Carp Reels

[lakhyaman]

I have had a trio of carp rods made up on Harrisson Ballista 3.25lb TC 12 ft two piece blanks.

What reels would you recommend for them?Budget is about £300 each.

I have looked at the Daiwa Cast'izm 25 QDA reels. They come in both the Quck drag version and there is a 25BR baitrunner version. Would you recommend either? Would be open to any suggestions including other makes.

Incidentally, I have 3 Emcast BR reels in the 5000 size. These are much cheaper reels but have more bbs (8 as opposed to 6). Does this make them smoother?

Thanks for your advice.

Please stay safe and well.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

I cannot comment on carp reels as I don’t possess any. I have 2 Emcast br reels in 3500 and find they are well up to the task of dealing with fish I am likely to catch. There is a new model available called the LT( light and tough) it looks a lovely reel, strong and light. I have a 4000 on order. They are a third of your budget.

The Daiwa Basia is well liked by carpers of my acquaintance .

A nice touch on the Emcast is a luminous symbol which is visible when the bait runner clutch is engaged.


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[Philip]

Allot depends on your specific requirements. At that budget you should not be restricted in choice. I would think about what are the essential items for you & make sure the reel covers them. For example I am guessing for the type of fishing you do, Masheer, big fish and the like you probably want allot of line and a good drag. Think about spare spools too, how many you need and the cost of & ease of getting replacements after.

I have not used the reel you mention so I cant really recommend a specific model but personally I would stick to Diawa or Shimano, although some of the more recent Shimanos I am not so sure about.

I would also not get too hung up on number of ball bearings, too many can add weight and I find reels with masses if bearings a little too "tight" in feel if I can put it like that. A good reel should have enough.

If your getting 3 of them I am sure you could also negotiate on price or get something thrown in for free ...line etc.

 

[lakhyaman]

Mikench

Thanks for your reply. I, too, have found the emcast more than adequate for my present needs. But my fish are growing. Increasingly in the mid twenties and some crossing into the thirties. They fight hard and long. This is what led me to the Ballistas (following advice from this forum). I thought that since I have new rods I should give them reels suited to them. Problem is I really don't have a clue and tend to follow what is discussed on this forum.

The basia are a little expensive. I should have mentioned that £300/- was the upper limit. I would prefer something in the £200-£250 class.

Philip

Thanks for your considered reply. I guess I was hoping that somebody else would do the thinking for me and just tell me what to buy.

Yes, since my idea behind these rods was big fish, I do want lots of line and definitely a good drag. I have recently started fishing a wild 14 square kilometres lake in a jungle and the fish are large and have the space and strength to really run. So, yes, I will take that into consideration. I will have to use "large" diameter abrasion resistant line as well as the lake has a few snags about and the bottom contours are such that the line rubs against edges all the time. So a large capacity spool able to hold plenty of a suitably thick line seems to be mandated.

It's just a case of so many models.....

I will stick to Shimano or Diawa as you recommend and that is what my experience (limited) supports.

Anything on the merits of Quick Drag v Baitrunner?

Would 22 oz for a reel be too much weight? The ones I asked about are either side of a pound.

Thanks again for your interest.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[Philip]

Based on what your saying I would make Line capacity priority number 1 as if you don’t have enough then however good the reel is you won’t be able to use it. In terms of how much line I would say if your emcasts have enough then make sure you get something that can handle at least the same or more. Do think about the spare spools, they can be very expensive on some reels if you have to buy them after as a separate item.

In terms of weight, 22oz is a heavy reel..I know a 8000 sized Shimano Baitrunner comes in at about 18oz and that’s not exactly light but they spend allot of time sitting in rests. Again it depends on what your intending to do with it. If your lugging it around and repeatedly casting say lures over and over again then its going to be heavy. However if your casting out and then putting the rod down to wait then its not going to be a problem. For the type of fishing you do and the size of fish your after I think your going to end up with a heavy reel regardless so I would not worry too much about an ounce or two.

Re quick drag or baitrunner I do not know allot about quick drag other than what I read about it so keep that in mind with what I say next …

Quick drag from what I read is exactly as it sounds – a quick drag. Therefore, you can loosen off or tighten up the drag from very loose to full lock with less rotations of the knob on the spool. If that’s the case then I don’t actually see it being a question or either quick drag or baitrunner …I see them as being two different things.

A Baitrunner does not replace the drag it just an alternative way to put the reel into free spool. Then once you turn the handle the baitrunner disengages and your immediately into a pre-set drag that you can then adjust during the fight if you want to.

Quick drag on the other hand sounds just like unscrewing the drag on a normal reel, it just allows you to unscrew it quicker. The issue I see with quick drag is that if you intend to fish it as a baitrunner so setting it to totally loose then waiting for a fish to start pulling line from your reel before you tighten it up and pull into the fish then I would be concerned that firstly as my clutch is not pre-set I am attempting to tighten up & set the drag as I am pulling into a fish & second as it tightens up so quickly I could easily overtighten the drag and crack off on the fish or alternatively loosen up too much & too quickly and again loose the fish.

At the end of the day if your intending to fish for runs so a fish starts pulling line from your reel which you then tighten up to pull into the fish then I think having a baitrunner facility will give you more options. You don’t have to use the baitrunner it but its still there if you want it.

Anyway, as I say I don’t know quick drag first hand so I might be mistaken but that’s my take on it. Perhaps someone else on here may know more or It might be worth doing a search through some of the more Carp orientated forums as there may be some people with experience of those specific reels you mention.

 

[mikench]

On balance i prefer Shimano reels over other brands. However i don't like big heavy reels. Have a look at the X aero bait runners.

Shimano Baitrunner X-Aero RA Reel | Angling Direct

I have them in 2500 and 4000 which are enough for me and the latter coped well with a 19lb common and still operates perfectly.

My biggest fish , a 25lb common, was caught iirc, on the Emcast. I have a 6000 Baitrunner St which I rarely use. Annoyingly the spool clutch engages in the opposite direction to all my other baitrunners and I often think it's on when it isn't.

The only sensible advice I can offer is to buy just one of your chosen reel to give it a trial. If it suits buy two more. If it isn't up to the task you haven't wasted money on 3. You can only catch one fish at a time.

Have you seen the film Extraction, a new thriller set in Bangladesh in general and your capital in particular.

 

[barbelboi]

Fantastic rods lakhyaman - I had a couple of 2.75 Slims made up by Peregrine many years ago (I'm a great lover of Harrison blanks). As they were so slim, and were obviously not bought to cast into next week, I paired them with my Shimano 5000 Aero GTEs. Best wishes using them, I'm sure you will have many happy years with a playing action that's a real (or should the be reel) pleasure to use.....

 

[Steve Arnold]

I prefer standard baitrunner style reels to QD, though do have both.

If it's a tough reel you want then the Shimano Baitrunner OC is worth considering. I bought the 8000 size nearly a decade ago and it's been used and abused for sea fishing and taken a few good fish including tope around 15 kilo. Fair test of a smallish reel !

Since then I have added a 6000 OC and a lovely little 4000 OC. Hope to test the little one this week now we are out of lockdown.

Baitrunner OC

These reels do not come with a spare spool, they cost about £20. Low number of bearings but they are good quality. The reel is smooth in use. Very positive baitrunner action.

Only possible negative I can see is that they are not a "long-cast" spool design. With braid around 30 pound test they cast well. But I would think spool capacity and casting might be a problem if you use heavy mono line.

When I think of the comment I made about the spool not a "long-cast" design I should add something. If a reel is to take heavy loads then a longer spool can put excessive stresses on the spindle that supports it. The shorter spool may be for genuine design advantages on a reel to do a heavier lift.

 

[markcw]

Have a look at the Daiwa 5000 c qd reel. They should suit your purpose.

 

[lakhyaman]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I will take your advice and go with bait runners as that is what I'm used to. I have looked up reviews and comments on some carp forums for the Daiwa Cast'izm 25 A BR and they are very positive as they are for the Cast'izm 25 QDA.

Pelamid

I. Already have three Enmcast 5000 bait runners that would probably do the job and are similar to the Shimanos you suggest. I think those suggested are excellent reels and will probably feature on a couple of other rods which have turned up!

I agree that the 5000 size should do me.

Barbelboi

When I first put up the question of the rods on the forum it was you amongst others who recommended the Ballistas. I asked The Tackle Box to make them up for me. Sam Vimes recommended I speak to them and as I had already dealt with them before, I went to them for the rods as well.

One of my first conditions was that the rods could not be black or grey. Ballistas were the only blanks offering a choice of colours. My rods are burgundy.



Since I did not want the rods to look like the classic carpers rods (black or grey, with the shrink wrapped or abbreviated handles etc.) I quite deliberately went the other way.

My fittings include the following:



Full cork handles shaped as above with a 5 1/4 inch long foregrip which means the reel sits a little way lower than in most rods. I fight fish holding the rod by the foregrip. Just a quirk of mine.

Reel seat as follows:



Winding check at the front end of the foregrip:



Butt cap:



Continued on next post.

 

[lakhyaman]

Complete with mg::



And, as we like a bit of bling in the tropics:



In front of the foregrip.

The line guides are minima and the whippings maroon with gold highlights!!!

My name, The Tackle Box and rod specs feature in there as well!

I suspect if I ever turned up at a serious carp lake in the UK with three of those I would be quietly drowned in the shallows!

As Gary of the Tackle Box very politely put it about the prototype: "It grows on you"!

Incidentally, the Daiwa Cast'izm 25QDA is/was in the running because it has red trim!

The 22 ounce reel was this one:



Wishing you all tight lines and good health from the 13th onwards.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[lakhyaman]

Mikench

"Have you seen the film Extraction, a new thriller set in Bangladesh in general and your capital in particular "?

Yes, I have, as has just about any English speaker in Bangladesh.

However the scenes depicting Bangladesh and the capital, Dhaka, were superimposed later and most of the film was actually shot in Bangkok. The actors are Indian and not Bangladeshi. We were a little miffed but the film was well watched nevertheless.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

Those rods look unique and very expensive. You are bound to catch though as all fish will want a closer look.


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[carpinbob]

Shimano reels all the time, you can’t wrong.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

When I needed to upgrade my carp reels I spent ages checking what was available and asking advice from some excellent anglers who used to frequent these pages; the likes of Wol Gaunt and Dave Roffey and, on their advice, I ended up buying the Daiwa Infinity 5500 BR's.

Despite a lot of use they have always performed pefectly (and still do) and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. When I bought mine they were rather pricey but you can get decent examples on auction sites for around £200 a piece.

 

[sam vimes]

3.25lb TC are into long distance casting tool territory. There's little point in fitting particularly small reels to such rods. All that doing so will achieve is to hinder that casting ability. Even one of the Shimano 5500 mini big pits could be considered as a touch small for such rods. That sort of size reel would be the minimum that I'd consider on such rods.

Bigger reels will initially seem massive to many, especially those rooted in standard coarse fishing territory. My first pit reels were 5500 XTBs (mini big pits) seemed massive to me at first. They seemed to shrink as I got used to them.

The question of Quick Drag, Front Baitrunner spool system, or true rear switch Baitrunner is largely a matter of taste. I generally prefer the latter, but soon got used to either of the former.