A Quest for a Perfect Trotting Reel
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- @MarkWintleFishing I've long enjoyed using my Mitchell Matches for trotting a float, and I've also used some fairly old Shimano Stradic reels in the 1000 and 2500 sizes, yet both reels have their advantages and disadvantages. The convenience of a finger-dab bale arm, excellent spools and line lay designed for fine lines, high speed retrieve, a rotor that goes the best way, all contrive to make the Match a classic but it's prone to tangles, long out of production, lacks a skirted spool, too heavy, prone to wear, parts are getting harder to source so waht if the best attributes of the best modern reels could be applied to a new version that weighed barely 6oz, had a skirted spool, a decent bale roller, a tangle-free auto-dab, and so on.
Another fan for CF reels here. Single handed operation when casting, no bale arm to worry about when connecting with a fish, short reach for short fingers, lightweight compared to the Michelle match...... I know there not everyone's cup of tea, but worth a place in my box
Very interesting video. I’m a fan of closed face reels and in particular the ABU1044. An updated version of this with modern materials, a wide shallow spool and slightly faster retrieve would be fantastic. Not sure how much of a market there would be. Daiwa… a new 130M?! ABU, a 1045?
Sounds like a Ryobi CF-100 to me, 3 ball bearings, carbon body, spool the size of an ABU 507 and 4.1:1 retrieve ratio.
Im a mad shimano fan. The aero 2500m was my first nice reel. Saved my money and got it. The experience of that reel blew me away. It was amazing ! Then one day took it apart to service it as id dropped in the water a few times and it needed doing. Yes took it apart and it never worked right again. Heart broken.... stopped fishing not long after. Well got to that age with family and thought id go on a fishing cabin holiday. Dusted my old tackle off and had a week. Well the joy of it , brought all those memories back back . And now ive got the money to treat my self!!! My 2500m was still waiting for me . Never got ridd of her. Bought a used one off ebay and with its parts brought my one back to life. It looks new . I treated it with such love . Theres not a mark on it. And while ive gotten my self pretty much all the Japanese reels now super aero match , stadics, twin powers xtr , power aero hs , super x match 3000hs etc etc. That reel matched with my mitchell specimen match 13ft and im 15 again.
While newer reels have advantages i dont think they will be still working like this in 30yrs time. Same as rods ive picked up drennan matchpro ultralight and maver signature pro . But ive also treated my self to normark microlite and titan 2000 and these just feel special .
I think the 90s was the pinnacle of quality last for ever fishing tackle.
Loving the vids 👌
And yes there will be a avenger added. When one pops up for sensible money
And after seeing a 1000gtm at a bloke house i was picking a drennan im9 13ft from. Was wow look how epic it look. These are like rocking horse poo. After over a year found a stradic 1000 gtm . What a cool bit of kit. Bought to use with the microlite. Hope they work together
I have bought quite a few Shimano XT7 and Aero reels for trotting, although not autobail and relatively older and expensive they do the job for me especially in the 2500 versions
Interesting discussion Mark, that prompts a number of thoughts. One of my pet peeves is reel handles that don't stay put. I have an old Sedona, which bears no resemblance to the newer ones, and is a nice reel in many ways. However, being finely balanced the handle always rests at the bottom. It's amazing how often this half or quarter turn from where I left it creates loops and tangles. A cheaper Shimano doesn't do this and very rarely tangles. Hadn't heard of Frenzee with a micro drag but it sounds just the ticket.
Old un-skirted reels like the Mitchell always ended up with the line under the spool in my hands. Another gripe is soft touch foam handles on reels, these are slippery when wet and don't give positive feedback. I'm not a fan of double handles on reels, though I put up with them for static fishing with buzzers. It was impossible to buy anything else on larger reels, but common sense has prevailed and you can buy single handled pike and carp reels today. Regarding the anti-reverse, I lost a large roach this week because it was on. Thinking I was winding in another small silver, the fish only realised it was hooked under the rod tip, and took off faster than the clutch could respond. Can't prove it wouldn't have done the same on back-wind, but you live and learn, some of us slower than others.
Just picked up a Diawa 1657 auto bail on fleabay. Quite a shallow spool but good line lay and not too heavy. It’s a shame Diawa don’t make these and the closed faced reels with new materials and technology now.
The line lay is poor compared to a Mitchell Match, the bale roller doesn't work properly and the rotation direction is the wrong way but other than that....
You can improve this reel immensely by putting some super glue (very carefully) behind the line roller to fix it from moving improving line lay on retrieval.
Don't know why most modern F-S reels are made to be so free running, this means they can often backwind under the weight of their own handles when you're least expecting it. Why would anyone want this? It's just a recipe for an unwanted tangle. Mitchell matches won't do this, tho double handles do alleviate the problem to some extent on other reels.
On a slightly different (but related) backwinding note, I see a lot of modern Shimanos don't even have a backwind facility! Apparently the reason given is that the clutches are so good. That line certainly doesn't work for me, and I'd at least like the option of backwinding when paying through the nose for a top-end reel...
The micro drag someone mentioned can cure the over freerunning problem. I need a backwind if only for when I get really tight on a fish to stop it getting into snags then need to pay out line to net it.
What you failed to mention Mark was your preference to handle; single or double? Personally I’m either although I do prefer a single handle for trotting but a double handle for stillwaters and in particular big fish ie. fishing a pellet waggler. Like others on here I much prefer a closed face reel for trotting for ease of use, better in a strong wind and for me anyhow, more comfortable to use. I also like how you can also backwind a float through for near perfect control. Takes some practice mind but in heavy flow and an overshotted float you can inch it through much like a centrepin. Would love a company to build the perfect closed face reel with modern thinking, techniques and materials but sadly their popularity seem to have declined to the point whereby no company is ever likely to do so. Suppose I will just have to look after my Ryobi CF100’s 😁
I prefer single handles as long as they don't drop under their own weight.
Years ago I did an article on Fishing Magic about the qualities an ideal closed-face might have and a very experienced reel designer who'd worked for Mitchell for decades eventually got in touch and set about redesigning a closed face reel but when he incorporated the changes needed the reel ended up much bigger and heavier than was useable. With a closed face the friction over the winding cup and pin plus poor spooling are significant drawbacks for me, that said, I used an ABU 505 extensively from 1973 to 1977 by which time I was switching over to the Mitchell Match.
What about the old Abu 506 for trotting find it is still the one for me .nice to see mitchel match
Have a look at this video of mine: ruclips.net/video/yn_D93tMOpk/видео.html
Mark W. I could use your Advice on a reel for my 13' Drennan match pro float rod. Just waggler fun fishing, with Chair & Bank Stick. The Stradic GTM-RC 3000. Current model. One comment I read. Someone bought 2 & said he has bail problem's, both broke at hinge, design defect! Have you or anyone herd of any major problems. To far to return for me. Thanks again for practical Adv. Ray S. From usa
On Amazon UK nothing but good reviews as far as the reel is concerned, and no adverse comments on fishing forums in the UK. There was a comment on Amazon.com re fake reels; perhaps that was what the comment refered to? The older Sytradics I have, original Japanese GTMs and GTM-RAs, all over 20 years old, have proved unbreakable for me despite the hammering I've given them, virtually maintenance-free as well.
In my opinion, I think the bail should spin so the line comes to the inside of your finger. I am right handed so all modern reels are correct and the Mitchells are the wrong way. I agree with the comment about line lay but I think that most modern reels from decent manufactures have good line lay. I understand that a worm driven line lay gives the best performance but both Daiwa and Shimano seem to have got cam style mechanisms to give acceptable line lay.
I used Daiwa 1657DMs for a number of years but in the end got rid of them as closing the bail manually was too much of a fiddle (although I am working on a design to allow finger dab and the ability to flick the bail closed). So I now use 3 models for all my river float fishing; Ryobi CF-100s for light stick float fishing, Shimano Aero XR 3000 for light waggler and Shimano Aero 4000 FA feeder for all heavy float work.
A point that you did not mention was spool diameter. This, along with the gear ratio, dictates the amount of line retrieved per turn of the handle. The Shaimano Aero-X 4000 has a very large diameter spool which, combined with a ratio of 5.8:1; gives over 1 meter of line per turn of the handle which I find useful when long trotting on big rivers such as the Wye. I also think that the bigger spools lead to the line comming of in less tight loops and gives better line release.
All the Shimanos I use have a 'sharp' spool lip but this is not an issue for me.
I have no problem with the rotor direction either way except in really fast water then the Mitchell shines; I seem to struggle with my Shimanos in these circumstances. One day on the Avon, fishing a very fast shallows for dace, I got so fed up up with the Shimano I retackled with the Mitchell Match and cured the problem. It is a myth about the direction of modern reels going the 'right' way but probably makes sense for the way almost all are intended to be used which is casting out lures/spinners, clicking over the bale and retrieving with no fingers getting in the way.
A question for your viewers, are Shimano spools of the same era and size, interchangeable? A couple of my high mileage reels have worn where the plastic spool meets the metal spindle, and gone baggy. I'm guessing the company made spools to slightly different specs to deter swappers, but you never know?
Sometimes! Not a very usefull answer I know, but better than nothing.