Gear ratios, retrieve rates per species - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

surfisher · 11-02-2015, 09:26 AM

For bass fishing I typically prefer something a little slower, especially for spottie fishing where you want to just roll your bait slowly over eel grass. Same thing for calico's, although for Calico I like to burn my baits to get a reaction bite so I will often being winding in fast.

For surface iron I prefer something with a faster ratio, because you want to pull the jigs through the water at a speed to make them kick properly. Some jigs swim good on a fast wind while others swim good on a slow wind, but having something that pulls in a lot of line per crank helps a lot.

Keep in mind a reel with a high gear ratio doesn't mean it will pull in a lot of line per crank, so that is one thing you definitely want to look at when picking out a reel. I'm definitely no expert but I have found those options have worked really good for me.

taggermike · 11-02-2015, 10:12 AM

This might be unhelpful but ya gotta find the retrieve speed the fish want. But like surfisher said, slower is generally better for the bass. For rockfish you're usually fishing strait down and bouncing along the bottom so slow is fine. Bonito like a jig moving farely fast. Surface iron retrieve is set by how the iron is kicking. While yoyo style is as fast as you can turn the handle. Reels can have both high gear ratios and torque now. A Trinidad is 6:1 but you can still button down the drag and grind. Some older high ratio reels just have no power. Gear ratios and line per crank differ by reel size. The length of line a little bait caster pulls per crank is nothing compared to one turn of a Penn 6/0. So it all varies but 4-5 on a ocean conventional and 6-7 on a bait caster are fine. Mike

Goose1993 · 11-02-2015, 10:13 AM

For these species, the gear ratio shouldn't matter much.

For swimbaits like big hammers, I have found that they work best when worked slowly. But a fast or slow gear ratio won't matter, you just need to reel in at the right speed. I fish the central coast for lings often. I use 6.5 inch big hammers. I pretty much drop them down to the bottom and slowly move them, letting the current wiggle their tail and give them the swimming action. Clearly, the gear ratio would make no difference. This technique works well in the winter for calicos too.

Now that yellowtail have slowed down, I'll fish for calicos. I use the same reel I use for yellowtail which is an Avet MXL 5.8. I'll just put 20 # mono on instead of 30 # mono. I'll mainly be fishing swimbaits. I'll just adjust my reeling speed until I get the lure to swim at the speed I like.

If I were you I would go with a high speed reel. All my reels are high speed single speed. I have never felt the need for a low speed to turn the head on a big pelagic, and never had a problem fishing for smaller inshore fish.

11-02-2015, 09:26 AM	#1
surfisher Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 388	For bass fishing I typically prefer something a little slower, especially for spottie fishing where you want to just roll your bait slowly over eel grass. Same thing for calico's, although for Calico I like to burn my baits to get a reaction bite so I will often being winding in fast. For surface iron I prefer something with a faster ratio, because you want to pull the jigs through the water at a speed to make them kick properly. Some jigs swim good on a fast wind while others swim good on a slow wind, but having something that pulls in a lot of line per crank helps a lot. Keep in mind a reel with a high gear ratio doesn't mean it will pull in a lot of line per crank, so that is one thing you definitely want to look at when picking out a reel. I'm definitely no expert but I have found those options have worked really good for me. __________________

11-02-2015, 10:12 AM	#2
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	This might be unhelpful but ya gotta find the retrieve speed the fish want. But like surfisher said, slower is generally better for the bass. For rockfish you're usually fishing strait down and bouncing along the bottom so slow is fine. Bonito like a jig moving farely fast. Surface iron retrieve is set by how the iron is kicking. While yoyo style is as fast as you can turn the handle. Reels can have both high gear ratios and torque now. A Trinidad is 6:1 but you can still button down the drag and grind. Some older high ratio reels just have no power. Gear ratios and line per crank differ by reel size. The length of line a little bait caster pulls per crank is nothing compared to one turn of a Penn 6/0. So it all varies but 4-5 on a ocean conventional and 6-7 on a bait caster are fine. Mike

11-02-2015, 10:13 AM	#3
Goose1993 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 115	For these species, the gear ratio shouldn't matter much. For swimbaits like big hammers, I have found that they work best when worked slowly. But a fast or slow gear ratio won't matter, you just need to reel in at the right speed. I fish the central coast for lings often. I use 6.5 inch big hammers. I pretty much drop them down to the bottom and slowly move them, letting the current wiggle their tail and give them the swimming action. Clearly, the gear ratio would make no difference. This technique works well in the winter for calicos too. Now that yellowtail have slowed down, I'll fish for calicos. I use the same reel I use for yellowtail which is an Avet MXL 5.8. I'll just put 20 # mono on instead of 30 # mono. I'll mainly be fishing swimbaits. I'll just adjust my reeling speed until I get the lure to swim at the speed I like. If I were you I would go with a high speed reel. All my reels are high speed single speed. I have never felt the need for a low speed to turn the head on a big pelagic, and never had a problem fishing for smaller inshore fish.