sl20sh as a casting reel

[Stuey]

Got a sl30sh which I use for rock fishing - 30lb line straight through, but looking for more of a distance casting tool.

Fancy a sl20sh but heard its a bit of a handful when spooled with anything less than 20lb line. Also looking at a Penn 525 GS but wonder if I would be missing out on smoother casting if I didn't also look at a Penn with magnets.

regards

Stu

[Beachlover]

If it's a distance reel for fishing over clean ground with light line and a shock leader then I would recommend any of the Abu rocket or Abu 6500ct or the Diawa 7HT, they are all brilliant distance casting tools. I have a sl20sh and have it full of 15lb line with a shock leader but have never got round to trying it, mind you I've only had it about 3 years!

[Oblickta]

Hi, get a Penn 525 Tournamag (knobby) and you can cast 300 yards without a fishin rod.........! The top distance men can chuck miles with basic gear cos they know how to do it. If u want distance spend ur cash on lessons b4 u upgrade ur gear IMo

I started sea fishing with a Penn Sea Scamp (bakerlite) and a green rod wth red handles and with a full blown overhead thump I could reach 30 yards from loydds jetty and the breaking system was how much thumb flesh and blood flew into the air. Those were the days!..... I caught more seagulls than fish and fell off the jetty twice.

I think the GS has blocks and not mags but if ur looking for advice please dont take any notice of me

good luck

[tooly]

I have the sl20sh and the 6500ct,both excellent casting reels.Using the abu I can put 20 yds on the distance I get with the slosh but I dont have both fully wound off yet(due to lack of bottle)I tried it once on the abu and just cut the line off and replaced it.
I have 15lb on the slosh,gonna change it to 18 for a bit more confidence,got 18 on the abu

[jamcod]

hello i use a sl30 for the rocks and have a sl20 for the beach with 18lb line on and 40lb leader and have little trouble with casting , and its a bonus to be able to reel your gear in fast , i think it has 6,1 ratio gear.s,( but saying that its all about choice) jamcod

[CHUKKA]

I have owned the following and rate them :

6500ct/6500 mag -
These are the best for out and out distance with 12 - 15lb line. They can be fully loaded to the lip of the spool without too much problems and the break blocks prevent crack offs. You need to make sure you balance the spools though and they then run brilliantly. They are useless however for winding in anything of any weight ie codlings, rays or doggies.

7ht original -
Easy to cast but very slow running, personally i dont think they are a good distance reel.

525 mag -
Sturdily built but the magnets come loose as do the handles work loose. They are very temperamental for fishing with bait and into the wind. One minute fine the next a birds nest. I find that to get a reasonable amount of control you need the mags on 6-8. They are then quite slow and you can really feel the mags holding the cast back and cutting distance. They also dont seem to like being fully filled and are best with slightly heavier ie 15-25lb line. To me they still need brake blocks to take the initial sting out of the cast with the mags as back up.

Slosh 20 -
These are my favourite for fishing and i keep coming back to them as they rarely let me down when casting decent baits and fishing into the wind. They cast brilliantly with 20lb line and one tiny white block. I can also get away with overfilling the spool and this really adds to the distance. When over filled you also get an extra fast retrieve. Be careful though when cranking in a heavy load as the spools can pop occasionally, its nowt to worry about though. I find that i have extreme confidence with the sloshes and can hit a cast as hard as i like without problems. With a 525mag your just expecting a crack off.The slosh 20 is a superb distance fishing reel but only if you can grip the spool correctly, its therefore best reel down.

Overall if i were to pick reels it would depend on the ground or species i was fishing for.
Clean ground and small fish with 12-15lb line buy an abu 6500 mag
Clean to mixed ground (15-25lb line) buy a 525 mag (but buy the one with extra mags)
All round - Slosh 20 (18-30lb line)

As the sloshes are cheaper you can nearly get 2 for the price of a 525 mag!

[Stuey]

thanks for the responses lads. Chukka that was really helpful. Think I'm gonna get a slosh 20, as I've had no problems with my 30 and a new one as you say is about £65.00. Not interested in mega distances but want somerthing that will allow a bit more distance than a slosh30 loaded with 30lb line.

regards

Stu

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

I was going to throw my ten penneth in but it looks like you're sorted Stu .
This is what NESA is all about.

[Stuey]

cheers steve.

regards

stu

[Stuey]

well my daiwa sl20h ordered on sunday night arrived first thing this morning prompt. I got it from http://www.poingdestres.co.uk/ and I cannot fault their price or level of service.

Got the reel spooled with 20lb line. How many and size of brake blocks do people recommend I run with?

regards

Stu

[codfather1985]

i use a slosh20 with 18 pound line with a shock leader and i have no problems with it. ive also got a abu 6500 ct rocket,brilliant casting real but i find its no go for getting big fish in.525 gs mag is a good real,if i was u i would get a 525 mag or 525 super mag.

[tack4]

try both blocks in at first then reduce to one when you are ready

great reeling in ratio luv mi slosh 20

[CHUKKA]

I would advise putting in one of the large red blocks, a dab of thick oil. Line level with the top of the spool. A tiny bit of end tension.

Then try possibly try reducing the block size down to a tiny white one
Then try experimenting with line level. I can get away with mine humped a little but they can get a little bit lairy if using thin line less than .45mm !

I find the reels run best with a decent dollop of heavy(ish) oil in the bearings and on the spindle.

Once they are running well leave well alone and dont keep stripping down.

Also remember these are very high speed reels and you may find you wind fish off on the retrieve until you get used to them. If you get a reasonable fish on slow down or you will literally wind the hook out of the fish.

[Stuey]

thanks chukka,

I fished this afternoon with the reel and 2 of the small whiteish brake blocks. Felt fine for the first 2/3rds of the cast but as the lead started falling it took a fair bit of thumb pressure to slow the spool and my thumb got a bit hot!!!

Think I will remove the end plate and grease up the spindles and if that doesn't slow it a bit, will then put some heavy oil on the bearings.

As to the line, I have filled it to about 3mm from the top of the spool with 20lb Red Ice.

regards

stu