Fixed Spool Profiles ?

[Led]

Not having used any of the Big Daiwa 'ABS' reels for any serious amount of casting, are these better than the traditional tapered spools (i.e. larger at the back than the front)

If so why ?

[will powell]

take a look at emcast reels from diawa ,great value reel with perfect line lay and smooth as silk for casting

[Led]

Will,

Is that 'ABS' model ? How does it compare to the Shimano's ?

[will powell]

yep the emcast have ABS spools, shimano biomaster xt14000 for me is the boy, massive 85mm dia spool ,500yd capacity spool.

[Chris_Hughes]

Things that we are given to believe that are distance killers for fixed spools are :-

(1) Friction as the line passes through the rod rings/guides, we lessen this effect by using larger diameter rings and less of them.

(2) Friction as the line passes over the front edge of the spool or the coil of line immediately in front of it. So any thing that puts a reverse taper on the spool e.g., ABS, is counter productive, as is any thing that wraps the line so close that when the line is peeling off from the back, it has to rise over the coil immediately in front of it. I think this is that case with the big Shimano reels where the line lay is too close and the spool diameters so big that the initial coil diameters are counter productive.

If I had the budget, my choice of reel would be for 50 gram upwards, a Daiwa Tournament TS6000 (basically the same as the older Millionmax 9000) and a Basia 45 for plugs (and maybe lighter leads but I'm not sure if the spool has the capacity). Both these reels have long small diameter forward taper spools, which I believe will result in the minimum of drag/friction loss.

I think the "casting intelligence" of the sixties with their "wedding cake" spooled Mitchells where spot on. I wish I had the engineering / fabrication equipment and skills to take a current stock reel and alter it to take a long narrow spool.

[will powell]

take a look at the shimano aero technium xt/xta pricey but a work of art.

[Led]

I keep looking at a Aero Technium MGS 10000 XSA @ £459.99rrp £399.99 isn't beyond me, however as it only weighs 495gms its a contender. Products

The Basia 45 @ £375.00rrp £285.00 looks very nice weighs 17.8oz but only holds 240m of 12lb Daiwa Sports - Tournament Basia Carp Reel

Only 1 spool with the Daiwa and spares at £75 each !!

Decisions decisions

[Chris_Hughes]

Andy,
Go on, go for the Basia, you know it makes sense. Shop around and you should beat £285 by a few bob.

Also consider the TS6000, a good £100 less than the Basia. The spool length and diameter are similar (identical ?) to the Basia, but deeper, so holds a lot more line (more than enough for anybody), the downside is the weight in comparison with the Basia.

With respect to the Basia spool capacity, you may be able to purchase alternative spools if you deal direct with a Japanese retailer.

Will,
There is no doubt that the Shimano reels are well built and engineered, but they don't have a monopoly on that concept. I just feel they are the wrong shape for outright distance. In simple words for fixed spool distance casting "long and thin" is better than "short and fat".

[Led]

Chris,

Do you know of the Turn ratio of the Basia (Rotor turns from front to back and back to front) ?

For Plugs I use a Shimano Super Aero XT and the other week a Penn SM70 for the 100gm.

Idealy I want to keep the weight down to increase rod speed.

[Chris_Hughes]

The scratchy piece of paper I have on my desk says 14 turns bottom to top to bottom - not sublime like the Shimanos, but more than good enough, The spool has a 65mm dia at the back face and a 52mm throat. I can't confirm if the throat is matched by a similar distance of front to back oscillation of the spool during winding, so that the line seats well between the front and back face of the spool. These measurements are what I jotted down when I had one in my hand earlier this year. What I noticed was the lightness of the reel, at about 18 oz it's a good 6 oz lighter than the run of the mill big pit reels. They are a nice bit of engineering.

I looked earlier on at one of the Japanese sites and the standard #5 spool is the largest spool, Although you can sometimes squeeze an extra few yards of line on over that quoted by the manufacturer you will struggle to get enough 0.28mm line on the reel. You may get enough 0.25mm line for 50 gram and 75 gram but again for 100 gram it may struggle on capacity. For the plugs it should be more than OK.

Perhaps if you have access to a metal worker/machinist then you could possibly skim a millimetre or so off the spool to gain that extra capacity.

[inford]

i know one thing my diawa t6000 holds a hell off a lot of 25 line

[Chris_Hughes]

Yes Ian, the TS6000T holds 330m of 18 lbs line (0.38mm ?) that's going to mean a lot more 0.25mm line. But they are heavier than the Basias.

One of the crap angling shops (Freudian slip) near me has them in at £155 each and I'm tempted, but then again the four women in my life have ensured that my wedge of brown folding stuff has been slimed down somewhat recently.

[will powell]

Andy,
Go on, go for the Basia, you know it makes sense. Shop around and you should beat £285 by a few bob.

Also consider the TS6000, a good £100 less than the Basia. The spool length and diameter are similar (identical ?) to the Basia, but deeper, so holds a lot more line (more than enough for anybody), the downside is the weight in comparison with the Basia.

With respect to the Basia spool capacity, you may be able to purchase alternative spools if you deal direct with a Japanese retailer.

Will,
There is no doubt that the Shimano reels are well built and engineered, but they don't have a monopoly on that concept. I just feel they are the wrong shape for outright distance. In simple words for fixed spool distance casting "long and thin" is better than "short and fat".

Short and fat ,just like me frodo:lol

[Chris_Hughes]

Short and fat ,just like me frodo:lol

Will, "short and fat "is me as well. But when I look in the mirror, I see somebody 35 years younger who was "long and thin" (single figure stones). I think I have the opposite of Anorexia if there is such a thing.

[will powell]

yes ,i must keep my head out the quality street tin for a bit and knuckle down this year