Reel for Heavy Stuff!

Im looking to get a reel to tackle species like conger, ling and would also handle tope, any advice on these reels or any better suggestions??

Maximuss 777
Penn 535
Penn 190 Sea boy

Any of the ones listed will do you Mark. For an all round reel make sure it has a good ratio. The 535 will tackle all but the biggest fish and had a fast retrieve. The 777 looks like an ABU clone and should work well (not too sure of ratio). I think the Sea Boy has a low ratio and could be hard work in deep water.I recently got a Surecatch leverdrag DW20LD (ratio 4.2:1) and it looks great. I haven't got to use it in anger yet but it won't break the bank either.

Jim

i would forget about the seaboy but would add a penn longbeach (silly name its a boat reel) comes in 4 or 5 different sizes
atomic bomb proof, simple rugged construction no fancy bits but its a penn and it cheap as chips

Second that on the Longbeach, super reel. No airs or graces at all with it just a bloody good winch...... :D And your right, its virtually bulletproof and cheap as hell.

So i guess it will take care of a tope??

Will the 535 not handle tope??

Longbeach would have no problem handling a tope, they have a huge line capacity and a decent drag, but neither would the 535 if thats what you wanted. Only thing about the longbeach is they're a sight cheaper than a 535. You cant really cast them too well all the same, if uptiding was something you were looking at.

any of those reels will handle Tope. Tope really are not that big of a deal. People hype them up but most set ups wil deal with them if you don't simply try to drag them to the boat and allow them to run. I have a Sea Boy 190 and it is a fine reel. very sturdy and well able for a Tope. It is comparable with a an ABU 7000 as far as guts go. I have used it for Tope but tend to use a pair of 7000 ABU's for the job as i find them such a pleasure to fish with more than anything else. The Penn 535 overall is probably a better reel than the sea boy for the reason that it can be casted when uptiding but the Seaboy has a vey big spool capacity in comparrison. the drag is also a quality set up as on most Penn reels. I do not have a 535 but i hear good reports and i know jim and his brother use them all the time. The Long beach is a bit oversized fo fishing in this country in my opinion. Every fish you are likely to catch in Irish waters can be tamed with a 7000 size reel bar say maybe really big Conger over 40 lb, common skate and bluefin Tuna. Any of the ABU 7000's, Penn Sea Boy, 535 GS, Shimano Calcutta, Penn 975 and many of the Okuma range will cover the species mentioned. Some of these reels are more expensive than others and some are fancier than others but all will do the job. And as far as the Tope go, take it from some one who has caught a few biggies, they are over rated. I am currently fishing for them on an 8lb class rod with an Abu 6500 synchro drag reel loaded with 20lb braid. Now that will be a hell of a fight mind you but i have no doubt it will do the job! :roll:

the smallest longbeach i think its the 60 holds 275/30lb mono.
another one is the jigmaster, penn say you can cast with it but i would not try it!! very high retreive 5:1 also tool-less spool change.

you will notice that i am a bit of a tight wad both my longbeach and jigmaster date to the shop in glasgow doing the recondtioned reels at bargin prices never spent more than £40 on a reel or £30 on a rod!