Would You Tow Your Boat with a Porsche?

[Garry2Rs]

I got this in the E-mail today and thought it was something many people might like to read.

Garry2rs

 

 

Would You Tow Your Boat with a Porsche?

Porsche 911 A Porsche 911 is a sweet ride, but you wouldn't use it to haul a 22-foot bass boat. So it is with baitcaster gear ratios. There are tradeoffs, and you need to pick your reel accordingly.

 

At the slow end of the spectrum, reels in the 5:1 range generate torque and do the heavy lifting. The spool rotates five times for every full turn of the reel, which means you can fish big Colorado-blade spinnerbaits and deep-diving cranks without wearing your arm out.

 

On the opposite end are reels with ratios that exceed 7:1. These speed machines are bred for burning fast-moving baits like willow-leaf spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Some anglers like 'em for flippin', because they wind up about three feet of line per crank and can pull bass out of the junk in a hurry.

 

The middle-of-the-road ratio is about 6:1. Reels with this versatile gearing let you fish a variety of small crankbaits and plastics.

 

But if you're flush with cash, the best route is to buy a reel from each category—plus the Porsche.

[TC1OZ]

If I had both, I'm sure I would have enough money to buy a truck...

 

But seriously good info on the ratios!

[fishnsled]

This might explain why my 20+ year old 5:1 tanks are still going. Don't need the attention like a Porsche does.

[bdox]

While gear ratio can give you a general idea of the speed of the reel, the actual IPT (Inches Per handle Turn) can vary greatly in any given ratio. This is because of spool size. I have 5:1 reels that bring in anywhere between 20" and 24" of line per turn. Even though it is a 5:1 ratio reel, 24" is too much for me when retrieving deep diving cranks. This is something to take into consideration when looking for application-specific reels.

[Garry2Rs]

While gear ratio can give you a general idea of the speed of the reel, the actual IPT (Inches Per handle Turn) can vary greatly in any given ratio. This is because of spool size. I have 5:1 reels that bring in anywhere between 20" and 24" of line per turn. Even though it is a 5:1 ratio reel, 24" is too much for me when retrieving deep diving cranks. This is something to take into consideration when looking for application-specific reels.

 

Inches-Per-Handle-Turn is a very good point, and one that is often overlooked it gear ratio discussions.

Garry2R's

[Rizzo]

nuts, and here I thought you bought a porsche. How full you keep your spool will affect the speed too

[aplumma]

I have found that 7:1 very useful when crankin for predator fish while 5:1 good for baitfishing. Both ratios have the power needed to haul in 50 lb cats both quality reels have lasted me for 4 years now and counting.

 

 

Art

[MCTFisher9120]

For me a 6.3:1 is a good all round gear ratio reel. Honestly it's not hard to turn the handle slower to make ur lure slow down...for some it is.

 

Either way it makes sense about the high speed reels

[Terry]

yup inches retrieved per turn is what I look for

 

and once I have a fish on, I use the rod to fight the fish

the reel is to gather up the line