Alright I have wasted away my summer working an internship...so now it is time to blow some of the cash I made.

I want something that will be good for fishing yellows and such on 30-40lb test. Something with good length and backbone to really put the muscle on the fish and keep em out of the kelp(dont even want to know how many yellows I have lost in the kelp at clemente.)

As for the reel the obviously qualities. Good drag, line capacity for 30-40lb test, ect...

I think I am willing to blow around $400-$450

Any suggestions.....

ooh ooh I am the first to get to say what I think!
Son buy yourself a custom Calstar 90J and a Newell 332-5
Then show those yellow tail what's up.
No one best be arguing with me :-)

Okay, I don't want to argue with Rob or anything :o and I don't know what the 90J is but why not go with the Graphiter (900M).

***********************

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

90J very nice rod. Rated 30-60lb. 9 footer. Glass. If I lived down south I would definitely own one.

No no no... I have seen the benefits of short rods for those tough fighters, especially if you're trying to horse em away from kelp or structure. Calico bass is one thing, and yellowtail is another. A long rod is to your advantage when you calico bass fish, but for yellowtail and tuna and such a short rod is your best friend. Now, Jason, assuming you want to fish live bait on this stick, I'd got with the 700M. It's a pretty sweet 40# stick but it might be a bit too stiff for 30. I'd personally fish 30 on it once in awhile, but I'd stick to 40 most of the time. You can really put the hurt to em with this stick. If you get that custom wrapped it'll wind up being about $150 with cork tape. If you wanna save some cash, talk to me, I'll wrap it up for ya for no labor cost. As for the winch, one of the best 40# reels on the market right now is the progear 454. Harbor Tackle has some of the old models in stock right now for about $230 I believe. These older models don't have clickers, but if you're only fishing party boats you don't need one. The new ones run $280. Another thing you could do is buy a 4/0 and accurize it (put accurate sideplates, narrow frame, narrow spool and handle on it) to yellowtail special size.

If you want a 30# stick, go 700ML in the Calstar lineup. Look around at the Seekers too, though. For a 30# reel I'd recommend the progear 540, TLD 20/40, or Shimano speedmaster IV (or III or II if you can find one).
-Brian

no way grasshopper. I know I'm the tuna rookie but I've caught a few yellowtail. If your throwing iron for yellowtail the 90J is the one. I think it would make a great bait rod too. Why, cause long rods kick butt }> Those short rods are for sissies!

lol. Jigs, yes. Bait, no. There's no need for a 9ft. bait rod. It defeats the purpose of a bait rod. You don't need distance on the cast, you don't need to move line with the hookset. The main goal of a bait stick is to fight fish (and possibly toss a dine a minimal distance). Therefore, the short rod is in order. JMO.
-Brian

Dear God, Hell must have frozen over, Brian finally admit the 700ML is a 30# stick!!!

lol. I will allow for normal people to use it as a 30# stick...
-Brian

Seeker, CJBF70, 7', rated for 40#, but 30# does fine. It has a soft enough tip to cast well and/or fish the 30#. But, it also has butt loads of backbone. It's about as versatile as you can wisely ask for. 30-40#, bait or yoyo. For the reel. I have used my Progear 454 for 40#, my Progear 2500 Pacifica for 30#, and my TLD 20/40 for 30#. All of them did fine, but the 454 is what will be staying on it. I want a dedicated 30# setup. The Pacificas are good reels, but if you plan on more than 3-4 overnights a year go with the regular Progears.

Everyone else can stop posting now.
Amish Ed

ya that's right, NORMAL people use it for 30#, but you know...wierdo kine o' people use it for 25# lol. mind you hawk uses it with 20# (??!!!??!!!??).

Well I think I am gonna have to side with Rob on the size issue and say that bigger is better. I have been short polin it for awhile now on my yellowtail trips. I have seen guys with 9foot beef sticks grabbing yellows by the ears and showing them who is boss for too long now. I want my turn.

The Calstar 90J looks pretty damn good. Where would you guys recommend I go to get that sucker wrapped.

As for the reel. That Pro-Gear 454 sure does look sweet(hhmmm comes in 4 different colors too which one should I pick.
But the Newell 332-5 is a good reel and much cheaper. Decisions, decisions,....well as it stands now i think I am leaning toward the progear.

Alright I have to get these suckers before my Sept 6th 2day trip. That would be cool

I recently acquired a Shimano Calcutta 400 and was wondering if anyone on this board does special poles(wraps ect)? Would the 400 work for YT or Albies if it were on the right pole?

Thanks,

Broomy

LAST EDITED ON Aug-17-01 AT 03:18 PM (PST)

The 400 is a perfect 15# reel for albacore and yellowtail. The only downside to fishing little reels like that is that if you hook a bluefin (which are often mixed in with the albacore) you're pretty screwed. Nonetheless, I always pack the 400 on albacore trips. No better 15# reel IMO. Can't say I'd opt to soak a big old dine way back in the chumline with it, but it'll kill a few albacore.

Pete (leapinbass, see http://www.leapinbass.com) and I both wrap rods.
-Brian

the 454's kinda big for that, if you want a pro gear get a 545. its the same size as the 332-99 size. take a look at the daiwa 40hv too. i wouldn't want to fish 40# on those reels, especially for yt's, but you did mention the 332 so...

I was thinking the 545 was too small. Pretty much everything I can find rates it for 15-30lb. While the 454 is 30-50, why wouldnt you want to fish yellowtail on it? Heck they even call it the "yellowtail special"
http://www.progearreels.com/specs454.html
The Newell has a bit more line capacity than the 545 which is why I was considering it.

Of course I havent held any of these reels in my hands for a long time now, (Man I havent been in a tackle shop all summer) so I might be quite a few things about the reels I just dont remember about the reels and cant tell from the specs i have looked up.

The Progear 545 and Newell 332 are the same size reel (narrow jigmaster, aka "99" size or albacore special). The 454 is yellowtail special size, or narrow 4/0. There's no way in hell I'd fish 40# on a "99" size reel (the 332 or 545). I would have second thoughts about fishing 30 on it (unless it was on a jigstick for surface iron) because it would just lack the line capacity. A 454 on a 90J might seem overbalanced, so I'd suggest looking into that (yet another reason for a short rod...). Basically if you want a 40# reel it's got to be 4/0 size or 4/0 narrow size. Then you gotta find a rod that it's not overbalanced on.
-Brian

exactly. i use my 454 on a 700m for yoyoing. but for throwing surface iron you generally use a 99 size reel. and if you back the durn thing with spectra, you won't have to worry about capacity.

LAST EDITED ON Aug-18-01 AT 04:47 PM (PST)

Ok I went out and did my shopping. You guys were definately right about the 454 being unbalanced on the calstar 90J, but I still didnt like the 545 because of line capacity. So I got the 541 which is a wider version of the 545. It feels like a really good fit, and I am happy with my choice. Heh now I am gonna ditch work on wed to get on an overnight boat. Kinda hard to get out when you work during the week and refuse to go on an open party boat on a weekend(do to an experiense with a drunken redneck named Bob)