Need schooled on reel speeds

[D.O.C. 989]

Can someone give me a simplified schooling on why there are so many different reel retrieve speeds and what line pickup in inches does for technique specific reels. this spring i am going to attempt some bass fishing. I will be throwing t-rigged plastics in brush and wood cover, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits in weeds, rocks, stumps and brush, crankbaits of different depths in open water and cover. If all goes well i would also like to get into some CR stuff. Topwater is also on the list. Any help for these retrieve and line pickup issues would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead for the help.

[bronzebacks]

You want to pick up line fast on jigs and tx rigs so anything from 30 inches per turn + 7.1:1 and up. For moving baits like spinnerbaits chatterbaits and cranks i prefer 28 inches per turn or lower 7.1:1 to 6.2:1. Deep crqnks have a lot of resistance so thats where the 5.1:1 and reels shine

[Fishysam]

As far as the super high speed reels like 9.0/1 or 8.0/1 they are best with things like jerkbaits where you move the lure with the rod and reel up slack line. If your throwing cranks baits, shallow running 7/1 medium drop down to 6.4/1 or so then deep divers slower like 5.4/1. More or less the amount of resistance a lure has the slower gear ratio helps you fish it all day. Worm fishing has little resistance but you have to know to fish slower so the 7/1 spinnerbaits and chatterbait s I like 6.4 because I reel fast not because they pull hard.

[TheAnglerExperience]

Just keep in mind that everything you have read are simple guidelines. You are going to fine tune your reel choices depending on your own standard reel speed. Some people enjoy low 5 ratio reels because it will slow down your bait while you continue to reel at a "comfortable" speed for you. Others prefer to stay in the more common 6-7 ratios and simply slow down their speed manually. Having a faster reel allows you go keep tension on fish running toward you and thats more important for many people.

[NRXfever]

As with anything else in life.. each person has they're own likes and dislikes and u have to decide that for yourself ultimately.. however, here is what I use.. for slow moving baits like cranks and swimjigs I use a 5 to 1 ratio reel for cranks deeper than 10 ft.. never faster than 6.3 to 1 which is what I use for squarebills and swimjigs.. anything bottom contact I use 7 to 1 or higher.. on my finesse casting set up I do use a 6.8 to 1 though.. frogs and flipping and pitching I use 8 to 1 ratio because u wanna pick up line in a hurry

[Jeff Hahn]

Referencing gear ratios can be very misleading. Reels with larger diameter spools will retrieve more inches of line per turn of the handle than reels with smaller diameter spools. So, here's my take in inches per turn of the reel handle.

For fishing big crankbaits or spinnerbaits in deep water...I prefer a reel with 19 inches of line retrieved per turn of the handle.

For most moving baits in shallower water...25-28 inches of line per turn.

For baits fished along the bottom, where the rod is used to move the bait, then reels that retrieve 30+ inches of line per turn.

[Jfish]

All good information here. The only thing that I would add is that the 6.2:1 reels (25-28 inches per turn as Jeff pointed out) are generally the middle of the road and IMO the best all around reels. I used them for pretty much everything except deep crankbaits.

[Big Guy]

All good information here. The only thing that I would add is that the 6.2:1 reels (25-28 inches per turn as Jeff pointed out) are generally the middle of the road and IMO the best all around reels. I used them for pretty much everything except deep crankbaits.

Me too