Lot of great thought's here! Interesting observation that the high speed reels could have the fish feel the rod more easily if you reel down hard and fast. Also getting the bait back in more efficiently with less hangs on the way back, excellent point as well.
A lot of guys from Florida like the Fitsgerald and the Dobyns, they should both are excellent designs IMO as well.
No question, in Fla, the Gammie Super Heavy cover hook is VERY popular
I do like my REVO's and Fitzgerald's, I am going to give the new Fitzgerald bait caster a try though....
Spanky
A good stout reel with brass gears is optimal. Speed is a preference thing. The rod and the line are going to be the bread and butter of the combo. 50-80lb braid, and a stiff enough rod to do the job. Length of the rod is a personal preference thing as well. I use a OG Tatula in the 7 gear ratio, and a XH 7'3 rod. Depending on cover type and thickness is going to determine braid size. I like 50lb as it seems to not be too thick. Havent broken 50lb braid yet, and have pulled some big fish out of some knarly stuff on Lake Okeechobee.
I've never used anything bigger than 50lb braid and haven't had any problemsOriginally Posted by LgMouthGambler
I like 50 lb braid for weights 1 oz. and less. I like 65 lb. braid for weights over 1 oz. as the thicker braid helps with control and is more abrasive resistance.
I use a 7:1 Inshore reel. Either the Shimano or Revo. There's not a lot of difference, the Revo fits my hand a little better. The Inshore lines are over built and you can get heavier drag. The best rod I've found is no doubt the Fitzgerald Titan HD. It weighs more but the fish stay buttoned with a Gammy SHC hook a lot better!
Other than that, just do whatever Frogchunker says. If you do that you will catch more fish.
Stroker / 250xs
Triton 180 / 175 pro xs
Great conversation. Question, not discussed yet, what about drag? Do you not think significant drag weight helps get a fish out of the mat? I've seen some at 11lbs and others at 22lbs.
I've had reels slip with big fish in this stuff, is that not asking for trouble?
Always trying to learn, interested in your replies.
No drag in heavy flipping,lock that sucker down..I’ve used pliers before to lock drags down
Flipping, froggin, etc. as tight as I can get it. If one is using the correct gear with braid, and the correct hook (good knot), no concern at all for losing a fish or bending out a hook. Again, just my take but a big issue is the wrong rod that puts pressure on the reel and line. Needs the correct tip and load. IMO the industry has gone too far (catchig the fisherman) in technique specific rods and reels for everything. However, four areas I pay special attention to my rods are: jerkbait rod, flippin rod, drop shot rod, and topwater lilly pad rod. Sorry to keep rambling but been deployed for eight months and ready to fish.
Or a little "thumb drag".No drag in heavy flipping,lock that sucker down..I’ve used pliers before to lock drags down
This is a great discussion and I will agree that I haven’t seen people “flip” in Florida in a long time. Pitching is much more what many people, including me do. I very recently got a “custom” rod and my mind had changed dramatically! This rod is so sensitive but strong! 7’4” is longer than I thought I thought I could use being 5’10” but this rod is SO light (5.2oz) SO sensitive yet SO strong that I’m 100% sold on this rod. I’m currently using a 7.5:1 reel and that feels the right speed to me.
I have gone backwards on my line, always used 65lb 832 but I have gone down to 50. It seems to hang up less, make less noise and I don’t have to use such a large weight. I like to keep my weight 1/2oz if I can, will only go up if I cannot get the lure through the mat or it won’t get to the bottom.
I know we are looking for reaction bites but when using 3/4oz and above the bait falls too fast for MY liking once I get through the top layer. I use beaver style baits predominantly but will use a Brush Hog or jig/rage craw as well.
If flipping in wood, braid is useless and I’m having a hard time finding what line to use! After a friend introduced me to Tenoroc I found that 65lb 832 acts more like a saw and just cuts into wood! I am currently looking for a line to use in that scenario.
As as far as hook, the Gamakatsu Superline EWG is my go to, usually in 5/0. For real flipping, a straight shank snelled hook is the ticket but I rarely truly flip.
I’ve been looking at the Lews SuperDuty G Speed Spool LFS in either 7.5 or 8.3 to try as a pitching/frog reel. I don’t own any other Lews reels (except for my BPS reels since they’re both made by Doyos) but it seems to fit all the criteria for a good flipping/pitching reel.
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Mark, The Revo Rocket and either my Shimano Core 100 MgFv's ( up graded drag) and Metainium's have plenty of drag and in the case of the Core MgFv's they were expressly built for flipping/pitching so they have held up through anything while not having to be overly heavy as some Inshore reels are I find. That said the inshores are built beefier. Interesting note about the Fitzgerald Titan HD keeping them hooked up, I think "balanced" is more important than "lite"
This is a great conversation indeed and trust me I could go on and on about, braids, hooks, Knots, baits etc for hours but the speed of the reel and if with that speed torque is lost substantially is my main focus here. In a car/truck motor we can all see what the HP and Torque specs are. I'm looking for a reel ( aren't we all) that has a motor like a SRT Durango, Tons of HP and almost as much torque as HP.
Although pitching has replaced a lot of flipping, I still flip where I can and when boat control allows me to.
You will generall get 2 to 3 flips for every pitch. However pitching is less fatiguing than flipping at my age
The only time I ever flip is when I totally screw up boat control and got too close or went over something that I didn't see. If I only "flipped" I'd use a reel with a pretty darn low gear ratio but hardly ever flip and always pitch/punch so the reel gear ratio question in the first place.
Oh I keep them cranked down tight.No drag in heavy flipping,lock that sucker down..I’ve used pliers before to lock drags down
I am correct in assuming a reel that has a 11lb max drag is like having a 20lb max drag only tighten part way?
So for thick fishing, pads or reeds, a 20lb max reel will have a better chance keeping the fish on than a 11lb reel?
Duckett White Ice 8' Flippin stick w/ Smoke S3 8:1 reel. 80# Samurai braid & trokar hooks (have 3 of them for different weights). i have started going smaller on the hook and have less snags but it took a litle to get use to. with the 6/O you catch em but if its not a perfect hookset you will have some come off. Im down to the 3/0 & 4/O trokar hooks now. the rod does all the work getting them up, the reel speed just keeps them up and gets them in fast. IMO its a combo of all components.
I pretty much started researching the best flippers on the tours and took some from them all when I decided on my setup, then bought the brands that I like & trust.
Interesting additional info. The 8' White Ice rod was designed by Gary Klien, obviously one of the first Ca flippers from way back. Samurai was made very popular by Randall Tharp and Ish a bunch years back when their were few 8 carrier braids. A 6/0 Trokar hook? that's very large and I assume the bait is pretty big for that hook to fit? Which Trokar hook are you using and with what bait? I'd find a 6/0 Trokar hook aside from having hard time fitting the bait, not penetrating a real thick mat very easily.
I like your remark about researching the best "flippers" but are you being specific to "flippers" or including "Pitchers/punchers" in that list? I'm curious, who do you think the best are?
Thanks all for the great conversation
Its a Shishamo, Duckett, Kast King reel.
Do you have one?, what can you tell me about it?
Spanky
I dont have one, and the reason is... its Chinese garbage.
Reply With Quote
