Have been using a 7.1 reel for bladed jigs ans spinnerbaits . anyone using 6.3 or 6.1 nd find any difference thanks for your input guys nd Merry Christmas !!!!!
Have been using a 7.1 reel for bladed jigs ans spinnerbaits . anyone using 6.3 or 6.1 nd find any difference thanks for your input guys nd Merry Christmas !!!!!
6.3:1
Anything between 5 and 8 will work. You need to see what works for you depending your comfortable hand speed.
I personally cannot tell the difference between one number in ratio. (5 to 6, 6 to 7, etc.) I can feel a two difference.
I generally use 6:1, but if I have a faster or slower rod on the deck and don't feel like digging another rod out of the locker, I'll just tie it on.
If the 7 works for you, just use it.
For me its either a 7.1 or a 6.8:1
6.2:1
I prefer 26-30 IPTs. Same gear ratio with different diameter spools put out different retrieve speeds.
I know many feel the lower ratios help them keep the bait down and slow but I get so many bites when the line goes slack that I like to use at 7 sometimes 8.
I have two --- Daiwa Zillion 100p (Crazy Cranker) 4.9 or or OG Zillion 6.3
If I can't slow my hand down, 6. If I can, 7. If it's in heavy vegetation, 7 every time. If it's sparse grass or rocks, 6. Target casting, 6, covering a lot of water, 7.
2001 Champion 187 Yamaha 175
12' Talons, Lithiums and Garmins
All pulled by a Hemi
I've fished a chatterbait on everything from an 8.3:1 to a 4.3:1 and my results are clear. I catch a lot more fish using a slower reel than a faster reel. I keep hearing people say that they fish a fast reel, but slow their retrieve when the fish are not as active. I've tried that and for me it doesn't work. I have a retrieve speed at which I am comfortable and when I use that retrieve speed with a 4.3:1 or 5.1:1 reel (Lew's), I catch significantly more fish.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
6.3
Kayak Bass League - President
https://www.facebook.com/groups/kayakbassleague
Dont tell all of our secrets. Most people have no idea about that.Originally Posted by dragon1
Haha...I think anyone and everyone can "know" and be aware and enlightened, if they choose to be...but da matrix of large gear ratio numbers is a much more appealing assimilation.
Lol.
My catch rate went way up when I switched to a 6.3 (26.3" IPT) from a 7.1 (29.5" IPT). I use 20 lb Sniper for the line.
2013 Ranger Z520c, 2013 Yamaha 250 SHO
2018 Ranger RT198p, 2013 Mercury 150 Optimax
Agreed, most of my chatterbait bites are from slow-med pace cranking, although I also like to power wake chatters over shallow rock shelves, big rocks and boulders and other structure to elicit a "wake bite", very akin to burning a spinnerbait just under the surface of the water.
6.4:1 Lew's BB1 for me, but I could see a 7:1 working fine too. I use this for all my shallow water moving baits. Going at a good pace down the bank the 6.4:1 can feel a little slow, especially if throwing something like a buzzbait where you may have a lot of dead water in your cast.
2017 Phoenix 819
2016 200ProXS, s/n 2B359849, Mod 1200P73BD
6:3:1
7.3:1 / 29 inches per turn for me, occasionally 8.1:1 / 32 inches per turn, especially for smallmouth. I agree with there being a lot of variation between ratios and actual retrieve speeds. Reminds me of lb test ratings and diameter for line where one company's 8 lb might be another's 12 lb, though I think there are legit reasons for spool sizes to differ. There aren't any (truly honest) reasons I can think of for companies who vary line diameters at the same lb test ratings like they do.
As has been mentioned one way or another multiple times above, I think having the discipline to slow down when going with a faster reel is really important with a chatterbait, so the answer as to what's best depends a whole lot on whether you can do that. I have found myself reeling them too fast at times, particularly when amped up in a tourney, so it's a constant thing I have to consider.
The one reason I won't go any lower is that I have lost a couple game-changing fish that charged the boat after getting hooked, and I've caught a lot more that I think I would've lost with a slower reel. Smallmouth are notorious for this. Feeling like it's my fault if I'm missing out on fish is a lot easier for me to swallow than feeling like I was screwed no matter what due to an equipment choice. I completely understand the other side too: Can't lose them if you don't hook them! Like most things in fishing, there's no right answer.
There have also been times where really burning or burning then killing a chatterbait has been the ticket. The faster reel helps with that. And to a lesser extent, it helps with efficiency in wasting less time at the end of a cast as I reel it in for my next one. That can stack up over the course of a day.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
6:1 ratio, also I don't know how you are fishing spinner baits on a 7:1 ratio, tried that and I hated it, I like a 6:1 or even a 5:1 for spinnerbaits.
I used the old round reels for a long time for spinnerbaits, they work. I don't think any of them have a ratio over 5:3. I wore spinnerbaits out. I fish bladed jigs on mostly same set ups as spinnerbaits. No higher than 6:3.
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