When we choose the spinning wheel, we have to understand it to better choose, here we come to understand the spinning wheel in detail.
1. What is a spinning reel
Spinning wheel is a more common wheel for our daily road fishing, and is widely used in a variety of scenarios such as sea fishing and lakes and streams. The spinning wheel is usually a combination of line spool, bail, handle, drag adjustment, anti-reverse and so on. The advantage is that it is easy to operate, and when skilled, it can be used completely by experience, without the need to use your eyes. The casting resistance is low and allows casting smaller rigs. Not easy to mess up the line.
2. The structure and parameters
1. Drag adjustment knob, 2. Line spoon, 3. Bail, 4. Reel body, 5. Reel arm, 6. Handle, 7. Anti-reverse lever, 8. Reel foot
Most reel bodies are made from plastic, aluminum or graphite. Of course, depending on the material, the price varies. Let's introduce a few of the more important components.
Handle: The spinning reel is interchangeable between the left and right hand, which means we can change the left hand reel to the right hand reel by replacing the handle.
Line spool: Our line is placed on it, and when we shake the reel, the line spool moves up and down, so that the line can be neatly wound on the line spool. The spool can be divided into a deep spool and a shallow spool, with the deep spool having a larger line capacity and the shallow spool the opposite. When we are fishing for salmon, catfish or walleye, we need to cast a long distance and the line should be thicker and more, so we need to choose a deep spool. When we are going to catch some small fish such as bass or trout, this kind of casting distance does not need to be very far from the target fish, shallow line spool will be fine.
Drag adjustment: When we are in a big fish, the resistance will increase, we can adjust the drag adjustment knob to make the line spool rotate out of the line to achieve the purpose of slipping fish. General clockwise rotation, the drag becomes stronger, counterclockwise rotation, the drag is weakened. We usually need to adjust according to the target fish and the actual situation at the scene.
Bail: when casting we need to open, the line to throw out.
Anti-reverse lever: There is a snap under the line rotor, which is our anti-reverse, mainly to prevent our reel from reversing. In practice, when we catch a particularly large fish, more than the strength of the rod and line, when the drag adjustment can not control, we can open the anti-reverse lever, direct control of the line to achieve the slippery fish.
3. The choice of spinning reel indicators
Model: we can see the number above the line spool is the model. We often use the model 800, 1000, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 6000 in the freshwater fishing. The larger the number, the larger the volume and weight. When we choose the model, we must use the local target fish as a reference.
Gear Ratio: The gear ratio represents the number of times the bail spins for each full crank of the reel handle. An average ratio would be around 5:1, again meaning the bail spins 5 times to each crank. Typically, 4:1 would be considered slow, 5:1 would be average/medium and anything equal or above 6:1 would be fast.
The higher the gear ratio the better. This higher ratio enables for a quicker retrieval; which gets fish into the boat quicker, reduces physical fatigue on your wrist/arms, and can allow more speed options/actions for your lure/tackle when retrieving.
Drag System: The drag system allows the reel to release line when the fish is pulling/fighting. If the line is too tight and there is no give on the line, the fish may break the fishing line or tear the hook out of the fish’s mouth. The drag system is managed by several large washers within the reel. The washers work much like a vehicle brake pad system, and each reel manufacturer offers unique ways for producing friction (aka. drag pressure) on their dray system.
The drag system specifications to look at are the number and quality of the washers used in the reel. The more washers there are the better the drag system. Additionally, washers should be made of carbon fiber or stainless steel. The worst thing you can have is a regular steel washer that will eventually rust and fail.
Lastly, manufacturers don’t post the washer very readily but instead translate this system into a max drag weight/range (in lbs). This is an estimate on the number of pounds the reel can handle. In my experience, this number is subjective to many other components in your tackle setup and how you fish the fish, so certainly don’t get too bogged down with this max drag number on your reel.
Ball Bearings: The ball bearings are important in helping the spool and handles spin efficiently. These bearings should be made of stainless steel to ensure there is no rusting. There is correlation between the number of bearings and the smoothness of the reel. Reels should have at least four ball bearings; my reel recommendations have between six to ten. A reel with few or poor ball bearings will feel very cheap when you’re reeling it in, and to me takes away from the enjoyment of line retrieval.
Weight: In the case of our priority to ensure performance, try to choose a lightweight reel. Because the weight of a few dozen grams, although it does not have a significant impact on our usual fishing, but when we fish for a long time with high intensity, it still causes a considerable burden on our body. Additionally, if you’re fishing in saltwater you’ll likely want to invest in a graphite body as it will not corrode like aluminum & plastic.
Above we have introduced the spinning reel in detail, and finally to tell the anglers, lure fishing is an enjoyable process, we need to continue to learn and exchange!