Which of the three 65-80lb reels would you get?

[kgpcr]

I have it narrowed down to these three reels. I will be using it for Halibut in Alaska. I will be using 65-80lb braid. What would you choose and why?

[Garyak]

I have both left and right crank senators that remain trouble free and very smooth after plenty of use...and I bought them used. I'm also partial to Daiwa Sealines for die hard consistent service at a price most can live with. Haven't used the Fin Nor or the Shimano so can't comment. Good luck!

[DarkPaladin]

I use a Shimano TLD 20 two-speed for halibut. I love that reel for fishing deep. The 25 wouldn't be bad wither I would guess.

[Larsenvega]

The Shimano's gearing and super-stopper bearings are going to provide you years of faithful service. I love my array of Shimano baitcasters and wouldn't trade them for anything. Well, at least not for anything in the same price range!

[Alan Sloka]

Interesting choices. I was not real familiar with that series of Fin Nor. From the specs on their web site that reel seems like some serious overkill. Rated for 33# drag and 975yds capacity with 80# braid and at 42 oz that makes for pretty heavy rig. You are comparing apples to apples though as all three have roughly the same capacity. The Shimano is the lightest but it also has the lowest drag rating. Although 22# is enough to handle any halibut that swims. The Penn is also heavy at 48 oz. I would lean to the shimano if I had to pick only from these 3.

[Gerberman]

I think you should go up to 120lb line, it will not cut your hands if you have to hand line it. The 80 lb will not have as much drag in the currant, but the 120 works just fine in Cook Inlet. The TLD seems to be unbalanced when reeling with a heavy load. The Penn is the old standard and I put an extra long handle on and it makes it easier to reel in the big ones. Option 4:The Penn International is a lot more reel and a lot more money, and it is nice to use on heavy fish.

[Vek]

They're all too big for that line size, IMO. Try Shimano TLD star 15/30.

[kgpcr]

Gerber
120 is a bit easier on the hands but i use a 150lb mono leader and that is great. Also when i dropped from 120 to 80 i cut the weight needed in half. Thats the real joy with braid along with no stretch so you can feel whats going on.

[fullbush]

So far GaryAk has me leaning towards the Senator, kgpr, vek didn't give any reasons to go w/ the shimano so I'm already frustrated w/ them....Standing by for more wisdom

[vaaler]

The TLD 25 got my vote. I have 4 Penn 114s and 4 Shimano TLD 25s. The drag o the TLD is havier and smoother than on the Penns and I like the lever drag. The TLDs are even better than the Penns at tolerating neglect. I finally took mine in to get cleaned a few weeks ago. The guy had a look at them, checked the drags, and sent me home with them - no charge. He said t bring them back in a few more years; they might need cleaning then. I don't know anything about the Fin Nor, but would recommend waiting a while until some reviews come out that are based on a full season or two of fishing. Also, can you get parts for them near where you live/fish?

If I was buying one new reel for the heavy end of halibut fishing it would be a TLD 20-II. I think it has the best combination of features of any reel out there right now. Lots of charter skippers think so too. I fish 80# spectra on my heavy halibut gear.

[Old John]

The TLD 25 got my vote. I have 4 Penn 114s and 4 Shimano TLD 25s. The drag o the TLD is havier and smoother than on the Penns and I like the lever drag. The TLDs are even better than the Penns at tolerating neglect. I finally took mine in to get cleaned a few weeks ago. The guy had a look at them, checked the drags, and sent me home with them - no charge. He said t bring them back in a few more years; they might need cleaning then. I don't know anything about the Fin Nor, but would recommend waiting a while until some reviews come out that are based on a full season or two of fishing. Also, can you get parts for them near where you live/fish?

If I was buying one new reel for the heavy end of halibut fishing it would be a TLD 20-II. I think it has the best combination of features of any reel out there right now. Lots of charter skippers think so too. I fish 80# spectra on my heavy halibut gear.

Speaking from experience... the pen 114's don't hold up to Charter fishing (abuse) like a Diawa Sealine 600 will... Don't know anything about the TLD's.... but know a few (Homer) Charter capt's that swear by them... in a nutshell, it boils down to Personal Preference.... and possible support service ..... If you don't maintain your own reels......./John

[Paul H]

Another vote for none of the above.

The shimano tld 15 will hold all the 65-80# line you want, and if you put in a carbontex drag washer and tld II drag washers, you can get 20# of drag.

With braided lines, there's no reason to go with a reel larger than a 3/0, so long as you have sufficient drag.

[Alaskaptain]

Not only go with the TLD 25 but also be sure to get a custom handle for it too. They are cheap and widely available on the web. I have several TLD's of differing sizes and all have offset cushioned handles which make them even more pleasurable than they already are. Also check out Avet Reels...similarly priced and are amazing too.

[Vek]

The shimano TLD Star has some very rugged guts, huge drag washers, a compact/strong frame, and a smaller spool better suited for braided line than any of the subject reels, all of which were designed around fishing 30-40 lb mono.

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=17.0

Note the replacement of the spool bushing with a ball bearing, and the upgrade to carbon fiber drags. You can likely get both the bearing and the drag washers from Dawn at Smooooothdrag.

So far GaryAk has me leaning towards the Senator, kgpr, vek didn't give any reasons to go w/ the shimano so I'm already frustrated w/ them....Standing by for more wisdom

[VernAK]

I'd take another TLD as first choice......probably go with single speed and put some money toward a larger handle with more throw....I have several two speed reels and never use low gear unless a kid is using it.