What should you look for when selecting a drop shot reel?

[It's a toad]

I have been looking for a reel for my drop shot needs. I have been thinking about the Mach I or Orra S but I'm still undecisive. I was wondering what do you guys look for in a drop shot reel?

[Big Bait Fishing]

smooth drag ......

[Bluebasser86]

I like a light weight reel, and one with a fairly quick retrieve speed because you want to be able to keep up with a fish if it decides to scream towards the surface from deep water. I have not fished a Mach I, but I wouldn't fish another Abu spinning reel if someone gave it to me. I have 2 rods I use for DS, one has a Pfluegar Supreme XT 30, the other that is my main DS rod, has an Okuma RTX 25 on it. 

[It's a toad]

5 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I like a light weight reel, and one with a fairly quick retrieve speed because you want to be able to keep up with a fish if it decides to scream towards the surface from deep water. I have not fished a Mach I, but I wouldn't fish another Abu spinning reel if someone gave it to me. I have 2 rods I use for DS, one has a Pfluegar Supreme XT 30, the other that is my main DS rod, has an Okuma RTX 25 on it. 

Why don't you like Abu?

[Bluebasser86]

2 minutes ago, It's a toad said:

Why don't you like Abu?

I had an Orra, I've never owned a spinning reel that got line twist like that thing did. Didn't matter what type or brand of line, I could count on about once an hour having to cut a length of line off because of a giant knot that explode off the reel during the cast. I gave it away to a buddy who thought I was doing something wrong, then he had the same issues I had. I have several spinning reels from different companies and never had line twist and knot issues like I had with that reel. 

[It's a toad]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I had an Orra, I've never owned a spinning reel that got line twist like that thing did. Didn't matter what type or brand of line, I could count on about once an hour having to cut a length of line off because of a giant knot that explode off the reel during the cast. I gave it away to a buddy who thought I was doing something wrong, then he had the same issues I had. I have several spinning reels from different companies and never had line twist and knot issues like I had with that reel. 

That makes sense 

[WIGuide]

What I look for in a dropshot reel is #1 smooth drag. You're usually using light line, unless you're using braid and even then you have a very light wire hook. I don't want a drag that's going to surge, or have inconsistent pressure when that fish tries to take off boat side. Line management is another thing I look for. I've had the opposite results that Blue had with Abu, but I have only used the Revo S and Premiers, but no matter, you don't want your line constantly getting twisted up. Dropshots are known to twist line as it is so you don't want a reel that's going to add to that. One last thing you want to consider is the line recovery, you want a reel that can move a lot of line to keep up with fish if it surges towards you. 

[Spankey]

Take your rod along with to the shop and get something that balances nice. So much stuff out there, where as to say That i like Shimano Symeyre reels, might not match up well for you. To me the rod is the most important. Length and speed. Not saying a junk reel is ok but to me a reel is the storage spot for line. 

Probably incorrect because if I had a reel with a s#!+ drag system and a nice fish on id hate to loose him over that. 

I guess my thoughts toward the rod importance is for hook set. But any way I'm a Shimano fan. 

[Fisher-O-men]

17 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I had an Orra, I've never owned a spinning reel that got line twist like that thing did. Didn't matter what type or brand of line, I could count on about once an hour having to cut a length of line off because of a giant knot that explode off the reel during the cast. I gave it away to a buddy who thought I was doing something wrong, then he had the same issues I had. I have several spinning reels from different companies and never had line twist and knot issues like I had with that reel. 

I am actually interested in the rationale in this statement.  All spinning reels take up line from one plane and put it onto another.  If you could picture toilet paper coming off of a roll via the end of the roll, that is what is happening with a spinning reel.  How would one spinning reel do that differently than another?  Is there another reason, other than the mechanics? 

[Bluebasser86]

16 minutes ago, Fisher-O-men said:

I am actually interested in the rationale in this statement.  All spinning reels take up line from one plane and put it onto another.  If you could picture toilet paper coming off of a roll via the end of the roll, that is what is happening with a spinning reel.  How would one spinning reel do that differently than another?  Is there another reason, other than the mechanics? 

I'm not a reel mechanic, but I believe it's the size of the gears. It would be a 1:1 ratio if you think of it like a toilet paper roll (1 wrap=1 revolution). someone who knows the internal workings of spinning reels will be able to explain better than I can.

[Darren.]

Agree with others, smooth drag is quite important.

I use 1000 size Shimano Stradics for everything.

[JackKlassen]

Drag is key. Like any reel, being lightweight will make fishing more comfortable but is not a necessity. Personally I use a Pflueger Supreme xt and a Patriarch both size 30 with 15lb. braid on my dropshot rods.

[Big Bait Fishing]

1 hour ago, JackKlassen said:

Drag is key. Like any reel, being lightweight will make fishing more comfortable but is not a necessity. Personally I use a Pflueger Supreme xt and a Patriarch both size 30 with 15lb. braid on my dropshot rods.

i have a Pflueger 9525 Patriarch spooled with 10 lb. Sx1 , i hate line twist ! to me , braid is mandatory with a leader of 6 lb. Sniper . the reel is super light (5.6 oz.) and a buttery smooth drag ...

[Fisher-O-men]

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'm not a reel mechanic, but I believe it's the size of the gears. It would be a 1:1 ratio if you think of it like a toilet paper roll (1 wrap=1 revolution). someone who knows the internal workings of spinning reels will be able to explain better than I can.

Actually one wrap would equal one revolution of the bail.  That is neither here nor there.  What would cause one spinning reel to cause more line twist than another?  I have seen line rollers advertised as "anti-twist" which never made sense to me either. Anybody?

[WRB]

Not only does the drag operating smoothly it must not increase in drag force when a fish runs with different spooled line capacity or temperature. Most bass anglers don't maintain thier spinning reel drags, they set and forget it until something goes wrong.

The bail roller plays an important roll with the drag and prevents line damage. Larger diameter free turning bail rollers along with multiple disk drags and larger diameter spools longer spools all help to reduce line stress. Spinning reel spools are usually larger diameter than bait casting reel spools therefor a 6:1 ratio would have higher IPT than a 6:1 baitcaster or faster line retrieve rate.

Balance has a lot to do with how you hold the rod with spinning reels, generally the reel should weigh about twice the rod weight. Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma make excellent reels. Pflueger spinning reels are contracted they no longer manufacture reels, it's a name plate only, but has a good reputation.

The Shimano Stradic  Ci4+ 3rd  generation spinning reel would be my choice today.

Tom

[Big Bait Fishing]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

Not only does the drag operating smoothly it must not increase in drag force when a fish runs with different spooled line capacity or temperature. Most bass anglers don't maintain thier spinning reel drags, they set and forget it until something goes wrong.

The bail roller plays an important roll with the drag and prevents line damage. Larger diameter free turning bail rollers along with multiple disk drags and larger diameter spools longer spools all help to reduce line stress. Spinning reel spools are usually larger diameter than bait casting reel spools therefor a 6:1 ratio would have higher IPT than a 6:1 baitcaster or faster line retrieve rate.

Balance has a lot to do with how you hold the rod with spinning reels, generally the reel should weigh about twice the rod weight. Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma make excellent reels. Pflueger spinning reels are contracted they no longer manufacture reels, it's a name plate only, but has a good reputation.

The Shimano Stradic  Ci4+ 3rd  generation spinning reel would be my choice today.

Tom

i don't agree with the reel being twice the weight of the rod !! i guess most people end up buying a 7 - 9 oz. spinning reel . my reel weighs 5 .6 oz. the rod it's on weighs 4 oz. , it's a light smooth set up , wouldn't think of getting a heavier reel .

[SJex]

 

On 11/28/2016 at 5:43 AM, WIGuide said:

What I look for in a dropshot reel is #1 smooth drag. You're usually using light line, unless you're using braid and even then you have a very light wire hook. I don't want a drag that's going to surge, or have inconsistent pressure when that fish tries to take off boat side. Line management is another thing I look for. I've had the opposite results that Blue had with Abu, but I have only used the Revo S and Premiers, but no matter, you don't want your line constantly getting twisted up. Dropshots are known to twist line as it is so you don't want a reel that's going to add to that. One last thing you want to consider is the line recovery, you want a reel that can move a lot of line to keep up with fish if it surges towards you. 

A consistent smooth drag and line management are the most important for dropshotting. Nothing worse than line twist wrecking a day out on the water.

[WRB]

1 hour ago, Big Bait Fishing said:

i don't agree with the reel being twice the weight of the rod !! i guess most people end up buying a 7 - 9 oz. spinning reel . my reel weighs 5 .6 oz. the rod it's on weighs 4 oz. , it's a light smooth set up , wouldn't think of getting a heavier reel .

The Stradic Ci4+ 2500/3000 size reel weighs 6.7 oz, not a heavy reel when you add line and balances well with most of the higher end 6'10"-7' ML or 2 spinning rods. Again it depends on how you hold the rod, 1, 2 or 3 fingers in front of the reel foot makes a big difference in balance.

Tom

[burrows]

When looking for a good drop shot reel first thing to look for is the one that starts with a shi and ends with a mano.

[fishwizzard]

On 11/28/2016 at 8:50 PM, Darren. said:

Agree with others, smooth drag is quite important.

I use 1000 size Shimano Stradics for everything.

I have some questions about this, mind if I drop you a PM?

[Darren.]

1 minute ago, Bunnielab said:

I have some questions about this, mind if I drop you a PM?

Sure

[Big Bait Fishing]

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 5:50 PM, Darren. said:

Agree with others, smooth drag is quite important.

I use 1000 size Shimano Stradics for everything.

i'm with you on the 1000 size reels !! the Pflueger Patriarch 9525 made that decision for me ...

[WRB]

My first drop shot rod /reel was my split shot rod /reel and that was my Fenwick trout rod with Abu Cardinal 3 spinning reel 70's vintage. Caught lots of bass on that outfit. Early 90's my son started to bass with me and bought him a pair of Phoenix split shot rods with Shimano Stratic 1000 reels, he has used  those outfits for over 20 years and caught lots of 6 to 7lb bass, a few 35 lb 5 bass limits, using that outfit during charity tournaments. 1000 size high quality spinning reels are a good choice for drop shot. Today I am using Don  Iovino's  Major craft finesse spinning rods with Shimano 2500 Ci4 Stratic reels, like the larger spool size with FC line.

My point is buy the highest quality name brand you can afford that's well balanced and the outfit will last for decades.

Tom

[Big Bait Fishing]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

My first drop shot rod /reel was my split shot rod /reel and that was my Fenwick trout rod with Abu Cardinal 3 spinning reel 70's vintage. Caught lots of bass on that outfit. Early 90's my son started to bass with me and bought him a pair of Phoenix split shot rods with Shimano Stratic 1000 reels, he has used  those outfits for over 20 years and caught lots of 6 to 7lb bass, a few 35 lb 5 bass limits, using that outfit during charity tournaments. 1000 size high quality spinning reels are a good choice for drop shot. Today I am using Don  Iovino's  Major craft finesse spinning rods with Shimano 2500 Ci4 Stratic reels, like the larger spool size with FC line.

My point is buy the highest quality name brand you can afford that's well balanced and the outfit will last for decades.

Tom

good point , always get the best reel you like that your budget can afford . even though i use long rods ( my spinning rod is 7'8'' ) i don't worry about a rod being tip heavy as one should always look into a light rod 

[1BADAIR]

On 11/29/2016 at 0:30 AM, WRB said:

The Shimano Stradic  Ci4+ 3rd  generation spinning reel would be my choice today.

Tom

They are nice but many people are mad that they removed the anti reverse lever now