all-purpose gear ratio

[Chris at Tech]

With the continued unveiling of higher and higher speed ratio baitcasters, I'm curious what you guys as your "general purpose" ratio.  Looking for a new reel for my Kistler Magnesium APC "all purpose casting" rod that is one of my pond-hopping rods due to its versatility.  Topwaters, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, swim jigs, light/weightless plastics, frogs, etc. all get some play-time on this rod.

 

What ratio would you use to maximize versatility?  Who's still sticking with 6.x:1?  Who has stepped up to 7.x:1?  Any others?

[Nscheele]

I use both all the time, but, find myself using the 7.1:1 most of the time. 

[NathanDLTH]

I'd say 7:1 simply better for top water and frogs, not saying you can't but 7:1 seems better suited. 

[NHBull]

If I could only have one it would be the 7....you might loose a little for CB, but that's about it

[OkobojiEagle]

23"- 25" retrieve return

 

oe

[Russ E]

if you are looking for one all purpose gear ratio, I would go for 6.4 to 1.

the reason I would choose that over the faster ratios is if I am using crankbaits, or most other horizontal style baits, the faster ratio will wear out my wrist.

[A-Jay]

General purpose casting for me is a 150 size reel sporting a 6.6:1 gear ratio.

 

A-Jay

 

[Angry John]

7.1 is decent all around but 7.9 is not.  6.3 is what I use most and love it.  My smaller alphas has a 7.2 and that's good but the spool is so much smaller

[Dtrombly]

Tough decision to make, hypothetically if I could only have one outfit, I'd probably go with a 6.8:1 reel. 

[Falkus]

Would go in to the 7 Ratio for all purpose since I dont do crankbait that much. 

[CenCal fisher]

Get the highest gear ratio the reel comes in and just reel slower. When you need to pick up slack on a long cast it's nice to have a fast reel 

[fishnkamp]

That is simple for me. If I was setting up one all purpose rod it would have a Daiwa Tatula CT in the 7.3-1 ratio.  Since you said topwater, and bottom bouncing baits as well as some frogs then the 7,3-1 is fine.

If you included cranks ( which you did not ) then I would do the same reel but in the 6.3-1 rstio. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Maintaining a slower retrieve speed by slowing down your natural reeling cadence is more difficult than many/most anglers think it will be...

 

oe

[Hulkster]

im in the minority here but I have a 5.5:1 ratio Curado 200i PG and use it for everything.

 

obviously, its great for big lipped cranks and blade baits, but I find its perfect for fast moving baits too.

 

I think in general we fishermen tend to fish too fast most of the time, the 5.5 is perfect.

[bigfruits]

7.3:1 or so

[tander]

I use mostly Lew's 6.4:1 but use the 5.1:1 for cranking, works for me.

[WRB]

The smaller the spool diameter and narrow the width the lower the inch per turn (IPT) is. 

The reason reel mfr'd are increasing gear ratios is to off set the reduced IPT of the smaller, light weight baitcasting reels. The larger the spool diameter and wider the spool is the IPT increases. If you want consistant IPT over a 30 to 40 yard cast use reels larger spools and pick a gear ratio in the 26" IPT.

Tom

[kickerfish1]

I only have 2 or 3 reels in the 5:? ratios. I have a few 8:? ratios. Most of what I use is in the 6 or 7 gear ratios. If there is any sort of resistance or drag to the bait I prefer the 6 ratio reels. Anything like frog, worm, jig, or topwater fishing I prefer the 7+ reels.

[ww2farmer]

I find 6.something:1 to be the best compromise between power and speed.

 

Used to be, if you wanted a reel for pulling high resistance baits through the water you had to go with a lower ratio reel or it would feel like you were trying to winch a dead horse off the bottom. That got old, and tiresome real quick. And on the flip side, trying to speed up a slow reel by cranking like a mad man gets pretty tiresome quick as well.

 

With today's modern low profile reels,  the longer handles they put on them, and over-sized gears, 6:1 reels are more "powerful" than they used to be, yet they are still fast enough so just increasing your speed is as simple as turning the handle a little faster. 

[Bulletman20XD]

6.2--6.6 for general purpose