8:1 vs. 7:3:1 Gear Ratio - What applications ?

[ChrisD46]

In looking at baitcast reels ,  I notice more 7:3:1 gear ratio reels on sale than the 8:1 gear ratio reel in the same series .

*In your experience - what applications do you see where spending $10 ~ $15 more on a 8:1 gear ratio reel is a difference maker to you versus a 7:3:1 gear ratio in the same reel series ? ... Thanks in advance !

[ike8120]

I started a thread "Froggin Newbie" and the recommendations for my Froggin Reel was 7:3.1 but suggested the 8:1.1

 

"Gear ratio....faster is better. You can get by with a 6.something :1, a 7.something: 1 is better, anything 8+ is ideal. IMHO Daiwa Fuego CT's in the 8.1:1" quoted from the thread by @ww2farmer

Edited December 13, 2018 by ike8120

[LionHeart]

My advice to you Sir is to start with a 7 speed.  It is fast enough to use for any technique imaginable, but has enough torque to still be very versatile.

 

I use 8 speeds for jigs and Texas rigs and that's it.  Trying to use an 8 speed for lures like spinner baits, chatter baits, crank baits, etc feels like trying to drive a car up hill in 5th gear.

 

If I could only have 1 reel, it would no doubt be a 7 speed.

[NathanDLTH]

I'd say 8:1:1 is for fast top water or when you need to pick up line quick like Texas Rig or Carolina Rig. 7:3:1 you can frog, top water, swim jig, and much more in my mind than an 8:1:1. I have more 7:3:1s than any other reel, my 6:3:1 and 8:1:1 are a close second in terms of how many I own. Looking at the 7:3:1.

[Hook2Jaw]

I use 8.1:1 for frogging, punching, and pitching.  7.3:1 is for my bottom contact baits; texas, carolina, casting jigs.  6.3:1 for squarebills, small swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater.  Finally, 5.5:1 for medium and deep cranking as well as bama rigs.

 

As for why I opt for an 8 ratio reel for frogging, pitching, and punching, articles on the internet told me to.  Frogging and punching are presented in heavy growth; pads, grass, just general slop.  With a heavy rod and heavy line I've been able to manhandle bass out of that stuff and ski them back to my kayak.

 

Pitching is a precision presentation that focuses on our favorite fish having an affinity for cover.  The object is to place your bait as precisely and quietly as possible to trigger a reaction strike as your bait drops on their nose.  If you don't get bit, a high gear ratio reel gathers line and prepares you more quickly for your next precision presentation.

 

To answer the last bit of your question, a 7 speed, to me, slows me down on my bottom hopping, dragging, wiggling, shaking presentations.  It also enables me to still gather line quickly to set the hook should my bottom contact baits be struck on the fall.

[junyer357]

I use 8:1 for my jerkbait, jig, worm, and flip/pitch rods, and others where i am working lure with rod, and reel just takes up slack. 

I only have a few 7:1 i use for burning cranks or spinnerbaits in aggressive times of year, and for buzzbaits. 

[ChrisD46]

5 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

I use 8.1:1 for frogging, punching, and pitching.  7.3:1 is for my bottom contact baits; texas, carolina, casting jigs.  6.3:1 for squarebills, small swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater.  Finally, 5.5:1 for medium and deep cranking as well as bama rigs.

 

As for why I opt for an 8 ratio reel for frogging, pitching, and punching, articles on the internet told me to.  Frogging and punching are presented in heavy growth; pads, grass, just general slop.  With a heavy rod and heavy line I've been able to manhandle bass out of that stuff and ski them back to my kayak.

 

Pitching is a precision presentation that focuses on our favorite fish having an affinity for cover.  The object is to place your bait as precisely and quietly as possible to trigger a reaction strike as your bait drops on their nose.  If you don't get bit, a high gear ratio reel gathers line and prepares you more quickly for your next precision presentation.

 

To answer the last bit of your question, a 7 speed, to me, slows me down on my bottom hopping, dragging, wiggling, shaking presentations.  It also enables me to still gather line quickly to set the hook should my bottom contact baits be struck on the fall.

*Good comments - but to play devil's advocate : If you are NOT a pro or tournament fishermen is an 8:1 gear ratio more of a "nice to have" or no matter what  you would still prefer the 8:1 gear ratio over the 7:3:1 gear ratio  any way for the applications you described ?

[Hook2Jaw]

I'm not a pro or tournament fisherman, for sure, but I'm still happy to have an 8 speed reel in my arsenal.  It only takes a tiny amount of time for a fish to reject a bait.  Often, I'll be zoned out and not react as quickly as I would want to.

 

Oh, and it also gets my frog, flipping bait, or jig back to me more quickly.  It might only be a second, but if that second adds up to two seconds it might add up to me getting another cast in.  I love catching fish.  More presentations in fishy locations ends up as more fish.

 

So yeah, it makes sense for me to have a high speed reel.  I enjoy it.  Plus, it only cost 5 dollars more than my 6 and 7 gear ratios.

[TOXIC]

If you are skilled enough, you can get the middle of the road gear ratio and speed up or slow down as required.  Some like the adjustment to be made at the reel level vs the hand speed level and keep the retrieve basically the same for every reel.  

[Hook2Jaw]

I still speed up or slow down and have both low speed and high speed reels to accentuate it even farther.

[ChrisD46]

I now figure a 8:1 gear ratio reel wouldn't hurt for a dedicated flipping / pitching or Frog'n outfit ... *If I absolutely saw no benefit in the 8:1 gear ration - I could sell it or exchange it ... Nothing ventured - nothing gained !

[ike8120]

This is a pretty good price on these reels https://www.ebay.com/itm/Daiwa-Fuego-CT-8-1-1-Right-Hand-Baitcast-Fishing-Reel-FGCT100XS-/282590414734

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Daiwa-Fuego-CT-7-3-1-Right-Hand-Baitcast-Fishing-Reel-FGCT100HS/302397288145?epid=24014591540&hash=item4668486ed1:g:BS4AAOSwEatZe4JA:rk:6:pf:0

[BassNJake]

I think IPT(inches per turn) is something to look at along with gear ratio.

When I was looking to buy a real with a higher gear ratio 8+, I found many to have the same IPT as lower geared reels.

I then noticed that reels from the same company would have differences in inches per turn depending on which reel was selected.

 

I have included some screen shots from lews, shimano and kast king to show the differences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChrisD46]

*I see the advantage of an 8:1 gear ratio being most advantageous for two things mainly : To quickly take slack out of line in applications primarily where the bass can swim towards you after crashing a lure  and you need to catch up to it quickly ! The next would be say pitching to a target and after a foot or so the lure is completely out of the strike zone and you want to get the lure back quickly for another cast . *The thrid possible application is in say frog'n or flipping where you want to get a bass out of the spinach fast before he can borrow down and break you off . *Do you feel a 8:1 gear ratio reel  can "winch" out a bass in the spinach equally in power to a 7:3:1 gear ratio reel ?

[WRB]

Add the RPT at 40 yards of line off the reel, that is the only way to judge the gear ratio.

Good project for someone.

Tom

[Heartland]

16 minutes ago, WRB said:

Add the RPT at 40 yards of line off the reel, that is the only way to judge the gear ratio.

Good project for someone.

Tom

Tom, I am trying to pick up what your putting down, but I am not sure what RPT is an acronym for and it would seem to me that regardless if the spool was full or empty the gear ratio would remain the same.   Help a Brother out, give us a little more information to work with.

[thedilettantedad]

22 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Tom, I am trying to pick up what your putting down, but I am not sure what RPT is an acronym for and it would seem to me that regardless if the spool was full or empty the gear ratio would remain the same.   Help a Brother out, give us a little more information to work with.

R-ecovery P-er T-urn.

 

edit: wrote Rotation earlier.

[Heartland]

6 minutes ago, thedilettantedad said:

R-otations P-er T-urn.

Thanks for the help. I am sure that it will not change with the difference in the amount on line on the spool.    RPT seems in this case to just be another name for gear ratio, 7.1:1 or use what your comfortable with.  7.1 rotations of the spool to 1 complete rotation of the handle.  Help me out if I am missing something.

 

[thedilettantedad]

8 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Thanks for the help. I am sure that it will not change with the difference in the amount on line on the spool.    RPT seems in this case to just be another name for gear ratio, 7.1:1 or use what your comfortable with.  7.1 rotations of the spool to 1 complete rotation of the handle.  Help me out if I am missing something.

 

Sorry. 

 

R-ecovery P-er T-urn. Need more caffeine. 

[WRB]

24 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Tom, I am trying to pick up what your putting down, but I am not sure what RPT is an acronym for and it would seem to me that regardless if the spool was full or empty the gear ratio would remain the same.   Help a Brother out, give us a little more information to work with.

Typo should be IPT for inch per turn

When I checked my Daiwa TD HTSA's in the 90's the 6.3:1 ratio was 24 IPT full and dropped to 14 IPT at 40 yards. When Daiwa came out with 8:1 Tatula 100R I bought them to increase the IPT where it counts...at the end of a cast. The 8:1 was 32 IPT full and dropped to 20 IPT @ 40 yards, 18 IPT @ 50 yards. This is important to me because I use a reel hook set technique and easier to keep tight line to control big bass at a long casting distance.

IPT is a factor of spool diameter/circumference and width to determine how much line comming off the spool impacts it. Every reel looses IPT after casting over 40 yards, 300 size reels very little and most 100 & 200 size reels about 40 to 50%.

 

[Heartland]

43 minutes ago, WRB said:

Typo should be IPT for inch per turn

When I checked my Daiwa TD HTSA's in the 90's the 6.3:1 ratio was 24 IPT full and dropped to 14 IPT at 40 yards. When Daiwa came out with 8:1 Tatula 100R I bought them to increase the IPT where it counts...at the end of a cast. The 8:1 was 32 IPT full and dropped to 20 IPT @ 40 yards, 18 IPT @ 50 yards. This is important to me because I use a reel hook set technique and easier to keep tight line to control big bass at a long casting distance.

IPT is a factor of spool diameter/circumference and width to determine how much line comming off the spool impacts it. Every reel looses IPT after casting over 40 yards, 300 size reels very little and most 100 & 200 size reels about 40 to 50%.

 

Got it, makes perfect sense now.  Would take some time and effort but a person could certainly develop a chart that would show the change in IPT from full spool, to 20-30-40..... yards of line off for specific models and spools.  Not sure how much practicality it would have, but would be interesting none the less.

1 hour ago, thedilettantedad said:

Sorry. 

 

R-ecovery P-er T-urn. Need more caffeine. 

It's all good Brother, we make this all of this fishing stuff sound real technical sometimes when it really should be about having a lot of fun.

[BassNJake]

15 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*I see the advantage of an 8:1 gear ratio being most advantageous for two things mainly : To quickly take slack out of line in applications primarily where the bass can swim towards you after crashing a lure  and you need to catch up to it quickly ! The next would be say pitching to a target and after a foot or so the lure is completely out of the strike zone and you want to get the lure back quickly for another cast . *The thrid possible application is in say frog'n or flipping where you want to get a bass out of the spinach fast before he can borrow down and break you off . *Do you feel a 8:1 gear ratio reel  can "winch" out a bass in the spinach equally in power to a 7:3:1 gear ratio reel ?

I have not had any problem with high speed reels and "winching" bass out of cover.

I can really control my toads a lot better with a high speed reel. I no longer have to reel at a faster pace to keep the toad on the top. By slowing down I feel I have better control.

Often the bass will be coming towards me after striking the toad so it helps to be able to pick up that extra line.

[waymont]

I love the 8 speed reels for jigs, texas rigs, frogs, and sometime jerk baits.

The rest I use 7 speed reels and one 6.3 for slower presentations.