In general do you find it easier to reel faster or slower?

[michael1]

I was considering if I wanted get a 6 or 7 speed as a lipless/squarebill reel. Read a lot on here and it sounds like there is not much agreement and an argument can be made for both. Got me to thinking, would you say it is easier to speed up your retrieve or slow down your retrieve speed?

[Hammer 4]

Having used older reels that were for the most part 5 speed, I find it easier to speed up rather than slow down. Also, I'm more of a power fisherman than a finesse guy, so faster is more in line with how I fish, or should I say my preferred way. 

[Tywithay]

Easier for me to speed up.

[PhishLI]

I'd rather slow down. I get frustrated fast cranking a slow reel when it's necessary.

[RoLo]

 

I'm usually telling myself to slow down, so that puts me in the low gear ratio camp

 

Roger

[jimmyjoe]

   I favor lower gear ratio reels, so I'd rather reel faster. I don't purchase or use the "super high end" type reels.   I notice that the moderate priced reels I use kinda lose sensitivity if they're fast gear ratio and I slow them down. Of course, the way I fish favors slower retrieves anyway, so it might be a moot point.                jj

[A-Jay]

To answer the OP, I'd much rather speed up than slow down.

But to take it a step further, I prefer to fish or crank the handle, at sort of a medium cadence; all the time. 

I find it easier to use/select a reel with a gear ratio to help regulate the inches per turn: either slow, medium or fast.  

When I'm doing it right, I may not need to speed up or slow down my 'standard' retrieve speed, the reel does it for me. 

Then all I need to do is focus on everything else that goes into it. 

A-Jay

[5by3]

Easier to speed up. I feel like I have a tendency to fish too fast with some of the 7 and 8 gear ratio reels. Almost everything I own is a 6.3:1 with the exception of a few 7s

[OkobojiEagle]

My natural retrieve cadence is slower with a spinning reel than it is with a casting reel... adrenaline speeds both up significantly.  I prefer my reel's IPT to be between 24" and 28".

 

oe

[Bankbeater]

I have to tell myself to slow down the retrieve.  If I didn't, I would be burning everything across the surface.

[Dens228]

I tend to reel faster than I want.  Most of my reels are in the 6:x range because it's easier for me to reel faster when needed than slower when I should. 

[garroyo130]

Moderate speed which gradually gets faster with every fish caught until i realize how fast im fishing 

[CrankFate]

I prefer to slow it down. But I also don’t usually fish reels that bring in more than 36” a crank.

[Bass Rutten]

I use a 6.3:1 for squarebills and spinnerbaits, I prefer reeling a little faster with lower torque, I feel more in connected and in control of lures.

[michael1]

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2020 at 10:56 PM, A-Jay said:

To answer the OP, I'd much rather speed up than slow down.

But to take it a step further, I prefer to fish or crank the handle, at sort of a medium cadence; all the time. 

I find it easier to use/select a reel with a gear ratio to help regulate the inches per turn: either slow, medium or fast.  

When I'm doing it right, I may not need to speed up or slow down my 'standard' retrieve speed, the reel does it for me. 

Then all I need to do is focus on everything else that goes into it. 

A-Jay

I 100% agree with picking the right gear ratio for the job so you can keep the same cadence when retrieving. That is what started all this, I need a new reel for my lipless/square bill/small crank KVD MH tour rod you recommended to me. I am looking at the Curado K 6 (IPT of 26") or the 7 (IPT of 31") and I cannot decide which to go with. I kind of think the 6 is probably the most fitting but obviously there are times you want to burn a lipless or square bill and I am concerned the 6 would be too slow for that without ripping my arm off turning so fast. That is what started me wondering if I should go with the 7 and "slow down" my retrieve at times or would it be easier to get the 6 and "speed up" when needed. Another thing that probably should not weigh into this decision is I own the Curado K 6 for deep cranks and the Curado K 8 for jigs and frogs so mentally I am kind of feel I should get the 7 to have all the bases covered. But if the 6 is the right tool for this specific job it really should not matter what other reels I have. IDK what to do LOL

[PhishLI]

28 minutes ago, michael1 said:

I need a new reel for my lipless/square bill/small crank 

If you're primarily throwing the lipless in grass lakes, I'd opt for the 7 spd and slow down when needed. Reeling like a madman to keep the bait from diving into the salad is a chore. Not fun.

[A-Jay]

51 minutes ago, michael1 said:

I 100% agree with picking the right gear ratio for the job so you can keep the same cadence when retrieving. That is what started all this, I need a new reel for my lipless/square bill/small crank KVD MH tour rod you recommended to me. I am looking at the Curado K 6 (IPT of 26") or the 7 (IPT of 31") and I cannot decide which to go with. I kind of think the 6 is probably the most fitting but obviously there are times you want to burn a lipless or square bill and I am concerned the 6 would be too slow for that without ripping my arm off turning so fast. That is what started me wondering if I should go with the 7 and "slow down" my retrieve at times or would it be easier to get the 6 and "speed up" when needed. Another thing that probably should not weigh into this decision is I own the Curado K 6 for deep cranks and the Curado K 8 for jigs and frogs so mentally I am kind of feel I should get the 7 to have all the bases covered. But if the 6 is the right tool for this specific job it really should not matter what other reels I have. IDK what to do LOL

I use a 6.3:1 for Square bills and a 6.6:1 for lippless baits.

Clearly, There Is VERY little difference between the two,

but it's just how I like to do it.

Mostly because I'm a crazy person. 

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

I'm more about IPT than gear ratio and like them between 25IPT and 29IPT.

The BC I use for all cranks is 6.3:1 26.3IPT; the spinning reel is 5.2:1 28.5IPT

[Tywithay]

For lipless specifically, I like a fast reel. Though, it has little to do with actually reeling fast. Those baits are probably what I cast the furthest of all my lures. I prefer 6 ratio reels, but if you strip off 100 yards of line, your IPT drops drastically. They also offer little resistance, so torque isn't a necessity. Squarebills, I use a 6.2, just because that's what happens to be on my squarebill rod.

[Bankc]

I set my speed to the beat of a song in my head.  So the faster I need to reel, the faster song I will think of and vice-versa.  So for the most part, I don't find it hard to speed up or slow down.  Then again, I spent a large chunk of my life as a semi-pro musician, so learning to control speed is a pretty basic skill in that world.  

 

[Glaucus]

Literally the same amount of ease for me. 

[fishwizzard]

I find it harder to slow down, so most of my reels are in the high 6.x or low 7.x range. I shoot for an IPT in the 25-30 range for most everything, the only time I really want a fast reel is for toads/buzzbaits. 

[Heartland]

In general I find it easier to reel faster than I do to slow down.  The majority of fishing I do I use what would now be considered slower  6.5:1 around 24 IPT.  I fish crankbaits on  5.4:1 around 20 IPT.   

[Mobasser]

As a kid, my older brother taught me about bass fishing. At one point, he took some masking tape, wrapped it around my rod above the handle, and put "SD" in black letters, to remind me to slow down. I was always reeling too fast. Now, my reels are all mid speed, and I use them for everything. It's always easy to fish fast. But, I've caught way more fish by slowing down. It's worked best for me.

 

[Catt]

Having played this game for a while now you do whatever is necessary.

 

They're both easy ?