5:3:1 Reel Uses?

[Taylormade113]

I have this gear ratio reel and was thinking of using it on my M/Mod with 12-14# mono for chatter, lipless, spinner, whoppers and then maybe switching to 10-12# floro when it cools down and use it as a jerk set up?

 

Any thoughts or experience with this ratio?  I do not and have no plans to do any deep water cranking, just want to maximize what I have. 

 

Thanks! 

 

Kris

[FishTank]

Just my personal preference..... I wouldn't use that ratio for any of the techniques you mentioned but you could just reel faster, of course.   I would use a 7.x:1 for the ones you mentioned.  All of those I fish quicker and want the line to have a fast pick up. 

 

As far as which techniques I would use it for.... crankbaits. 

[Taylormade113]

5 minutes ago, FishTank said:

Just my personal preference..... I wouldn't use that ratio for any of the techniques you mentioned but you could just reel faster, of course.   I would use a 7.x:1 for the ones you mentioned.  All of those I fish quicker and want the line to have a fast pick up. 

 

As far as which techniques I would use it for.... crankbaits. 

Thanks - i appreciate the input. 

[NOC 1]

It will wok fine for anything you care to use it for. If you want it to retrieve faster then crank it faster. It's only a few inches less retrieve less per revolution of the handle. Those few extra cranks might matter if you're a big shot fisherman and you are fishing in a tournament with $50,000 on the line, but not many of us are.

 

Now, if you are picking a reel out  from scratch for a specific thing, maybe you wouldn't choose a 5 to 1 reel, but since you already have one, don't let that stop you from using it. I use 6 to 1 reels for almost everything as I'm older and it wasn't so far back that a 6/1 reel WAS a blazing fast reel and that is what I like. I do have a couple of 7 to 1 and an 8 to 1 as well and don't see that much of a difference.

 

A lot of this stuff is marketing hype that provides we gear junkies an excuse to buy more reels I think.

[ChrisD46]

54 minutes ago, Taylormade113 said:

I have this gear ratio reel and was thinking of using it on my M/Mod with 12-14# mono for chatter, lipless, spinner, whoppers and then maybe switching to 10-12# floro when it cools down and use it as a jerk set up?

 

Any thoughts or experience with this ratio?  I do not and have no plans to do any deep water cranking, just want to maximize what I have. 

 

Thanks! 

 

Kris

*I would only use a 5:3:1 gear ratio for large , deep running crank baits with large lips and a 7'6"+ deep cranking rod . 

[Log Catcher]

I use a 5:1 reel for all my crank baits and spinner baits. The deepest cranks I use might go about 12' deep. I use the same setup for suspending jerk baits all with 12# mono line. I heard someone say to remember your fishing not racing.

[Born 2 fish]

Deep cranking,big Colorado blade spinnerbaits and wake baits. Is what I use 5.1 gear ratio for.

[The Bassman]

We all fished that speed and less years ago. Caught fish just fine.

[PourMyOwn]

25 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

We all fished that speed and less years ago. Caught fish just fine.

Sure did, I remember my first Abu Royal Express 6.3! It was a burner. 

To me the best thing fast reels do is to get my bait back faster so that I can cast again. 

[DitchPanda]

30 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

We all fished that speed and less years ago. Caught fish just fine.

This! I'm not an old man by any means but even I started with slow as crap round garcias...caught a lot of bass. Maybe even more than I do now. That ratio is great for slow rolling spinnerbaits and bladed jigs...also the mid to deep cranks. What else can it do? Whatever you need it too.

[RoLo]

 

Gear ratios in the 6:1 area, are probably the best representatives of 'general-purpose'. 

As we move away from center, the purpose grows increasingly smaller, but never disappears.

I have reels in the 5:1 category, that are perfect for winching spoons & swimbaits thru floating weeds,

stuff like spatterdock & alligator weed. In this situation, a 7:1 reel would try to break your cranking wrist.

 

Roger

[Jig Man]

That speed is perfect for Arigs with 50 to 65# braid.

[Sphynx]

Mostly it's already been said, you'll pick up line a bit slower, if your fishing for a living that would bother me a lot, if I'm just out fishing with myself or with buddies (this constitutes 100% of my fishing by the way) it's not really that big of a deal, your supposed to be out there having fun and you can have lots of fun with a frog, or a chatterbait, or a jerkbait, jig of any variety, or any other lure paired with that 5.x:1, I did for years. 

[jimmyjoe]

  What you really need to know is the ipt (inches per turn) rather than the gear ratio. The TranX 300a is 5.8:1, but picks up 30" per turn. The old Ambassadeur 5000 reel had something like a 5.3:1  ratio, but picked up 25" per turn. Most people nowadays wouldn't use an Ambassadeur 5000, but 25" per turn is respectable enough for most fishing. The new Ambassadeurs pick up quite a bit more.

   Like others have said .... lots of fish were caught on low gear ratio reels.         jj

[Hammer 4]

Older 5 speed reels are also great for fishing Big swimbaits. From what I see these days is guys fishing them a tad to fast, which usually means the bait is in the upper part of the water column, which isn't always a good idea. 

[Captain Phil]

5/1 reels are perfect for spinnerbaits.   Most anglers fish spinnerbaits too fast.  Finding the right cadence is very important in spinnerbait fishing.  When your bait is "in the zone", good things happen.  

[Reel]

I've got a Shimano Calcutta Conquest that has a low ratio like that and sometimes use it for chatterbaits, especially those that have a tendency to turn ( 3/8 oz) when retrieved too fast.  I regularly use it to retrieve soft swimbaits like Rhythm Waves because I just catch more fish.  I have tried to use a faster reel for that technique but end up reeling too fast.

[bunz559]

All my 5.X gear ratio reels are only used for deep cranks (8xd and larger) and swimbaits. All the above you mentioned are either fished on 6.X or 7.X in my arsenal. 

[Tizi]

I use 5.x mostly for deep cranking.

[Taylormade113]

I took it out again, and really only see it being strong for whopper, cranks and possibly spinner baits.  It is a solid reel (revo x) but just not one i see myself using a ton.  It may end up being a learning reel for my friends and younger sons. Thanks for all the input!

[Teal]

On 8/20/2020 at 5:47 AM, Captain Phil said:

5/1 reels are perfect for spinnerbaits.   Most anglers fish spinnerbaits too fast.  Finding the right cadence is very important in spinnerbait fishing.  When your bait is "in the zone", good things happen.  

Maybe it's because I tend to fish heavier spinnerbaits... idk.  But I tend to fish them Fast on purpose... almost all my retrievers have sped up a bit...I dont give the fish a chance to notice that the lure is a fake.  I like fishing a compact and heavy spinner bait, burn it, but keep it at a desired depth.  I love a jig, pitching and skipping BUT spinner baits have been my most productive bait the last 10 years...hands down

I use a 6.5:1 on sb

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, Teal said:

Maybe it's because I tend to fish heavier spinnerbaits... idk.  But I tend to fish them Fast on purpose... almost all my retrievers have sped up a bit...I dont give the fish a chance to notice that the lure is a fake. 

One speed or retrieve does not work all the time.  Slow rolling a spinnerbait is an old technique that seems to have fallen out of favor.  I have a 3/1 reel that I use exclusively for winter spinnerbait fishing.  I also downsize the blades, so I can pull it as slow as possible.  One thing I can guarantee, if you always fish the same way you will always catch fish that way.  The good news is there is almost no way to fish a spinner bait that won't catch fish,

[Teal]

5 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

One speed or retrieve does not work all the time.  Slow rolling a spinnerbait is an old technique that seems to have fallen out of favor.  I have a 3/1 reel that I use exclusively for winter spinnerbait fishing.  I also downsize the blades, so I can pull it as slow as possible.  One thing I can guarantee, if you always fish the same way you will always catch fish that way.  The good news is there is almost no way to fish a spinner bait that won't catch fish,

I like slow walking one too! It's a good trick.. I just find my self more and more, using a quick retrieve...

[Fishes in trees]

 What brand of reel is it?   Other than the gear ratio, how does it work?  Do you get decent distance considering the amount of weight you're throwing?  How much does it weigh.   Is it "comfortable" to throw.  Does it fit your hand ok?  Does it feel ok in conjunction with the rod you've chosen for it?   These are the properties I'd consider before I worried about the gear ratio.   I like a slower ratio reel because I've always found it easier to speed up retrieve if necessary rather than slow down   I have a few  5 something to one reels and I use them for reaction baits - lipless cranks, divers, square bills, spinner baits, pretty much any reaction bait.

 

My 5 something to 1 reels are mostly Calcuttas, they are a little heavy, but they handle 20 lb test and 65 lb Braid well and I use them for purposes mentioned earlier, when I need to throw a little heavier line.  A 200 TEGT and an older Diawa 7'MH rod & 20 lb line makes a sweet set up for throwing magnum square bills.   Great distance pitching, greater distance when I choose to go 2 handed overhead of side arm and I think 5 to 1. is a great ratio for square bills.   I have a couple of Curado DC reels and I wish they came in a 5 something to 1 ratio.    I got the 6.4 to 1 ( the slowest available) and they throw spinner baits well -  HOWEVER  - they don't handle 20 lb as well as I'd like, so I dropped to a 15 lb co-polymer.  The jury is still out as to if I like that line or not.   They do handle 15 lb line great and I appreciate the extra distance I get with the very non-aerodynamic spinner bait,  with more or less the same amount of effort on my part.

 

Most of my "feel" reels, for jigs, worms, etc are 6.4 to 1 or better, not really by choice but when I decided to go lighter ( 50 sized Curados and Chronarchs) that is the ratio they came in and yo couldn't get any slower.