I am trying to find a good reel to take on a long range trip for yellow/blackfin. I have a peen 114hlw and I am trying to find a good reel to put alot of 40# or 50# line for casting of yummees and diamond jigs. I looked at a Mitchell riptide 6/0 Levelwind which I thought was nice and it would hold 500 of 50-# line but I do not know it it will hold up to a yellowfin with only 2 ball bearings. I have also looked at the penns 114 series which look pretty good also. Can anyone who has caught some yellowfin on casting reel tell me what you think with 3 things in mind. 1 castability 2) line holding and duribility and 3) cost (something reasonable) ???? Thanks guys
Steve

Iam sure guys with a litle more experience with tuna trips may give better recomendations, ive used a torium 30 with braided 65lb for smaller yft and bft, you could go with the larger tindads or maybe a diawa saltist. what ever you chose get em off of ebay, you can save alot of money even on brand new ones

If you are casting to Yellowfin/blackfin, i would recommend a large spinning outfit. I can cast a large spinning rig MUCH further than a large conventional reel. I have personally used Penn 9500, cabo 60, and shiumano baitrunner. If they are packed with braid, they will hold enough line. The bigger yellowfins 100# and over rarely hit topwaters. Good luck. Where are going tuna fishin at.

Dont forget to take diamond jigs with you, chrome and glow in the dark. I have used both and brought fish to gaff numerous times with them.

I'll say it again. 1 word. AVET.
for a tuna/aj jig rod 40-50# class:
avet jx or mx 2-speed
for a entry level troller 60-100# class:
avet EX 4/0 series
avet PRO 5/0 series
Cheaper than the shimano's and penns when you figure all the improvements you have to do before
they're up to par w/ the avets right out of the box. Fished penn/newells & shimano exclusively for years. bought my first avet and WOW! all the
upgrades i've paid for all these years, all the
shortcomings of the die-hard penn have been
designed into these reels from the outset.
the out-o-the-box freespool on these reels w/ a
full spool is nothing short of amazing. and the drag ratings of these reels is so high,that you
can actually DOWNSIZE the reel on the rod for a much lighter, castable setup w/ virtually no loss in performance or capacity as compared to anything
else in it's class.I guess I'll get off my soap box now. see for yourself.
www.avetreels.com
just my $.02
-B

Strongly reccomend the 9500 Penn for top waters.
The Torium 30 is another very good general purpase reel for jigging and topwaters.
We generally use spectra with a short topshot.

get you a Tbar handle for your Penn114HLW... I just put mine on the same reel. It is awesome.. really brought the reel to life...more cranking power(longer shank) and huge handle to put some hurt on them fishes....

So you are saying use spectra line about 65# then a top shot of mono about 25 feet??? For yellowfins? I want to be able to throw a yummee and I was wondering if say 10 feet of mono? or is that too short? Thanks steve

Actually, on my jig rod I've got 310y of 50#
spectra, w/ a 100 y-40# Ande clear mono top shot
on the 80# troller ive got 325y-135#spectra w/
a 75y topshot of 80# Ande, w/ a 10' 80# fluoro
leader. hope thishelps
-B

By the way, I can cast 40-50 yards on my 40# casting rig w/ a 5-6 oz iron.

I have used spectra before and how do you keep from getting it locked up in the reel? Will your jigging rod hold a yellowfin if you get one on?

twenty-fife to fifty feet should be enough. Longer might be better depending on how well your rig can cast past the knot. Ten feet might be too short as when the fish is alongside the boat you don't want bare spectra slicing somebody open.

Spectra must be loaded very tight with more than the normal number of wide crosses. When you load it wear your belt, lock down the drag and put as much resistance to turning as you can on the spectra SPOOL, do not tenstion the spectra itself as heat buildup can damage it. If your not tired after you load the spectra it is too loose.

I've landed an 85# YF with 30# line and a 20- 50 uglystick. How well balanced is your outfit and can you do your part? Don't expect to land a cow with jigs, most likey BF up to about 30#, YF to about 50#, but that depends on too many things to estimate.

Snagged is right- on w/ the spectra loading.
major pain in the fingers. if you want to D.I.Y.,
I would suggest wearing a strip of duct tape
across the tips of your fingers.
Best way is w/ a machine that can contol pressure and direction mechanically. Beleive me,
it's worth the $15-20 to have it done by a pro
w/ the right equip. As far as topshot length,
I have been told by a couple of west coast guys
that you should figure your best casting distance
yu can acheive consistently, then add 10y. this
way the cast never reaches the knot. makes sense to me.
Hey Snagged, SkR said if I asked real nice,
you might show me a real cool knot.
PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE?

-B