Blackfish Reel 200-300

[Essex]

I have the black Demon Tog rod from jigging world. Was wondering what a good reel to pair it with and what line to spool it with. I am going to drag bait and not jig. Kinda new to this so was looking for recs in the 200-300 range.
thanks!

 

[Water Dog]

In that price range, I’d look at the Daiwa Saltist 15P with the 5:1 gear ratio spooled with 40 - 50# braid.

 

[Leprechaun]

Good choice! Or Daiwa Lexa 300 or Abu Revo Beast 50.

Or be different - go with the new Penn Fathom 8XNSD. That's what I'd look hard at, were I looking for the latest togging reel.

 

[Water Dog]

If you’re considering low profile baitcasters, don’t rule out the Okuma Komodo reels. Both main and pinion gear are made of stainless steel. The biggest reason I chose the KDS-364P is the non disengaging levelwind which I think is a huge asset when fishing for tog. With the non disengaging levelwind, the line will always stay in alignment with the levelwind, so the chances of damaging the levelwind mechanism due to line torque when hooking into togzilla is greatly reduced.

That said, the Black Demon series rods are stout rods on the heavier side at 12 or so ounces. So, I would personally go with a traditional conventional reel to better balance the combo.

 

[Essex]

Thank you so much for the recommendations? What about the Shimano Torium, what is the difference between that say and the Saltist. Sorry for my complete and utter ignorance.

 

[Water Dog]

Torium is a very nice reel with a faster 6.3:1 gear ratio. However, I prefer the lower 5:1 gear ratio as well as the narrower spool of the Saltist 15P for toggin. Just note, they also offer a faster Saltist 15H, but again, I’d prefer the 15P for the lower gear ratio.

 

[CaptFP]

I have the Daiwa Saltist 20p 5:1, Saltiga SASD15and the Shimano Torium 16. I can't feel a difference between the two Daiwas. The Shimano is a very solid reel. All the reel companies have excellent products in their mid range line ups.

IMHO stay away from the low end stuff, if you do any amount of fishing you my get a season out of it.

 

[Essex]

My local tackle shop has the Saltist 20P, is there a real difference between that and the 15p? Would love to support a local shop instead of the Amazon's of the world.

 

[chunkster]

I haven't fished for blackfish since the Pilot left Sheepshead bay.

Wire Frame Boat Rod Guides - Walmart.com

E-Glass Fiberglass cloth is a lightweight woven composite material
that is commonly used in industrial, marine, and aerospace applications.
Fibreglass E-glass cloth is considered the industry standard and provides
an excellent balance between cost and performance.

Penn Jigmaster 30 pound Ande pink and a E-glass rod.

 

[Water Dog]

My local tackle shop has the Saltist 20P, is there a real difference between that and the 15p? Would love to support a local shop instead of the Amazon's of the world.

The spool is a bit wider for greater line capacity. The 20P is a mere 1/2 oz heavier than the 15P. You’re looking at the exact same gears/drivetrain between both reels at a weight of 15.2 oz for the 15P and 15.7 oz for the 20P.

 

[Essex]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions
I am going to buy the 20P from the local shop

 

[CaptFP]

My localtackle shop has the Saltist 20P, is there a real difference between that and the 15p? Would love to support a local shop instead of the Amazon's of the world.

I bought the saltist 20p last year. It was the last 5:1 that they had. It is a little big buy balances nice with my XC744. The 15p is same spot diameter just narrower. Kinda like Newells, 220 is narrower than 229 etc. I’m not a fan of the Eva handle knob so I swapped it for the counter balance handle from the saltist levelwinder.
If your local shop has both bring your rod, some sinkers and rubber bands and put the reel on it. You can see how balanced it is.

 

[Leprechaun]

 

[chunkster]

It'll make a nice Christmas gift for my niece in middle school.

 

[Essex]

For somebody who does not understand reels very much, is there like a once sentence answer why a 5:1 is better for Tog than a 6.3:1. Also, can these reels be used for Stripers as well?

 

[Water Dog]

Not sure about the one sentence part, but I’ll try...

There are a few reasons why I prefer the lower gear ratio for tog. You get more torque and cranking power with the lower gear ratio. After a long day of cranking 10+ oz. sinkers, your wrist will thank you for the lower gear ratio. Another thing that I’m big on is the health of released fish. In addition to the lower gear ratio which usually equates to shorter retrieve per crank, I always try to make it a point to crank the fish up slow and steadily. I’ve seen way to many anglers release short fish with eyes bulging and their guts blown out of their ass due to rapid decompression aka the “bends” where survival for the released fish is sketchy at best. This is a result of cranking the fish up too quickly which is made that much worse with the higher gear ratios.

On deep drops, I’m still using my old Shimano Tekota 500 with a 4.2:1 gear ratio which gets 25” per crank. There is a reason Lep‘s custom Abu Tog reels have their stock gears replaced with 3.8:1 gears.

 

[Essex]

Thank you. I said one sentence because I didn’t want you to go to the trouble of taking too much of your time to explain. But it’s much appreciated!