Big Game Rods and Reels

To stand up to the rigors of the rough and tough sport of big game fishing, the tackle has to be of the best available design and quality – inferior or untested tackle isn’t trustworthy and often breaks down under hard usage.

All big game fishing is done with multiplying reels, either star drag or lever drag types. The star drag system, which has a control knob that’s turned by hand to increase or decrease the drag, may look old-fashioned but it works well and these reels are the basic workhorses of the sport.

There once were a number of American manufacturers producing star drag reels, but now only one, Penn , still does. These Penn Senator reels range in size from 4/0 up to the massive 16/0, the commonest being the 10/0, 12/0 and 14/0 models.

The lever drag reels, as their name implies, are operated by a smooth-acting lever which is pushed forwards to increase the drag or pulled backwards to decrease it. These reels, which are widely used in big game tournament fishing, are produced by a number of companies around the world. The top of the market includes the Zane Grey range (UK) and the Fin-Nor range from Tycoon Tackle (USA), which are highly sophisticated and correspondingly expensive. Also very good, but less costly, are the Penn Internationals and the lever drag reels from Everol (Italy) and Triton and Daiwa (Japan).

The reason for the popularity of the lever drag over the older star drag lies in its greater sensitivity. With lever drag, you can increase the drag tension slowly and accurately, whereas with the star drag it’s easy to apply just a fraction too much drag which can result in a broken line. Lever drag reels are seldom cheap, although the average cost little more than the Senator star drag reels, offering extremely good value for money.

Big game rods come in many styles and sizes, but when fishing for truly big game you need a rod in the IGFA 50, 80 or 130-pound classes, or occasionally in the unlimited class. The line should be in the same class as the rod; unlimited class rods, for instance, are those which should be used with lines of over 130 pounds test.

The IGFA is the International Game Fishing Association, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which sets all the rules for the sport, including general tackle specifications. Any rod bearing an IGFA class number will confirm to the IGFA regulations – for instance, the rod tip must be at least 40 inches long, and the butt length mustn’t exceed 27 inches. If the rod has a curved butt, the length is measured across the curve, rather than round it.

Big game rods are designed for hard work, and so most are fitted with a full set of roller guides, AFTCO and Fin-Nor being the most popular types. Japanese manufacturers are now producing non-roller ‘turbo’ guides which are lined with hard, low-friction materials such as silicon carbide or titanium, providing a good, lightweight alternative to bulky roller guides.

Reel seats should always be of the heavy-duty, hooded type, and the rod butt of anodized aluminium, but whether you have a straight or curved rod butt depends on your own personal preference.

Nylon monofilament lines are the most popular type for big game fishing. Tough enough to withstand scuffing and even minor nicks, Mono has only one real disadvantage: stretch. Its inherent elasticity means that it acts as a great shock absorber, but it often stops the hook from being set solidly.

For shark and tuna, which normally gulp the bait back, this isn’t too much of a disadvantage, but with billfish the elasticity of the nylon often absorbs the strength of the strike and so the hook doesn’t set in the bony jaw plates. This occurs mostly during fast water trolling with artificial lures.

The alternative to nylon is Dacron, a polyester fibre which is pre-stretched during manufacture. Dacron sets hooks solidly, but the slightest damage to the line will cause it to snap instantly when tension is applied. The same thing happens if the line gets dragged across the back of another fish while tensioned. Because of this, Dacron is now used by only a few, highly experienced, big game anglers. Whichever line you use, it should always be one which has an IG FA rating. The most popular nylon lines are Ande and Berkley Trilene.

Leaders for big game fishing are almost always made from either heavy longliners nylon or from braided or single-strand stainless steel wire. The normal strength of a big game trace is 300 to 500 pounds test, far heavier than the actual reel line. This is to soak up damage and severe punishment during the battle, and to allow a beaten fish to be pulled to within galling range. Under IGFA rules the leader must not exceed 30 feet in length.

Tags: big game, Fin-Nor, IGFA, lever drag, penn senator, reels, rods, star drag

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Rods and Reels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.