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Spinning Reel Anti Reverse

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Hermit

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Hey guys, can anyone tell me when or in what situation the anti reverse switch on a spinning reel is used? I have never had the cause to use it and not sure when it is useful.

 

I also read a few threads about guys catching a big fish on a decent spinning reel and it start to grind gears. I always thought with a good drag, a decent size/fighting fish can be caught by "pumping" the rod and retrieve when lowering the rod. So the drag is usually the main concern, am I wrong?

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i use my anti reverse switch for presentation purposes. it is extremely valuable when used in heavy current, or any current for that matter. it affords you the ability to control to a very small margin the degree to which your plug (or whatever it may be) is set against the current. it is very very useful, and i will say that the biggest 5 fish or so i have taken have all hit when i was backreeling.

 

i have no experience using it in conjunction with the drag for the landing of a fish, so i can't speak to that.

Never underestimate your own crappiness as a fisherman
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I've never used the anti-reverse switch. In fact, most high-end reels don't have them.

 

As far as pumping the rod while trying to land a fish, most of the time it should be avoided at all costs - only when the fish has a very bony mouth (i.e. tuna) should you do it. I've seen many fish that were lost because guys were pumping their rods which enlarges the hook's hole or even rips it from their mouths.

America, the country so great that even its haters refuse to leave. 

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I've never used the anti-reverse switch. In fact, most high-end reels don't have them.

 

this absoutely flabbergasts me. and i dearly hope that because the anti-reverse feature is not available on most high end reels it doesn't lead many folks to see them as non-important. personally i wouldn't think to use a reel without one, and when i do i feel extremely handicapped. in my experience it is an invaluable presentation tool. and it works very very well.

 

i have spoken with some experienced fishermen on this topic, and many of them don't see this feature as helpful in the slightest, one of them even suggesting that a fish doesn't swim backwards in current so why would this be useful in my presentation? if i were a big old bass and i was holding in strong current and a meal was trying to swim upstream but being swept backwards faster than it could move forwards, it would present itself as a very easy target and i would eat it.

 

sometimes the current is so hard that plugs simply cannot hold, but if you control your backreel you can get them to swim however you would like, even amongst the seemingly overpowering rage of the current.

Never underestimate your own crappiness as a fisherman
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I understand what you're saying about the swift currents, but when I'm fishing swift currents, I'm usually throwing large (4-5 ounce) bucktails and jigs, and for that I use a conventional setup - not a spinner. I will thumb the spool and let my offering drop back.

 

Same thing - different tool.

America, the country so great that even its haters refuse to leave. 

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fair enough. i wasn't flabbergasted at the fact that you said you hadn't ever used the antireverse feature of your spinner. i am in fact flabbergasted that many of the high end reels see the antireverse as unnecessary enough to cut it out of their product.

 

but i am not that experienced in this fishing gig, so take my words with a grain of salt. although i have used something quite effectively (work a spot hard for a half hour without backreeling or finding signs of fish, use backreeling in the next presentation and the next and get hits routinely) which more experienced folks have told me is useless.

 

i have in fact never used a conventional set-up but lately have been pretty intrigued by the free spool feature. (dead drifts have proven themselves as very very effective for me) do you have any conventional setups you may recomment?

Never underestimate your own crappiness as a fisherman
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I prefer reels WITHOUT an A/R. I might be useful for some as previously stated but I think those people are in the vast minority. A/R is just one more thing to break and a major weak spot in reels that have them.

ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942.

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It might be useful for some as previously stated but I think those people are in the vast minority.

 

it is not strictly in strong current that i find backreeling to be effective. it works very well in any current, slow or fast or anything in between. in my experience.

 

i learned to fish with a fly rod and fly line (and as much as i would not like to admit it, i used to be one of those folks who scoffed at that silly spin rod and, before i even used one, saw it as something in which i would not find any joy in fishing). but i feel as though this introduction gave me a certain point of when it comes to fishing in current. neither better or worse than anything else, but different. using the backreeling feature i could work my offering in a way, swimming it backwards to any degree, that i had discovered to be very effective when drifting flies.

 

in any event, i would highy recommend trying this out the next time you are fishing in current. it takes a bit of practice to control things satisfactorily, but good god does it work well. this method has fooled fish up to 40 pound.

Never underestimate your own crappiness as a fisherman
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I had the A/R go out on a Shimano Stradic, worst thing ever happened, surffishing reel starts to reel backwards, bad bad. However, I believe its a matter of personal preference, just know many reels have dome away with it. I am just a fisherman (well when its warmer here in Florida) and i understand anti-reverse as much s I understand women. Hmm maybe thats my problem women don't have an anti-reversebeatin.gif

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I'm sure that the argument that the A/R switch is another thing to break and just another source of entry for water or sand is a valid one for the vast majority of anglers; however, I personally would not buy a reel without one as I find backreeling an invaluable technique in certain circumstances. I find this trend among high end reels disturbing. You're paying more for a more refined reel, yet with fewer options. IMHO a high end reel should still allow this feature.....just make it with commensurate quality to not allow water entry or breakage due to quality issues. Promotion of the argument to eliminate the A/R switch I'm sure was influenced by number crunching pencil pushing accountants where the real argument was the bottom line as it would be less cost to manufacture the reel without one....both initially and down the line with warranty issues and inventory stock to be kept on hand. IMHO a win for reel manufacturers and a loss for the fisherman.

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