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Updated 9/13 see first post Icast 2018 New Penn Spinfisher VI Dunk test, And LIve liner on the water footage.

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scoobydoo

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47 mins ago, dennysnook said:

Soon as you lower the rod and create any sort of slack

Yes, if you create slack you'll give fish a chance to get away. Remember, we are talking about fishing in general, not just ladyfish. My guess is very, very few people here fish for ladyfish very often...if ever. I'm sure you have loads of ladyfish catching experience, I've only caught a few dozen but all of them accidentally. In general, folks shouldn't use their reels like they are pulling a boat up a trailer - that doesn't require 1000 of hours of testing to say with the utmost confidence that it is solid advice and something most new surf fishermen should remember while planting their boots in the sand and turning that handle like an organ grinder while the drag it going out :)

 

47 mins ago, dennysnook said:

so you can't judge based on assumptions of what should be done and works for everything and everyone else

Again, nobody is talking about ladyfish except you...and nothing works everywhere for everyone one all the time - that was never suggested. It's simply too clunky to add "use the rod to steer the fish and then use the reel to pick up the line *except if ladyfishing when you have to reel like mad to keep the line tight so they don't jump off*".   And did you just write that you are a commercial ladyfish fisherman who keeps track of who catches the most ladyfish among commercial ladyfish fishermen? This sounds like something we should examine further in a different thread...I had no idea there was a such a thing as a commercial ladyfish fisherman :clap:

 

TimS

Show someone how to catch striped bass and they'll be ready to fish anywhere.
Show someone where to go striped bass fishing and you'll have a desperate report chaser with loose lips.

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6 hours ago, dennysnook said:

 

 

There is a big difference in what should work, in what you have to do in reality. Have studied and filmed my mechanics, but there are senarios that throw all the rules out the window and I was stating a few examples and also the need for reels that can cope with those. It's not like I have spent 1000s of hours perfecting the ways to catch these certain fish in heavy current conditions, testing different rod actions, hook types and sizes, hooksets, etc to dial in the most productive method. Regardless what you do, to be the most productive, you have to keep max tension on ladyfish and direct their heads at all times. Soon as you lower the rod and create any sort of slack or pressure loss whatsoever, even while cranking like a mad man you give the opportunity for the fish to overcome being forcefully directed and jump. Other commercial guys who use basic pump and reel techniques will put up half the numbers I can because they don't understand and haven't studied the fish like I have, so you can't judge based on assumptions of what should be done and works for everything and everyone else. Was bringing this up because of the handle comment, because a comfortable grip and extended arm will give you more torque. Something that becomes a valuable assest when you are applying max pressure to say a jack or snapper trying to dive in the rocks and putting more pressure on your reel than with open water pump and reel where the drag and rod do most the work.

I’m sorry if you thought my comment was directed at you, Denny. It was just a general observation of mine over 35 years of personal and professional fishing. I’ve never fished for or caught lady fish, so have no experience with their antics. :)

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12 hours ago, TimS said:

Yes, if you create slack you'll give fish a chance to get away. Remember, we are talking about fishing in general, not just ladyfish. My guess is very, very few people here fish for ladyfish very often...if ever. I'm sure you have loads of ladyfish catching experience, I've only caught a few dozen but all of them accidentally. In general, folks shouldn't use their reels like they are pulling a boat up a trailer - that doesn't require 1000 of hours of testing to say with the utmost confidence that it is solid advice and something most new surf fishermen should remember while planting their boots in the sand and turning that handle like an organ grinder while the drag it going out :)

 

Again, nobody is talking about ladyfish except you...and nothing works everywhere for everyone one all the time - that was never suggested. It's simply too clunky to add "use the rod to steer the fish and then use the reel to pick up the line *except if ladyfishing when you have to reel like mad to keep the line tight so they don't jump off*".   And did you just write that you are a commercial ladyfish fisherman who keeps track of who catches the most ladyfish among commercial ladyfish fishermen? This sounds like something we should examine further in a different thread...I had no idea there was a such a thing as a commercial ladyfish fisherman :clap:

 

TimS

 

I fish for everything available to me, but being that it is a lucrative market,  basically untapped due to their difficulty on rod and reel and they are readily available for long periods I have alot of experience with them. To get good at it, it took several years of studying them, patterning them, and adapting gear and fishing techniques for them. I only base my numbers on local fishermen fishing the same area and using the same market and not trying to toot my own horn, but it is consistent that I turn in drastically more ladyfish. Tonight two other rod and reel commercial fisherman did 45 and 48lbs while I did 198lbs myself. At $1.50lb it has payed off in the long run to study them and dedicate all that time to figure them out and breaking conventional reel rules to do so. One would think high speed conventional gear would be best as Scooby and others have suggested before, but casting freelined baits into a 15mph head wind like tonight among personal preferences and fatigue concerns makes winch spinning the way to go.

 

I only brought ladyfish up to represent a senario where I use a spinning reel like a winch because of their characteristics in response to your prior knob comment and something will explain below that I have been leading up to when I had sufficient time to post. I want a handle that provides comfort and allows maximum torque regardless of the species, and a reel capable of handling that pressure. Fishing around a bunch of people, primarily inexperienced, I see more people straight reeling against their drag, not using the rod for leverage, fighting bottom, etc. than most. Whatever a reel needs to have to compensate for the googanry being stronger and providing more torque helps durability and allows me to push it even further. Whether that be tighter tolerances, bigger and stronger gearsets, or other reel factors that provide torque it only helps offer us fishermen a better, more durable, product.

 

Being that I have been graced with the opportunity to test reels from different brands, as long as I can provide my honest feedback good or bad for SOL, I was leading up to commenting about the Spinfisher VI. I have absolutely been punishing the 5500 over the last few months and trying to push it to its limits for feedback. The only time I have had to put it down was in the senario fishing heavy weights for ladyfish out in the channel where the torque wasn't sufficient for straight reeling with short rod pumps to create minimal slack and not lose ladyfish. Needed a higher torque application so opted for my 5k Saltiga PG to fulfill that need. Otherwise it has performed way better than I ever expected for that price class and all 198lbs tonight were done on the VI. Bail is solid when your forcefully flipping it heavily hundreds of times a night, haven't had any drag issues, no frame play, no major line issues, and no overall issues I would expect to have fishing it the way I do. Has been one of the most solid sub $200 reels I have put major poundage on without having catastrophic failure in short time, but in order to explain that better I need the long winded backstory so readers understand what I put it through on a daily basis.

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9 hours ago, Fishjerk said:

I’m sorry if you thought my comment was directed at you, Denny. It was just a general observation of mine over 35 years of personal and professional fishing. I’ve never fished for or caught lady fish, so have no experience with their antics. :)

 

I didn't take it personal because I hope I know what I am doing at this point, although I have frequently been accused of poor technique because the nature of how I fish at times. Choosing the right gear is important and certain senarios require myself to push reels to their limits and break the rules for production. Between ladyfish and pesky jacks those two species alone have managed to destroy more reels than everything else combined, and they are commonly regarded as trash fish that nobody wants to catch lol. Fishing them commercially will quickly expose any flaws or drawbacks in spinning gear, so was just trying to lead up to the explanation above when I had time to comment about the reel. 

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High praise for the VI, interesting to read. And, like TimS, I had no idea there was a market for them; I didn't even know they are edible, though I had no reason to think they're not.  They jump, they're said to be slimy, and they don't have the prestige of other species.  I've never even seen a good thread on fishing for them until this thread. 

 

Got a ladyfish recipe to share?

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On 9/7/2018 at 3:17 PM, BrianBM said:

High praise for the VI, interesting to read. And, like TimS, I had no idea there was a market for them; I didn't even know they are edible, though I had no reason to think they're not.  They jump, they're said to be slimy, and they don't have the prestige of other species.  I've never even seen a good thread on fishing for them until this thread. 

 

Got a ladyfish recipe to share?

Asian market, primarily Vietnamese. They are a boney fish with soft meat that they soften and scrape with spoon to pull the meat. Mix it with a bunch of seasonings and turn it into a fish cake/ fish balls and deep fry. Never tried it but even heard they are pretty good

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On 6/20/2018 at 10:58 AM, scoobydoo said:

 

Here's Fellow SOL member runnin round with the live liner I sent down

 

 

Dunk Test

No more Cast Zinc gears

They slapped an IPX5 rating on it

4500 Bailess added

Priced between 140 and 250 in 2500 to 10500 sizes.

 

OOOF......that's a ton of reel...and we all know what these things are gonna be selling for come spring 2019

 

that's a sweat red!

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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  • 3 months later...
On 9/5/2018 at 1:18 PM, Fishjerk said:

With 10 years experience mating on 6 pack charters in the Great Lakes, it still amazes me that 90% of fisherman don’t understand the mechanics of pumping the rod to bring fish in. Done properly, the fish never experienced any slack in the line. Once the rod is pulled back, the proper way when reeling is to allow the reel to pull the rod down. Done properly, the rod will always have a bend and tension on the line.  

 

I guess it’s like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. .... Some people will just never be able to do it. 

I don't think most people catch enough fish to get it down packed.

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