Ok:

Shimano TLD30 reel, 50lb test braid, to be used in a 23 foot boat in Florida and the Bahamas for wahoo, dolphin, light tuna, some sailfish, etc. as a trolling rod but also bottom fishing when the mood and fishing conditions dictate. Money is not a primary concern, quality and suitability more important. Wants a 6'6" rod, but I can probably trim down a 7 footer.

My initial ideas are Seeker Hercules GTS70H, Alps #22 triangle reel seat, 10" slick butt, 10" foregrip (EVA), Amtak Virtus Heavies starting at 20 down to a 10 or 12 (not sure which) and matching top in a spiral configuration.

All ideas or recommendations welcome :)

Matt Smith
Greensboro, NC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2010 01:38PM by Matthew Smith.

Matt -
IMO you will have one very happy customer. American Tackle NITT tip tops are the closest match for the guides.

Trolling and bottom fish?? Two different actions there. Someone else might have a thought on the Seeker, but I believe they were designed for jigging? Rainshadow RCJB , RCLB and RCTB series are good options as well.

Also that TLD 30 with 50# braid concerns me. The reel will hold plenty of 30 mono and can fish that fine. However the frames are known to fail on the larger TLD's when pushed beyond 20 pounds of drag. It sounds like he is trying to turn it into a 50# trolling outfit and that is bound to fail....eventually.

The tuna, dolphin, and sailfish in those waters can all be taken on 20# class gear. Sailfish are generally taken on live bait under a kite. The savy dolphin guys run until they find debris and sight cast live baits. Move up to 30# if you are going to blind troll but I'd still like something I could pitch a bait with if needed. I use an avet lx with 30# pline on a rclb70ml blank FWIW.

Wahoo in Florida are often a bycatch when blind trolling. 30# will do and I've caugth plenty on 20# spinners when drifting live bait. In the Bahamas high speed trolling is the current rage. We are taking upwards of 20 knots and 2 pounds of metal. Fish are in the 60-80# range and can hit lures head on upwards of 50mph. Think internationals or tiagras and an IFGA 50# stick on a unibutt. Make sure to reinforce rod holders on the boat or you may find a hunk of gunnel disappearing astern along with your rod & reel:) A reel harness is standard fare.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell, great post.

Thanks guys!

Matt Smith
Greensboro, NC

Matthew, I would like to help and feel I did everything but that! With a little more info perhaps I could offer something constructive. It would be good to know what other rods and reels he has. It would be helpful to know if he is new to the area or an old pro. Also if that tld is a two speed reel.

In the not too distant past the standard was 650 yards of line for a trolling reel and the drag was set at 1/4 of the line strength. A 4/0 senator with 30# was the common setup. Today's drags and lines are much better and I'd step down a notch in size to a 3/0 reel. A lever drag reel by virtue of its superior drag can let you set at 1/3 of the breaking strength at strike and upwards of 1/2 at full. If you have done the testing and picked a line that allows this you can fish a drag that used to require a 40-60# oufit. Given all that, I don't mind having less line to work with and the ability to cast as well adds an important dimension. I like composite live bait rods in heavier ratings as they cast well but handle trolling duty okay.

For the serious bottom fish like grouper or amberjack a 2 speed tld 30 could work. The angler needs to understand the frame limitation. It isn't a deal breaker as most guys, especially in a 23' boat in any kind of seas, wouldn't want to fish a whole lot more than 20 pounds of drag. The same reel would be okay for nightime swordfish and daytime marlin up to a couple/few hundred pounds. I'd be looking to spool up with JB hollow braid and have an assortment of wind on leaders in a loop to loop setup. You don't want to leader braid if you value your hands and fingers. This is a place for a more moderate action glass blank IMHO. You need not use an IFGA trolling blank as they tend to be quite heavy and unpleasant to hold. However they are a solid choice as they are pretty much unbreakable.

I would not be without a quality spinning outfit in the 15-20# range. There are so many uses for it down here. A baitrunner feature allows the ability to troll with them and makes drifting with live baits a breeze. Right now I'd be interested in the ci4 thunnus. The pervious metal thunnus weighed too much to consider IMHO. For a rod I like st. croix but also use hot shot and live bait blanks. There are a lot of fish, from bonita, barracuda and kingfish to dolphin, blackfin and sails as well as smaller bottom fish like snapper that such an outfit is perfect for.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.