Species of fish are as numerous and diverse in New Jersey as the anglers who fish for them, which can sometimes translate into headaches as Garden State anglers try to keep their costs down while trying to find a rod and reel combination that fits so many types of fishing in a single package. While it’s nearly impossible to find one, single combination that will handle everything from striped bass to mako sharks, it is quite feasible to condense much of your fishing practices into one high-quality outfit.

Many anglers spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on their equipment, but in tough economic times such as these, it certainly behooves all of us to cut back just a bit. That doesn’t mean we’re advising anyone to “go cheap” on equipment, rather, our plan of attack for the upcoming season is to find a high-quality outfit that can be used for multiple fishing purposes, thus cutting down on the necessity to keep so many different (and potentially costly) setups at once. Additionally, we’re going to look at setups that strike a balance for fishing summer flounder, blackfish, sea bass and jigged striped bass. While certain types of fishing is best accomplished with a spinning outfit, the majority of year-round fishing in New Jersey is accomplished with a conventional outfit, so we’ll focus on quality conventional reels for bait and jig fishing from a boat.

For the purposes of our reel search, we recommend anglers consider purchasing a high-quality rod on which to place the reel. As one of our reel requirements is that it be lightweight, we don’t want to render this a moot point by mounting the reel on a clunky rod. A good example of the rod we’re looking to purchase is the Shimano Trevala TVC-66H, a 6-foot, 6-inch heavy power, medium-fast action jigging rod that can handle 80-200 pound braided line. The rod’s ultra-light weight makes it a perfect tool for a full day of ocean fishing. It’s designed for a high-speed, high-power reel that, likewise, shouldn’t weigh us down during an extended day of multi-species action. It retails for $169 at Oceanside Bait and Tackle on Long Beach Island.

For initial advice, we asked South Jersey fishing expert Dante Soriente, publisher of the online fishing forum TheMagicMann.com, his thoughts.

“There are many different reels out there today that will work for your situation,” said Soriente. “It all comes down to what you want to pay, and what you will be using the reel for.”
We decided to focus on reels in the $100-$200 range for inshore fishing that could, potentially, also be used offshore.

“If you’re using the reel for smaller fish jigging you want to go with a higher gear ratio,” explained Soriente. “If you’re catching bigger fish, the low gear ratio helps a lot. If you plan on fishing deep water, the high ratio is a must unless you want to be cranking forever”

Making A Choice

Avet reels can be seen mated to many serious anglers’ rods all season long, especially for blackfish season. They can also be used during the summer for tuna fishing, which intrigued us as to the specifications of these machines.

“My Avet LX 6.0 has landed yellowfin and blue fin tuna with 65-pound braid, no problem,” said Capt. Jim of Legal Limit Charters, who fishes from Tuckerton to Cape May. “A friend of mine and myself have several setups with the Avet SX and MXL on Trevalas and Penn Torque rods and use them for tog, stripers, drum, flounder and sea bassing.”

The LX 6.0 retails for about $259, over our price limit, but the SX comes in under $200, although on the high end of the spectrum at about $189.

The 14.8-ounce reel, the spool of which is just slightly wider than a golf ball, was the most-recommended in our impromptu survey of tackle shop owners and hardcore fishermen, but it wasn’t without its detractors.

“They look nice, however I don’t like how they perform,” said Soriente. “When you put any kind of drag pressure, the reel binds, and doesn’t allow them free spool to come out fast enough.”

Soriente did say, however, that Avet has since engineered some improvements into their drag system since the last time he used their products.

The only Avet reel to fit into our price range, however, was the SX model with the 5.3:1 gear ratio. The combination of the obviously-excellent construction, light weight and smooth retrive of the Avet may make it worth the money for many anglers, especially those who fish year round and frequent the blackfish grounds.

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Another reel that came with glowing reviews in our survey was the Shimano Torium. The “14” model in the Torium series weighs one ounce more than the SX and is priced about $30 less.

“The Torium 14 to 20 series is great for inshore and can handle small tuna,” said Capt. Jim.

The Torium’s 6.2:1 gear ratio puts it on the high-end as far as retrieve speed goes, and Shimano touts its ease of use as one of its best attributes; it can be used for both jigging and casting without sacrificing performance. The Torium 14 can handle 300-yards of 14-pound mono and up to 200-yards of 20-pound mono. The Torium 20, which sells for about $10 more than the 14 model, can fit 420-yards of 20-pound mono around its spool and 400-yards of 25-pound mono. However, it weighs 22.8-ounces, compared to the 15.7-ounce weight of the 14. In the middle of the range is the Torium 16, which adds slightly more line capacity and shaves two ounces of weight off the total for the 20 model.

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If the Avet and Shimano reels cost a bit more than you are looking to spend, a great alternative may be the Daiwa Sealine X Series.

“I have used many Daiwa products and have been happy with most,” said Soriente.

Capt. Jim has used the reel before and gives it his seal of approval as well.

“This an all-around reel with light weight, great line capacity and drag,” Jim said. “It’s a great choice for inshore jigging, stripers, drum and tog.”

The base model of the series, the SL-X20SHA, retails for about $119 and, similar to the Torium, has a 6.1:1 gear ratio, making it a high-speed choice for ocean fishing. It weighs 15.5-ounces, comparable to the Torium 14 and less than the other Torium models. In fact, the larger members of the Sealine X family are also lighter than the Toriums, with the 19.6-ounce SL-X50HA model being capable of spooling 350-yards of 30-pound test mono and 220-yards of 50-pound test mono. All of the models in the range weigh under 20-ounces, with the primary differences coming in the area of gear ratio. The two biggest models, the “40” and above-mentioned “50,” feature 4.9:1 gear ratios rather than the 6.1:1 of the models with slightless less line capacity.

Notably, all of the models are identically priced, so you won’t pay more to choose which reel suits you best.

Higher in the Daiwa line is the ultra-modern Saltist series of reels, which (in price) come about halfway between the Sealine and the Avet SX - we’ve seen them selling in the mid $160s (STT30H model). The series is universally admired for what Daiwa terms its “full metal jacket” construction that makes it perfect for braided line use. Its speed leads the pack, with models achieving a gear ratio of 6.4:1, pulling in 47-inches of line with each crank.

With such rugged construction, however, comes a bit more weight. While the other reels we’ve compared all weigh below 20-ounces, the Saltist series weighs between 23- and 25-ounces. It’s a consideration, but for anglers who want a dual inshore-offshore outfit that makes the best use of today’s high-quality braided lines, the Saltist’s extra weight has a defined purpose insomuch as its construction, and that may be enough to sway one from the cheaper Sealine, which uses a combination of metal and plastic construction.

Conclusions

While many publications choose a clear winner in a comparison, that’s not our style. We’ve given you the background, now it’s your move; we don’t believe that anyone should choose a reel until they’ve at least handled it, and perhaps until they have tracked down a friend who owns one and fished with it.
That said, we believe all of the reels mentioned are high-quality pieces of equipment that are arguably the best available when it comes to the fishing in which most New Jersey anglers engage. •