Halibut reel choices?

Update for anyone that cares.
I bought a Penn Battle 2 6000 spinning reel and had it spooled with 300yrds of 50lb braid.
Hope to try it out soon.
Thanks for the help
 
Update for anyone that cares.
I bought a Penn Battle 2 6000 spinning reel and had it spooled with 300yrds of 50lb braid.
Hope to try it out soon.
Thanks for the help


That is a coincidence....
I just did the same.
I love to use an 8OZ lead head. White curly tail.. Does extremly well for me
 
Update for anyone that cares.
I bought a Penn Battle 2 6000 spinning reel and had it spooled with 300yrds of 50lb braid.
Hope to try it out soon.
Thanks for the help
I have the same reel, but use it when I'm shore casting. Love the reel! Great choice.
 
So a little update.
Caught my first Halibut on the Penn Battle 2 reel this weekend.
Brought the 20lb chicken up from 400ft feet with no problems.
Happy with the purchase
Right on, what Rod are you using. I was loooking at the "Battle" last season myself.
 
PS

They also have Squalls at a super low price, goes against first post of rod reel "upside down". Still a steal.

HM
 
The single speed Penn Squall Lever Drag SQL40LD on sale at Cabelas.ca for $149.99 is a steal. Twice the reel compared to the Penn Battle for Halibut.
 
Yeah but it's still an interesting topic, so feel free to check out.

By the way, this issue with physics, it's not about the reel. . .if you rotate the guides around to the underside and keep the reel topside, you get rid of most of the torque. I think a spiral or acid-wrapped rod is the best solution.

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Level winds are not very reliable, I would never get another level wind reel. There's a reason why you don't see heavy duty conventional reels designed for big game fish with level winds.

Avets are decent, but the spools are a bit sloppy and has some drag creep. I prefer Accurate reels to the Avet's they seem to be of higher quality. Of course, you are going to pay for that difference in quality.

If you still want to run conventional reels but reduce the side torque on your rod/reel setup, look into getting an acid wrapped rod.
 
I still argue that a modern purpose built reel for jigging and braid is the starting point. These reels have tall narrow spools that greatly reduce wobble and the need to guild the line with your thumb. High capacity (wide) conventional reels with a level wind mechanism are old school before braid was invented. Pre braid you needed a wide spool to hold enough mono capacity for deep water jigging. The wide spools created an issue with laying the line even on the spool....so level wind mechanisms where incorporated. Does an old school reel or spinner get the job done...sure. Might miss or lose a fish of a life time though.
 
Friend uses a Battle 2 6000 Spinning reel - it's a good choice, especially at $130ish. Catch is you've got a bail to flip when you want to get back to bottom. Not really a big deal when halibut fishing, but if you're looking for an issue(particularly when actively jigging the water column), that'd be it. The gear ratio is high, which is great when you want your gear in the boat.

Side note: Friend had a monster halibut on the line last year, snapped the Ugly Stick in half (must have had in nick in the rod), but the drag on the Battle 2 6000 (25lbs max) did well!
 
Anyone using the Fin Nor reels for halibut ? I have a FLD 25 lever drag from Santa that I'm hoping will be good. I've been watching this thread but not seen it mentioned yet. I have it attached to a Sea King bottomfish 6 1/2 rod. Still dreaming of catching a flat one soon.
 
Still think the Shimano TLD 20 is a great reel for the $, been around for years and is a proven design. Also comes in a 2 speed version. Picked up a Shimano Stradic 6000 spinning reel last year for salmon jigging. It's big enough to handle a legal size hali - very smooth running reel
 
What are people's thoughts on spooling a mooching reel with braid and use it for bottom fishing. I have some shimano 4000 I was thinking to use as I hate the twist and feel of my bottom fishing set ups. Mostly just fishing lings around the gulf islands with maybe a trip west a summer for a shot at a Hali.
 
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