New to forum .....and to offshore fishing. Could use help!

[AdamMD]

Greetings folks. My name is Adam. I live in Cali.

I’ve fished many times just casually (e.g. on the side of a lake, off a pier on the beach, etc.), so I never really paid any attention to what kind of rod or reel I bought. Now I want to get into deep sea fishing (e.g. for large fish like tuna) and I’m seeing that the equipment is a bit more important.

Just last week my wife purchased for me as a birthday gift an Okuma CJ-80S reel and Okuma 601M spinning/jigging rod (she was told by a sales rep that these would be good for my purposes). I have no clue if these will suffice.

I have done a lot of reading about fishing equipment and the explanations are plenty, but none of them go into much detail. So if you folks would be kind enough to take the time to answer mine, I’d really appreciate it.

1. I know that baitcasting reels are better for big game fish, but I’m more familiar with using spinning reels and would prefer to stick with them.....even if it makes the job of catching big fish a little tougher. What sort of “numbers” am I looking for in a spinning real that can handle big game fish? That is, how strong a fishing line does it take? How much of that strength of fishing line can it take? How much drag? What numbers are considered adequate for catching big fish?

2. And what about the rod? Just looking at my Okuma Cedros 601M and I can see that it’s too scrawny a rod for catching 100lb tuna, even though it’s rated for 30-65lb test line.

3. I understand what drag is, but what I’m wondering: many of these reels can take (braided) 80lb line, but they have only 30-35lbs of drag. Even though the line is strong enough, how can you pull on a 100lb fish with it when the spool gives way after only 30-35lbs of force?

4. I noticed that I cannot find any specs on the Okuma CJ-80S regarding the use of braided line. Does this mean that the reel cannot use braided line optimally?

Your help guidance would be much appreciated!!
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[gdn443]

Seems what the wife got you is a good rod for smaller fish than tuna. Should work well to the 25 lb class. If you are trolling for tuna or live lining you will need a bait caster with a rod that has a much stronger back to it and eyes that should have rollers. Unless you have a boat, charters will supply such a rod. Very hard to get a big fish in on a spinning rig. You won't have to cast it, just thumb it as you let it out.
Don't get to hung up about the drag. Any big fish will take line and the drag is there to tire him out and not break your line. Drag should never be more that the line test.
I use braid on a lot of my reels and none of them gave me specs for braid. The specs are always on mono diamater, which are thicker than braid.
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[AdamMD]

[quote gdn443]Seems what the wife got you is a good rod for smaller fish than tuna. Should work well to the 25 lb class. If you are trolling for tuna or live lining you will need a bait caster with a rod that has a much stronger back to it and eyes that should have rollers. Unless you have a boat, charters will supply such a rod. Very hard to get a big fish in on a spinning rig. You won't have to cast it, just thumb it as you let it out.
Don't get to hung up about the drag. Any big fish will take line and the drag is there to tire him out and not break your line. Drag should never be more that the line test.
I use braid on a lot of my reels and none of them gave me specs for braid. The specs are always on mono diamater, which are thicker than braid.[/quote]

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it!

I figured the rod was a little small for catching large fish. I guess the rep figured that a rod that was rated to 65lb line is suitable for big game fish, since 65lb line is suitable for big game fish as well?

But what about the reel? I hear about some new spinning reels being good for big fish, and in terms of numbers, the Okuma CJ80S seems to be right in there with them. Mam I missing something?
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[gdn443]

Having used both reels for large fish, it's alot easier to reel in with a baitcaster. A large fish will put alot of strain on a reel, a baitcaster will take the beating better in my opinion. You still have to pull and then reel down no matter which reel you use. I have had spinning rigs malfuction on a large fish. Thats why we need rods for different fish. So I tell the wife anyway. []
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[AdamMD]

[quote gdn443]Having used both reels for large fish, it's alot easier to reel in with a baitcaster. A large fish will put alot of strain on a reel, a baitcaster will take the beating better in my opinion. You still have to pull and then reel down no matter which reel you use. I have had spinning rigs malfuction on a large fish. Thats why we need rods for different fish. So I tell the wife anyway. [][/quote]

So lemme ask:

Why do fishing reels even have line specs to begin with? Whats to stop me from putting 30 or 40lb mono on my Okuma CJ80S?

Also, why would someone ever use stronger line than a reel's maximum drag? For example, my CJ80S has a maximum drag of 33lbs, meaning that anything pulling with more than 33lbs of force is going to take line off the spool, and that the line will never experience more than 33lbs of force. What would be the point of using 80lb braid on a reel whose max drag doesn't remotely approach 89lbs?
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[gdn443]

Reels give you the size of the line so that you don't go over that specified to work well with the line. Braid is smaller in diameter that mono, so if you chose you can use a higher pound test on that reel with braid.
I use a heavier line sometimes for certain types of fishing. Flipping I will use it, areas that have alot of rocks so it won't chafe and break as easily. It's not about the drag, it's about not snapping the line. If I'm casting for stripers and they hit hard, braid won't give like a mono. So I use a bigger test.
This is just my experiance, so try what ever you feel comfortable with.
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