Tilefish reel recommendation

[DeniseNCC1701]

Greetings! I've developed a love for tilefishing. My current setup is a Penn Fathom 40 loaded with 50lb PowerPro on a Shimano Blue Water Heavy. I love the setup, but I don't know if this is the best reel for the task. So I'm thinking of getting something that might make life a little easier at 800+ feet. Any recommendations or is what I have fine? Budget is $300 or so, manual reel.

D

[aduma1107]

Dave from Reel Seat is who you should get in touch with. He has a Fin Nor high torque my buddy bought that does a great job in that price range.

[njboarder]

I think you can either go with a 2spd or single in lower gear ratio, somewhere in the 4:1 range. 6:1 gear might work when bringing up weight with no fish, but to me, even that gets a bit tiring when doing it all day. So I'd recommend something with lower gear ratio and enough line capacity such as maxel osl10 or Avet JX or HX with lower ratio.

I have used accurate bx2-500 with 3:1 low and 6:1 high ratio and wanted to have a gear ratio in between, so got a JX with 4.6 ratio and felt it worked fine.

[Skolmann]

Originally Posted by aduma1107

Dave from Reel Seat is who you should get in touch with.

+1 Dave is the man to talk to about tilefishing rods/reels & rigs.

[JayO]

The Reel Seat is the place to visit. Single speed, 4.0 to 4.5 ratio has worked for me. I use a Penn Baja and JM PE8. Dave carries the Fin Nor as mentioned already, and also the Maxel Ocean Max for a little more than your limit. Bring your current rod down to compare to the rods he carries too. Good luck!

[DeniseNCC1701]

Thanks for all the great responses, I appreciate that! Looking forward to picking up some new schtuff.

[jjdbike]

What do you guys think of the Okunma Makaira MK-15II SEa loaded w/ 50lb flat hollow for tile fishing?

This reel will also be used for other deep drops trips & possibly jigging for tuna (e.g., Yankee Capts out of Key West, Mid range trips out of San Diego CA etc). I like to two speed option incase I'm lucky enough to hook into a tuna.

Honestly the Makaira is a little pricey for me so I'm also considering the Penn Baja for price, durability and ease of servicing. One downside is I'll lose that low gear.

What are your opinions of the Makaira vs the Baja? I'm also considering the Ocean Max.

Thanks!
JD