Arkansas Sportsman

Big spinning reels effective for landing big fish

WaveSpin doesn't make spinning reels anymore, so I feel free to share some observations about the unique reels without conflict.

Invented by the late Doug Hannon, WaveSpin reels are different than other spinning reels because of their patented serrated spools. The big serrations look like ocean waves, but they serve a purpose beyond style.

Unlike level-wind baitcast reels that feed line parallel to a rod, a spinning reel stores line at a 90-degree angle to a rod. Line comes off the spool in big loops that funnel through increasingly narrow guides. Line returns to the spool in reverse fashion. The entire system is a gauntlet of resistance that twists line into an inevitable tangle of snarls and knots.

Traditional spinning reels require frequent respooling. Or, you can remove a lure and feed line into the water behind a boat or into current and allow it to untwist.

When line leaves a WaveSpin spool, the serrations bounce the line upward and level the peaks and valleys of the loops. At least, that's the theory, but the marketplace was skeptical. Most online threads on WaveSpin dismiss the concept as a gimmick.

I've been using WaveSpins for years, but I've reserved one as a tester. It's a 4000DH, a large-frame model suitable for inshore saltwater or big-game freshwater fishing. I spooled it with 20-pound test monofilament three years ago and have used it for redfish, speckled trout, snook and jack crevalle in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. I've used it for largemouth bass, stripers and walleyes in Arkansas.

I have never changed the line on this reel. After thousands of casts, there is almost no evidence of line twist.

With Hannon's death, WaveSpin is now a technology company. WaveSpin reels are only available online, and they're a lot cheaper than when they were in production. They were worth their original prices. They're definitely worth the fire-sale prices.

My saltwater experiences have encouraged me to adapt spinning reel tactics for giant largemouths.

Throwing plastic frogs, giant worms, deep-diving crankbaits and large swimbaits has long been the domain of heavy or medium-heavy action baitcasting rigs spooled with 65-pound test braid or heavy monofilament or flourocarbon to wrestle big bass out of heavy cover.

In Arkansas, a trophy bass weighs 8-9 pounds. A giant weighs 10-plus.

In saltwater, I have fought and landed 30-pound redfish and 31-inch snook with medium-action spinning tackle in similar quarters. The snook strikes harder and fights harder than almost any fish I've encountered. I see no reason why the same tackle and techniques won't transfer to largemouths.

I'm driven primarily by the limitations of my platform. I often fish heavy bankside cover from a sitting position in a kayak. I can whip a lure through a keyhole-size opening in a mangrove thicket with a spinning rig while sitting. I'm not nearly as accurate from that position with a baitcaster.

A spinning reel's main limitation is speed, but not as much as you might think.

Speed is essential because you have to winch a big bass out of cover quickly and into open water where you can overpower it. Also, a big bass tends to run at you when you set the hook, and you need to recover line quickly to keep it from throwing the lure.

Most new baitcasters have gear ratios of at least 7.1:1, and some are available in the 8:1 range. A 6.3:1 reel used to be blazing fast, but that's now considered slow.

Most spinning reels are in the 5.1:1 to 5.3:1 range. The WaveSpin 4000DH is 4.9:1. However, gear ratio is only part of the speed equation.

The more important number is inches of line retrieved per crank. A wide-spool spinning reel like a 4000 series WaveSpin inhales line at about 33 inches per turn. The big gears of the slow-turn ratio absorb the strain that a big fish imparts on the clockwork.

In comparison, a Lew's baitcaster with a 7.1:1 gear ratio takes line at 31 inches per turn, so the big spinning reels are in the same class in terms of retrieve speed.

The biggest disadvantage of the spinning reel is engagement lag. With a baitcaster, you can engage the spool and set the hook in one fluid motion the instant a lure hits the water.

Engaging a spinning reel is a two-step process that requires removing your hand from the handle to close the bail.

You can compress lockup time with practice, but you'll never be able to do it as quickly as you can with a baitcaster.

The only way to know if spinning gear works on big bass in cover as well as baitcasting gear is to try it and refine it.

I look forward to sharing the results.

Sports on 05/14/2017

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