How come fishing reels come in different sizes???

Question

I was at a sporting goods shop today and noticed that there were fishing reels that were different sizes. Some were attached to Ugly Stiks and were a lot smaller than the Shimano ones. Does the size of the fishing reel affect the size of the fish you catch???

Answer 1

The only reason fishing reels come in those different sizes is because they are each, so to speak, weight classes. The smallest of the reels is designed for light class lines (2,4,6 lb) the next size up will most likely 8,10,12 lb, next size up, 12,15,20, so on, and so forth. Next time you look at those reels, look closely at the spools, they will have numbers. For example: I'm looking at one of my rods, and the numbers are; 2/195   4/125  6/65 Which represents the recommended line sizes, and an approx. of how much you can put on the spool. For 6 lb test, it says It would only be able to safely accomodate up to 65 yards of that line(since 6 lb test has a larger diameter than say, 4 lb test). Which will help you decide exactly how much line you will need to buy. And since lines come in vast amount of length spools to buy, you wouldnt need 300 yards of line (unless you like to respool quite often) when 150 yards will be sufficient. And I recommend keeping extra line handy in case your line snaps when you have alot of line out. Or you get a nasty bird nest, you can quickly change the line, and get back to fishing.

And the size gear to size fish ratio...no such thing. Living in the middle of florida where I know the only thing I will catch when I got fishing in a lake around here, is a bass. I will use light gear. like a 4-8lb outfit. I've actually caught a 5lb bass on 4lb test. Just remember to adjust your drag accordingly, (25% of the breaking strength of the line). So keep in mind what your fishing for, and how big they get, and prepare accordingly. And use common knowledge; if your going grouper fishing, your not going to want to use 10lb test. for obvious reasons. And theres no telling how big of fish your going to catch, they dont line up and let you pick them out to catch, unfortuantely, it doesnt work that way.

Answer 2

Different types of fishing, such as you will have a bigger reels for saltwater, often for use on a boat as big fish can make big long runs, so a bigger spool is needed.

Answer 3

DIfferent types of fishing -

Ultra light - light line very small rod & reel  usually better fisherman like to play their fish more.  You can catch a large fish on a light line if you have the skill. It's more challenging

Also larger rods & reels for different types of water - an ultralight rod/reel wouldn't do much good on the other side of the dam where the water is very fast and you'd probably need a bigger reel to hold heavier line. Smaller reels don't hold a big capacity of line...additionally, small reels would be a waste on a rod designed for a med or med/heavy reel since it wouldn't function very well - not sensitive enough.

That is why they say a "combo" is balanced - the rod specifications are close to or in line with the specs on the reel.  Rod designed for 8-15 lb line and the reel would a good amount of line capacity for that size line.  Such a spinning reel would be a Garcia Mitchell 300.

Hope it helps....

Answer 4

Hmmmm, the simplest reason is that fish come in different sizes, all kidding aside, different conditions call for different tackle.  You wouldn't fish for bull red fish with the same tackle you would fish for pan fish.  The size of the reel doesn't necessarily affect the size of the fish, you can catch big fish on small tackle (the fish in my avatar was caught on 20lb tackle) however, you try to match your tackle not only to the fish you are targeting, but to the conditions you are fishing also.  Bass were used as an example earlier, lets say I am fishing in the Big "O"..okeechobee, I would use different tackle there because of all the underwater weed, a bigger reel, heavier line, stouter rod than I would fishing for the same sized bass up on Lake Eufalla on the Ga. /Al. boundary because there is nowhere near the underwater cover in the latter named lake.  Also you are generally fishing deep structure and use lighter lines and smaller lures in Eufalla.   If you are fishing gin clear water for bass, you go lighter and risk the break offs, because you wont get any action using 20lb line on a heavy rod. Heck, I have a dozen outfits I use just for freshwater bass, and I fish a whole lot more in saltwater, I don't even want to count my saltwater outfits.