[shortbus]

I was reading the "shaky heads" thread Corry Started and it made me think of this but I thought it was worthy of it's own thread.

Gear ratio is something a lot of people overlook when fishing. Most casual anglers especially are affected by this because they typically only have one or two reels and likely didn't consider it when purchasing.

It's important to have a reel with a low gear ratio when fishing slow. The gear ratio of an open faced reel is most always printed boldly and prominently on the reel and the packaging and as with most things, people tend to think THE BIGGER THE BETTER but that is not always the case.

If you're finesse fishing and the fish require an extremely slow bait presentation and you are cranking on that high gear ratio reel, it's gonna be very hard to keep it slow. Cutting your gear ratio in half will allow you to cut your retrieve speed in half when you're reeling at the same rate.

And sometimes it might be why one guy in the boat is catching fish while the other one isn't, even when you're using the same bait and both of you are "fishing really slow".

Just something to think about next time you're on the lake or looking to buy that next bait caster.

[birdman]

Bus,

I couldn't agree more with your post. I always use slower retrieving reels when fishing jigs or plastics with a finesse type presentation. I'd like to see someone try and burn a crankbait or keep a buzzbait on top of the water with one of these reels .. They'd be working their butt of for no reason. It's just as important in my opinion to match your reel ratio with your fishing style as it is in matching it with a rod.

[oucorry]

Shorty, you make a good point, but I have to disagree with you somewhat. Me personally I like to have a high gear ratio on all my reels, and here's why:

1. As a tourney fisherman (somewhat of one anyways) it is all about how many casts you can make in 8 hours. And sometimes that means quanity instead of quality. As I said before I fished with Edwin Evers and that guy probably made 5 to my 1 casts, and he caught 15 to my 1 fish also!!

2. If fish start schooling, and you just made a long cast you need to get the line as quick as you can, because they can be down before you know it. And it is against tournament rules to have more than one rod in the water at the same time.

3. In an 8 hour day you need to save as much energy as you can. So instead of taking those few extras cranks to get your bait in that last 10 feet or so with a slower reel, you can get your bait in faster with less cranks with a higher ratio. I know that doesn't sound like much but in an 8 hour tournament it definitely adds up!!!

4. Sometimes in this Oklahoma wind when your are fishing plastics you will get a big bow in your line. Then if you get a bite you need to be able to take that slack up quickly. The fish can spit it out just as quickly as it picked it up, and you might need that fraction of a second!!

5. I can always slow down on my reeling if I need to fish slower, but I can't speed the reel up if I need too.

Just my opinion, and I can see where you are coming from too.