Reels for Float fishing / Match

[Lunker]

Just a quick thread on reels for float fishing. Once again this is a subject that is entirely decided by the angler who wants to do float fishing, it is a guidline and not a " you have to use these reels" cenario.

Bellow is a review write up by top match fisherman from the UK and what their preferences are. I will list my reels more to the end.

The technical spec on the reels is all you need when deciding on a reel. The majority of reels these days are way over priced but you do get makes that have all the creature comforts of the upper end reels like Okuma, some daiwa reels and Hemmingway. Hemmingway is my reel of choice. Not a easy reel to come by but very worth while to try and find and get one.

Bass reels and drop shot reels are also perfect because they generally have quite a nice spool size and have at least 3BB up and the drags are very good. A good drag is one of the factors that need to be taken into account because of how close you are fishing and if you hook into a big carp or even barbel it is going to run hard from the start and run for about 20m easily but at a hell of a pace and I dont know if anyone has the experience of a reel burning out but if you buy a weak reel you will find out.

This is the reel I am currently using. I bought 2 sizes, 2 small and 1 a size up that holds a bit more line for when I know I am targeting bigger fish.

 

 

[100% African]

For a 10kg+ fish how much line capacity are we looking at here? 100m? 200m? I'll probably just use my bass reels for now, so just trying to get an idea of whats required...

 

[Lunker]

My latest carp was just over 10kg and it ran about 20m. The majority of bass reels can hold up to 150m+. The average size line that you need is from 10lb to max 15lb. I am currently using 15lb Kingfisher High Abrasion, you need a good strong line with a small diametre to stop big carp from running into snags so at the end of the day look for a reel that will hold 150m of .25mm.

Easiest way to look at it is like this.
- You are only fishing a distance of 5m to max 10m.
- Your reels holds 150m of .25mm / line is strong enough to seriously give the carp stick if needed.
- That leaves you with 140m of line to play the carp.

Bass reels are the best for this form of fishing because they are light but strong at the same time.

Something I have not really spoken about is the size of the reel, if choosing a float reel look at bass reels first because they have a awesome drag and generally come with more then 3BB and can fit the right amount of line.

When I started float fishing I had a shimano spirax, it had the fighting drag on the back and only held 100m of line, it did the job for 3 years and I hooked into some big barbel and I never ran out of line ever, it all boils down to what line you are using and if it is strong enough to give the fish a bit of stick.

 

[100% African]

Ok, that makes sense. Is it suggested that a spinning type reel is used or is a bait caster fine as well....?

Most of my bass reels are loaded with 30lb braid which is quiet thin, and there's well over 200m of line but I dont want to over kill it either. Also got some reels with 6lb fire line which i'm told will only break around 10lbs, so maybe I could use that.

 

[Lunker]

Baitcaster wont work, the float is to light. Spinning reels is the order of the day for match fishing.

Braid is fine for float fishing but will be very visible due to the fact that the float is attached to your main line the section between your float and hook link must not be visable to the carp. Take at least 1 or 2 reels if you have and load it with 15lb mono.