# Tuna setup: tac20II vs tac25II



## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

I'm about to purchase a tuna setup for myself and will buy either a talica 20 or 25 and match it up with a calstar grafighter 760m, the regular guides, decided to stead away from the rollers. Question is which one, the 20 or 25? I like the 20 because it is a little narrower and easier to hold in my hand and i could use it for bottom fishing, but has less capacity. The 25 is great because of the capacity but kinda bulky, don't y'all think? I haven't ever fished these, so is it harder to fish the 25 bottom fishing? Is the 25 the same size as the 20, but just wider? Any input?


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## John R (Mar 27, 2005)

760M is great choice for 50-80# applications. For GOM YFT, 20 is my choice for jigging/chunking. If trolling is material part of plan, or, if you like long mono top-shot, would go with 25. My 20 has about 500 yds of 80# JBH and 10 ft of 80# fluro wind-on.
Good Luck. 
Actually the 16 with 60/65# braid is plenty for GOM - I use it more than 20.


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

I'm buying it for a trip to Venice in October. So after that, then I'll be using it for tuna and bottom fishing off Texas coast with some possibilities of trolling in there. Would the 25 be overkill for Venice tuna and bottom fishing here? I'll be loading either of the 2 with 80 lb JB and then adding a 25 or 50 ft wind on of Fluor or mono.


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## awesum (May 31, 2006)

If you are dead set on choosing between the 20 II and the 25 II then then 20 II would be the way to go because the 25 II would be too big (IMO) for either chunking or bottom fishing.

But I agree with John R .... the 16 II would be plenty and it's lighter and easier to handle. But if you want harness lugs on your reel you should go with the 20 II.


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## bjd76 (Jan 12, 2008)

I use the 25 II for my chunking set up and trolling. I have about 500 yards of 80# braid and 80 yds of 80# momoi mono on it. I had not really used it for bottom fishing. Caught tuna to 100#s with it and I know it can handle probably another 100# more if and when the opportunity arises...


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## doughboy361 (Mar 5, 2010)

saltwater4life said:


> I'm buying it for a trip to Venice in October. So after that, then I'll be using it for tuna and bottom fishing off Texas coast with some possibilities of trolling in there. Would the 25 be overkill for Venice tuna and bottom fishing here? I'll be loading either of the 2 with 80 lb JB and then adding a 25 or 50 ft wind on of Fluor or mono.


Go with the 25II. Fishing Venice in October there will be larger model YFT around. Doesn't hurt to have extra line capacity. I fish out of Venice and have 4 Talica 25II w/500yds JB Hollow 80lbs top with 100yds 80lb Momoi mono pair with custom Phenix Hybrid Diamond 660X2H cut down to 6'.


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

I went to FTU yesterday to compare the 2, but they didn't have any 25's. is the 25 the same reel as the 20 but just wider?


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## Toledo (Mar 6, 2006)

saltwater4life said:


> I went to FTU yesterday to compare the 2, but they didn't have any 25's. is the 25 the same reel as the 20 but just wider?


Yes, same reel but wider. I prefer the 20 due to the narrower spool and it being a little friendlier to bottom fish or jig and the slightly smaller overall size. Ive also fished the 25 and to be honest there isnt a huge difference between the two. If I thought I might do much trolling I would go with the 25. For the primary use of chunking and livebaiting tuna I doubt you will ever notice a real difference.


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## luna sea II (Jul 11, 2009)

25. If you are fishing shrimp boats your capt. probably won't be very excited about you using that size reel unless the water is clear and you are only sight fishing the blackfins. Everyone breaks out the 50w's that time of year. Big tuna + big sharks + light tackle = bad outcome..


Scott


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

Just wondering, what's the difference between the 50 size reel and a talica 25? A talica 25 has more drag than a tiagra 50. Yea it has more line capacity, but not ridiculously less. Just curious what's the advantage besides bigger and bulkier to muscle them up


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## cadjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

We've always chunked with our tiagras, 30s and 50s. I never quite understood the small reel, big drag thing. We broke off two big fish this week being heavy handed with the drag on 50s so I'm not sure how a bigillion pounds of drag on a small reel is advantageous unless you're using really heavy leaders. Any half decent harness will negate the weight/bulk of a good 30/50w setup...and good luck manhandling that talikawhatever with the drag cranked to salesman-max.


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## luna sea II (Jul 11, 2009)

saltwater4life said:


> Just wondering, what's the difference between the 50 size reel and a talica 25? A talica 25 has more drag than a tiagra 50. Yea it has more line capacity, but not ridiculously less. Just curious what's the advantage besides bigger and bulkier to muscle them up


The talica's are good reels and a lot of charter captains over here use them for spring and summertime tuna fishing where they are fishing 17 to 20lbs of drag. Like I said when the big fish are here the 50w's come out. As far as the difference between the tiagra 50lrsa and the tac25 the 50 has more cranking power, a much better drag curve, and a much smoother drag at higher settings just to name a few advantages. Trust me if the tac25 would do it as well everyone would be using them for big fish.

I'm aware of the advertised drag #'s for the talicas and while it looks great on paper it don't quite work that way in the real world.

Look at the guys in the NE commercial fishing bluefins. They all use 130's for a reason and it ain't line capacity. Also check out what the Booby Trap uses.

Not taking anything away from the talica - it's a great reel for everything you will probably ever use it for except your trip to venice in october.

Scott


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

Not to burst any bubbles but , the Makairas 8 or 10 might be better contenders for the fish you're targeting in Venice during the winter time.
At least the drag curve on those Maks are better than the Talicas , if size is what you're looking for.
I will feel more confidence venturing the Venice winter yft with the Maks.


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## TexasCub (Jun 11, 2011)

FWIW when I went to Venice we had a crew of guys that had all of the best and newest Jigging grade equipment. I personally brought a Makaira 10 and 20 on respective rods. The guides on both boats we fished on kind of rolled their eyes at some of our equipment and both guides ran nothing but 30W's and 50's for chunking. But we also hooked and leadered 2 Blue Marlin while fishing for YF with live baits. So I guess the moral of the story is use the fun cool tackle when your fishing for stuff with known sizes and weights like here in Texas but when you go to Venice during cow season use the bigger more stout equipment. Look at the guys that go to the floaters regularly on here, the average YF caught is from 30# to 60# and 70+ # fish regularly break guys off, theres a huge difference between a 30# YF and a 200# YF. Im not saying that the Talica isn't a great reel, just gotta look at the difference between fishing here and fishing in other places when your gear arsenal is somewhat short in options.


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## Capt. Mike Ellis (Feb 1, 2005)

The gold standard in October is 130lb mainline with 130-150 Fluor and big hooks. At least this is the setup I keep at the ready for daddy when he come through the slick. The talk as will get it down but the chance of a long drawn out fight that ends with a snarked tuna I creases with the lighter tackle. They will work but a little on the undergunned size. But as long as you go into knowing that and you choose to put one out then give it hell. I had a client do just that and we did a 192 on a Stella 10000. I wouldn't want to do it again but it did work. How I don't know but it did. I would put 100-130 braid to a 75-100yard top shot of 100 mono and jack the drag to 24lbs at strike.


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

TexasCub said:


> FWIW when I went to Venice we had a crew of guys that had all of the best and newest Jigging grade equipment. I personally brought a Makaira 10 and 20 on respective rods. The guides on both boats we fished on kind of rolled their eyes at some of our equipment and both guides ran nothing but 30W's and 50's for chunking. But we also hooked and leadered 2 Blue Marlin while fishing for YF with live baits. So I guess the moral of the story is use the fun cool tackle when your fishing for stuff with known sizes and weights like here in Texas but when you go to Venice during cow season use the bigger more stout equipment. Look at the guys that go to the floaters regularly on here, the average YF caught is from 30# to 60# and 70+ # fish regularly break guys off, theres a huge difference between a 30# YF and a 200# YF. Im not saying that the Talica isn't a great reel, just gotta look at the difference between fishing here and fishing in other places when your gear arsenal is somewhat short in options.


You have a good point there , Venice is a total different world compared to TX . Definetly the mayority of Venice charters aren't very jigging friendly , I hear you when you say they rolled their eyes when they see the high end jigging gear . The Cajuns still have a long way to understand that a very decent jigging set up can land big fish . Time will tell , but don't blame them , live bait & chunking is been producing for years so why change it .
You just have to be ready to play their game if you want to catch fish , if the mayority of charter boats fishes with Tiagras 50's if for something


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

cadjockey said:


> We've always chunked with our tiagras, 30s and 50s. I never quite understood the small reel, big drag thing. We broke off two big fish this week being heavy handed with the drag on 50s so I'm not sure how a bigillion pounds of drag on a small reel is advantageous unless you're using really heavy leaders. Any half decent harness will negate the weight/bulk of a good 30/50w setup...and good luck manhandling that talikawhatever with the drag cranked to salesman-max.


 It trying to put down the tiagras, never used one and honestly was curious about the difference between the smaller heavier drags and bigger reels.

Thanks for the input and experience guys. Can't beat the advice from the source, thanks Luna sea and mike Ellis


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## marlin lane (Mar 4, 2012)

suggest you use the tackle furnished on your charter in Venice-it should be top notch-buy what you need and want for Texas fishing-I have a Talica 20 on the grafighter and it is great combo for the Texas coast-I have caught big yft in the Pacific and would prefer a Tiagra 50 or equivalent


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## Jungle_Jim (Nov 16, 2007)

Some of the Venice guys told me the Talicas sometimes break at the base.


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## Toledo (Mar 6, 2006)

Jungle_Jim said:


> Some of the Venice guys told me the Talicas sometimes break at the base.


I believe that was an initial design flaw that Shimano has corrected.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Jan 14, 2012)

Either are great choices for ALL gulf of mexico tuna, and most any other species that swims as well. Curious, why against the roller guides? We use these exclusively day in and day out on our charters out of Venice, paired with the 5'6" bent butt Crowder rods. Very light combo, and fully up to task for anything except for maybe daytiming and bluefin. Have caught yellowfin up to 190 on them, blue marlin, etc. You will get your *** kicked on the 16 without the reel lugs for a good harness. Don't be a hero-get a good stand up belt and harness for your forthcoming bluewater battles, and you will be very satisfied with the Talica


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## Captain Woody Woods (Jan 14, 2012)

Marcos Domingues said:


> You have a good point there , Venice is a total different world compared to TX . Definetly the mayority of Venice charters aren't very jigging friendly , I hear you when you say they rolled their eyes when they see the high end jigging gear . The Cajuns still have a long way to understand that a very decent jigging set up can land big fish . Time will tell , but don't blame them , live bait & chunking is been producing for years so why change it .


That's because jigging is one the least effective methods of targeting yellowfin tuna here. Jigging has its place, especially for blackfins at night, but you will never ever ever see any top charter in Venice (that live baits and chunks) outfished by a bunch of "jiggers." Ever. These fish get pressured hard and we just have methods which are far more productive than jigging. HOWEVER, we have a couple groups that come with us each year that jig hard for grouper; granted we release a TON of ajs in the process, and those guys lose well over $800 worth of gear over the course of their trip (not really powering away from the rig as if we were live baiting for AJs), but they mash the grouper up pretty good on those high end jigging setups.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Jan 14, 2012)

marlin lane said:


> suggest you use the tackle furnished on your charter in Venice-it should be top notch-buy what you need and want for Texas fishing-I have a Talica 20 on the grafighter and it is great combo for the Texas coast-I have caught big yft in the Pacific and would prefer a Tiagra 50 or equivalent


You're welcome to bring your own gear on any charter in Venice, but I highly recommend getting in touch with your captain well in advance and ask his advice before you set up a new rod to bring to Venice. Don't be a hero and try to put 30# braid if you're coming tuna fishing in the fall. Super light tackle and long drawn out fights (many resulting in pulled hooks, chafed line, etc.) are not a good way to keep the rest of your crew happy when they are waiting their turn to land a good fish. We all pretty much use 80-100# braid, and a lot of it, on our reels. The waters are deep and a tuna does what he wants. Drags should be set at around 14-19 pounds at strike, depending on reel. I also highly recommend putting tape on your reels and marking out the drag at strike, halfway between strike and freespool, and at full, so that you know exactly how much heat you have on a fish at any given time. It's just smart fishing.


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

Captain Woody Woods said:


> That's because jigging is one the least effective methods of targeting yellowfin tuna here. Jigging has its place, especially for blackfins at night, but you will never ever ever see any top charter in Venice (that live baits and chunks) outfished by a bunch of "jiggers." Ever. These fish get pressured hard and we just have methods which are far more productive than jigging. HOWEVER, we have a couple groups that come with us each year that jig hard for grouper; granted we release a TON of ajs in the process, and those guys lose well over $800 worth of gear over the course of their trip (not really powering away from the rig as if we were live baiting for AJs), but they mash the grouper up pretty good on those high end jigging setups.


augmentative, but your opinion is well consider it as a seasoned Captain.

Thanks


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## Jungle_Jim (Nov 16, 2007)

Marcos Domingues said:


> augmentative, but your opinion is well consider it as a seasoned Captain.
> 
> Thanks


Marcos that sentence doesn't make sense. I will blame auto-correct.

Jim


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

if you say so....blame it on Obama if you like .


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## Jungle_Jim (Nov 16, 2007)

Marcos Domingues said:


> if you say so....blame it on Obama if you like .


Even better:dance:


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

back to the topic ...Talicas will be fine


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

Captain Woody Woods said:


> You're welcome to bring your own gear on any charter in Venice, but I highly recommend getting in touch with your captain well in advance and ask his advice before you set up a new rod to bring to Venice. Don't be a hero and try to put 30# braid if you're coming tuna fishing in the fall. Super light tackle and long drawn out fights (many resulting in pulled hooks, chafed line, etc.) are not a good way to keep the rest of your crew happy when they are waiting their turn to land a good fish. We all pretty much use 80-100# braid, and a lot of it, on our reels. The waters are deep and a tuna does what he wants. Drags should be set at around 14-19 pounds at strike, depending on reel. I also highly recommend putting tape on your reels and marking out the drag at strike, halfway between strike and freespool, and at full, so that you know exactly how much heat you have on a fish at any given time. It's just smart fishing.


Im definitely not trying to be the hero, not wanting use use light jigging gear or anything. I was planning on loading it with 80 or 100 lb JB with a 100 or 130 wind on. I have contacted our charter capt and waiting on his response. We shall see, all the advice I'm gettin is stearing me away from bringing my own


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## nelson6500 (Jun 8, 2007)

I have a talica 25, tiagra 30w and tiagra 50w if you want to swing by and handle them for yourself, Pm me I'm by 290 and hwy 6

matt


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

nelson6500 said:


> I have a talica 25, tiagra 30w and tiagra 50w if you want to swing by and handle them for yourself, Pm me I'm by 290 and hwy 6
> 
> matt


I appreciate the offer Matt, I'm at 290 and jones so I'm right down 290 from you. I've gotta check my work schedule but just may have to take you up on that offer


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## Marcos Domingues (Mar 10, 2013)

saltwater4life said:


> Im definitely not trying to be the hero, not wanting use use light jigging gear or anything. I was planning on loading it with 80 or 100 lb JB with a 100 or 130 wind on. I have contacted our charter capt and waiting on his response. We shall see, all the advice I'm gettin is stearing me away from bringing my own


One thing Id to say , no matter what everybody says take whatever you want to take. 
Its your trip , your gear & you're paying for a service whether the Capt roll his eyes or not.
Advise is an awesome thing , but If I wanna jig with light gear I will....regardless

Yes.....Jim !


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## Captain Woody Woods (Jan 14, 2012)

saltwater4life said:


> Im definitely not trying to be the hero, not wanting use use light jigging gear or anything. I was planning on loading it with 80 or 100 lb JB with a 100 or 130 wind on. I have contacted our charter capt and waiting on his response. We shall see, all the advice I'm gettin is stearing me away from bringing my own


That should be sufficient. Don't let the weight of the outfit throw you off-remember that you are (Hopefully!) going to be tied into a monster fish, and will be offsetting the weight of the outfit with a (hopefully properly fitted and worn) good belt and harness. When properly worn, your left arm does NO lifting whatsoever; it only guides the line. Good luck


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

Captain Woody Woods said:


> That should be sufficient. Don't let the weight of the outfit throw you off-remember that you are (Hopefully!) going to be tied into a monster fish, and will be offsetting the weight of the outfit with a (hopefully properly fitted and worn) good belt and harness. When properly worn, your left arm does NO lifting whatsoever; it only guides the line. Good luck


Now that brings me to another question I have, I assume since I am using a very reputable capt, and we will be fishing in October, he would have a good harness to use. I have no problem purchasing one, just don't wanna kick myself in the arse when I get there saying I shoulda bought one

I really appreciate all the advice and responses I got on this one fellas


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## Captain Woody Woods (Jan 14, 2012)

saltwater4life said:


> Now that brings me to another question I have, I assume since I am using a very reputable capt, and we will be fishing in October, he would have a good harness to use. I have no problem purchasing one, just don't wanna kick myself in the arse when I get there saying I shoulda bought one
> 
> I really appreciate all the advice and responses I got on this one fellas


I would like to assume whoever you are using has adequate, high end stand up gear. But if you see yourself fishing more than just a couple times a year, be it Venice or any other destination for big game, spending a good $250-400 on a good personal belt/harness combo is a wise investment. For example, I have a very small waist and the traditional power play belt doesn't fit me. Neither does the smitty (well, with the stock strap). I have the smitty belt, but I took off the waist strap and clipped it directly onto my OTR harness (super custom fit).

Having your own belt/harness (that you don't lend out or share with 5 other dudes on a charter) means never having to readjust to fit, and can be ready to go with just a couple of seconds.

Here are a few links to the equipment I like to use:

http://meltontackle.com/products/ocean-tackle-research-otr-harness.html

http://meltontackle.com/products/smitty-s-contoured-big-game-belt.html

http://www.blackmagic.co.nz/


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## justindfish (Aug 12, 2005)

Captain Woody Woods said:


> I would like to assume whoever you are using has adequate, high end stand up gear. But if you see yourself fishing more than just a couple times a year, be it Venice or any other destination for big game, spending a good $250-400 on a good personal belt/harness combo is a wise investment. For example, I have a very small waist and the traditional power play belt doesn't fit me. Neither does the smitty (well, with the stock strap). I have the smitty belt, but I took off the waist strap and clipped it directly onto my OTR harness (super custom fit).
> 
> Having your own belt/harness (that you don't lend out or share with 5 other dudes on a charter) means never having to readjust to fit, and can be ready to go with just a couple of seconds.
> 
> ...


I was thinking the same thing I'm going to bring mine for sure on my Venice trip.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

I completely understand the concept of the cranking power that the tiagras give you. Now you are talking about the 50's and 80's, I was looking at the 30wlrsa and it isnt too too much of a difference from the 50 except the more capacity. Question since i have never used a 30, 50 , or 80, since bigger reel and bigger spool, would there be more cranking power with a 50 over a 30, or is it basically just more capacity? i see the inches per retrieve isnt more than a couple inches difference. Would a 50 make that much more of a difference to a 30? If the 30 is loaded with braid, I wouldnt think the capacity would matter much since you could fit alot more braid than needed on a 30 unless your deepdropping. All curiosity here, maybe considerations for the near future, but just getting the juices flowing on ideas


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## Fin-Atic (Feb 25, 2011)

For Chunking I use my Penn International 30's or 50's. For jigging I use Torium 16's and 20's. The toriums are much cheaper than the talicas and are pretty solid. 

But for chunking a bigger reel will handle the bigger YFT on the Texas coast. You arent holding the rod anyway until after the strike, then like everyone said, you harness and belt in and you are good to go. I have caught many big YFT lately from the texas floaters. Chunk as much bait in the water as you can. We have one person jigging BFT up, one cutting, one person on each chunking reel feeding the line. I leave the reels just above free spool on the clicker. Let them run with it for about 5-10 seconds then bump it to strike and let the rod holder set the hook.

I can tell you from experience, yes you can hook YFT from the jig (I have caught an 86lber that way), but it is much more consistent to get them on the chunk.

Also, very important is hook size. Dont go to big. I use a 12-0 circle hook buried in whatever bait I am using (ususally chunks of Bft). I use about a 3 inch square peice of chunk. That has been the most effective for catching the bigger ones.

If you dont bury the hook, the Tuna can see it and are more weary of it.

Good Luck

Daren


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## luna sea II (Jul 11, 2009)

saltwater4life said:


> I completely understand the concept of the cranking power that the tiagras give you. Now you are talking about the 50's and 80's, I was looking at the 30wlrsa and it isnt too too much of a difference from the 50 except the more capacity. Question since i have never used a 30, 50 , or 80, since bigger reel and bigger spool, would there be more cranking power with a 50 over a 30, or is it basically just more capacity? i see the inches per retrieve isnt more than a couple inches difference. Would a 50 make that much more of a difference to a 30? If the 30 is loaded with braid, I wouldnt think the capacity would matter much since you could fit alot more braid than needed on a 30 unless your deepdropping. All curiosity here, maybe considerations for the near future, but just getting the juices flowing on ideas


The 50 is twice the reel the 30 is. Much more drag surface, higher drag settings, and better drag curve. I would rather have the tac25 than the 30wlrs. Like I said before if we are talking about your Venice trip in october and the posibility of 200lb fish you want the 50 which is what your captain will have on the boat. If you want an all around reel buy the talica or better yet the torsa 40.

Scott


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

I appreciate all the tips and advice Scott


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