The gear ratio on a fishing reel represents the speed it reels in the line. Using heavy baits can wear you out quicker than you think. Well, generally speaking, high gear ratios are preferred by anglers who need to present their baits in quick or intricate ways. If you have zero experience using a fishing reel, I would recommend a spinning rod and reel, but thats just because Im used to spinning gear and I dont like conventional reels because I dont fish the styles of fishing that require them. Smallies head to deeper, warmer water during the winter months. Why? Others will suggest starting out with a high gear ratio to get used to their performance early on. Medium ratio reels also work for classic baits like beetle-spins, plastic shad and spoons. Most reels that are of decent quality will be distinguished by a number to determine its size. It will matter what youre fishing for, and how you are fishing. Learning how to do this as well as improving my casting motion, which is required as you can imagine, has taken time and practice.I agree with you there is clearly no wrong answer here, just wanted to add that some may be able to cast farther with a bait caster or conventional reel if this is desired, and if willing to put in the time and effort to learn the nuances of this. In addition to your points, I find that my spinning reels are generally comparatively hassle free no back lashes and require much less maintenance. With new cutting-edge, high gear ratio reels like Abu Garcia's ultra-fast Revo Rocket hitting the market, it's a good time to review how to choose the best ratio for your style of fishing. )Buy Ken Schultzs encyclopedia | Retrieved from: https://www.thebassholes.com/threads/gear-ratios-ipt-recovery-rates-and-reel-power-expalined.30832/. This article focuses on what gear ratio means on a fishing reel and how it affects your fishing experience.
Whether youre fishing deep for trophies or hitting the shallows for your supper just remember a few things: Now take your newfound understanding of reels and use it to catch some fish. Longer, more accurate casting in just 10 days! calloutdoors.com is reader-supported. This speed puts your artificial crankbaits and spinnerbaits at the general speed of a baitfish escaping predation. If youre having a hard time wrapping your head around IPT. FYI Last Friday at Pismo report;I fished from around 10 AM to almost 5, no fish caught and no hits until around 2 4.
Good to hear, Ronald. It has the perfect combination of speed to work the lure properly, and wrenching power to lift bass through heavy cover. Best New Baitcasting Rods & Reels for 2022, Sweet Streams: 5 Hot Rivers for Midwest Smallies, How to Add Casting Distance to Reach Bigger Fish, Tackle Test 2022: Top Bass Rods & Reels Reviewed, 7 Things to Ponder Before Buying a Fishing Kayak, DIY: Earthworms Can't Hide When 'Grunters' Are Hunting, Award-Winning Frabill Witness Net 'Keeps You Honest', New St. Croix Rods Get a GRASP on Big-Bait Ergonomics, ICAST 2022: Wrangler Gets Back on the Water, First Look: Berkley's New PowerStinger Soft Lure, Flood Your Boat, Dock with Streamlight's Bear Trap. Is this significant? This is why youll see larger reels (and reels that are meant to reel in very big fish) with lower gear ratios. 
The next thing you might notice will be the line capacity specs. Anything with a ratio below 5:1 I would consider low (like a Catalina 5000 with its 4.9:1 ratio) and 5.2:1 and above being high-speed. Keep in mind that some anglers prefer high gear ratio reels for bass fishing. Even if you own all the best quality equipment, it is important to understand how all of it works in order to use it properly. So a 6.4:1 ratio means that for every one revolution of the reel handle, the spool turns 6.4 times. But first, a quick brainteaser. Of course, if that 6.2:1 gear ratio reel were equipped with a 2-inch-diameter spool, it would take up almost 19.5 inches of line per handle turn, which is much greater than the 4.4:1 reel.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'surffishingsocalsd_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_3',145,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-surffishingsocalsd_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0')}; Credit to: Ken Schultzs Fishing Encyclopedia: Worldwide Angling Guide, 2000 Ken Schultz.Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons,Inc.,(Fish illustrations 1999 David Kiphuth. Between rod movement on the hookset and the first turn of the reel handle, that bass has got to move and move right now. If a musky fisherman used a reel with a low gear ratio to reel in a bait very fast, it would require more work (effort) to retrieve than if he used a high gear ratio. So when making a decision on your next reel choice, after choosing what size you are likely to use have a look at the gear ratio next. Sand crabs are still there and the only bait that was hit (Mussel meat, Gulp sandworms were tried the one clam I dug up was tempting but too small {<4.5"} to keep). I think its an often overlooked but important part of choosing the right reel for what you're likely to be chasing. Information about fishing reel gear ratio should be accurate and digestible. Its because jigging and popping top water spinner baits can create slack in the line you may need a high gear ratio reel to close the slack faster. Choosing the right quick reel with a high gear ratio gives you more control over the speed and movement of tiny bait. This article will walk you through just about everything youll need to consider in figuring out how to choose a fishing reel. Dont worry if your gear ratio is slower though, you can still work lures effectively. There are certain styles of fishing that almost require conventional reels. Each gear has teeth-like grooves which allow them to connect to each other to rotate the spool. Choosing a fishing reel can be a little tricky with so many options out there. You can count on a medium gear ratio to handle most lures and baitsespecially when it comes to bass fishing. His work has been featured in On The Water, FishTalk, and Fur-Fish-Game publications. IPT tells you how many inches of line is being reeled in per crank of the reel handle. But keep in mind that tarpon can grow to a huge size, so if youre stalking a trophy then downsize the gear ratio a touch. Naturally, if you follow those guidelines, youll end up with a balanced set-up. Abu Garcia raised eyebrows at ICAST a couple years back when it released the Revo Rocket baitcasting reel, with a jaw-droopingly fast 10.1:1 gear ratio. This range keeps your lure at the best water-depth when youre slow-reeling or trolling deep water spinnerbaits. The higher the gear ratio, the faster the line is retrieved. The gears determine how much the spool moves each time the crank is used. That clarifies/corrects somethings I misunderstood. XG = Extra-High Gearing. A reels gear ratio affects how fast and smooth it retrieves fishing line. Lower speed is a good compromise and can be used for most tasks while still being comfortable and easy to use. The combination of these baits and a slow reel mean that there is less movement of baits, especially deep in water, which is less likely to scare off slower moving fish. The real answer depends on how you plan to fish. Of all the things to consider when figuring out how to choose a fishing reel for your rod and style, this is extremely generic and extremely important. This also means the more line on your spool increases diameter, increasing the IPT. Or maybe slow reel fishing for pike or stripers with an oversize plastic minnow? But to make those gears tough enough and to build a reel around them that handles the strain and keeps working is new. Does Finding the Right Gear Ratio Matter? As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any reel with a gear ratio of 7.1:1 or higher is considered to have a high gear ratio. THIS WEBSITE USES COOKIES TO IMPROVE YOUR USER EXPERIENCE. In Baitcast reels, you may see PG options available. These types of lures require particular techniques that may necessitate the higher speed of a high gear ratio reel. So, with a gear ratio of 6.2:1, my bail will rotate 6.2 times for every one full turn of the handle. If you plan to fish primarily with soft plastics, we recommend using a medium to fast gear ratio around 6:1 or faster. Another really good article that outlines the relationship between gears, gear ratios and line recovery rate can be found here: https://www.bassfishingandcatching.com/fishing-reel-gear-ratio.html. These reels sit in the Standard Gearing segment and can be used as an all-rounder. An average angler can do all this effectively on 1 baitcaster with a medium gear ratio. Also, make sure you know if youre looking at meters, yards, or feet when matching your line to your spool.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'surffishingsocalsd_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_13',136,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-surffishingsocalsd_com-large-leaderboard-2-0')}; So what is a gear ratio in a fishing reel? Editor @ CallOutdoors. 
For spinning reels, its very similarinstead of the spool turning, its the rotor. Subscriber Services. Get in touch with ourteam for anything you need. There are many fishermen who actually prefer a low gear ratio in their reels. Another hour goes by and your buddy has caught another 5 fish in the spot that you just moved from. For the purposes of a spinning reel, you might see numbers like: So what the heck do all the numbers on your spinning reel even mean? All brands are slightly different, but can generally be relied upon.
This aspect of a fishing reel is the reason why a gear ratio, in and of itself, does not solely determine how fast an angler can retrieve their lure. It works best for heavy, slow-rolling lures and has enough torque to handle a trophy fish no issue. Click "I agree" or any link to accept these cookies. Its measured in inches per turn, or IPT. Does Gear Ratios Work the Same for Different Types of Reels? Theyre a good choice when a slow gear ratio reel is needed for heavier, deep diving lures like umbrella rigs . Gear ratios vary from reel to reel, but theyre all represented in the same manner. 
I fish with the 4000s and 6000. It is a misconception that because these are slower, they are of lesser quality than their high gear ratio counterparts. In these scenarios, try to bring the fish out of the cover as fast as possible. This helps to prevent getting snagged or wrapped around cover. The high speed retrieve of a high gear ratio reel helps you achieve the spastic look of an injured bug or baitfish. The gear ratio tells you how many times the rotor will spin around the spool with 1 full crank of the handle. The extremely fast line uptake of fast reels does three things for anglers. The quicker you can reel in slack, the quicker youre able to control the lure, set the hook, and bring fish out of heavy cover. My Spinfisher VI 4500, for example has the following specs for line capacity: The top text overviews how much braided line I can fit on the reels spool per pound-test. You? A typical gear ratio for a fishing reel will fall between 5.2:1 and 6.2:1. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, & Youtube. The slower uptake makes sense in these applications because they allow the bait to get down in the water column and because during most of the retrieve these baits are fishing in the strike zone (or at least what you hope is the strike zone). Throwing lures, baits on Carolina rigs, fly-lining live bait from a kayak, bottom fishing offshore from a kayak, shark fishing from the surf, everything for me Ill use a spinning reel. 
Typically, you should stick with line that is within this range in terms of pound-test (as thats what the manufacturer has rated the rod to be capable of handling) unless youre experienced enough to venture outside of those standards. However, bass pros maintain dozens of rod and reel setups for this purpose (thousands of $$$). If you have any other questions or queries, please shoot us a DM on our Facebook or Instagram or give us a ring on 02 9533 0000! Now the Article: How to Go About Choosing a Fishing Reel. Power Gearing (PG) reels are best suited for jigging and deepwater bait fishing where large fish and bottom structure demands plenty of cranking power and torque. Are you going after trophy carp using a big crankbait? Having a reel with a gear ratio that works for you can make a difference in the overall performance of your reel. Many experienced fishermen with years of experience go their whole lives without worrying about gear ratios. Give a Gift
Retrieval rate is a big deal for saltwater anglers who are fishing bottom or deep-sea fishing, you need a saltwater reel that retrieves more line at a faster rate. Conventional reels are designed for max efficiency when muscling in a fish. Standard = Some Shimano reels do not feature an acronym. They can get your bait back to the boat in a hurry. In a nutshell, fishing reel gear ratio is the number of times the spool turns per turn of the reel handle. Extra-High Gearing (XG) is designed for anglers looking for ultra-fast retrieve speeds. If you dont want to worry about it, here are the well rounded ratios to effectively fish in general scenarios. The number on the right represents 1 full turn of the handle. See, its not that crazy complex! Is High Tide the Best Time to Go Fishing? 
Fast gear ratios are great for this. This gear comes into contact with the spool and turns it. Thats the only way you can apply it to your fishing arsenal and catch more fish. As an Amazon Associate when you buy through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases. Jigs, plastic worms and Carolina rigs are favorites for reels with 6 1:1 6.4:1 gear ratio. In addition, the musky fisherman can more effectively work the lure and consistently give it the very fast action it requires, comfortably. Prev
The real answer is it depends. The number on the left is how many times the spool turns. | WEB DESIGN BY DEVOTE DIGITAL | Privacy Policy. If IPT is not consistent, it can mean that a gear ratio reel that appears high is actually the same speed as other, supposedly lower speed reels. I suggest you start targeting crappies, they are good fish to target for beginners and heres a review of the Best Crappie Reels of 2022 to make it easier for you. 
You might not need every reel ever made, but you will catch more fish with less effort if you make an effort to match reel ratio to the kind of fishing you love to do. The huge benefit of XG reels when topwater fishing is that the extra line pick up it offers, helps you keep constant contact with your lure between sweeps, reducing slack line, meaning youll be able to instantly strike and set your hooks. A low gear ratio reel of 4.4:1 5.1:1 is the right gear ratio range. Believe me, you dont have to be a genius like Albert Einstein to understand what fishing gear ratio is all about. If you want to snag some then a reel with high speed is going to be your best friend. A low gear ratio fishing reel retrieves the line slowly and ranges from 4:1 to 5.4:1 gear ratio. Other anglers are the exact opposite and might choose either a conventional reel or a baitcasting reel, but thats okay! This slower range is great for bait rigs since they require a slow retrieve to keep the bait on the hook when you retrieve. The faster retrieve per turn of the reel gives you quicker closing speed to set the hook. Free 5-7 Day Shipping on Orders Over $50! High speed or fast gear ratio reels make the frogs frantic movements look more realistic and natural when frog fishing. Alright, so first and foremost, you should know the difference between a conventional fishing reel and a spinning fishing reel and which one you need. Sometimes this is referred to as inches-per-turn (IPT).
Reels with high speed have the fastest retrieve rates and span from 7:1 to 10.1:1. Immediately below the braid/mono capacity specs, youll see the bottom bullet point text we listed above. Hopefully this helps explain it a bit more! 100% agree. This is where high gear ratios make things lots of fun for surface fishing. XG gearing is ideal for anglers looking to target fast moving fish like tuna, trevally and mackerel using topwater lure presentations. When the bait is working for a short stretch before making another presentation, its important to catch a fish quickly if it heads towards the boat, making a faster reel more important. High gearing reels offer a good compromise between retrieve speed and power. This would only happen if the reel with the lower gear ratio has a larger spool. Spinning reels are typically found anywhere between 1000-8000 but can go as high as an angler wants if theyre willing to pay the money. Sometimes youll see the zeros taken off depending on the brand of a reel. Tend to be more lightweight than baitcasters. 
These all pull a lot and have high amounts of torque, meaning that the slower speeds will allow you to put more energy into finding your fish than into retrieving your bait itself. 
Its a big factor in your lures presentation and how much reeling you have to do, plus it increases fishing efficiency. What is the best gear ratio for bass fishing? A gear ratio of 4.9:1 is great for all-around use of lures as well. Assuming the reason your buddy is catching more fish than you can be directly traced back to the speed at which your lure is traveling, is your buddys lure moving faster or is yours? Blazing a buzzbait or skirted spinner beside a hidden lunker can trigger it to bite. A slower retrieval also means they wont begin spinning too fast. Many cheap reels, however, have no such number to distinguish it. Many anglers use this measurement as a more accurate way to determine reel speed. High Gearing (HG) reels are popular for many lure anglers and allow line to be retrieved quickly when needed. What Lure Presentation Are You Going For? It also helps keep the bait in the strike zone longer when you move the bait along the bottom, such as for flounder or red drum (redfish). This spinning reel is worth checking out too, if you need another option. You can target them with slow-pace rattletraps near deep structure. The Revo Rocket, for example, brings in 41 inches of line in one turn of the reel. For example, a 4.4:1 gear ratio reel with a 2-inch-diameter spool will recover 13.8 inches of line per turn of the handle. The lower the ratio, the less rotations, the higher, the more. The short answer is yes, all reels use two main gears to turn the spool and pull the line. Most of the bass I catch on lightweight frogs are in the 2 5 pound range, so giving up a little reel strength is okay. An hour into the session, you have zero fish and your buddy has 5 fish. In the folklore of musky in Minnesota, it is said to take 10,000 casts to catch a musky. 2022 Daiwa Australia all rights reserved. *Its important to understand that sometimes these specs on your fishing line are listed in inches-diameter as opposed to millimeter-diameter. Baitcasting and spinning reels are two types that may vary in gear ratio based on what they are used for. Outdoor gear-head and adventure addict. Here is an opposite example of the musky fisherman. Generally, serious bass fishermen use a fast gear ratio for lures that produce slack in their line, or when they need to get the fish out of heavy cover quickly. 
Here are some things to keep in mind about fly reels, This depends on your specific fishing needs. Any unusually big or heavy baits will perform well on these reels. Well, if youre still reading then kudos youre a true fisherman who wants to catch more fish. If youre targeting a monster, consider downsizing the gear ratio a touch to allow for a little more power. The main gear has grooves that link up with the pinion gear. 
Its also a secret weapon bass anglers use to draw lunkers out of brush or logs. Thats why every fisherman should learn about gear ratios before buying a new reel. It really comes down to personal preference, and if your fishing frozen, dead, or live bait, it likely wont matter either way. High speed reels retrieve the line at a faster rate, which is a godsend when youre on the water all day or fishing a hundred feet deep. One of the most important mechanisms for a fishing reel, both spinning and baitcaster, is the gears that connect the handle or crank with the spool of fishing line. The bail making 6.2 rotations is effectively the same thing as the spool making 6.2 rotations, meaning the line is wrapped 6.2 times over the spool. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. It doesnt sound like a lot but it adds up quickly. Youre both working the same exact lure with the same exact rod and line.
Obviously, a faster gear ratio retrieves line faster, but two reels with the same gear ratio can retrieve slightly different amounts of actual line-per-reel turn based on the size of the spool and how much line is on the reel. Generally speaking, lower gear ratios equate to more torque and power while high gear ratios equate to more speed. If you crank the handle one full circle and the spool turns 6.4 times, the gear ratio is 6.4:1. For anglers who take their recreational fishing seriously, it can pay to use the best reel type for your style of fishing. Using the wrong sized reel can hinder your results. Youll just have to put in extra effort to reel faster. The scenario did not mention the spool diameters, but I never took that into account in the past I learned something today. There isnt really a perfect gear ratio for all-around fishing. You can slow down and fish swimbaits and deep-diving crankbaits slowly, and then rev up to catch the slack created from fishing worms, jigs, jerkbaits, and topwater. Slow reels in the 5:1 range are often the top choice for anglers fishing deep-diving crankbaits, slow-rolled spinnerbaits and big swimbaits. Youll need to find the right gear ratio first. For this, we recommend using a slow to medium gear ratio from 4.9:1 to 6:1 for all-around fishing like those found in our fishing combos. Youre an experienced angler and youre bringing your buddy fishing with you for the first time. One big advantage of using a high gear ratio reel is that you do less reeling. These acronyms common on many Shimano reels represent the following: PG = Power Gearing The pinion gear has teeth-like grooves that link into the main gear. Again, youre both using the same exact lure. Side note: Work can be thought of in physics terms, Force x Time. As the number of revolutions decreases, power is increased, but speed can be compromised. If youre targeting muskies or stripers 20 30 feet deep you may need a slow, wobbly crankbait. For reference, my light tackle and lure fishing reels typically have a gear ratio of 6.2:1 while my shark fishing rod has a gear ratio of 4.7:1. The lower the gear ratio, the slower the line is retrieved. 
This can help you avoid hand cramps and fatigue. On youre rod, youll typically see a rating that gives you a range of pound-test. When learning to be a fisherman, there is a lot to learn about your equipment. 
Medium gear ratios work too, but againyoull have to physically reel faster to speed it up. For those just starting out, its often suggested starting with a lower gear is better, as it takes experience to use a higher gear ratio on some reels. For the purpose of this article, picture a baitcaster as being a conventional reel with added emphasis on being designed to cast more conveniently.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'surffishingsocalsd_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_14',132,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-surffishingsocalsd_com-medrectangle-3-0')}; Spinning reels have become much more versatile and popular in recent years as line technology has improved alongside it. Roll with these fast moving reels if you want to. A lower gear ratio also requires less strength for the angler to rotate the handle. This is because some reels have bigger spools which means more spool to turn. Strange coincidence for the land of 10,000 lakes. Some baits that can work particularly well with a low gear ratio are deep crankbaits, big swimbaits, and deep water spinnerbaits. Ice fishing is a rewarding sport, but you do not[], One of the most well-equipped predators in the Atlantic surf[], Monofilament fishing line is the old-school, classic line thats been[], Copyright Tailored Tackle 2022. If youre targeting inshore fish like tarpon, bonefish or reds you can roll with a higher gear ratio. Baitcasting reels are designed to transmit more power, so you can crank more load with less effort. This is because fishing line gets thicker as its pound-test increases and with thicker line, you can fit less of it on a spool.
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