As I look around on all the different party boats I see almost a total lack of any spinning gear. Am I missing something here? With the new spinning reels like the twin spin 30 and the Fin-Nor ofs95 and the new rods that can handle 100# or more I would have thought that I would see more.

With 2 good setups and 3 or 4 extra spools for each one in differnt line weights it would cut down on the need for 6 or 7 differnt rigs. Im not saying that I would use them for the stuff over 150# but for everything elese they would do fine (altho I would like to try a 200+ on spinning gear)

What am I missing here?

I don't feel that spinning is better than conventional reels other than possibly casting advantages. We use them for Chicken Mahi and making bait offshore . I don't even like levelwinds . I feel that I have more control over a fish with a conventional and better feel . If you put a bunch of spinners together in a wide open tuna bite there will be a ClusterF waiting to happen . On 6 packs/ private boats sure but not on a head boat . I can't afford a Van Stall or Finnor anyway . There is a movement about to bring Spinners to the forefront but I won't be part of it .

Ol Pedro,
I recently bought a FinNor OFS 95 and it wasn't that expensive. I've never had a FinNor, but had read a lot about them and figured I'd give one a try. I've seen a few people use them on the long range trips, although they aren't that common, and they seemed to handle the 30-50 lb. tails and fins pretty well. I too don't like levelwinds, but I know a lot of guys love them. It's all a matter of what you're comfortable with and feel like using. Tight lines!

Hi Pappy here's my take on it from an old time deckhands view point. Many moons ago when the larger saltwater spinning reels came out the rods were garbage and the drags sucked big time.

The other thing was that the fishermen most likely to get a coffee grinder outfit was a rookie who could not manage to cast a conventional rig.

So here goes Joe newbee out onto the big salty after whatever he could get and when you'd have a full boat and a few of these guys on the boat and toss in ang type of fish able to tug a little. 30 people on a boat, several rookies with substandard spinning gear and a few yellow tail. It would turn into a goat roping.

So the mindset was put in place that spinning gear was crap on the salt water and back then for our type of fishing it was.

However that was then and this is now, I personally have a Shimano 4500 baitrunner on a custom Calstar 270 and have killed many YT, schoolie YFT, Seabass and other quality fish with no problems.

Point being here is the myth of spinning gear not being up to par still exists but in light of the quality gear that's available today it is total BS now and has been proven many times to be an old wives tale.

Do some home work and get good gear and then make a few eat some crow. My little spinner rig has saved a number of trips for me when the bait was little, weak or the fish were line shy. And although it's not my go to rig on a hot bite when they will suck down a squashed bait on 80#, it still has a well respected place in my aresenal of gear.

The reality is that every time you crank the handle and burn drag against a harder pulling fish you'll be introducing line twist with spinning gear. That won't happen with conventional equipment. The line twist issues can be minimized these days with the use of Spectra backing and fairly short topshots. For light baits/lures, for smaller fish, spinning gear works great. For bigger fish that pull some line off a reel and work the drag, spinners have their disadvantages. Further, they are more of a pain to work on. Typically spinning reels just don't have as good a drag system, and have more parts and complications than a conventional reel. There are some spinners with better drag systems now on the market, but in general I wouldn't want to work on 'em should there be an issue. Conventional gear is easier to maintain. Having said all that, there are times when they make good sense to use, and times when they are not the equipment of choice.

GS<
MS

Ditto what JanZ said.

A few years ago all we were getting was pinheads & there was a lotta talk about bringing out the coffee grinders. IMO a good quality spinner would be just the ticket for fishing bait on the slide. Hey, when the adrenaline gets going...

Chark, it's been awhile since I stripped down my Daiwa spinners but I don't recall them being any more complicated than a star drag Penn. The bail spring can be tricky sometimes.

And the answer to line twist?

DON'T CRANK AGAINST THE DRAG! hehe... line twist can be worked around.

Fishslayer

Dont get me wrong I have a fair share of conventional rigs I will probably be put in the ground with my 118. On those days that you pull up to a school and they dont even look at your bait you can whip out the spinner and get them in the mood.

30 some odd years ago they said that you could not put a 200# fish in the boat unless you were in a chair. Im glad we learned how to stand upright.

Pappy , I hope that you can prove out your thoughts . With any tool you have to know how and when to use it . I had to go to 12 lb on a Jigmaster Jr. and a Sabre 196-7 to fish pinheads/finicky BFT when I was in San Diego on numerous occasions . I also used my Flipping Stick/Im BASS ider 5000 ( I still hate levelwinds it was just the right tool for the conditions). Do what you have to do to get bit . You could be the one to change my mind .

Please use spinning gear forever. I like to think that there is always one in every crowd !!! LONG LIVE THE GYROS !!!

I'm with JanZ and Fishslayer. The new spinning gear these days is very powerful. It aint the "coffee grinder" of old anymore. Check out what the Japanese jig guys are doing with this stuff! The Shimano Stella 20000 ($700.00!) will pull as much drag as a guy can handle. For long casting and surface popping to tuna you can't beat them IMO. For quality AMERICAN made spinning reels at a very reasonable price check out the Quantum Cabo PTS series of reels. I recently took one on a two day and had a ball slaying albies with it. I own a bunch of good conventional gear as well... it's good to have a choice.