Hi guys,

Am thinking about picking up one of these reels, will they have enough line capacity for larger tunas? How large of a tuna can it handle with
100braid/80 mono?

Thanks,

Seant,

Yes the Penn 30VSX can handle big fish fine. The 100lb spectra and 80lb mono will work real well on that reel. I would use it for tuna up the 160lb range. For bigger tuna (cow size 200lb plus) I like a 50 size reel. Could you catch a cow on this reel? Sure, but you may hooked up longer to the fish giving it the advantage of a saw off, pulled hook or anything else that can go wrong when your in cow town.

When fishing the true "cow size" tuna 20-plus pound, the San Diego crews really want you to use a "50" size reel for the increased line capacity, drag power and especially cranking power.
Even more so if there is the chance that a 300-pounder might be mixed in, which they certainly were this year.
That said, if you were fishing for "mere pedestrian" size tuna, and a big one in the high 200's came along, you would absolutely have a good chance of catching it.
If you are going out on a late-fall/early winter 10-day or longer trip, use a 50VSX or equivalent, nothing less.
If you are going on an 8-day trip or early-season 10-day trip where the big fish are realistically going to be 150-pound yellowfin or bluefin [maybe bigeye?], the 30VSX can easily handle them.

yikes, did I type "20-plus pounds"?
I meant to say "200-plus pounds!"

Thank you all,

So if you had a chance to buy a 30vsx or a 50, and not necessarly wanted to go as long as a 10 day LR, which one would you have if you could buy only one?
Would there be an encounter with a "cow" in the 5 to 7 day LR trip?
And also, if lets say you are using a 16VSX with a topshot of 50 or #60 test, and you putting on a fluro leader, does the test weight matches the topshop, 50 and 60, or you go heavier?

Thanks,

If you are going to be going on 5 to 8-day trips, the chances of encountering tuna over 200 pounds is very low, and the 30VSX will easily handle anything you will run into.
I usually have 100-pound topshots on mine, but realistically, 80-pound topshots are just fine.
I have caught yellowfin tuna up to 198 pounds on my 16VSX, but it is not really intended for fish of that size.
When going to Guadalupe or Alijos and needing to make sure I can "soak" a bait WAY out there, I would go with a 50-pound tophsot on my 16VSX.
I also use 50-pound for trolling at the various Baja resorts for marlin, sailfish, dorado, etc.
When going for offshore tuna and not needing to get the bait as far from the boat, bumping up to 60-pound topshots gives a good advantage if something really big bites.
Heading up north to Alaska, the 16VSX with straight 80-pound spectra [no topshot] is what you will use for those monster 150-400 pound halibut.

Thanks guys, helps a lot, but still if you had a budget for one reel for a big gun, you would spring for the 30 or the 50 (first)?
My heavy duty reels are TRQ200,TRQ300,16VSX, next ?
Thanks for your feedback!

Ha-ha, there's no such thing as "choosing just one"!
The question is: which one do you get next?
When [exactly] are you going on a 10-day or longer trip?
2009? 2010? or just "someday"?
If the answer is more than 2 years away, get the 30VSX.
The 50VSX is a big tuna reel, period.
The 30VSX is much more versatile, flylines sardines way better, handles trolling for everything from tuna to wahoo, and is much easier to handle on a long day of fishing.
The 30VSX is even the reel you will use for local trolling if we get a replay of the phenomenal "bigeye years" like 1986 or 1990.
Don't get the 50VSX until you have actually plunked down your deposit money for a longer trip.
Generally you will use it with a 130-pound topshot.

Great advice,
I felt the same, but its best to hear it from
you guys to make sure the arsenal is complete (at least for now till I'm ready for the 10 day or so)
So as far as line goes:
16SVX 50~60 topshot, 80 braid?
30SVX 80 to 100 mono, how heavy of braid, 100 good enough?

Thanks again for all your help!

Remember that superbraids and fluorocarbon are usually pretty close to whatever test the label says.
Monofilament is usually anywhere from 20 to 50-percent stronger than what the label says [unless you buy "IGFA class" line].
So for instance, you would not want to join 65-pound [labled] braid to 60-pound [labled] mono, because in reality the mono is probably anything from 70 to 80 pounds in actual breaking strength.
On a 16VSX for instance, I use 550-yards of 80-pound hollow braid, plus around 50 yards of 60-pound topshot.
On a 50VSX you can get really fancy, and put on 450-500 yards of 130-pound hollow or solid braid, then 50 yards of 180-200 pound hollow braid, then 25-50 yards of 130-pound topshot.
Also, not all "superbraids" are made of "spectra".
The name "spectra" is just one of the many brand names of gel-spun polyester fibers used in modern fishing lines.
In actuality, the original and still the most often used brand is "Dyneema", and none of the line companies still use the very early [and now considered primitive] Kevlar.
But that's a whole other discussion!

Oops, you also asked about the 30VSX.
Also using the "stacking" technique, go with mostly 100-pound solid or hollow braid, and just leave enough room for around 25-50 yards of 130-pound hollow and then your 80-100-pound topshot.
The "stacking" technique allows for extra yardage when the fish is running around at full speed under initially moderate drag settings.
Then at the very end of the fight with the fish straight up and down, once you get the heavier braid on the reel, you can crank the drag to "full".

Thanks Steve, that makes a lot of sense, gives me a pretty good idea now!
One more thing, looking online there are many knots to connect braid with mono or the leader, splicing (not so much braid to braid) seems pretty complex according to blackwater website, knots are more manageable.
Any study of best knots, and how much strength do they really lose?

loop to loop. buy IZORLINE wind on top shots. CHECK if you have big roller guides on your poles if you are going with big knots. USING THE LOOP TO LOOP is a good "all bases covered" strategy.

Learn to splice Spectra and use hollow, JB preferably, from 40lb and up. A 200 hollow spectra to 200 mono conection will easily go through the smallest roller guides.

I make some loop to loop topshots but most are just a straight spectra to spectra splice.