Has anyone used the Shimano or Daiwa electric reels?

[wedocq]

A few of my fishing buddies and I are going to chip in and buy one of our older fishing buddies an electric reel for halibut this year. Has anyone used the Shimano or Daiwa electric reels? 

[Markshoreline]

No, but I believe I'm older...  :biggrin:

[finfinn]

Yep. So far the Daiwa has been working great. No experience with Shimano.

[Peddler]

I've used a few various Daiwa reels, they work AWESOME.  I'm working on getting a couple of my own right now.

[Hydro-Therapy]

Wedocq the word on the street is to go with the Daiwa. As they are holding up much better than any of the others accept for maybe a penn but that is in whole nother price range.


H-T

[Wyrguy]

Shawn, don't know anything about these but a buddy had sent me the link a few weeks ago (after I'd bought 2 Penn GLD-20II 2 speeds  ) for Hali fishing...  Seems to be a less expensive option to try with any existing reels... :twocents: Except the only problem I'd have with it, you have to make the reel completely electric and take the crank handle off 

http://www.fishwinch.com/ElectricReels.html

Rick

[Peddler]

To be honest, I didn't even realize that Shimano had electrics until I read the OP.  I did a little googling, and to me it looks-like the Shimano's and the Daiwa's are built by the same manufacturer.  (not uncommon in the fishing reel industry for multiple brands to come from the same "Factory")  I'd imagine that the quality between the two would be very similar, so it'd come down to availability and price.

[wedocq]

Thanks Matt! Coming from you, (I saw at the Sportsman Show why you call yourself the Peddler) that means a lot.
-Shawn

[beancounter]

I have the Fish Winch that Rick posted about for about 3 years now mounted on Penn 345. I use it bottom fishing in 600-1000' depths. It is not as fast as the Daiwa tanacom bull but is much cheaper. It is quiet unlike the electramates. If money is no object get the Daiwa it is a less bulky unit. But if you already have a good compatible reel and want to save some money get the Fish Winch it will winch the meat up from down deep.

[Threeweight]

I have used other's Daiwa electrics... sweet machines but too rich for my blood.

You might want to look into the handle nut adapter option that would allow you to use a 12 volt drill for bait checks.  I believe Grizz did that with some of his reels.  Take a cheap cordless 12 volt drill, open it up and wire it to run off a Scotty adapter rather than the battery pack, then use the nut to and socket to reel up with it.

More here:

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=117305&highlight=drill+for+halibut

You can buy the pre-made nuts here for Penns and some Daiwas:

http://launchmm.com/electramateshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9&products_id=277

[wedocq]

Threeweight,
If that was legal I would consider it. :whistle: Tubbs pointed out in the Wa regs that the electric motor must be part of the reel. I dunno, I would think using it for bait checks would be fine.

[fishing eagle]

I don't know... but every now and then I must remind my first mate that fishing is a sport and I involve myself in this sport to get some exercise. Now electric reels could really be something I would find hard to defend.

Power boats, trolling motors, electric downriggers, electric winches, fish finders.... I think I will keep tight lines and keep in contact with the fish. after all it is the battle between fish and man that counts.

[Peddler]

I don't know... but every now and then I must remind my first mate that fishing is a sport and I involve myself in this sport to get some exercise. Now electric reels could really be something I would find hard to defend.

Power boats, trolling motors, electric downriggers, electric winches, fish finders.... I think I will keep tight lines and keep in contact with the fish. after all it is the battle between fish and man that counts.

C'mon out to Washington in May for one of the halibut openers. We'll drop your 4-lb chunk of lead to the bottom in nearly 800-feet of water and see how you're feeling after a couple of bait checks. :whistle: If you time it right, you can pull my 20-lb shrimp pots from 200-feet the day before the halibut trip.  You won't wonder about pot-pullers and electric reels any more! 

[CanvasGuy]

I don't know... but every now and then I must remind my first mate that fishing is a sport and I involve myself in this sport to get some exercise. Now electric reels could really be something I would find hard to defend.

Power boats, trolling motors, electric downriggers, electric winches, fish finders.... I think I will keep tight lines and keep in contact with the fish. after all it is the battle between fish and man that counts.

C'mon out to Washington in May for one of the halibut openers. We'll drop your 4-lb chunk of lead to the bottom in nearly 800-feet of water and see how you're feeling after a couple of bait checks. :whistle: If you time it right, you can pull my 20-lb shrimp pots from 200-feet the day before the halibut trip.  You won't wonder about pot-pullers and electric reels any more! 

Right On Matt ....TIMES 2

[Threeweight]

My least favorite Oregon halibut experience is reeling up a 4# weight and a 10# dogfish from 1000' of water, on a Penn 345 that reels up about 8" per crank  :nono:

By the third time, it starts to get old. 

When it takes 10-15 minutes just to reel up from the bottom to do a simple bait check, electric reels start to get mighty attractive.

Another alternative to consider is a nice two-speed reel like an Avet.  Low gear matches the torque on the big Penns pretty well, but high gear really speeds things up for reeling up when you are doing bait checks.  They are not cheap, but much cheaper than the Daiwa electrics.

[finfinn]

I had a lever drag Shimano two-speed as my main butt reel and an old Penn as a back-up when my wife saw me drooling over the Daiwa Tanacom at Sportco. She got it for me as an early fathers day present. Have not used anything else for deep bottom fish after that - and it is great to have two back-up setups, especially when my son comes to fish with me. Agree with some previous comments - doing bait checks at typical West Coast butt fishing depths and weights gets old real fast. I would rather get my exercise pulling in a fish, which I get to do occasionally since I know my bait is in good shape .

[Chuck Jones]

F/Eagle.....1000 FEET???  15 minutes of reeling to do a BAIT CHECK???  Holy diamonds Batman...think I'll keep fishing the river.   I can't imagine fishing in 1000 feet of water.  Do you catch blind fish, or those funny looking ones with huge eyes and glowing body parts?

[BigMac]

Fishing for Hali at Neah Bay last May we were all set up (or so we thought) when I modified a couple Penn and Diawa reels with 3/8" and one 7/16 " nut in place of the nut that holds the handle.  The first couple nuts I got from the company 3 Wt gave the link to.  They didn't have one for I think the Diawa and after checking around I found what I needed in ss or in one instance steel.  It was a lot cheaper, so if you are thinking of making this set up, try the local hardware stores or stores that specialize in nuts and bolts (Tacoma Screw in Portland was my go to place.)  I have 4 reels set up this way.  Since not going to NB this May, I would be willing to loan one or more to someone going there.

The power side of the equation did not turn out well.  I modified some cheap (my downfall) cordless screwdrivers to work off 12 v and they were not durable or powerful enough.  I believe an 18 v cordless drill (preferable 2 speed) with a couple batteries would be the ticket.  A couple of drills/batteries would cover you if there were several fishing.  The batteries could be charged overnight at the dock/lodging. The sockets to fit the nuts and the drill chuck can be purchased individually at hardware stores or can be  found in a set of nut drivers.

(Dave)

[wedocq]

Dave,
I modified a couple of old Craftsman 14.4 volt drills by soldering wires to the battery connectors and then adding Scotty connectors to the end (I have not tried this set up yet). Was your concern that the batteries would go dead, or was the 12v not enough power to bring everything up? I also was wondering about salt water splashing on the drill. Did you do anything to protect the drills?
-Shawn

[Threeweight]

FYI, Fisherman's Marine in Oregon City has one of the smaller Daiwa "electric assist" reels on the clearance case for $499.  I didn't look too closely at it... could take a look if someone needs me to.

[fishing eagle]

F/Eagle.....1000 FEET???  15 minutes of reeling to do a BAIT CHECK???  Holy diamonds Batman...think I'll keep fishing the river.   I can't imagine fishing in 1000 feet of water.  Do you catch blind fish, or those funny looking ones with huge eyes and glowing body parts?

Not me fishing at 1000 ft, heck my downriggers only have 300' of cable.  Now I have had some nice big Salmon reel off some 500 feet of line and thats good enough for me. I do like the challenge, but who wants to catch blind fish?

[Threeweight]

Because you can turn these:



Into these:

[finfinn]

  And they are not blind . Probably would not influence the taste anyway .

[BigMac]

WEDOCQ,

The 12 v set up seemed to have enough torque (power), although the motor rpm dropped considerably under load.  The problem was the cheap screwdriver.  The gears stripped.  They were most likely plastic. Another concern was that the 12 v was much higher than the battery supplied voltage (6 v).  It seemed to work OK but there wasn't enough time to see if the motor would hold up.  I was told by a reliable (?) source that this set up would work, but it turned out to be just an expensive learning experience.

I would think the 14.4 v would work as the voltage is similar to 12 v and the motor/gears should be heavy duty enough.  Don't know what amps the drill would pull under load, but shouldn't be as much as a downrigger.  (One of the electical guys might know.)

Didn't think much about the salt water, other than trying to keep the screwdriver dry.  Also never thought about some kind of tether to prevent the drill from accidentally going overboard.

Suggest you try out your set up by simulating a deep water retrieve on dry land in some way.  Better to find out if there are any problems at that point than later when you are really counting on it.

Would like to know how it works out.

(Dave)

[Threeweight]

I have 18 volt cordless Ryobi stuff in my garage... the drill is a two speed, with one high speed for drilling holes and the other a low speed, high torque setting for driving screws.  If you could find a 12 volt or 14 volt drill with the low speed/high torque setting, that would be ideal for reel winder.