Gear Ratios?

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
nevadaboy
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Gear Ratios?

Post by nevadaboy » Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:35 am

So I've wanted to ask this question for awhile now. What gear ratio do you use for a certain technique? I have my thought but I wanna know everyone else's haha. So hers the techniques

Flip/Pitching
Frogging
Jerkbait
Jigs
Square bill
Deep crank
Swimbaits (5 to 10 inch)
Small swimbaits (2 to 5 inch)


Just wanna know if you use a High Speed, medium or low gear ratio for each technique.

Thanks for providing info guys. :big grin:

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spookybaits
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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by spookybaits » Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:53 am

nevadaboy wrote:So I've wanted to ask this question for awhile now. What gear ratio do you use for a certain technique? I have my thought but I wanna know everyone else's haha. So hers the techniques

Flip/Pitching. 7:1 or faster
Frogging. 7:1 or faster
Jerkbait. 7:1 or faster
Jigs. 7:1 or faster
Square bill 6.2:1- 7:1
Deep crank. 3.8:1- 5:1
Swimbaits (5 to 10 inch). 5:1
Small swimbaits (2 to 5 inch). 5:1


Just wanna know if you use a High Speed, medium or low gear ratio for each technique.

Thanks for providing info guys. :big grin:

vinnieb729
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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by vinnieb729 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:19 am

I added a few extras I fish quite a bit.

Flip/Pitching - 8:1
Frogging - 7:1
Jerkbait - 7:1
Jigs - 8:1
Square bill - 5:1
Deep crank - 5:1
Swimbaits (5 to 10 inch) - NA
Small swimbaits (2 to 5 inch) - NA

Spinnerbaits - 6:1
Topwaters - 7:1
Lipless - 6:1

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tomustang
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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by tomustang » Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:51 am

Whatever ratio the reel has, I just speed up or slow down the retrieve rate

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by tywithay » Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:17 pm

I use a 6.2 or 6.3 for everything. If I need to speed it up, I reel faster...

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biggs
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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by biggs » Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:34 pm

tywithay wrote:I use a 6.2 or 6.3 for everything. If I need to speed it up, I reel faster...
x2 but I do have one reel thats either a 5.7 or 5.8.
Thinking about adding a faster gear ratio reel to the lineup for next season, we'll see what happens.

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angry john
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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by angry john » Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:42 pm

i use a lot of mid 6's unless i am jig fishing then i go higher. 6.8 is my fastest reel right now, and thats what i use for jigs. I would go higher, if i had one in my lineup.

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by dragon1 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:44 pm

IPTs should be a consideration as well.

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by Cracker » Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:12 am

I use a 7.1 or 8.1 for everything. If I need to slow down, I reel in slower.
The difference between 8.1 and 6.3 is around 20% in IPT. When I need to speed up (the lure is out of strike zone), it quicker to get a lure back with HG reel. Anyway, HG reel are more versatile. Same with the cars, I would rather have a car able to reach top speed 100MPH, than 80MPH, sometimes you need that speed :D

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by Wachtel » Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:03 pm

My reels have from 1:5.8 (cranking) up to 1:7.1 (topwaters) with between 1:6:2-6.4 the norm for the small stuff under 1 oz.

For large and heavy (2 oz <) I use reels with 1:5.3 or 1:6.3 gear ratio.

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by njbasscat » Sat Nov 16, 2013 12:09 am

For plastics and jigs, I like a faster 7.1:1 or higher. It helps me get the bait back quicker so I can make another pitch after my lure leaves the sweet spot.
For anything moving, I like a middle of the pack 6.3:1. I can slow down and speed up accordingly. I don't like high speed reels for moving baits.
For deep cranking or big spinnerbaits, I like a slow 4.8:1 to 5.4:1 reel. It's much easier to crank deep cranks or use lures that have a lot of resistance with a slow reel.

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by dragon1 » Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:51 pm

A 6.4:1 Z200 or Z2020H is 30.5" IPT with pulling power for even swims upwards of ~5oz, and as high an IPT as some 7.0:1 ratios. Spool design has a lot to do with effecting this.

Make sure to look up IPTs as it will allow you to choose more accurately based upon the actual line pick-up and not just the gear ratio...this is important as you may like one make/model reel more than another for whatever reasons, and you won't "have to" make a decision based upon the gear ratio alone.

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by ChrisD46 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:00 am

1 ) Any bait where you move the rod to impart action = 7:1 ratio
2 ) Crankbaits = 5.2:1 ratio
3 ) Everything else = 6.3:1 ratio

Simple ...

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by Lexy 123 » Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:04 am

Most of my reels are 7:1 or higher. I want to bring the fish in fast.
I only use 6.x:1 for jigs (sometimes) and 5.x: for crank baits

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Re: Gear Ratios?

Post by zenbassr » Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:24 am

dragon1 wrote:IPTs should be a consideration as well.
x2

i'd give more consideration to IPT... looking at just gear ratio is misleading since spool dimensions between reels will often vary.

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