Zillion 8.5 Speed: Mistake?

[JewFish61]

Bought a JDM 8.5 Zillion because that’s the only speed Digitaka had left. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with such a high-speed reel. I’ve read they are good for techniques where you’re working the bait with your rod, not the reel, and then speed-retrieving out of the strike zone, like jigging, pitching, etc. True? Also good for covering lots of water when frogging.

Agreed? Anything else? And what techniques is it gonna be a real negative, or can I just slow down my retrieve in those cases and not worry about it?

Thanks!

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

You are right, mostly rod moving techniques like dragging a jig and such.

I like fast gear ratios for all plastics such as Texas Rigs, jigs, Ned rigs...all that. Frigging is another area where fast is nice to have. Work the cover and burn it back to cast again.

Jerkbaits and topwaters can be added to that list. Can quickly pick up slack line to set the hook.

[Johnny A]

All I use are 8.5s anymore, even for cranks and worms.

[Bronzeye]

Frigging is another area where fast is nice to have.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

Frigging is another area where fast is nice to have.

Although that is true, frogging is another technique that a fast gear ratio helps

[DirtyD64]

Much like Johnny A said, a lot of people only use high speeds now. You would feel the torque loss on big, high resistance baits, but the new reels have such good gear support and frame rigidity that it is minimal.

But generally deep cranking or those massive squarebills would be the only techniques I'd really worry about.

[HobeyBaker]

Frigging is another area where fast is nice to have.

Although that is true, frogging is another technique that a fast gear ratio helps

I like an IPT of ~30” for frogging. It’s easier to over work a frog with anything that brings in more line.

[toddmc]

The ratio that each person likes is fairly subjective. Not all of us are the same. Some people are just slower and some are faster. IPT can be extremely important when you are trying to move fish away from cover quickly or you are trying to keep your bait at an exact depth. None of this matters if you don't have the correct speed and depth to get a fish on in the first place. One of the lakes that I fish has redear and they tend to stay down. It is very import to wind moving baits slow enough to keep them down in the water column. I have found that faster reels are a no no for me in this situation because I end up reeling my bait too fast to get bit. Only you can determine what rhythm is best for you and what catches the most fish in your hands.

[Johnny A]

Much like Johnny A said, a lot of people only use high speeds now. You would feel the torque loss on big, high resistance baits, but the new reels have such good gear support and frame rigidity that it is minimal.

But generally deep cranking or those massive squarebills would be the only techniques I'd really worry about.

I wanted to clarify something on my IPT recommendations. I used the higher speed for two reasons:

1. The high speed is good to imitate the scuttling crawfish of the late winter to spawn for short spurt distances.

2. Everything else is schooling shad so it's the illusion of many prey moving, not one specific target.

If the primary forage in my area was slower or single prey, I might use a 7.1:1 or lower ratio.

Thanks

[Mike son]

Burnin' traps. Love me an 8:1 for that.