Wide Spool Spinning Reels

Perhaps you've noticed if you've been eyeing the fishing catalogs lately the trend toward these really wide spool spinning reels. I was chatting with Asshat last night and he asked what the deal was. One of their touted advantages is longer casting, yet as Asshat pointed out, we went through that phase 2 decades ago with the "long cast spool" technology like what Daiwa was known for, longer, tapered and slender spool design. What gives and is it fair to call BS on the new designs?

Here's a little background on the new design and what the supposed advantages are:

• U.S. Reels Supercaster Home Page
• Fred Kemp's Design Patent
• The Patent with Pictures (PDF)
• BPS Mag Spool Explanation

Comments

[Jeremy S]

Maybe the wider, shorter spool is to compensate for the fact that without worm gear oscillation most of the reels around these days have crappy line lay. Man, I wish I could find a Suveran 2000M for a decent price.

[Paul Roberts]

Paul Roberts

Well I bit, back when the first USReel's Ray Scott came out. And after two years with it, I bought two more (SX's) as closeouts.

They've been over-priced, and it appears they've figured that out with recent price drops. The 3G and Pro are their newer efforts and appear to be of higher quality, and somewhat heavier.

That said, I haven't had a single problem with my original.

I still have some old worm gear reels: a couple Quick, a Zebco C4, and a Garcia C3. The USReels I have (RS225, 230SX, 250SX) won't likely last the decade, but they'll have thrown more miles of line lol.

I like them. When I upgrade my spinning reels, it'll be 3G's or Pro's. And when I replace that C3 of mine (it's pretty rough now), it'll be a 3G 180. Course I say that now. We'll see how I feel in a couple years.

[Paul Roberts]

Way back when, when buying UL spinning reels, I found that wider spooled reels not only retrieved faster, but cast MUCH further. Ever since I've looked for the widest spool and the smallest gear package as the ideal. I even sketched plans for such things of beauty in the margins of my calculus notes at school lol.

So...when I saw the RS reel, I jumped. I'm now waiting for them to refine things, or others, and am glad to see other companies joining in, or jumping on.

Hey...long cast, schmong cast lol! Which would you rather attempt to cast for distance, a pop can, or an Alvey?

[Asshat]

Figured you'd be all over that Brian.

Like you mentioned - it's as if I awoke from a decades long sleep with regard to whats current in tackle trends. Although it brings back memories of why I quit subscribing to various fishing mags - they just kept re-hashing the same material.
Me thinks the tackle industry engages in similar practices ....

Funny, I remember the large diameter, short front to back designs for their propencity to horribly coil the line, resulting in a 'slinky' effect. Oftentimes simply opening the bail was reason enough to have to reach for scissors to remedy the tangled disaster.
Still calling B.S. on the industry, they both cannot be 'superior designs'.

[Jeremy S]

Another thought: wouldn't a wider spool result in larger coils coming off the spool and therefore more friction at the stripper guide as it corrals the line into a tighter coil to shoot through the guides? Also, with the shorter spool wouldn't it takes fewer revolutions of line to get deeper into the spool and thereby more friction on the spool lip? I really think its to compensate for the poor line lay you get with hypoid gears in most spinning reels today.

[Richard Ziert]

This is going to be real silly of me for saying this. The advantage I've found doesn't happen very often. Big fish, pulling so much line to near the end of spool, the wide spool has lees chance of breaking. At that point the line comes off the spool easier/diff angle than a narrow spool set up. Like I said, it has only happened to me twice in my life. But when it happens, you wish you had the wide one.

[Paul Roberts]

Rich, funny you should mention that. I have had that happen too -catching Chinook salmon from shore. Seen the knot at the bottom of the spool more than once -even during the same fight!lol

A wide spool definitely helps with drag inertia -pulling form farther out on the radius. But...I don't use drag. I backreel -even to Chinooks. I did it with several different reels, from Mitchell 300s to a big Quick 441N. With that particular Quick model, I didn't have to let go of the handle on a blistering run (you then finger the rotor -with your rod hand) bc with 39"/turn I could keep up! Another advantage to an over-sized spool (and a 5:1 ratio). Still have that reel. I can burn a 'Trap on TOP on the water with it!