Showing posts with label reels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reels. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Carp or Catfish Fishing Reel at Good Price

I have been looking for good prices on fishing reels, recently ran across a series of reels and found an extremely good value reel for carp fishing. 


Product Features

  • 17 pounds of drag pressure
  • CNC Aluminum High Strength Spool
  • 5.0:1 High-Speed Gear Ratio Provides Quicker Retrieves
  • CNC  Machined Aluminum Handle - Left/Right Interchangeable
  • Graphite Body
  • Graphite Rotor

I ordered the 7000 series of this reel today, so I should get it by this time next week. This may turn out to be one of the better reels for carp or catfish available.

Stay tuned for a detailed review once I have a chance to test it.

Disclosure: This post contains links to products sold by affiliate companies. If you decide to purchase a product, I may receive a small commission. The decision to purchase is entirely yours.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Sonik Tournos 8000 reels

I purchased some new Sonik Tournos 8000 reels for this coming season. These reels are "quick drag" style versus the bait runners I've been using. Hopefully it won't be too much of an adjustment.

I found myself fishing with a very loose drag and then adjusting tighter when fighting the fish. That's exactly how a "quick drag" reels works, so I bought some.

Sonik Tournos 8000 reels
A guy on one of the fishing discussion groups was razzing me about buying a "knock off" reel. I did a little research and it does appear that the Sonik Tournos 8000 is a "private label" version of the Akios SCORA 80. I'm not quite sure what he was hoping to do by pointing that out. Perhaps he wanted to tarnish my purchase in some way, but "private label" manufacturing is quite common. I haven't confirmed it one way or another, but if it's true it doesn't bother me at all. Also, I paid much, much less than the $189 retail price via Carolina Cast Pro. One could make a good argument that buying a "private label" is a shrewd way to get quality for a lower price.

Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac; Ford, Mercury, Lincoln; Toyota, Lexus; Nissan, Infiniti are examples of "private labels" and there are many, many more I could name (motor oil, gasoline, food products, etc.). Private labeling and leveraging brands in that way is very common and a way for small companies (and big companies by the way) to compete in the market place.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Basic Carp Fishing Gear on a Budget

This time of year a lot of the fishing equipment web sites place items on sale that offer the opportunity to save some money. Whether for Christmas promotions, clearance, inventory reduction or a last ditch effort to implore some who haven't quite been able to pull the trigger on a purchase due to the various price points it really doesn't matter because it's a nice opportunity to pick up some of the basic equipment to help you get started fishing for someone more experienced to accumulate some gear to get a spouse or child started out in carp fishing.

There are a lot of opinions about what is "basic" gear. My basic might be a $40 reel and $40 rod, but there are others who believe a "basic" rod and reel cost upwards of $300. The list below is my suggestion and my opinion for how to started carp fishing with a minimal cash outlay.

LW 60 reel for $24.95
Black Phantom Classic rod for $29.25
GSP Black Alarm for $18.95
Unhooking Mat for $14.95
40" Landing Net for $39.95

For approximately $220 plus shipping, you can have two rods, two reels and two bite alarms and the basic items needed to catch, land and release carp effectively. I picked items that are all available from www.bankfishingsystems.com so that you only have to pay for shipping once. You can mix and match from different sites, but you will need to take shipping into consideration.

Of all the items on the list, the weakest link is the landing net. A quality landing net is essential to ensure that carp are landed and released with the least amount of stress for the fish. But I will offer a warning - you will need to be careful with the landing net and pick up the fish by-the-net and not by-the-handle. If you don't you will have a high probability of breaking the net the first time or two you use it and then you will have started your new hobby off with a huge disappointment. (I speak from personal experience on this topic.)

For slightly more money, you might opt for a Wychwood Signature 36" landing net priced at $81.49, a Sonik SKS 42" two piece landing net for $94.95 or a Trakker 42" EQ landing net for $120.99. (If I buy a new landing net at some point, I am going to buy the Trakker model.)

Lastly, I'd suggest buying a few cans of flavored corn/maize from either World Classic Baits or K-1 Baits. A can of the flavored corn will last you for 4 or 5 weeks of fishing easily. You don't have to re-bait with new corn every time you cast. I've caught multiple fish on the same few kernels of corn many different times.

  • Keep a lid on it.
  • Keep it out of the direct sunlight.
  • Refrigerate when storing the corn at home.

It will last several weeks this way and you won't need to keep purchasing more and paying more shipping costs.

Whatever items you decide to purchase, please try to relax and have fun learning a new hobby. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I do!

If I can help you in any way, just ask.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

New Sonik Carp Fishing Reels

Update 11/22/14 : UPS delivered the reels 3 days after I placed the order at Carp Kit International.

I have been shopping for new reels for a few months. I started carp fishing with some inexpensive Okuma ABF-50's. I used them for two seasons and decided to move up to something a little better. I considered the Okuma Trio and Epixor. I like Okuma a lot, but I was hoping for something a little better.

Many may wonder why I didn't consider Shimano or Daiwa. I have nothing against either brand. Shimano is out of my budget range and most everyone I know has Daiwa reels, so I wanted something different.

Carp Kit International had a promotion today for 20% off all reels. I took advantage and purchased 3 of the Sonik 6000 FS bait runner reels. Here's a description from the website:

A superb new bait-runner style reel, with a super smooth trouble free operation and sleek black cosmetics. Supplied with two spools, they feature S-curve Oscillation for even line lay, instant anti-reverse, front and rear drag, balances twin handles, thick Aluminium black bail arm, Titanium coated anti-twist line roller and a 4.6:1 gear ratio, which recovers a full 87cm/34 inch of line per turn of the handle.  
  • 5+1 Stainless Ball Bearings
  • High Strength Composite Body/Rotor
  • Instant Anti-Reverse
  • S-Curve Oscillation for even line lay
  • Line Recovery Per Turn of Handle - 34inch/87cm
  • Balanced Rotor
  • Balanced Twin Handle
  • Titanium coated
  • Anti-Twist Line Roller
  • Thick Aluminium black bail arm wire
  • Free spool feature
  • Sensitive sealed drag
  • Gear ratio 4.6:1
  • Supplied with 2 graphite spools, capacity of mm/m 0.30-460 0.35-340 0.40-260/lbs/yds 15-375 18-340 22-225.
  • Reel Weight - 460g
Sonic 6000 FS photo courtesy CarpKitInternational.com
I got 3 reels for $258 with shipping included. The Epixors would have been $220 and change with shipping included.

Now I just need to spool them up with some Power Pro braid.

Friday, November 14, 2014

My Lessons in Carp Fishing Supplies

I'm sure many who are just starting to learn about carp fishing make many of the same repeatable mistakes I did in the beginning. Having some experience fishing for bluegill, bass and catfish in farm ponds as a teenager, I had no idea what type of equipment that I would need to consistently land 10 - 20 pound carp in a hassle free manner that wasn't too hard on the fish.

An average sized carp in Michigan
My first mistake was making the assumption that I could use bass tackle to catch carp. I headed out the local big box store and purchased a 6 ft. light action rod and inexpensive spin casting reel.

I tied on a method feeder, hair rig and mixed up some oats. And I went fishing. Luckily I didn't catch anything because it would have most assuredly broke off and left me in a lurch.

Next I bought a medium/heavy action 10 ft. rod and a bait feeding reel. This was definitely a step in the right direction, but still a little off the mark. I actually caught 10-12 carp on this set-up, but lost twice that many to hook pulls. The rod was fine for casting out 3 or 4 oz. leads and method balls, but the stiff action was a little too aggressive for the tender mouthed and lipped carp.

Next I purchased an inexpensive net advertised as a carp net. The very first carp landed with the net broke the net in half.

I purchased a bunch of boilies as bait. A bag of boilies will last a long time for a beginning carp fisherman.

I didn't start out with bite alarms. They are not needed and I consider them more of a nice to have item.

At that point I had spent more than $100 on my initial carp fishing items.

I now know that I'd my first purchase should have been a high quality net. I also now know that you can't get good one for less than about $70 -$90. The better ones are in the $150 - $200 range.

Next I should have prioritized the purchase of a rod capable of casting 3 or 4 oz. lead and method balls; but with enough play to gently fight the fish without yanking and jerking the hook right out of the carps mouth within seconds of the initial run. Several acceptable rods are available for between $40 and $60.

Thirdly I should have purchased a bait feeding reel. A basic reel to do the job costs in the $50 range.

Fourth and fifth, I should have purchased a carry sling and landing mat. This helps ensure the fish is not dropped or mistreated during weighing and picture taking process and that the fish is safely returned to the water to live another day to be caught by another carp angler. These can be had for about $25 each.

For bait, I should have stuck to plain old panko and cream corn for the method ball; and then an inexpensive flavored maize for the hair rig. I have caught 140 carp this past year on flavored corn and about 6 on a boilie. I do spend more on panko and cream corn that I'd like, but you can't catch the fish if they are not attracted to your hook.

Adding all those figures up for three rods and reels, bank sticks, fishing line, bite alarms, etc. uses every bit of $600 if you buy everything new. (Acceptable bite alarms can be purchased for less than $20 each.) Buying used equipment puts the bill down in the $300 range to start out. At this point, after 2 years of carp fishing I've spent about $1,000 on equipment and supplies.

Can you spend less and still catch fish? Yes.
Can you spent much more than that? Very easily.

For me it's money well spent because I love getting outside and catching big fish from bank without a boat. I'd much rather catch a 20 pound fish than a 2 pound fish any day of the week.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Affiliate Links for Carp Fishing Gear

I have added a new section to the carp blog today for some options for carp fishing equipment. There is a section for books about carp fishing, fishing reels, and some carp friendly rods. A book about carp fishing might be the perfect gift for the carp fisherman in your life.

As I have said from the beginning, this blog is about raising money for the Lupus Foundation. Any proceeds from the affiliate links or other advertising that might be added to this page in the future will be donated to the Lupus Foundation. If I earn $.50 from the sale of a book, $4.00 from the sale of a reel, or $6 from the sale of a fishing rod; it will all be donated to the Lupus Foundation.

So if you are shopping for carp equipment and think you might like to purchase from Amazon.com, why not click one of he links below and do your shopping. Anything you buy will help support a very worthy cause.

Thanks for your support.