Fin-Nor reels
Hi everyone,
I was hoping to get people's opinion on Fin-nor reels. I'm currently looking at the Fin-nor Lethal 100 reel for GT popping.
On paper, and after reading an incredibly thorough review by Alan Hawk, it seems to be pretty good and great value for money, but I'm still have slight reservations about whether it can hold its own with the big boys. I'm going on a trip in April chasing 40kg+ GTs, and I have the option of renting gear, but I'm thinking if I can buy reasonably priced gear then that'd be preferable since I could use it at another time when I get home from my trip.
I'm just wondering whether I'm wasting my time with a cheaper reel, and whether I have to just bite the bullet and buy the high end Shimano / Diawa gear or rent.
Note: I already have a Shimano TLD 25 for bottom bouncing, an Abu Ambassadeur 7000 for general use, and my Penn Prevail does well in the surf for me, my thoughts were that this might replace the Penn in the surf, or be kept of the popping rod for throwing metals and poppers after tailor and salmon.
I know that this was a long post, but I'd be keen to hear people's thoughts.
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
Hey there,firstly I know
Hey there,
firstly I know nothing about the fin nor ...sorry
but ....I have a stella SW08 this was top of Alan's list before it stopped production.
Im now on my second one cos the first gearbox and internals completely disintegrated. (replaced under warranty) also on the second spool.. ( the first , the coating peeled off and replaced under warranty after 6 months of waiting)
point being even top end gear breaks.
FWIW I have spoken with Alan a number of times and he has helped me with a few reel issues. HE KNOWS HIS STUFF.
Also have to weigh up the cost of the trip and wether it is worth gear breakdown at a critical time.
take a backup
prob not very helpful I know but it may be worth doing both hire and buy backup
crowie
Posts: 91
Date Joined: 16/11/14
Love them
I use a fin nor offshore 7500 spin when im at work, value for money is epic and with the amount of people who dont take care of the fishing gear, i cant fault it. We pull 35 to 40 kg tuna without batting an eyelid. Yes they are a bit clunky because they dont run the anti reverse bearings but power wise, would rival any top end reel. I have a stella 10k at home too and although different size i feel more confident in punishing the fin nor because it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. I run PE10 braid on it and have close to 400m on the spool. Have a look at a previous post of mine about what we do fishing out here in africa and you will see what i mean.
Plenty of the guys here ask me to bring them the 5500 as that has still got the drag power of the 5500 but just a little smaller than the 7500, and for 100 usd why wouldn'y you go fin nor. I could be wrong but i think the fin nor offshore 9500 spin has more line capacity than any spin reel on the current market too, downside is the weight and clunkyness haha.
hilly9
Posts: 282
Date Joined: 13/10/12
I've got one I use a bit for
I've got one I use a bit for bottom bouncing. Its such a large heavy reel when I've used it in the surf. I wouldn't want to be casting poppers with it all day.
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
I've got a Lethal 100 for my
I've got a Lethal 100 for my all-round heavy spinning reel, loaded with Sunline Super PE8.
As mentioned before it is fairly heavy and doesn't have the best casting so might not be perfectly suited for chucking lures all day. (There is a video by Jarvis Walker on Youtube where they are using it for heavy popping off a boat). It has a heap of stopping power though and a super smooth, solid drag. I have cranked in more rays than I can remember on it, some easily over 200kg.
The line capacity is fairly overstated, from memory I got about 250m of PE8 which is less than I expected (capacity is apparently 310yds of PE10).
I use it for beach fishing a lot on a super heavy 15ft fibreglass rod for chucking very big baits in crap conditions and honestly wish I'd spooled it up with 50 or even 30lb, the 80 feels way too heavy for the beach 95% of the time. Just my opinion.
Up north I did throw a few poppers around with it and it wasn't dismal, got the job done with relative comfort.
Hutch
woftam
Posts: 63
Date Joined: 06/04/14
I had a 4500 as a back up
I had a 4500 as a back up surf reel .yes they are a heavy reel ,not something l would want to cast all day.
The line lay on mine was a little ordinary , and the Dog tooth anti reverse took a while to get used too. But overall I think they are a solid reel that is a cheaper option
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
Think the OP was talking
Think the OP was talking about the Lethal series, not Offshores.
The Offshore reels are definitely not suited to casting lures
ChrisG
Posts: 558
Date Joined: 30/12/11
Yep I can concur OS aren't a
Yep I can concur OS aren't a casting reel (although I do use for heavy soaking baits off the beach for mulla (even thou I've caught bugger all) and up at steep and quobba with the drag right up to drag snapper out of the reef before they bury you...)
nothing wrong with any of the fin nor gear I have - it's a bit heavy and old fashioned but the drags are killer and they can handle abuse (thrown around in back of ute etc).
Comrad
Posts: 109
Date Joined: 17/07/14
Thanks for all the feedback,
Thanks for all the feedback, guys. It's good to know I'm on the right path with my thinking.
I take the points about the reel being heavy to cast with, I imagine this is due to the all metal construction, which I quite like, as opposed to a slightly lighter plastic reel.
Along a similar vane, can anyone comment on Eupro rods? I saw an ad for a PE6 - PE8 Eupro popping rod on Gumtree, but I wasn't able to find specifics for the rid which was listed. I'm not familiar with them as a brand.