What are the disadvantages of level wind reels?

[Joe Fennell]

Will some of you experienced blue water anglers out there please
provide the definitive answer re: why level winds are not used in more
offshore fishing situations. I've noticed that none of the larger
premium reels are available in level wind models. I have assumed that
it is because of the heat generated by the line rubbing against the
winding mechanism when a big fish makes a long run. Any takers?
Thanks.

Joe Fennell

[Vince Caruso]

Youre right. And....more moving parts to break, and did you ever see
a wahoo peel 200 yds of line off a reel in less than a minute?
Imagine the level-wind mechanisim oscillating back and forth at about
3000 rpm. Its sure to fail, or put additional drag on the line.
(SNAP!)

Tight Lines (not too tight)~~~~~~~~~~,
Vince Caruso
"Lattitude Adjustment"
Palm Harbor, FL

[JHMetcalf]

I would think it would also make winding back line more difficult with a big
tuna on. There would be tremendous stress on the mechanism then. Also once
you are used to reels without levelwind you do not miss it. Casting is much
better too.
John H. Metcalf
"reasonably good salt water fisherman and bumbling woodworker"

[Tom O'Meara]

Vince Caruso wrote in message <361475bc.1277831@news-server>...

>Youre right. And....more moving parts to break, and did you ever see
>a wahoo peel 200 yds of line off a reel in less than a minute?
>Imagine the level-wind mechanisim oscillating back and forth at about
>3000 rpm. Its sure to fail, or put additional drag on the line.
>(SNAP!)

Vince,

Level winds have come a long way. Saying "Its sure to fail" is a bit of a
stretch and from my own personal experience dead wrong.

Have you, personally, had one fail? Have you, personally, even SEEN one
fail?

Almost everyone I have ever had respond to those two questions have said,
"well, no, but I've heard from 'ol Joe Smuckatelli that he had a friend,
that had an Uncle that had a friend that knew someone from.... etc."

The two people (in all these years) that DID say they, personally, had seen
a failure all were referring to old, poorly maintained, undersized reels.

There's nothing 'wrong' with modern level winds.

Fair Winds,

Tom

[FBNLCaribe]

I don't think it's as much that the mechanisim is sure to fail (although I
agree the chances are pretty good it will) Level winds are also another source
of friction on the line. That is not a good thing. Also with a smaller reel
you have less drag being applied so that certainly saves you some. No matter
which brand of lefel wind you use, none will stand up to a hard run with 20 to
50 lbs of drag on the reel. That's he reason you don't see them on big reels.
There is only so much metal you can put in a worm gear and none were meant to
take that much force. You'll find even the largest levelwinds stop at about
the 30lb class, which translates to about 10 to 15lbs of drag at the max. Even
there, the most advanced reel will not last long. No one has even mentioned
the danger factor with level winds. I've had my finger bloodided by getting
it caught in the reel with very little drag comming off. At 20 lbs of drag and
about 50 mph (which can be generated by a medium sized wahoo) you'd be certain
to lose a finger if it got caught between the levelwind and the spool.

Good Luck

Greg

_
The opinions I express may be nuts, but they're are all mine, and have nothing
to do with FBN.

[glenn murphey]

The line will not come off fast enough to keep up with a fast moving
fish plus the added friction of the line rubbing against the level wind
portion.

Glenn

[Ben Boorman]

Even Quantum, as good as their IR3 and later ones are, did not put a level wind
on their big reel. The advantage Quantum (and some others) used, is the level
wind mechanism doesn't move unless the handle is being cranked. Makes up some
of the difficulty with the mechanism moving too fast. Oh yes, have you ever
got your finger pinched in a level wind mechanism, I think a 50 lb wahoo would
pretty well take your finger off. My 18 lb yellowtail hurt like hell, but I
was able to rescue the finger.

[Zippy]

On baitcasters the level wind is optional on top end reels.
Why?
You can cast lighter weight farther without the level wind.
Less friction.

Mike

Joe Fennell <jfennNO...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<36130b1...@news.mindspring.com>...

[Mike]

[CKLINERT]

In article <36130b1...@news.mindspring.com>, jfennNO...@mindspring.com
(Joe Fennell) writes:

> Any takers?

It's harder to get your fingers on the spool to clear a big tangle.

Cliff

[Capt. Charlie Walker]

I have used Penn 309's for years with 30 and 40 pound line for big
kingfish, 30 pounds and up, light drag settings using teflon drag
washers. All I've ever done is keep them washed down after every trip
and service them once a year. I also use 3/0's, 4/0's,
Internationals, Abu Garcia's, and several diferent Penn Spinning
reels. They're all great, as long as you keep them clean and
serviced. The best reel is the one that you are the happiest with.

Capt. Charlie

On 2 Oct 1998 00:48:11 GMT, "Zippy" <s70fan(spamblock)@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Capt. Charlie Walker Southern Charm Charters
727-546-7257 http://www.flfish.com/fl

[Vince Caruso]

Tom, sorry to say it, but yes, I had a Penn 940 fail on me three years
ago while live bait kingfishing. I estimated the fish at around 20-25
#s. The fish crashed the bait a proceeded to take about 75 yards of
line out. We all watched the level wind hum and throw salt spray left
and right and then we heard a weird sound. Cant describe it too well,
but you could pretty much tell it was metal binding with metal.

I think the levelwind mechanisim heated up and began to expand
slightly, causing the added drag. Well, the 10# line didnt last too
long after the "slow_down" of the reel. The fish was history and the
reel is still ok to this day. It is now a snapper reel rather than a
kingfish reel.

Some may say that 10# is a little light for kingfishing, but when they
are in strong, we like to downscale out tackle to test our knot tying
abilities and the condition of our tackle. A little skill on the
anglers part helps too.

I now use a penn GLS25 lever drag with 12# test for light tacke
kingfishing. The reel performs flawlessly with a couple of 18-24#
kings coming along-side the boat as a reslt of a simple design and a
good lever drag system (still working on my technique).

Sorry to be a little winded in my reply Tom.

Tight lines and smooth drags ~~~~~~~~~

Vince Caruso
"Lattitude Adjustment"
Palm Harbor, FL

[derekeng]

I use level winder reels, we fish 2-4kg breaking strain line
fishing lighttackle boat in rivermouths and upto 1.5km offshore.
In this situation there is no better.

Derek

[Aaron Lewis]

I use both. The level wind is heavier, more expensive, harder to
maintain(more moving parts), and has less space to untangle over-run messes
when they occur. It's tough when everyone else is catching fish and you are
trying to untangle an overrun mess and there is no clearance to work .
That said, as I look at the rods rigged for this week's salmon and tuna
trips, 4 of the 5 reels are levelwind. (I like level winds when I have to
take in slack fast and I have cut my fingers on spectra lines when fish
decided to make another run.) On the other hand, I know that my fishing
partner will have 6 reels along, of which, only one is level wind.

derekeng wrote in message <01bdef88$5a342740$LocalHost@default>...

[HERB PATTERSON]

One advantage is to know how far your bait is when trolling i.e. every
pass of the levelwind is a prescribed distance I could not be
productive without it on the Chesapeake Bay. I think all other methods
are guesswork as far as distance from the boat and depth When using 10
- 12 trolling rods and being able to change to wieght and length of
line we catch when others are burning fuel! I will never change Over 50
years of family success says so.

P.S. Keep your tip up and your hooks sharp!