I haven't highlighted any of the equipment manufacturers that we work with in a while, so I thought that today I'd tell you about one of the most fundamental pieces of equipment that we use:  Rods & Reels.  I've run a wide variety of both over the years, from the super low-end equipment that you find in the big-box stores to the professional grade stuff that you find in specialty stores.  At some point I've tried just about every make & model of rod & reel out there.  Way back when I was first getting started with fishing Lake Ontario I was pretty young and on a very tight budget, so I often went with the less expensive options.  I quickly learned that I shouldn't have.  The fish we fight on Lake Ontario are so big and so strong that my inexpensive rods & reels just weren't holding up.  So I slowly began to save my pennies and started accumulating good rods & reels, specifically Daiwa Great Lakes series equipment.  I found it to be the best equipment for the job.  I still have three of the old Daiwa rods & reels that I bought almost 20 years ago.  I have two of them spooled up with mono; one with light line for browns, and the other with heavier line for Kings.  The third is spooled up with a 2 color core.  All three are used on a regular basis.  In 20 years use I haven't had one single problem with any of them.  Now that says something to me about quality.

Here's a picture of Dad with a typical springtime brown that he took on that 20 year-old Daiwa Great Lakes reel spooled up with leadcore.  It's beat up and ugly, but it sure does catch fish!




Lately we've been running the new Daiwa Sealine SG47LCA reels coupled to the Daiwa Heartland downrigger rod, and I have tell you that I continue to be amazed by the quality and durability of this equipment.  These reels handle hundreds of vicious strikes a year by big Lake Ontario Kings without missing a beat.  Someone (probably my Dad) once told me to "buy right, buy once" and I'm a firm believer in that adage now that I'm a bit older.  The SG47LCA is not an inexpensive reel by any means.  They retail for about $95 each.  But you get what you pay for.  I have well over 20 rod & reel setups on my boat, and each plays an important role in our success out on the water.  I can't afford to have a rod & reel go out of service, so I buy the best equipment for the job.  In my opinion, the SG47LCA/Heartland is just that.  We run them with mono, leadcore, and wire line and they handle all those applications flawlessly.






Daiwa has recently re-designed their popular Accudepth series of reels, and they sent me a few to try out this year.  So far I've been very impressed with these new reels.  Daiwa essentially took the gears, clicker and spool from the Sealine SG series and put it into a new frame and paired it with the bushings that they used to put in the old Great Lakes series of reels.  We've caught a lot of fish with them already this year and they still look & feel like brand new.  The new Accudepth Plus ADP47LCA can be found for around $50 at leading sporting goods stores.  If you're not willing or ready to pony up the hundred bucks for the Sealine SG series, this reel would be a fantastic choice.  You'll see them in action on our boat this year, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to you.



Next time you're out on the lake with us, please don't hesitate to ask us to take a look at the rods & reels we're running.  We'll happily show them to you and recommend a set-up that's appropriate for your needs.