# Reels for pompano fishing



## Native Son(s) (Dec 8, 2008)

Hello again everyone and thank you for the welcome! As I posted in my intro, I have some 7000C's I fish with. But after throwing a Blue Yonder, I am considering those reels. I have no experience with the magnetic realm but am now very interested in learning about this. A few questions to those who know and wish to share their knowledge...1) Can the old (20 plus year old) 7000C's be converted to mags. 2) If so who does the best job? and will those converted 7000's be as nice as the Blue Yonder or a 6500 mag reel? Keep in mind, its for casting and fishing pompano...Thanks in advance!


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## Jackman1950 (Sep 28, 2008)

NS, I'm partial to the Abu's too. Check out customrodsreels.com or Bill's reels. Write back if I gave you a bad email address. Guy does does beautiful work.


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

The "go-to" standards for pompano down here are the Penn 525 Mag and the Daiwa SLX-20/30SHA's.


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## Native Son(s) (Dec 8, 2008)

Cerberus, can you elaborate more as to why the penn 525 mag and Diawa Slx-20/30 are the go to reels. Most pompano guys I see fishing use Abu's of all types. Not to say I do not see the penn mag or Diawa reels, but its got to be 8 or 9 times to one for Abu to the others. From my personal experience, the blue yonder I threw was better than the 7000C's I have converted with level wind and brakes removed. I have not thrown the penn mag or Diawa. With the converted 7000C's I also have to be a little more careful of a backlash than when I was throwing the blue yonder.


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

Cerberus said:


> The "go-to" standards for pompano down here are the Penn 525 Mag and the Daiwa SLX-20/30SHA's.


Have no clue as to your location Cerberus. But useing a 525 is like useing truck winch for Pompano or Whiting.
The Locals and Com. guys here in N.E. Fla. that fish from Playalinda to L.T.I. use a 5500 or 6500 or a 15# mono class Spinning reel.:beer::fishing:


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

*Jensen Beach*

I see very few Abu's on the beach, even though I own a couple myself.

The most common reels in anyone's hands are spinners, but when I see a conventional it is almost always a Daiwa or Penn.

I see the commercial pompano guys and the serious pompano fishermen using 12-14 ft rods and Penn 525's to get all the distance they can. You can tell who they are when you see five long rods on the roof rack. Daiwa's are the second most common I see. They are great casters and hold reasonable amounts of line, and they are dependable.

I have an Abu 7000CL Big Game and a 5600C4. My 525 or 30SHA will outcast the 7000 and the 5600 is a little short on line capacity, a decent cast will dump over half the spool.

I don't argue whether they are overkill or not, I am merely reporting what I see being used. 

My favorite whiting setup is a light 6ft spinner with 6-10lb test. It makes for lots of fun. But there are other things that will scoop up that sand flea beside whiting and pompano.

One of the biggest snook I have caught hit a peice of shrimp on a two-hook whiting rig about 10ft off the beach. Six foot UglyStik on 8# test and a 2500 sized reel. Nice fight that was...


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

seajay said:


> Have no clue as to your location Cerberus. But useing a 525 is like useing truck winch for Pompano or Whiting.
> The Locals and Com. guys here in N.E. Fla. that fish from Playalinda to L.T.I. use a 5500 or 6500 or a 15# mono class Spinning reel.:beer::fishing:


Truck winch??? The 525 Mag will do VERY well with Pomps, thank you! Are you saying the drag is too strong? What pound test line? NO WAY is the 525 "overkill"!


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

Yes Sport. My 525 is set up with 15# mono with 1.5# Drag this is my Reds and Black drum rig. My Pompano and Whiting rigs are 5500 and 6500 Abu's with 10 and 12# mono set at 3/4 to 1LB. Drag. I have used my 525 to catch Kings with. They are just a stronger reel as far as drag and gear ratio. I am not saying that you can not or should not use one for Pompano. Just over kill in my opinion. But that's the way we do it in N.E. Fla. Go as light as possible. Heck I fish a 4500 in the creeks and land more than my share of 27" plus Reds on 8 and 10# test.:fishing::beer:


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