New PB Bat 50.5 inches 4/18

[Fish Jerk]

Hit the sand with Verne's crew to test drive my new Fathom 30.

The first cast did not bode well for the day, but in the end proved to be the bad with the good. As this was the 1st cast with the new reel, I didn't bother with more than a 5 oz pyramid, nice cast, no blow-up.... first crank of the handle, and the sinker wont budge a bit. ended up losing the shockleader and sinker.

Oh well, time to re-rig. New leader, new clipdown running rig, and a mac head hit the surf. 45 minutes later, Bump, Bump, click, click, I notice something poking at my bait. Just as I grab the rod, Drag starts screaming and the fish immediately starts heading down the beach right towards some swimmers. Denny starts running interference for me getting the few swimmers out of the water.

This fish takes me 150 yds down the beach just steaming along.
15 minutes of back and forth, and Denny finally drags the beast onto the sand. We slap a tape on it, 50.5 in's of unhappy Bat. It turns out that along with the Ray, I was fighting about 50 lbs of grass and kelp.

Fished for another 2.5 hours or so for nada, but not a bad way to break in a new reel.

[sasquatch]

Congrats on the PB

[raychavez91]

Right on Ron...glad to see you getting out on the water...And more importantly, that your pleased with your new reel... you really should set  up a trip to Santa Barbera for some 7's soon

[Eric H]

Nice 

[WheresMyBeer]

Grats on the PB! ... 50+ club!!!

[Latimeria]

Hell yeah and congrats on getting into the 50" club!

Bummer about the lost rig.  I've lost 5 rigs in a single session with some expensive terminal tackle.  One night was about a $60 night for me.  It always stinks, but one of the musts to know you might be in the right spot.

Congrats again!

[Pinoyfisher]

A 50+ bat from the surf is tough! How'd you like the Fathom? I now have a 30 and two 40's.

[Jaws]

Great way to break in the new reel!
Congrats!

[Fish Jerk]

A 50+ bat from the surf is tough! How'd you like the Fathom? I now have a 30 and two 40's.

I was very impressed with it.  I did a pre-fishing service on it and was very impressed with how it came from the factory. the side plates and non-spool bearings were pretty well greased. I only needed to touch up a few minor corners that they missed. I also added cal's to the drag washers.  I was impressed to see that upgraded the eccentric jack from brass to SS, as one review on a fathom showed an groved jack from the eccentric's pin. It was a little tough finding a spot to add a little static mag braking, but finally found a spot I could without having to order thinner magnets.

From the first cast, I was very impressed with it.  I actually decreased the amount of mag braking I had started with, as I felt it was too controlled. This increased the distance noticeably and yet still had no fluff on the cast, need to tinker a little more to optimize it, but i would rather a little too much control than too little. I really hate birds nests. I was also very impressed with the drag.  Perfectly smooth even after I buttoned it down on the Bat.  It has significantly more drag than my Sealine 40SHA.

(As an aside, that 50+ bat was still able to take line with around 25lbs, what a beast.)

I do find that the Penn is a little more comfortable to cradle when casting than the Sealine. Not the Sealine gives me any trouble, but the Penn just seemed to feel more at home in my hand.

[Latimeria]

A 50+ bat from the surf is tough! How'd you like the Fathom? I now have a 30 and two 40's.

I was very impressed with it.  I did a pre-fishing service on it and was very impressed with how it came from the factory. the side plates and non-spool bearings were pretty well greased. I only needed to touch up a few minor corners that they missed. I also added cal's to the drag washers.  I was impressed to see that upgraded the eccentric jack from brass to SS, as one review on a fathom showed an groved jack from the eccentric's pin. It was a little tough finding a spot to add a little static mag braking, but finally found a spot I could without having to order thinner magnets.

From the first cast, I was very impressed with it.  I actually decreased the amount of mag braking I had started with, as I felt it was too controlled. This increased the distance noticeably and yet still had no fluff on the cast, need to tinker a little more to optimize it, but i would rather a little too much control than too little. I really hate birds nests. I was also very impressed with the drag.  Perfectly smooth even after I buttoned it down on the Bat.  It has significantly more drag than my Sealine 40SHA.

(As an aside, that 50+ bat was still able to take line with around 25lbs, what a beast.)

I do find that the Penn is a little more comfortable to cradle when casting than the Sealine. Not the Sealine gives me any trouble, but the Penn just seemed to feel more at home in my hand.

Wow, great write up.  Thanks for breaking down your thoughts on the reel and the reel check itself.  Like I said, I have two Fathom 30's and a Squall 30 that I need to put some work on once my back heals.  I appreciate the info and look forward even more to using them. 

Out of curiosity, what pound test line did you spool up?

[Fish Jerk]

I have 300yds of 65# Sufix performance braid backed by 30 lb BG mono. The way I spool my reels is to put the braid on first and top with my backing mono. Then, using an extra spool and my drill, I take the lines off and reverse the order. That way I know exactly how much backing I need for a full spool.

[Latimeria]

I have 300yds of 65# Sufix performance braid backed by 30 lb BG mono. The way I spool my reels is to put the braid on first and top with my backing mono. Then, using an extra spool and my drill, I take the lines off and reverse the order. That way I know exactly how much backing I need for a full spool.

Very cool idea.  Thanks boss.