I've seen the light. low gear ratio for shallow cranks

[RichWentFishing504]

Got a curado I in the 5.5:1 gear ratio after much deliberation. After fishing with it now I'm hooked. Nice, smooth, and I no longer am overworking the bait. I like fishing fast and throw a lot of square bills and manns baby's. Even with such shallow water presentations I can't believe how nicely it works. I paired it up with a dobyns 705cb glass and muscled some redfish with it. Now that the fall is here I'll get to see how well I can keep up with the speedy speckled trout with this gear ratio.

The only thing I fear is it may be too slow for ripping rattle traps.

Anyone else switch over to low gears for cranks?

[dragon1]

True crankers have been doing it for decades...and the slow IPTs makes you pay attention to your bait more, rather than just power-fishing and covering water.

Rod tip action/stiffness also changes the wobble and action of certain cranks, as does rod length, line type/size used.

[fishballer06]

If only Shimano would offer the I series in a 5:1 for us lefties

The Chronarch 201E5 is a great crank reel for the lefties though.

[Teal101]

I am currently using a Curado 201DPV for shallow cranks and a TD-Z Personal 103L for deep cranks. I think I'm going to step up to a 6.8:1 ratio reel for the shallow cranks just to allow me more speed to burn when needed, but I love using my low ratios.

[Markanthony404]

I use a Calcutta TE200 GT A for cranking, it has a 5.0:1 gear ratio. It makes cranking a pleasure when compared to other reels. I seem to catch more fish too because I don't get tired out. I used to crank with the classic chronarch 100A, great reel but the 6,2;1 ratio makes fishing deep divers too difficult. Shimano now has the conquest and I know it will be a great cranking reel but at over $550 I think I will just keep my 3 Calcutta TE's for a few more years.

[21farms]

Nice, smooth, and I no longer am overworking the bait. I like fishing fast...

totally agree here...i like to fish fast and the low-gear ratio helps me not overwork the bait while allowing me to fish cranks and swimbaits at my preferred pace. i use 5:1 reels for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits too...the power and increased torque is so very nice. i too am thinking of using a 6:1 reel for rattlebaits.

[Chode]

lews tp pro 5.4 absolutely love em for cranks

[Teal101]

Nice, smooth, and I no longer am overworking the bait. I like fishing fast...

totally agree here...i like to fish fast and the low-gear ratio helps me not overwork the bait while allowing me to fish cranks and swimbaits at my preferred pace. i use 5:1 reels for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits too...the power and increased torque is so very nice. i too am thinking of using a 6:1 reel for rattlebaits.

I'm using a 7:1 right now for spinnerbaits and it is a bear to reel in double colorado blades A lower ratio really works better. I wont fish anything deeper than 10' on a reel that isnt below 6:1.

[njbasscat]

I like the very slow crazy cranker for deep divers, big spinnerbaits, or any bait with a lot of resistance. I have one and its paired with a Dobyns 765 glass.

[StarTzar]

lews tp pro 5.4 absolutely love em for cranks

I have two and they are excellent. I have no problem with ripping rattle traps.
Recently purchased a Calcutta Conquest 4.8:1 and also excellent.

[sofinesse]

I crank exclusively with reels that are 5:1. for me it helps me feel the bait around cover better. kinda like moving slowly through a crowd rather than bumrushing through it. If I need more speed I turn the handle faster lol. I use the lucky craft mini magic and a curado e5 pretty much the jam for everything that dives to about 12 feet but especially good for squarebills which it was designed for. I have a bantam curado in 3.8 that felt a bit too slow but I might give it a go one of these days.

[dragon1]

I have a bantam curado in 3.8 that felt a bit too slow but I might give it a go one of these days.

I have a mint Daiwa PT33C, which is a 3.8:1 that was fully tuned and polished by Ian...it still pulls 18.5" with a full spool per turn, it is very usable especially in cold water when slow rolling lots of different lures in deeper water. I also use it to slow wake larger lures, like the Buzzjet. Compared to any other reel in my arsenal, the cranking power on this reel is stoopid.

The biggest downfall with IPTs less than 20", is not being able to crank fast enough on fish that run towards you, or towards cover.

[GARRIGA]

I tend to prefer the 5:1 range for increased torque and it doesn't get better than a Ryoga 1016. Want more IPT then easy enough to crank faster but I get more fatigue and less pleasure having to deal with all that resistance with a 7:1 option. There are specific situations for 6:1 (spinnerbaits) and 7:1 (top water) but I find myself mostly favoring that low gear.

[Johnny A]

It's easier to slow down with a fast reel than speed up (efficiently and effectively) with a slow reel.

.02

[mark poulson]

It's easier to slow down with a fast reel than speed up (efficiently and effectively) with a slow reel.

.02

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