I’m going for Bonefish in the Bahamas in Nov, yeah! My question is I have a bass pro brand, white river,8wt reel. Will that hold up for Bonefishing for 1 week? It seems pretty good, I don’t know.
I did some research about your reel and ID’d it as White River Large Arbor, Bar stock aluminum, #8/9,
$200.00 is this correct?
I looked at Reels that were specifically made for Salt and this is what I found!
Hardy Zane Model #3- $655.00
Tibor Pacific Large Arbor (13 wt. and up)- $730.00
Fly Logic Large Arbor FLA #12- $219.00 (ON E-BAY)
I’m wondering if your Reel is meant for Salt?
Doug
I don’t know if it was made for the salt but I have used it in saltwater frequently. It cost’s around $100.00 It’s a standard arbor machined reel. I don’t know if the drag will hold up to 4 days of Bonefishing.
Make sure your guide has quality equipment so you can keep on fishing when you reel breaks. Who knows, maybe it won’t.
Bob Bolton
I wouldn’t hesitate to use my $40 Bass Pro Hobbs Creek reels in the salt. Just keep them clean, wash and dry them to get the salt off, and you should be fine. And you can buy almost 20 of them for the price of that Tibor…
Question; As long as jkilroy cleans his reel after use in salt it should be OK, but I would like to know if he needs a greater line capacity reel?
Doug
If it’s an 8weight sized reel It should hold plenty of 20lb backing for bonefish.
If his White River reel is a large Arbor, don’t they hold less backing? I did read that it was supposed to hold 150 yds.
Doug P.S. Would a 10 lb Bonefish take all that?
Yes indeed large arbors hold less backing, But they pick up line faster to.
Theres a big pro and a big con right there.
I would say, And I don’t really know, But a 10pound bonefish could possibly take alll that. But then again I don’t think 10 pound bonefish are all too common either.
I may be wrong, Someone with REAL experience with this topic, needs to chime in here.
It is an 8wt reel standard arbor with about 150 yards of backing. I’m just concerned with the drag holding up with 4 days of bonefishing. I’ve used it in the salt for 2 years with no problem.
I’ve caught several hundred steelhead on Hobbs Creek reels. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I think you reel will hold up to the bonz for a week.
Your not going to be fishing the salt with it week after week or an on-going basis.
Tell ya what I do with my Tibors after a salty outing:
-Pour a gallon plastic milk jug with a screw cap of fresh water over the reel
-Take the spool off and put the pieces in small plastic bucket with a seal lid
-Pour a 2nd gallon of fresh water into the bucket to submerge the reel parts.
-Then at home (sometimes the next morning) remove the submeged reel parts and wash with warm fresh water and mild soap without scrubbing the grease from the disc.
-Put reel parts aside on a towel until dry, perhaps add a little grease to the drag and assemble reel for the next outing.
Your reel will certainly be fine for a week with this maintenance routine.
The reason for the jug screw caps and bucket lid, of course, is to keep the water from sloshing into my truck cabin.