best copper setup?

[sammyslayer]

What would be the best reel to run 500' of 45lb copper. Does the rod need roller tip, and what length? Also if anyone has a setup for sale let me know.

[challenged1]

I like a Penn 345.  The rod doesn't need a rollers either

[adam2000]

okuma clarion 553ls will fit 900 ft of power pro and 500 copper. its tight but fits. its a high speed reel

Edited June 19, 2013 by adam2000

[King Slammin]

I have penn 345 gt on a okuma copper rod. Took two kings tonight when everything else was silent. Wes at slippery sinker always has them in stock

[motoman]

The Okuma 553 is night and day from the penn 345 just sold off the penn and the clarion just blows it away.

[Legacy]

What would be the best reel to run 500' of 45lb copper. Does the rod need roller tip, and what length? Also if anyone has a setup for sale let me know.

 

Okuma Clarion 553Ls paired with an Okuma classic pro GLT copper rod is a great copper setup. Problem is though squeezing 500' of 45# copper on it will only leave you room for less then 100' of 50# braid backing. An Okuma Solterra 50L would be the next choice in the Okuma line up.

[Yankee Troller]

As a looooong time Daiwa fan it hurts me to say this, but you can't beat a Tekota 800 with an update Tuna Tom Drag. You can get 150yds of 50lb backing, 500ft of copper, and your leader. Unfortunately, you should upgrade the drags on a brand new reel, but after you do so it will be sweet! These reels have been proven for many years now too, which is another perk.

[sammyslayer]

I was leaning towards the tekota. Can i buy a reel with the tuna tom drag already on it?

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[Yankee Troller]

Nope, but Captains Cove has both the reels and the drags. I'm sure they can do it for you.

[reel drag]

I agree with Yankee Troller, The Tekota 800 with the upgraded drag is sweet, lots of power for those big Kings.

[sammyslayer]

Thanks guys

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[adam2000]

What would be the best reel to run 500' of 45lb copper. Does the rod need roller tip, and what length? Also if anyone has a setup for sale let me know.

Okuma Clarion 553Ls paired with an Okuma classic pro GLT copper rod is a great copper setup. Problem is though squeezing 500' of 45# copper on it will only leave you room for less then 100' of 50# braid backing. An Okuma Solterra 50L would be the next choice in the Okuma line up.

100 ft of backing? I put 300 yrds on and fit 650 ft of bloodrun 32 lb copper on. Had plenty of room left with 300 yrds of backing and a 400 45 lb copper.

[adam2000]

As a looooong time Daiwa fan it hurts me to say this, but you can't beat a Tekota 800 with an update Tuna Tom Drag. You can get 150yds of 50lb backing, 500ft of copper, and your leader. Unfortunately, you should upgrade the drags on a brand new reel, but after you do so it will be sweet! These reels have been proven for many years now too, which is another perk.

why is it it seems to only be the 800 drags? the 600lc drags are fine but a 800 right out of the box is terrible. Kinda ridiculous a 189 dollar reel and you gotta redo the drags before it even takes a fish.

[DJ 17]

I have 300 ft of 40# power pro and 450 ft of 45# blood run copper on a clarion 553 LS and it is pretty much full.  Just my 2 cents.

Edited June 19, 2013 by DJ 717

[sammyslayer]

Do the clarion reels have a decent drag?

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[adam2000]

you guys all realize a Penn 345 only holds 50 more yrds of 30 lb right?

[Yankee Troller]

Penn 345 is slower. If your going to fish a 500 copper get the fastest reel possible.

[shadster]

And for the occasional fisherman who might only get up to fish for Salmon a few times a year?

[John E Powell]

To get into a decent reel on the cheap, look for some used large frame convectors and change the gears out using the high speed clarion gear set. While you have them apart, you can also upgrade to some quality aftermarket carbon fibre drags if the originals are tired.

[sammyslayer]

How about the solterra reels?

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[orangediablo]

I have 300 ft of 40# power pro and 450 ft of 45# blood run copper on a clarion 553 LS and it is pretty much full.  Just my 2 cents.

 ditto.  There may be a few Okuma haters out there, but this is a nice reel, esp when you can find them for $90

[DJ 17]

Where do you get them for $90? :yes: :yes:

[John E Powell]

SammySlayer,

The Solterra SLR-50L weighs 53 oz. and has a retrieve of 32" of line per turn when the reel is full. It's a really large reel and has more than enough capacity for your backing and copper. By comparison the Clarion CLR553-LS weights 30.7 oz. and has a retrieve of 53" of line per turn when the reel is full. It is a smaller reel than the Solterra for sure, and is geared for much quicker line retrieval. Basically you just need to decide if you want to go really long on the copper 500-700' and/or want to have lots of backing or can get by with less.

For what it's worth, Blood Run published their reel fill data as follows using their 45lb copper and 30lb backing:

Shimano Tekota 800/800LC, and Okuma Convector CV-55L/Clarion CLR553-LS: all 100yds backing and 450' copper.
Penn 345 GT2: 150yds backing 450' copper, 125yds backing 500' copper, 100yds backing 550' copper.
*Solterra SLR-50L*: 450yds backing 500' copper, 350yds backing 550' copper, 300yds backing 600'copper, 250yds backing 650' copper, 100yds backing 700'

*Note: some of the Solterra numbers don't seem to transition smoothly from one to another as they are listed on the Blood Run data sheet but I copied them as they were listed.

With the slower retrieve of the Solterra it would seem to make more sense to use it with the heavier 60lb copper allowing you to use less line to achieve similar depths as longer 45lb copper setups. For instance, the Blood Run info lists the following data on the 60lb copper for the Solterra:

Solterra SLR-50L (60lb copper): 350yds backing 300' copper, 300yds backing 350' copper, 250yds backing 400' copper, 150yds backing 450' copper, 100yds backing 500' copper.

From this data, it is possible to do a rudimentary calculation to determine just how many cranks of the reel it would take to bring in a full copper of 700' of 45lb, and 500' of 60 on the Solterra, and 450' on the Convector and Clarion. Of course this data will be flawed because it will not take into account the changing spool diameter as the line is spooled on the reel, but since the effect will be similar across all the reels, it can be used for comparison purposes:

Convector CV-55L: 450' 45lb copper at 34" per turn is 159 turns of the handle (real world will be more turns because the spool diameter changes as the reel empties and fills and there will be drag slip if you have a fish)
Clarion CLR553-LS: 450' 45lb copper at 53" per turn is 102 turns of the handle (same note as above)
Solterra SLR-50L: 300' 60lb copper at 32" per turn is 113 turns, 350' 60lb copper is 131 turns, 400' 60lb copper is 150 turns, 450' 60lb copper is 169 turns, 500' 45 or 60lb copper is 188 turns, 550' 45lb copper is 206 turns, 600' of 45lb copper is 225 turns, 650' of 45lb copper is 244 turns, and 700' of 45lb copper is 263 turns. (also same note on reality being more turns)

So on a really deep copper with the Solterra you could go 700' of 45 and turn the handle 263 turns or 500' of 60lb and turn the handle 188 times or approximately 30% fewer times. (reality will probably be more than 30% fewer times).

SOME ADDED INFO I EDITED IN AFTER MY ORIGINAL POST
I found some Penn reel data so I will add this to the post:

Penn 345 GT2 (26" per turn of the handle): 400' copper is 185 turns of the handle, 450' copper is 208 turns of the handle, 500' of copper is 231 turns of the handle, and 550' copper is 254 turns.

Another Penn reel not often mentioned but could be considered for copper duty is the next step up in the Penn lineup over the GT series, the Penn Fathom series of reels. Within that series the model FTH60LW sports the following mfg listed capacities: 440yds of 40lb mono and 900yds of 65lb braid placing it's size between the Penn 340GT2 and 345GT2, and in a similar class size wise to the Shimano Tekota 800/800LC and Convector CV-55L/Clarion 553-LS. It has a quicker retrieve than the very slow GT series reel at 35" per turn of the handle. This reel also comes with premium HT100 drag washers and a titanium nitride coated levelwind. Blood Run does not currently list this reel on their data table, but I will make the assumption that it will have similar capacities to the afore mentioned Shimano and Okuma reels:

Penn FTH60LW (35" per turn of the handle): 400' copper is 138 turns of the handle, and 450' copper is 154 turns of the handle. If the reel can hold 500' of copper with adequate backing then 500' of copper is 171 turns of the handle. This is a very competitive retrieve to the Okuma Convector reels, but in a much better class of reel with certainly higher build quality (the Convector is a middle line reel and the Fathom is a high end reel)

*Note* I looked for Shimano retrieve data but was unable to locate info on the 800/800LC. If I can find it later on, I will add it to this post by editing it in.

Additional info on Fin-Nor reels. Fin-Nor makes super premium reels. Looking over their lineup, the OFL30 levelwind reel is very close in capacity to the Penn 340 GT2. It would be a top-shelf choice for 300-350' coppers offering a solid one-piece machined aluminum frame and an 11-disc stainless steel and carbon fiber drag washer system. It offers 34" of retrieve per turn of the handle. This equates to: 300' copper is 106 turns of the handle, and 350' copper is 124 turns of the handle.

Edited June 22, 2013 by John E Powell

[sammyslayer]

John e powell, fantastic stuff right there. Very informative, it would make sense to me at least to run heavier shorter copper. I don't find it necessary to run a lure 550' back anyways. So if i could run it 400' and achieve the same result in depth that would work. I'm assuming with shorter retrieve distance the gearing may be easier on the arms and hands. The reel weight is something that would might make me think to use a fighting belt to ease the back and arms as well. Thank you so much for your input. I'm sure others will appreciate it as well!

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[John E Powell]

I added a few more reels to my post #23 above.

 

Can anyone provide the retrieve distance per turn of the handle on a Shimano Tekota 800/800LC? It may be in the owners manual, but it's not online aparently.

Edited June 23, 2013 by John E Powell