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Big rivers

Peter T Thomas

Peter T Thomas

Senior Member
Hi i have aquestion for everone fishing big rivers ie trent wye etc for example im using diawa powermesh rod ie 2.75 tc whats the make and model reel to use and why.
Would i be better off using say dl 6000 bait runner or smaller reelmany tbanks peter
 
Although im not a reel expert by any means,i find the 6000 Shimmy used on the mentioned rod hauling in big leads/feeders works
for me ok,definitely wouldnt down size
 
For fishing the river Lot (France) over the winter I bought the Daiwa Powermesh 2.25 B2. It's been a lovely rod for moderately heavy water conditions and has good bite detection.

I tried the Shimano Oceanic OC baitrunner in 4000 size and it felt a bit under-gunned. Changed to a 6000 oc and it's been a great workhorse combination. The reel is a little heavy but it copes so well with heavy feeders and cranks lumps of weed in without breaking sweat.Both drag and baitrunner are faultless.

Probably the 6000oc would balance even better on the Powermesh 2.75. I have an 8000oc on a pike rod, that combo has been used for sea fishing, pike and now barbel and carp in the river. The reel even managed a couple of seasons boat fishing for cod and pollack, still going strong!
 
I’m using the 2.75 powermesh rods on the Trent and I’ve got 2 old heavy 10000 Shimano dl ra baitrunners on them, the clutch isn’t the best but for cranking heavy weights in there good
 
I use the 2.25 Power mesh when there is water on the non tidal but generally would only fish 1/4 way across.
Otherwise the 2lb Torrix.

The 5000 shimano size is perfect.
 
The dl 6000 is the perfect size for the Trent. I have used these for the past two years and have just upgraded to XT 6000 RBs which are exactly the same size.
 
I still use my Freespirit 1.75's for an 'in-the-fields' Lower Severn, I'm not really a subscriber of the flood rods thing to be honest. Too much is made of the TC of the rod, when really a proper flood rod should have bigger rings for the crap on the line blocking them. I'd go for 6000oc Shimano's too, they are bombproof.
 
As said above on a 2.75 rod you want to be balancing them up nicely with a bigger more robust reel.
I have shimano 6000 D’s and they work beautifully with 2.25-2.75 barbel rods.
the 6000OC is pretty much identical in every way and 40 quid cheaper.
 
No they are single handled reels.

the differences are the D has a waterproof seal on the clutch.
the D has a single piece bail arm.
the D’s internal parts. Some of them are supposed to be a higher grade metal
I’ve got 5 D’s (4000&6000) for my barbel rods. and 2 OC8000’s that I use for deadbaiting
As far as a coarse angler is concerned using these reels there is no difference between them what so ever apart from the colour of the spool. Only a sea angler using them as they were originally marketed would possibly benefit from the D’s additional features and quality benefits.
430B7F5B-04AA-4E25-B98D-5D7878B00FD4.jpeg
 
I’ve got 4000OC’s and think they are a great reel, the clutch is a bit quiet but I am going deaf ! BUT when I used them on the Trent found them slightly wanting so I have some Penn’s with a bit more grunt for my Trent rods. I’ve never fished the lower Severn but see that in the same light as the Trent so would advocate 6000OC’s if you are fishing these rivers regularly. I find my 4000OC’s more than adequate for the Wye BUT I’ve never fished it when it’s in the fields...OC’s seem a bit thin on the ground and I like the look of the XT6000RB’s that Ian mentions.
 
Just had a close look (online) at the XT6000RB and I’m afraid just gone off them....rear drag, I like front drags, back to keeping my eyes open for 6000 OC’s....but then again I’ve more reels than Angling Direct (so the current Mrs Walford tells me🤣)
 
Kevin Copping said:
The difference is Bill, you’ve actually got them in stock😛.
Click to expand...
I’m grateful that I’ve found something to dislike about ‘em Kevin or else the old credit card would have been getting an airing. I’ll stick with my Penn’s (unless a pair of 6000 OC’s crop up 😱)
 
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