East Cape - What a drag

[jenwren]

East Cape - What a drag [/url]

Folks from most of the US will not sympathize but our thermometer headed south of 59 degrees and it is cold!  Daytime temps are still in the middle 70's so flops and shorts are appropriate but I'm sticking with a long sleeve T. 

Anglers bundling up in the morning are having success.  Dorado, striped marlin and sierra mackerel have been providing most of the action but a few yellowtail, grouper and snapper have also been in the count.

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Jen Wren III crew member Armando Morales moonlights skippering a panga while our boats are out for service and posted this nice catch.

I started fishing back in the day before lever drag reels were invented.  Penn Surfmaster with 3 to 1 gears dominated the reel market until the Jigmaster with it's 4 to 1 gear ratio came along. They were pretty much the only reels I would see while fishing on open party boats.  Compared to today, the Penns were very crude and didn't even have ball bearings.  They needed to be serviced after every day trip changing drag washers, cleaning up burnt drag plates and general lubrication.

When I started long range fishing for bigger fish on multi day trips  a larger Penn Senator was the reel of choice.  We would sit in the galley after fishing all day and change drag washers in the reels because they wouldn't hold up for more than a few battles. Sometimes in battle my reel would get so hot we would dump cool water on the side plate.  One time a side plate actually exploded off the reel.  I would bring a dozen rods and reels which gave plenty of back up if the then inferior gear failed.

Later, the evolution of the reel went to lever drag.  The brakes seemed to hold up better but they didn't cast as freely as the star drag and neither had the stopping power for a real trophy fish.  Also,  all the reels had a jerky drag evidenced by the rod tip bouncing when a fish was taking line.

Then along came Accurate's twin drag reels.  At first I thought it was just another gimmick and didn't pay much attention.  Finally, about 12 years ago the legend and my good buddy Del Marsh gave me my first twin drag Accurate.  It was amazing how smooth the drags were.  There was no more rod tip jerking up and down which made it impossible for observers to tell if a fish was taking line.  Until becoming used to and comfortable with this phenomena we would fight the fish with the clicker on so the skipper and others were aware of what was going on.

Oh, "what a drag" the twin drag has turned out to be.  After catching a few fish on my new Accurate I figured it was time for service and called the factory.   They wanted to know what the symptoms were.  There were no symptoms, based on experience from using other reels I just thought it was time. They said just keep fishing.  It was amazing, the reel just kept catching fish after fish and never got tired.  At the end of the year the reel went to the factory for service. Upon return it was shocking to find the drag washer had not been changed.  To cut to the chase, we now have 3 deluxe cruisers with all Accurate reels and in all the years with all the reels and the daily beating they take we have only changed one drag.

Think about it, having drags on both sides of the spool rather than just one side like other conventional reels gives double the brake surface which equates to double the braking power.

What a drag! A new Twin Drag Accurate Valiant 800 like this one bagged a 400+ pending world record yellowfin tuna.  Small reels, big fish, what a concept.

Call me a wimp, 59 degrees is cold.  Our chimney is roaring.

Out of sight out of mind.  Discovered the rear motor mounts on the Jen Wren III generator needed a little attention.

Took a long weekend to look for cow tuna at Puerto Vallarta.  Our boats have props but it has been a long time since riding in a plane with them.

We couldn't find the cows at "Cow Town" but I caught this cool whale shot on my phone

The only thing Captain Dave caught was flu.  11 bucks for an exam and shot in the butt.

Blue marlin on a 500 size Accurate.  Without today's drag technology this would be almost impossible.

While the US stock market soars, over the last month the US dollar has plunged against the Mexican peso.  This is not a drag for Mexicans and gives them more spending power.  In my mind it also indicates economists might not think this place is as dangerous as the news media falsely accuses it to be.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/JenWrenSportfishing

US cell 310 308 5841

[Mikey]

great read and yes i remember getting my first 6/0 and 4/0 wow thought i could catch a whale if given the chance. then my first 50 international.
wow i still am a fan of penns they are and where the work horse of the industry for many years. Now new technology and designs other reels like the accurate have changed the ways of fishing and smaller reels back to braided line for more strength and capacity.

Always great stuff Mark, thank you