FINALLY A SPINNING REEL TOUGH ENOUGH TO MAKE THE COWS COME HOME.
I have been fortunate enough to have been a long range fisherman for going on 5 decades, catching more than my fair share of big fish. During that time I took off 15 years to raise my son. When he was old enough I came back to find the industry, which had not changed much in 30 years, had made some enormous advances in the way of fishing gear. New reels and hollow Spectra had become a world changer. Though my old gear had seen their fair share of battle it was clear the newer gear would make life easier for a 15 year older version of me.
Having been in the Aerospace Manufacturing business most of my life, building hardware on everything from the Apollo engines to the Space Shuttle main engines, I am more than aware of quality, engineering and attention to detail in everything I purchase. When I discovered Accurate Grinding, a machine house offering products to the Aerospace Industry, was building fishing reels I knew I had to investigate. I arranged to have a tour of the facility and immediately fell in love with their Platinum ATD and Boss line of state of the art reels.
I have always pushed the envelope in fishing gear and now I found a company whose gear I could push but knew the reels could take it and give even more. No one was fishing 30 size reels for cows at the time yet I was convinced this was the way to go as these ATD's had the power and stamina to do the job. Adding to my craziness I had the folks at Accurate add high speed gears and a longer crank arm to go with a more aggressive cam. My very first 17 day, after acquiring a number of these ATD and Boss reels, proved I was right. I was fishing next to folks using 80 and 50 wide gold reels and here I was fishing small silver (Platinum) colored gear. Those same folks thought I was crazy but the results spoke for themselves as I had beyond an
epic trip. The small but powerful reels gave me an edge over the bigger and heavier gear used by others. Today, more and more folks are fishing smaller and smaller reels as manufacturers such as Accurate have gone to the next level in meeting the needs of anglers world wide.
Years past and I grew anxious to try other unused techniques in Long Range fishing. I have always believed Spinning reels are the ultimate stealth tool to get a bait into the zone in Pick bite situations. Unfortunately the old spinners did not hold up well to the bigger and meaner fish we were encountering.
When I heard Accurate was contemplating building an advanced line of Salt Water Spinners I knew I would have to own some. The first to arrive was the Accurate 12 TwinSpin and did I have a ball with that. Tuna, Wahoo, Yellowtail, Albacore etc. were handled with no problem. Soon after a 20 size TwinSpin was part of my arsenal. With the added line capacity Yellowfin Tuna to 140 pounds were landed with out ever being spooled. This became one of my go to reel for trips 8 days or less as I found I was hooking up more often than most using conventionals.
One can only imagine the disbelief of more conservative anglers who could not believe a Spinner could be used for Long Range Applications. But the results were impossible to dispute. Spinners could get the bait into the zone with little effort by the bait. Casting had almost no
harmful effects on the Anchovies or Sardines being used as I could gently land the bait on the water much further away from the boat.
Since most of my trips are now 10 - 17 days, targeting cow size tuna (Tuna over 200 pounds), I knew I would never get a Giant on a spinner at least not the ones available at the time. Then along came the Accurate TwinSpin 50 and man did that reel get the juices flowing. Finally a Spinner built as tough as the fish I was targeting. After setting up the new reel on a appropriate Super Seeker 6463XXXH rod I only had to hook up to the right fish.
Over the last two seasons I split my time using the Accurate ATD's and the new 50 size spinner. Though I caught plenty of big fish on the big Spinner the cows I hooked up to were all caught on the ATD's. Finally, In January of 2010, aboard the Intrepid, I hooked into what seemed like the right fish. There was a ton of hooting and hollering and I am sure some folks were laying odds I would not land the fish. Sure enough it happened. The majority of the fight was actually not difficult and the TwinSpin 50 handled the big fish beautifully. As usual in cow fishing, the end game had its challenges, yet the big tuna ended up on the deck. It is important to remember fishing from an anchored long range boat with twenty or more other anglers with lines in the water is all together different from being in a panga or sports fisher as we are not in a position to chase down a big fish. Therefore the gear and the angler generally take more of a beating. This big fish taped out on the boat at 213#'s and actually weighed 223#'s, on a certified scale, at the dock.
As noted previously, I have been Long ranging for well over 4 decades. However, I can remember hooking into and landing my first big fish as a kid. The feelings I had at the time are shared with most fishermen I speak with. Making deals with your inner self, promising to be a better person, etc. if only you would be allowed to land this fish of a life time. Additionally I remember enjoying the experience as only a kid can. Those feelings have faded over time as many more big fish were landed. Catching a Cow on the Accurate 50 TwinSpin brought back all the feelings I had as a kid catching my first big fish. Not many things in this world can make you feel young again but catching big fish on a spinner is one of them. I cannot wait to do it again and perhaps feel the same as I did as a kid when I landed my second big fish.
Thank You to Accurate Fishing for creating a series of reels with the performance and looks of a Ferrari yet built like a Mack Truck. Be it a Boss Extreme, Platinum ATD or Twin Spin, Accurate has made me a believer in all they are trying to accomplish.
Jamie Massion
