Hey guys, I have a Abu Garcia Black Max that just sits around its a 6.4:1 ratio.  I was curious if that ratio would be ok for deep cranking prob in the 15-25 ft depth range.  It would be used exclusively for cranking with a MH crank rod.  I dont crank much so i wanted to use a reel I already have to save money.  Or should I look to get a slower 5 speed reel?

 

Thanks

 

LEW

It would work, I have that reel but use it for plastics.  

Regarding deep diving cranks, I would think you'd want a higher gear ratio to get the bait down with less effort. 

But, I don't use deep divers very much.

A slower gear ratio would work better, it has more torque for the deep cranks. A higher gear ratio wouldn’t work. I think you’d be fine though.

2 hours ago, TylerT123 said:

A slower gear ratio would work better, it has more torque for the deep cranks. A higher gear ratio wouldn’t work. I think you’d be fine though.

That makes sense.

It's funny i've heard both, you want a faster one and than I've heard you want a slower one.  I don't really fish deep diving crankbaits but I'm sure youd be fine considering its right in the middle.  Good Luck!

1 hour ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

It's funny i've heard both, you want a faster one and than I've heard you want a slower one.  I don't really fish deep diving crankbaits but I'm sure youd be fine considering its right in the middle.  Good Luck!

Faster reels get the crankbait down to the strike zone faster but you won’t get the maximum depth out of them

3 minutes ago, TylerT123 said:

Faster reels get the crankbait down to the strike zone faster but you won’t get the maximum depth out of them

Ok that makes sense

Is the rod able to hold the pressure the bait puts on it and still be affective on hook set

On 3/6/2018 at 3:06 PM, ratherbfishin1 said:

Ok that makes sense

Actually it doesn't.

On 9/14/2019 at 5:10 PM, Grc fisher said:

Is the rod able to hold the pressure the bait puts on it and still be affective on hook set

A MH should be just fine for cranks like that. I fish a MH for 5XDs (which are in that 15ft range) and it works awesome. The 6XD straddles the line, but I don't think I would even try an 8 or a 10 on a MH.

 

OP, 6.4:1 will be just fine. I fish my 5/6XDs with a 7.3:1 Curado DC, and I have no problems with fatigue cranking all day, you'll be golden with a 6.4.

23 hours ago, BassWhole! said:

Actually it doesn't.

Yeah, I've never heard of specifically using a fast reel for crankbaits. It's always a "if it's what you have it will work" thing. Conventional wisdom is higher gear ratios are for taking up slack/reeling up to cast a soft plastic back into the strikezone, not for getting cranks down faster.

i like slower but have cranked 6xd's  for 3 hours on a blackmax.... 

6 speed is excellent for 5xd-10xd IMO.  5 is too slow at the end of a long cast, and 7 will get a little fatiguing with the larger lures.