bass reels

[ItchenRoach]

morning all with the rivers in flood thought i might try a spot of bass fishing , i spotted a winfield bass multiplier reel online going cheap has anyone used these reels and are they worth a try, i dont need to cast far about 30 yards any advice please.

[Rockape]

I haven't seen a Winfield Bass Fisher reel in person, but I've seen a few online, and they look better suited to boat work, to me anyway.
I would personally go for a fixed spool reel for river or estuary bass (not saying the Winfield reel won't be any good from the shore, but I can think of better options).

Not exactly vintage, but I use an old Okuma Interceptor 50 (double handle/grip) on an 11' Ed Schliffke rod for bass fishing in my local estuary.

[John Milford]

The Winfield Bass Fisher is a nice looking reel, although slightly unusual being a narrow drum multiplier. I don't doubt it will cast 30 yds easily enough.

I looked into them a while back and the consensus was that they were a good light duty reel, but not really suited to cranking up heavy leads and fish from the depths - not least of all due to the plastic spool which is not really suited to handling the line pressures that can inflict.

However, if used for casting lures or float tackle, I'm sure the Bass Fisher would be fine and good fun to use.

(I'm lead to believe that Winfield multipliers were rebranded Shakespeare models, with different coloured side plates. Shakespeare in turn sourced them from the Japanese maker Chuyo, who made decent quality mid-range reels for their own market).

[Kev D]

morning all with the rivers in flood thought i might try a spot of bass fishing , i spotted a winfield bass multiplier reel online going cheap has anyone used these reels and are they worth a try, i dont need to cast far about 30 yards any advice please.

I had one that came in a box of bits from a boot sale
If l recall it was a sort of typical generic Japanese base model multiplier that was probably rebadged for different retailers .
It was quite a neat little thing with a narrow drum. The anti over run mechanism is very simple but reliant on operator competence. Basically you stop the thing over running by using a thumb as a brake.
Probably best to build up to distance casts and certainly never meant for heavy duty work. Fine for the sort of light sea fishing it's name implies l would've thought. Good luck if you fall to temptation

[ItchenRoach]

thanks for the feedback gentlemen,seen two on evil bay one with green side plates the other black side plates look the same other wise.

[Russell Howard Brown]

thanks for the feedback gentlemen,seen two on evil bay one with green side plates the other black side plates look the same other wise.

As far as I'm aware,all the Winfield reels were made in Japan.I've owned a few of their FSR's and the build quality was very,very good.

[Rockape]

thanks for the feedback gentlemen,seen two on evil bay one with green side plates the other black side plates look the same other wise.

As far as I'm aware,all the Winfield reels were made in Japan.I've owned a few of their FSR's and the build quality was very,very good.

I admit to only having taken a cursory glance at the Bass Fisher, so I guess my original comment was a bit weak, but having a plastic spool would exclude it from heavier boat work, although companies like Daiwa have used a heavy duty carbon or abs material in the spools for their bigger Slosh reels.

Agreed on the high quality aspect of (some) Winfield reels, I have a few Winfields (no multipliers), and they are all very nicely built, particularly the 'point Japan' made Beach Fisher, Spin Fisher and Coarse Fisher reels.

I did read somwhere, that one of their executives (for a short period), introduced the buisness model of selling high quality at an affordable price, and that is evident in some 70's Japanese models.

All the best,

Paul

[Jeff Smith]

I have a Winfield ‘bass fisher’ it’s certainly a neat little reel and probably adequate for some light beach / surf work with up to 3oz of lead.
However, far better quality , in my opinion, are some of the small contemporary multipliers from Penn - 180 Baymaster, 100 Surfmaster or 146 Squidder ‘junior’.
Use some heavy oil ( motor oil) in the bearings of these and with a little practice the plastic or alloy spooled models are easily mastered.
I’ve even ‘tamed’ my alloy spooled 146 with magnets. All the above were available with a chrome plated brass spool, distinguished by an ‘M’ model name but these should be avoided as they’re a bugger to cast, and more suited to light boat work.
Mitchell’s narrow 602 ( fibre glass spool)models may also suffice but if you want ‘exotic’, Abu’s 5000/6000 Ambassadeur reels are a different class.
The Winfield reel was , as far as I know, the narrowest reel of its type having a spool width of just over an inch although , slightly larger in diameter than the Penn’s mentioned above. There were some DIY ‘narrow spool’conversions carried out on the Penn reels mentioned in ‘Angling’ magazine at the time ( early 70s??) and it’s a great shame these weren’t commercially produced as they would have made superb little ‘bass’ reels.

[Watermole+]

morning all with the rivers in flood thought i might try a spot of bass fishing , i spotted a winfield bass multiplier reel online going cheap has anyone used these reels and are they worth a try, i dont need to cast far about 30 yards any advice please.

From my experience, you will find this reel eminently suitable for bass fishing-and for fishing for many other species besides.

There is a very common misconception about estuary or sea fish generally, that very heavy tackle plus very strong line is needed, which is quite untrue.

Think about the species itself and where you are going to fish for it. The bass record is on a par with barbel, as it it’s fighting abilities and the bass that most of us catch are nowhere near the average barbel size….Oh that I wish they were!!

Secondly, as in rivers, you have to be prepared to accept losses of terminal tackle on unknown snags, but that doesn’t mean that you need enormously strong reel line and a bombproof reel!

My own choice of outfit for distance estuary and shore fishing-apart from float fishing- is an eleven foot, very light carbon rod matched to a reel loaded with 0,3mm diameter, abrasion resistant line which is about 15 lbs b.s. dry. I have two reels; an Abu 6500 Mag Elite (the green one) and a more modern Akios 555 MM3 tourno. which has a light, narrow drum, rather like the Winfield reel. Out of the two, the older Abu is by far the better made and smoother to use. The little Akios is OK and will cast phenomenal distances, but I found the winder too unwieldy and changed it for a single crank. Personally, I never use a lead heavier than 3 oz and then only when a strong tide is running; 2 oz will give you more than enough distance for most situations, especially if you are only casting less than 50 yards.
In the 1960s, I used a Penn multiplier with a plastic spool and never cracked it once-or even heard of one cracking up. The Penn was fine but too heavy, hence the switch to an Abu.
The same reels are equally at home casting from the beach by the way.
For general estuary fishing, I use a trace of 12 lbs b.s. which is a sacrificial link. To date, I have yet to hook up with something that this cannot handle and only have to break off when catching up on a snag-which is actually quite rare because I use flat leads which tend to plane up to the surface when you retrieve.

Most bass fishing can comfortably be done with tackle suitable for chub and barbel-and will allow a good fish to show it’s sporting qualities; catch one on a streamer fly on a #6 weight fly rod outfit and you will know what I mean!

A lot depends upon the angler and the manner in which tackle is used. If heavy lines and weights are used and the reel treated as a winch in an unmerciful manner, it isn’t going to last very long!

But for general shore-based bass fishing, a medium fixed spool or light multiplier will be ideal and you will find that the Japan-made, Winfield reel will cope admirably, pleasant to use and is excellent value for money

wm+

[ItchenRoach]

thank you for your advice and tactical tips i will have a bid on the winfield and give it go thanks for the tip on flat leads not heard that one before,tight lines .