Torsa vs Blue Heaven

[MarkR]

Need another overhead.

Have a feeling that the blue heaven is still better suited for jigging, seems like shikari favors the BH over the Torsa for jig applications...hmmm

[stickbom!]

Some folks will side whoever it is giving off the most freebies. I've not played with the Torsa before so can't help you there. I'm pretty happy with my Ocea Jigger 4000P though. Much much cheaper than Torsa/Blue Heaven :P

[MarkR]

Some folks will side whoever it is giving off the most freebies. I've not played with the Torsa before so can't help you there. I'm pretty happy with my Ocea Jigger 4000P though. Much much cheaper than Torsa/Blue Heaven :P

Well said mike, the 4000P is sweet but sold off my mod 665N so need a backup reel now

[stickbom!]

Get another Jigger lor... maybe a 5000P loaded with PE8 Ultra Jig Man X8 :P

[physlo]

Mark,

When in doubt...buy both . I've got hands on with the Blue Heaven with a suspected big dogtooth at the end of the line. Too bad we lost it near boatside. Pretty smooth drag no doubt about it but still does not crank as smooth as the 4000P. It kinda have the same feeling of cranking the 665N.

Cheers!
physlo

[stickbom!]

Oh by the way, I took the reel apart and true enough, the larger Jigger has dual stoppers in them. An anti reverse dog/gear and an anti reverse bearing. What else can you ask for man

[physlo]

Oh by the way, I took the reel apart and true enough, the larger Jigger has dual stoppers in them. An anti reverse dog/gear and an anti reverse bearing. What else can you ask for man

Lever drags....that's why they came up with the Torsa..hahaha

[edylie]

Go for Torsa man ...

I am going to sell away my tibs and avet to get a torsa + accurate

Cheers,
Edy

[Makaira]

Well said mike, the 4000P is sweet but sold off my mod 665N so need a backup reel now

Hi Mark,

You are one of those who have tried both the Accurates & the Saltiga / Jigger options & it appears that your preferred choice seems to be the Japanese reels, especially now with the introduction of the leverdrag options from Shimano (Torsa) & the Blue Heaven-- please correct me if I have made an erroneous assumption here Could you care to enlighten us what are your experiences are with all the reels you have tried so far.

As for myself, my pet peeve with the Accurate Boss was the lack of cranking power with the stock handle. After changing to the aftermarket offset handle, I am now thoroughly happy with the performance of the reels I have. Fished them very hard on 2 trips to the GBR & they performed flawlessly. Drags were fantastically smooth with no fade whatsoever run after run. Being able to "play" with the drag on the fly with confidence is definitely a luxury a stardrag cannot offer.

As for the Japanese reels, there is no doubt that they have superior cranking power because of their better handle & gear design. However, I simply cannot make myself pay that kind of price for a star drag Getting parts for them can also be a nightmare as we all know how efficient the local agents are.

Now they have the Blue Heaven at even more atrocious pricing Nice eye candy .... I almost succumbed to the temptation, but I figured without the offset handle ala Jigger / Saltiga, I doubt their cranking power can be better than the Accurates (as noted by physlo). Aftersales will also be a problem IMHO. As for the Torsa, I think the jury is still out and if the pricing when it reaches our shores is more realistic, it is definitely a viable option.

Hope to hear your opinions buddy.

Best regards,
Makaira

[physlo]

All,

At the price we will be paying for eaither a Blue Heaven or Torsa, I'm pretty much contented to settle for a Jigger 4000P and a 665N. They both work well for me.

Cheers!
physlo

[stickbom!]

Wish someone can import Carbontex drags for the Jigger series The only problem with the Jigger, IMHO, are the carbon drags. Very smooth and high drag pressure when new. On the flip side, it sheds too much residue (needs constant cleaning) and wears out pretty fast. I've never heard of folks asking for a drag upgrade for Accurates... that's for sure

[Makaira]

Wish someone can import Carbontex drags for the Jigger series The only problem with the Jigger, IMHO, are the carbon drags. Very smooth and high drag pressure when new. On the flip side, it sheds too much residue (needs constant cleaning) and wears out pretty fast. I've never heard of folks asking for a drag upgrade for Accurates... that's for sure

Call your Aussie "buddy" in Cairns dude Shouldn't have taken that long for it to get to Singapore. Afterall, Carbontex is a Smoooothie Drag product & it is readily available here in Sg from you know where. Only problem is whether Smoooothie has cut the drags for the Jiggers, Saltiga etc or not. JE in Cairns was smart to take the initiative to do it & so he is making the initial big margins as no one else has it at the moment. Too bad you have gotten rid of all your Saltiga eggbeaters .. otherwise I can spare you a set to test it out.

[stickbom!]

Hahahaha If I go buy one now will you still give the set of washers to me :P I really hated my Saltiga drags... other than that, I have absolutely no problems with the reel

Some rumours saying carbontex will be available in SG soon... Mark tried to order the drags from JE but got no reply via email. Never liked JE anyway... :P

[Makaira]

Mark tried to order the drags from JE but got no reply via email. Never liked JE anyway... :P

I think that's because he emailed to the JE shop in Cairns, which, by the way, is in name only. JE is no longer with that shop, and have not been for many, many years. Dafrogman gave me another email address to contact JE & I got an immediate response. Give Saimee a shout for the email. JE is actually quite a nice old man in person

I have the Carbontex for both the 6000 & 4500 as well ....... if I can find them!!! Fortunately for me, I never had a problem with the stock Saltiga drags yet. You seem to be real jinxed with Daiwas The Z4500 I have is the first batch & have caught a shit load of fish & still no problems. I got Daniel to service it for me earlier on in the year & he says the drags are still fine & no replacement necessary.

[MarkR]

Hi Makaira,

Thank you for your PM. I just got back from ICT on monday and missed the follow-up on this thread.

Essentially you're correct, I'm all for the Shimano 4000/5000 jiggers for deep jigging with jigs between 400g-520g. Like many other folks I find deep jigging with heavy jigs using a spinning outfit to be a really difficult task (Stickbom! may have his own opinions on this issue, bear in mind however that not everyone has his muscle mass). Underarm jigging the whole day with heavy jigs can be very tiring especially when the bite is slow so well balanced tackle helps tremendously in easing the fatigue. Matched with the correct rod, working the 4000P with a 520g fisherman crazy long for long periods isn't too difficult. Two of my friends in Bali are very happy as well with the 5000 and 5000P for deep jigging. I can't say the same with the 665N, somehow it just takes more effort and you tire easily. I guess the gear design + gear size in the 665 has to be the culprit. Must qualify that all my Boss reels have aftermarket handle shafts + handle knobs- either AG or the type you get from AO.

However, when it comes to bottom fishing with big sinkers, the 665 + aftermarket handle gets my vote over the jiggers and saltigas any day. Cranking issues are a marginal concern here since you're not working heavy jigs. The superb lever drags make the 665+aftermarket handle an obvious choice. The torium/saltist/saltiga vs boss cranking power debate among bottom fishos is IMHO overblown. In addition, I am of the opinion that compared to the jiggers and saltigas, the 665 is a stronger built reel- both on the inside and on the outside. I had a saltiga 40 give up on its 3rd samson with a broken spool shaft in perth this year. The AR problems are a non-issue with the newer magnums. Have not tried the 665EXN yet, this might be a better-balanced reel for jigging coz of the narrow profile, line cap may be a prob coz increasingly folks are jigging at depths >150m, sometimes 200m even.

That said, my outfit for lighter jigs from 200g-375g is a genesis amberjack special with a Boss 870N (low ratio) + aftermarket handle. Very comfortable combi for speed jigging. I have also a kick ass black 870HN (high ratio) with the handle mods but have not had the chance to put this reel through its paces yet.

Blue heaven vs torsa. The torsa handle is definitely too short for jigging, wonder if the 4000P handle will fit? Torsa is also quite heavy, but these are just first impressions. I don't know for sure if the blue heaven will crank better than the boss reels with aftermarket handles but the blue heaven does have much bigger gears although the handle shaft is not offset.

These are my jigging set ups:

1. Jigs till 150g- Certate 3000 + j/m 100 (may get a hots- ah gu's influence)
2. Jigs from 200g-375g- boss 870 + genesis (may get a custom genesis)
3. Jigs from 400g-520g- jigger + j/m or blue rose (happy here!)
4. Jigs over 600g- stella 20,000 + OH55XH (thinking of imperial 55RR)

Hope it made sense mate! I'm still on the look out for that perfect overhead reel for deep jigging!

tight lines,

mark

[stickbom!]

MarkR... dun like that leh... make me sound like the "tarzan of jigging" like that. I'm just a fat bloke who has too few chance to fish so whenever get chance will jig till drop lar

Eh give you a hint... the perfect overhead for deep jigging is an electric reel. :P Just preset the retrieve rate/style and leave rod in holder. All you have in hand is a can of ICE COLD beer, with a hot chic giving you a back rub (this is NC16 version).

That's probably the greatest achievement for a cheeky fisherman like myself .

[MarkR]

Yo Mikey!

Roni said you're very strong with a lot of power

[Makaira]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I totally agree with you about using an overhead for jigging. Whatever the weight of jigs used, I find it more comfortable & it has a more natural motion/feel & less taxing on my aging body . Somehow I just can't get used to jigging with an eggbeater

As for the Jiggers, I may consider them in the future when Carbontex are readily available locally. Having said that, my main mental block, so to speak, is to pay that obsecene amount of money for a reel with that kind of build quality & material i.e. stamped sideplates & handles, plastic parts, etc; not to mention bad after sales service from local agent. IMHO, the Dartanium, and for that matter, the drags for the Saltiga overheads, are way too ridiculous as far as replacement costs are concerned. Trying to get them locally is an even more painful experience

Thanks again for your input. Thought you gave up on fishing already??? Isn't diving your passion now? Hahaha!!!

Best regards,
Makaira

[edylie]

"I just can't get used to jigging with an eggbeater "

Damm funny man!!! wahhaha i cant stop laughing.

Maybe those bakery shop chefs know how to jig well using spinning reel!!!!

Shall we invite Breadtalk's chef to do it?

[DaFrogman]

Hola chaps and chappettes,

Enjoyed the various views and reviews from the much experienced gentlemen on this thread.

Mark,

You have PM, I dug out the e-mail address for JE from my other laptop. The 4000P if I am not mistaken uses the same drag washers as a Trini 40N, so the Carbontex versions may be interchangeable. You may also want to contact Chris from NZ he goes by Scarpie on FK.... he has actually fitted the Carbontex and Top Metal Washer upgrade from JE to his 4000P and used it on the big NZ Kings.

Speaking of JE, he is a pretty ok guy, I had some issues with my Carbontex upgrades and he went to great lengths to sort them out for me including a number of custom washers (FOC). I also got to speak to the man and he struck me as a nice chap who knows what he is talking about and doesn't mince his words.

Makaira,

I am trying to figure out the eggbeater route to jigging and am running into simlar problems on feel and balance.... I may have to relegate it to popping duties only. As for the after sales service of TTC, I have ordered so many spare parts from them, Doris knows my voice off the phone.... Currently my order for Stella parts has taken over a month ....

Regards,

DFM

[stickbom!]

DFM... ask TTC to add a tub of Carbon drag grease to the parts you ordered. Will not regret getting it man. Too bad the sales staff at TTC don't look like the girl in my avatar, otherwise parts take 1 year to come better still... I can go and "check" arrival of my part every other day. :P

By the way, I just re-joined the Jigger club... this 4000P is the 4th Jigger I bought and it'll be here to stay. Currently planning for bottom bashing trips with Edros and Co.

[MarkR]

Hi DFM,

It's not me who had the probs with Jack Erskine, it's the other Mark in the forum!

cheers

[Makaira]

Currently my order for Stella parts has taken over a month ....

Hi Saimee,

A buddy of mine ordered a bearing for his Torium, which IMHO is a highly successful high volume model in Singapore, has yet to get the part after 2 months!!! Can you believe it?? They do not even stock the barest of minimums for a high volume reel. Tsk Tsk Tsk. BTW, have replied to your PM buddy.

Best regards.
Makaira

[octopus]

Makaira,
2 months only ma... the parts for Charter Special that I ordered let me wait till 8 months before reaching my hands.

A buddy of mine ordered a bearing for his Torium, which IMHO is a highly successful high volume model in Singapore, has yet to get the part after 2 months!!! Can you believe it?? They do not even stock the barest of minimums for a high volume reel. Tsk Tsk Tsk.
Makaira

[Makaira]

Makaira,
2 months only ma... the parts for Charter Special that I ordered let me wait till 8 months before reaching my hands.

Hahahahaha!!!!! I rest my case!!!! At least you got it!!

I ordered some parts for my Penn International from the local agent ......... about 18 years ago!!!!! No sound .... no picture!!! The first year or two, I still went down to ask about the parts I ordered. They always checked & said they had my number & will call when the parts arrive. How time flies huh??