Daytime deep-drop swordfishing requires you to
setyourbaitdownnearthebottomin400to800m
ofwater–makingitaverylongwindbackupjust
tocheckyourbaitorwhenyoumovelocations.
Thankfullythereisaneatdevicethatmakesthat
allsomucheasier.What to use
and why...
TACKLE
INSIGHT
You’ll need a quality cordless drill with lots of torque
and battery life. It’s also helpful to carry a spare
battery as you’ll put your drill through a lot of use
during a full day of deep-dropping.
One end of the device is locked into the drill chuck
in the same way you attach a drill bit. The other end
locks around your reel’s handle. Since each reel brand,
model and size has a slightly different handle, you
need to buy the Reel Crankie specifically designed
to fit the reel you’ll be using. They have models to
fit Shimano Tiagra, Talica, Torsar, Tyrnos and TLD
reels, as well as Penn Internationals, plus Avet and
Alutecnos reels.
As with any great invention, there are now several
imitation versions made both locally and abroad.
These vary in quality of manufacture and components,
but all basically serve the same purpose.
The Reel Crankie has a locking mechanism to secure
it to your reel’s handle, whereas some of the other
versions on the market require you to keep the drill
pressed firmly against the reel as they have no locking
facility. These units also work well, but care needs to be
taken to keep the pressure applied as it can disengage
during the retrieval process and damage your reel.
Something I learned while testing several different
versions of these devices is to switch the drill into
low speed and put your 2-speed reel into low gear.
This extends the life of the drill battery and takes a
considerable load off the reel’s gearing.
The whole retrieval process should be slow and
steady, thereby minimizing any chance of failure or
damage to the reel.
If you are using the Reel Crankie to retrieve your
swordfish rigs, be alert and ready to stop the retrieve
if you get a bump on the rod on the way up. I have
hooked several swords whilst retrieving a bait, and
the bite can be very aggressive. Also be mindful that
hooking a gamefish with the drill attached would
disqualify the catch according to gamefishing rules.
The Reel Crankie and others are also excellent
for respooling your reels at home, making another
tedious job quicker and easier.
For more information, contact the Australian agent,
Blue Bottle Marine, on (02) 9651 3380.REEL CRANKIE
THE SWORDFISHERMAN’S
SAVIOUR
AUTHOR: RICHARD ABELA PHOTOGRAPHY: TIM SIMPSON, RICHARD ABELAW
ith the discovery of plentiful swordfish
and the development of the daytime
deep-dropping technique to catch them,
gamefishing moved into an exciting new
era in recent years.
One of the first things new swordfishermen realise
when they start deep-dropping is just how long it
takes to retrieve their bait and rig from 400 to 600m
down. It’s a long wind, and with a bulky bait still intact
it takes quite an effort to check your bait or move to
a new drift. Repeating that process 10 times a day
can be extremely taxing, so thankfully there are now
ingenious devices to make the chore a quick and easy
procedure.
The most prominent of these is called the ‘Reel
Crankie’. Designed and made in Florida, USA, this
well-engineered device has a quick-attachment chuck
that enables you to quickly and easily attach a
cordless power drill to your reel’s handle. With the
flexible knuckle joint of the Reel Cranky keeping the
drill and reel perfectly aligned regardless of the angle
you’re holding the drill or how the boat moves, the
drill then does the winding instead of you.“Switch the drill into low speed and
put your 2-speed reel into low gear.”
For re-spooling
reels at home, or
to retrieve your rig
from the depths
when daytime deep-
drop swordfishing, a
Reel Crankie enables
you to attach a
cordless power
drill to your reel’s
handle, making the
task much quicker
and easier.68 facebook.com/BlueWatermagazine