Mooching reels? Alveys? What have I done?

Or more likely, what the #%$*& am I doing? I LIKE them! Anyone here use them? I saw one set-up for salmon on the board but there hasn't been any other talk about them since then (Sept. 2011).

Sure, I have plenty of Abu 6001 and Penn reels to bring the sturgeon and salmon to the 'yak but, is it really worth it to shuck out a bit more money to add another dimension to my mad fishing skills?

Oh, yes... Yes, it is...

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Actually, they don't seem too expensive.  It not like they are Penn Senators or Avets.  I kind of wonder about what seems to be 1:1 crank ratios.  That's a lot of cranks to pull in a couple hundred feet of line.  A 4" reel pulls in about a foot of line per turn. 

My last statement got me thinking ... damn!

My Abus have about a 1-1/2" diameter spool when full with a 6.3:1 ratio, hence pulling about 30" of line with each crank.  My Penn 750ssm is about 2-1/4" diameter with a 4.6:1 ratio, and pulling 32.5" of line with each crank. 

You're going to be doing a lot of cranking.

I own a shimano mooching rod and reel, I haven't had the time to give it a good work out yet, but I'm wanting to give it a try this springer season, if I can find some good drifts over deeper water.  Anyone out there every try mooching a river like the big C or the Willy? I make look like a fool    out there, but I think it's worth a try.

I just got a used Zebco Z/300 thinking it was left-hand capable. Unfortunately, it's not. Anyone out there want to switch for a Shimano or Daiwa left-handed mooching reel? I'm willing to trade or I might just take it with me to the Sportsman's Show and see what I can get for it.

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