Marfix for biggame jigging fix

In preparation for my big-game popping and jigging trip somewhere in the Pacific, I needed a heavy duty outfit for deep jigging in waters ranging from 100-200m deep using PE5 lines with jigs over 250g a pop. Target species are bottom dweller species like giant groupers as well as higher up the water column with a variety of tunas and occasional GTs. Then we have the ever present tax agents which will put your tackle through some serious bashing. These are the pacific sized sharks, bold enough to just cruise around the boat for anything and everything short of nibbling on the props as snacks.

Lever drag is the way to go and I chance upon this good deal for an overhead reel, a Marfix S5, compact enough for jigging, comes with a lever drag of mega stopping power and 600yds line capacity for PE5 braid. This will be paired with a stout PE6 jigging rod made for lifting heavy weights target species from the deep.

From the get-go, this reel gives you that 'don't mess with me' build quality that's made for serious punishment. After a few minutes having it in your hands, it's already delivered the first punch, telling you to better beef-da-fish-up or get off the ring. I can already tell that this set-up will be a back breaker.

Typically for me, I'd like to ensure the reel's battle ready with little to no chance of any failures during our trip out at the pacific where it'll be close to impossible for any proper fixes to be done living on board the fishing vessel the whole time.

Mess with me and I'll break your back!

No bullshit built. Firm click stops for lever drag adjustments. T-bar machined handles.

Mostly machined out of solid blocks of alloy, the reel's design concept focuses purely for big game battle as all parts are in big beefy blocks. Even the t-bar handle's machined without ball bearings as it will be too small to fit tiny bearings which isn't ideal for big game fighting forces. Another reduction in mechanical part failure. All it needs is a nicely greased up shaft for that smooth handle rotation.

Monster sized drag cork based disc permanently glued to the spool. Drag plate's a one-piece machined alloy designed to inflict major back pain!

Spool shaft is also a machined piece of corrosion resistant hardened steel. Many heavy duty bearings were used to support the spool and they need to be packed full of marine grease for maximum protection.

Crank case plate's one-piece machined alloy with minimal fanfare. Needs a thorough coating of marine grease.

Bolted onto the drag plate is the mechanical anti-reverse double toothed. Main gear's a machined hardened steel. Insufficient grease all round.

Main crank shaft through the housing without the need for ball bearing support, once again very focused on delivering the promise of big game battle reliability. Just needs thorough coating throughout the shaft acting as a seal from water intrusion.

I didn't manage to land much with this tackle as I was brought down to my knees a few times by pesky sharks and only managed to land a biggish grouper with it. This setup delivered as promise when it comes to inflicting back pain and never fail to impress for that mega stopping as well as cranking power.

I was happy that the reel preparation helped because a friend had issues with his loaned Marfix N4 (narrow spool) with the reel occasionally jamming up. I was also tasked to have that Marfix N4 checked and fix after the trip, so stay tuned for that.

Our group's catch report can be found here courtesy of Tackle Source.