By : Mark Hicks
Sooner State angler Jason Christie has been sold on the Lew’s Super Duty Speed Spool LFS casting reel since he used one to win an FLW Tour event at Beaver Lake in April of 2013.
Christie launched heavy umbrella rigs on four consecutive days to amass a total winning weight of 61 pounds, 8 ounces.
“Other guys fishing umbrella rigs were tearing up their reels,” Christie said. “I never had any issues with the Super Duty. To this day, I’ve never broken one or had one go bad. I’m still fishing with the Super Duty I used at Beaver Lake.”
Christie no longer fishes umbrella rigs because they have been banned from the tournaments he competes in. He now employs the robust Super Duty reel mainly for punching heavy jigs and Texas rigs through matted vegetation. He matches the reel with an 8-foot, medium-heavy flipping rod and 65-pound braided line.
The Super Duty reel has a maximum drag of 20 pounds and is available in three gear ratios. Christie opts for the 8.3:1 gear ratio, the fastest of three. It is the only model that has a flipping switch, which automatically engages the spool when you let off the combat style thumb bar.
“I use the flipping switch when I’m punching mats,” Christie said. “When I get a bite, I lean into the rod as hard as I can and go to reeling. You gain leverage mainly through the rod, but the reel is strong enough to help you winch them out of there.”
Christie turns off the Super Duty’s flipping switch when he twitches a frog over matted grass with a stout 7-foot, 10-inch rod.
“When I’m frogging around things like docks, bushes and grass that isn’t matted, I switch to the 5.4-ounce Team Lew’s Hyper Mag Speed Spool. I put it on a 6-foot, 11-inch, medium-heavy rod that has a little bit of tip so I can skip with it.”
The lighter frogging outfit carried Christie to 11th place when he fished a Bassmaster Central Open tournament at Sam Rayburn in September of 2020. He worked his frog over hay grass and around cypress trees to compile a three-day total of 47 pounds, 15 ounces.
“I never made a cast with anything but a frog,” Christie said. “I was fishing everything that 90 percent of the other guys weren’t fishing.”
The Hyper Mag is also Christie’s go-to reel for all of his other baitcasting applications. As with the Super Duty, he goes with an 8.3:1 gear ratio in the Hyper Mag. However, in cold water he switches to a 7.5:1 gear ratio to slow his retrieve.
“The Hyper Mag is tough enough that I can use it for frogging and everyday flipping and also for jerkbaits and little jigs,” Christie said. “I like the way the reel fits in my hand and its castability.”
