The great excitement associated with deep dropping with electric reels is that nobody knows what’s going to jump on those baited circle hooks next. Here in Australia, the most desirable targets are obviously trevalla, hapuka, gemfish, bar cod and gold band snapper, but there’s also coral perch, monstrous nannygai, alfonsino, perhaps the chance of a broadbill swordfish, and a lot of other bottom grubbers that really just get in the way of better fish. Deep water and strong currents often mean getting to these species is difficult, but it’s not impossible. With the BeastMaster 9000 though, it’s so much easier. With a line capacity of 600 metres of PE 10 braid, and a sensible gear ratio of 3.1:1 recovering 88cm of line with each revolution of the spool via Shimano’s exclusive GigaMax motor, it doesn’t take all day to get these delicious fish to the boat. A maximum drag setting of 25 kilos means you can go hard when you need to, and three SA-RB bearings and two roller bearings means it is as smooth as it is powerful. What’s more, in keeping with the technological advances this reel brings, there’s even an electronic drag sound, rather than a mechanical one!