Tronixpro Virtuoso Reels

Much of Tronixpro’s pedigree is in supplying match quality terminal tackle and rods largely ignored by other British manufacturers. The companies high end, continental style surfcasting rods designed with a local twist have become game changers and have helped accelerate the move to a more continental fishing style in the UK. It was only natural then that the company would at some stage look at producing a fixed spool reel to match their successful range of rods.

Enter the Tronixpro Virtuoso, compromising two reels, the premium XT and the entry-level ST. Designed primarily as a long-distance casting tool, ideally suited to continental surfcasting rods, they’re built with large spools that allow the line to peel off with minimum friction to ease casting but, that’s not the clever bit.

One of the most frustrating things with owning a fixed spool reel is that finding spare spools for your reels can be a nightmare when you want to use different line setups. We’ve all had our favourite reels only to have to start hunting on the aftermarket or through eBay trying to find spares. Virtuoso eliminates this with the ability to buy separate spools, an interchangeable concept where you can run as many spare spools as you want for your reels. This versatility makes it an ideal reel for the angler who requires several spools covering different line types and diameters to match the venue they’re fishing.

Tronixpro Virtuoso spools are available in five sizes from an ultra-shallow to a deep spool. The shallower spools are ideal for fishing with low diameter, lighter lines, and braid. They give you enough scope to fish at range with fine line without adding backing as you would on a standard-sized spool, it also saves weight. The medium spool is an all-rounder, giving you plenty of capacity to fit the larger diameter lines. It gives you a range of 380m when filled with 0.35mm line or 295m when filled with 0.45mm line. The medium will be the most widely used, probably why Tronixpro has supplied both the XT and ST models with this spool. The deep, is a monster, capable of holding 475m of 0.40mm line this is the brute you need when you’re fishing rough ground and need the high capacity to hold a large amount of heavier line.

Four spools are made from aluminium for lightness and strength. The spool’s design has a smooth, tapered lip that allows the line to spool off with as little friction as possible to aid distance casting. All spare spools are finished in fetching gunmetal coupled with a unique colour to differentiate each spool. The shallow spool is gold, the medium green and the deep orange. This makes it easier to identify the spools when you’re looking top-down into a spool bag. Each spool is fully compatible with both reels, so they fit both the XT and the ST. There is also a fifth, plastic shallow spool, designed as a cost-effective alternative for anglers who are buying serious amounts of spools for their fishing.

You also get a nifty elasticated spool band with each spool to secure your line, again, these can be purchased separately. And no doubt you’ll want to store all of these spools in an organised manner? Well, Tronixpro have you covered there too with a spool bag that enables you to carry six spools neatly in your tackle box, which we’ll be looking at in the future.

Moving onto the reels, the first reel in the range is the Tronixpro Virtuoso ST; a stunning looking reel finished in all black with metallic red details around the reel handle. The reel handle itself is CNC machined for high strength with a rubberised grip to avoid slippage that’s large enough to enable you to crank the reel if you have to. The bail arm is again finished in all black with a gold line roller. It comes with a medium-sized aluminium spool finished in black with red details around the spool base and lip. This colour scheme differs to the separately purchased medium spool colours of gunmetal and green, helping you identify the two spools.

The Tronixpro Virtuoso XT is finished in silver with a dark, almost purple metallic detailing that makes it stand out. Again the reel features a precision-engineered CNC machine handle. The grip has been upgraded to a large, ergonomic, EVA grip that gives you the capacity to crank in most fish you’re likely to encounter off the shore. The bail arm is finished in silver with a gold line roller. Two aluminium spools are provided, a medium and a deep spool, both of which are finished in the same gunmetal detail as the spare spools but instead feature black detail on the spool base and lip.

Both reels are an 8000 size, ideal for most beach casting scenarios and are constructed from a durable, lightweight graphite body. Weighing in at 530g for the XT and 590g for the ST, they are relatively lightweight and balance a continental style surfcasting rod well.

When it comes to casting, line lay can seriously hamper distance. Bad line lay can cause the line to bunch at the base or the spool’s lip and bed into itself. All of these reduce the reel’s casting efficiency, affecting how the line uncoils off the spool in a cast. Both Tronixpro Virtuoso reels feature a slow oscillation system that provides an intricate, balanced line lay that ensures there is no bunching and the line can’t dig into itself.

Under the hood the reels feature stainless steel bearings, these are shielded to prevent any nasties getting into them from the harsh saltwater environment. The ST features 9 bearings, and the XT features 11. These high bearing numbers give the reels a very smooth feel on the retrieve, the extra two bearings in the XT make a noticeable difference to the overall feel. A worm shaft powers each reel to increase the amount of power the reel has to battle larger species from the shore, both reels have a gear ratio of 4.6:1. Finally, the front drag system features three drag discs to provide the brakes for when the larger fish come calling, the drag knob features a precision “click” for fine-tuning.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, the system is great. We love the fact you can own a reel and finally easily purchase spare spools to host as many different lines that you want without hassle. We also like the fact that both reels can accept all Tronixpro Virtuoso spools. This brings the reels’ versatility into two price points that are affordable to all. The reel matches the performance of many of its more expensive rivals. The reels will find an ideal home in the armouries of the match angler who needs the versatility offered by the Virtuoso concept. For the price, you’re getting a lot of reel.

Vital Statistics

Virtuoso ST

• Weight: 590g
• Gear Ratio: 4.6:1
• Bearings: 9+1
• Spool included: Medium

Virtuoso XT

• Weight: 530g
• Gear Ratio: 4.6:1
• Bearings: 11+1
• Spool Included: Medium + Deep

Reels come with reel bags, and each spool has a spool band included, all spare spools come with spool bands.