Our Top 5 Deep Drop Electric Reels!
By Brian Brown, TackleDirect Staff
Jul 30th 2025
We Rank the Top Deep Drop Electric Reels for 2025!
The dead of summer is here, and now is the time to make sure you come home with a box full of deep water species for the crew if the tuna bite does not materialize as expected. We have all been there, and sometimes you just need to save the trip with some deep dropping to do just that. Whether you are looking to target blueline and golden tilefish, snowy and yellowedge grouper, wreckfish, queen snapper, blackbelly rosefish, barrelfish or even swordfish, you need the right reel for the job at hand.
Here ais our ranking of the top 5 deep drop electric reels available for sale at TackleDirect in 2025!
Honorable Mention: Daiwa Tanacom 1000
While the Daiwa Tanacom 1000 did not make our top 5 for 2025, it is still a great option if you are looking to purchase a deep drop electric reel. This reel should already be familiar to any angler who has done any deep drop or kite fishing, as it has been a top handheld electric reel option for over a decade.
This reel is known for its durable construction, oversized line guide that allows large knots and even small swivels to pass through, variable speed power lever and an LCD display, all while holding plenty of braid to comfortably target tilefish and other deep drop species in 1,000ft or more.
The Tanacom 1000 is a great option for most of your deep dwelling species like tilefish and others, but we would not recommend this reel if you are looking to do any daytime swordfishing.
5: Penn Fathom Electric Reel Kits
The Penn Fathom Electric Reels took the electric reel market by storm when they first debuted at ICAST 2024. Their cordless lithium-ion battery allows for class leading portability and maneuverability out on the water. This series of electric reels comes in three sizes including a 30, 50 and 80 to cover all of your bases while out in the deep.
This reel also features a variable speed control knob, an easily set auto-stop feature, LED Display, enlarged line guide to allow knots and swivels to pass through easily, a spool tension knob to prevent backlashes on the drop and IPX6 motor and battery compartment water resistance to ensure years of trouble free usage.
While the Penn Fathom Electric Reels are available in the three sizes and they are great options for most of your standard deep drop fishing, we would not recommend them for daytime swordfishing.
4: Shimano Beastmaster 9000B Electric Reel
The Shimano Beastmaster series of electric reels have been great options over the years. This new version, the BM9000B, features a quieter brushless Giga-Max motor that produces less heat and offers greater motor efficiency. This provides a great power to weight ratio in comparison to some of its competitors. Another standout feature is the Thermo-Adjustable drag that senses when a fish is taking drag and reduces the speed of the motor automatically to prevent the creation of additional heat, which will help maintain stable drag performance when fighting big fish.
The Beastmaster packs a serious punch when it comes to included technologies just like most other high-end Shimano reels. It also features a fine dot LCD display, Cross Carbon Drag, Hagane Body, and the Heat Free System II.
Again, the Beastmaster will have no trouble targeting tilefish and other deep dwellers, and has been known to do take down some daytime swordfish, however we would not recommend it for serious daytime swordfisherman.
3: Daiwa Tanacom 1200 Electric Reel
The Daiwa Tanacom 1200 is currently our top selling electric reel and comes in at #3 on our deep drop electric reel ranking for 2025.
This reel is essentially an upgraded version of the older Tanacom 1000 and incorporates an innovative motor design that is located within the spool of the reel. This provides more power, speed, efficiency and durability compared to its predecessor and many other electric reels out on the market. Its updated design also allows for around an additional 220 yards of 80lb braid compared to the Tanacom 1000. More power and line capacity allows you to fish deeper and for bigger target species.
The Tanacom 1200 also features a JOG power lever to control its variable speed, ATD-Drag, an easy operation dot LCD screen, an oversized SIC (Silicon Carbide) line guide, and fully sealed drag and electronics.
This is our go-to recommendation for any angler wanting to get into the deep drop game for tilefish and other deep dwellers. While it has also been used for some light daytime swordfishing, we would still steer serious swordfisherman in another direction.
2: Daiwa 2024 Seaborg 1800M-RJ Electric Reel
The Daiwa Seaborg 1800M-RJ was released at ICAST 2024 and was designed to handle all of your normal deep drop applications while also being able to be used to target daytime swordfish. It is truly a beast of a reel with its updated MagMax-G motor that provides 170% more power than previous models. This reel also boasts 110lbs of max drag, which is unheard of for this style of electric reel. Another added feature is an included remote that gives you more options and capability when winding in large fish from the deep. It is also compatible with either 12V or 24V power, providing additional power source flexibility.
Daiwa certainly took a big swing with the Seaborg 18000 to develop a handheld electric reel that is capable of taking down the meanest swordfish of the deep, while still not being complete overkill for your standard deep drop fishing. While it was designed with daytime swordfishing in mind, it is still not our top option for serious daytime swordfisherman.
1: Lindgren-Pitman SV-1200
The top deep drop electric reel on our list is certainly the Lindgren-Pitman SV-1200. This is the 12V variable speed model that is truly a commercial grade electric reel that can handle everything from pulling dredges to deep dropping for massive swordfish.
The reel will hold 3,000 yards of 80lb braid with plenty of room left over for a wind-on leader. It also has a factory installed quick release hub, which allows you to swap the spool in seconds. This is truly a game changer that allows you to fish the same reel for multiple applications in the same day. You can truly start your day pulling dredges with the reel while trolling for tuna or billfish, swap your spool and load the box with some tilefish, and then swap your spool again to target daytime swordfish the right way without being undergunned when you hook the right one and more.
This reel matches up to a #4 butt straight from the factory, which allows you to have separate rod blades for each application that can also be swapped in seconds just like the spool. The SV-1200 is truly a do-it-all electric reel that is capable of anything you throw at it, and that is why it comes in at number one in our rankings.
One of the only downsides to this reel is the lack of a handle in case you lose power while out in the deep, but from our experience this is one of the more bullet-proof reels out on the water. Othewise, this is by far our top recommendation for anyone serious about deep dropping. It is quite the investment, but its near bullet-proof construction coupled with its versatility make it a worthwhile investment that you can most likely pass on to the next generation of anglers within your family.
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