The road to success in the gear market begins with listening to fishermen. “I talked to fishermen about what they wanted in a reel and looked at what was on the market,” says Carl Huffman, president of Electric Fishing Reel Systems, Inc. in Greensboro, North Carolina. Huffman decided to build a better mousetrap and proceeded to upgrade the materials and design of the available reels.

“We built our first commercial electric reel, the Brute 2000, in 2000. We use 661 T-6 military-grade anodized aluminum—which is 45,000 PSI strength—on our deck mount and mainframe,” says Huffman, who also designed a valve lever for the hydraulic reels that was stronger than anything else available. “Also, our spool turns on stainless steel bearings, and it’s smooth as silk.” Huffman re-engineered the drag set on the Brute to make it safer and more effective.

Huffman started bringing the Brute to the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle and continued listening to fishermen. “Fishermen would come up to our booth and go crazy over the Brute 2000 and Tuna Brute models. But then they would say, ‘my boat’s rigged for hydraulics, do you have a hydraulic model?’ I’d have to say, no, and they’d walk away dejected. Well, after three or four years of that, we figured we better build a hydraulic model.” 

Electric Fishing Reel Systems brought the Brute H15 and H13 hydraulic models to market in 2020 and wowed the company’s already happy customers.

Built on the same principles and with the same basic materials as the electric Brute 2000, the hydraulic-powered Brute H series has been on the market since 2020 and is finding homes on fishing vessels in the US and around the world.

“From my perspective, the Brute 2000s revolutionized the industry as it is probably the most versatile DC or hydraulic units in the world,” says Neil Kanemoto, manager of POP Fishing & Marine, in Honolulu, Hawaii—Pacific distributor of the Brute reels. “I haven’t seen anything out of the U.S., Asia, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, or Australia that compares to the Brute 2000’s.   The combination of power, speed, compactness, and ability to change out on the fly from spools to a pinch puller is incredible, and as stated previously – we haven’t seen anything comparable to these units!  And now the hydraulic Brute addition? Holy smokes! 

Kanemoto notes that the deck or gunnel mounting options make it easier for fishermen to get the Brute reels onboard. “They don’t have to contract a fabricator to custom build brackets,” he says. “The Brute units are pretty much turnkey, and quality is unmatched.” Kanemoto has sold a few of the H series so far, but he notes that word is getting around.

“We also sold some up in Alaska,” Huffman says. “I understand they’re using them for halibut.” 

With its stellar reputation for quality, Electric Fishing Reel Systems, Inc. is ready to back its brand. “We offer a one-year warranty on our reels,” says Huffman. “I’m pretty sure we’re the only ones that do that.”

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Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman.

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