Question on 7.1 vs 6.1 reel speeds

[Erie660]

My question is can you have a 7.1 reel and use it for topwater,spinnerbaits,jerkbaits etc... Is it possible to just slow down your retreive with a so called burner reel? I have used baitcasters in the past but have been mainly a spinning reel person. I bought a new Quantum Tour Edition 7.1 at bass pro. They only had one left and it was a 7.1. After the rebate (50.00) reel trade in (40.00) and another 10% off I paid $135.00 which I thought was a pretty good deal for a $239.00 reel. I was looking for a 6.1 but they were out of them.
                                                                  Thanks

[Lightningboy]

Depends on you.  Some guys can change cranking speed easily, and slow way down.  I'm not one of them.  I can manage about three speeds: fast, medium, and medium slow. 

The only time I see the 7:1 being a disadvantage is for medium/deep cranks.  I like to throw those with a 5:1 to help me slow down.  I have used a 3.8:1 for DD22's, and like it.  The power advantage from the gear ratio keeps the effort down.

It should work very well for shallow cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters, spinner & buzzbaits, and soft plastics.  But you will love it for traps; some days you can't make that bait go fast enough.

[motocross269]

The amount of line you have on the spool can make at least a 1 point difference in gear ratio probably more....I wouldn't sweat it..
I like to get the fish to the boat as quickly as posible...I run all high speed reels.....Everyone is different though that is why they offer different speeds....