A fishing trip to the offshore grounds can be a blast.

But reeling up fish from the offshore depths is work.

More than 40 years ago Miya Epoch built the world’s first motorized, electric fishing reel, the company says.

The reel retrieved the line; the work of landing a catch was gone.

The company now produces more than a dozen electric reels in different sizes, from 3/0 for 30-pound line to 15/0 for 180-pound line, and different types for offshore fishing.

A few other companies also produce electric reels, but most of these products are motors that are attached to manual reels to make them motorized.

Miya Epoch reels are a single unit: motor and reel in one.

They run on different-sized batteries, such as 12-volt, depending on the model. An electrical cord is attached from the reel to the battery.

Miya Epoch reels feature an automatic drag that adjusts to the pool of the fish. If a fish pulls hard, the motor slows down the retrieve, or even stops, until the tension backs off. Then the reel speeds up the retrieve again.

So it fights a fish much like a person would, easing and increasing the tension on the fish during the ebb and flow of the battle, helping to ensure that neither the line breaks nor the hook pulls free.

This can also help avoid draining the battery, using fewer amps than other electric reels that cause amp usage to increase when a fish pulls hard.

All Maya Epoch reels also feature a lever-action, adjustable drag; a switch for “on-off winding” to pump the catch; a switch to turn the winding on or off, so the angler can automatically reel to take a rest; and a level-winding mechanism to wind the line evenly on the spool.

Each reel also comes with a line counter; a line speed indicator; a line direction indicator; an Automatic Zero Stop that stops reeling when the line counter reaches zero; an Override Handle that allows the angler to add more winding power when needed; an LCD display; and depth memory that recalls the last drop, sinking the bait down to that spot automatically, until the angler reprograms the depth.

Some also feature other functions, such as automatic jigging.

Some of the reels are remote controlled, and some are also teaser reels for big-game trolling. The teaser reels are particularly popular on offshore sport-fishing boats.

Physically challenged anglers also find the reels especially useful.

For whoever uses the reels, the work of hauling up a catch is eliminated. Nothing left to do but enjoy the trip.

For more information, visit the Miya Epoch web site.