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Location: Rhinelander | IS there really a good, better ,best when it comes to spinning reels? I see most of the reels are made by a couple builders now, with the exception of a couple major brands. What IS the best brand spinning reel, and why? | |
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Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Originally written by sworrall on 2003-12-09 9:18 AM
IS there really a good, better ,best when it comes to spinning reels? I see most of the reels are made by a couple builders now, with the exception of a couple major brands. What IS the best brand spinning reel, and why?
Abu Garcia's, Abu Garcia's and then theres Abu Garcia's. I think both the fair price and the quality of the reels keeps me coming back. Got two little Black Max level winds, spooled with 8/30 Rip Cord that I've used for 7 years casting for King Salmon on the rivers. Also spool them with 12# test in the winter and use them for ice fishing. Their tough, tight and durable. The drags are smooth, strong and consistant. Both these reels are teamed with 6.6 Berkley Roughnecks Rods. Them Salmon know what a can of Woop A$$ is, when they make that instictive mistake when I'm casting. See attached photo from last September. The Cardinal 4 of course was the best Steelhead reel ever made during it's time.
We went 19 for 29 in 3 days last year on the river. All were bright fish and fresh in from Lake Michigan. Biggest was 24 pounds. I or my clients have landed Salmon up to 31 pounds with the same rig over the years.
Edited by walleye express 12/10/2003 9:17 AM
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Course am not an expert, but do believe that price is truly reflective of the quality.
If the reel was being used as a bobber rod, and in an application where I'm not holding it all day, then any reel with anti-reverse (the bail has no backward movement when locked in forward mode), will do just fine.
But if the reel is in my hand all day, like in jigging, then weight is my top consideration. Right now my rod holds a Shimano Stradic 1000, and coupled with a maglight rod, I can use it a long time with no fatigue.
And if the reel is used for casting, all the above counts with the top consideration changing to a reel that doesn't wobble. And its a funny thing, but not all reels of the same model have this characteristic. Was at Gander the other night, and noted that one reel wobbled as I crank the handle, but one size larger didn't.
So thats the little bit of knowledge I have. There are so many different models of reels, it really would take and engineer to break it all apart and come out with what reel is truly the best for the money!
Edited by Rick Larson 12/9/2003 7:13 PM
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Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Steve,
The reel of choice for me is the Shimano Symetre Spinning Reel . I feel that you get the best bang for the buck with this spinning reel. It has been a real work horse for me and it keeps on working flawlessly.
Purchasing reels has always been a frustrating experience for me before I found the Shimano Symetre Spinning Reel. Reading all the hoopla about the number of ball bearings and reel smoothness has never correlated with the purchase of a dependable reel until this one. It’s very smooth, very dependable and priced at about $75.00 so it doesn’t break the bank.
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Posts: 1406
| Steve, I'm sure you poised the question for good conversation amoungst friends so here goes, but lets not forget you! What are your favorites? Your vast knowledge on the subject would make for interesting literature! I have used Shimano for a hundred years (seems like it any way) and won't use anything else. I use Shimanos for the price and I never belived in reel maintainance, so they usually got phased out after year 2 for a "newer" better model. The stradics are awesome and offer numerous applications for a variety of fish. If I had a rod and reel combo fit for each species I would be in heaven, but as most I utilize only a handfull of rods and usually wind up with 9-12 rods in the boat depending on what is biting and usually wind up spending a number of hours after eyes and panfish. The rod used most in the boat is a 6'or 6'6" Croix or Loomis with a symetre or stradic loaded with 6# TrileneXL, this setup has caught 37 pound cats, 25 pound salmon, 10 pound eyes and more panfish than I can count! So for versatility Shimano gets my vote hands down. Maybe I should buy stock in the company before I buy anymore equipment. Although for ski's my abu wins hands down.
Good Luck
Tyee | |
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Posts: 714
| Just like Tyee said, I'm not a big fan of doing great amounts of reel maintenance so I rotate my reels every few years. I've found that the Abu Garcia lines fill my needs very well, and give me 3+ years of worry free use. I had Shimano before I switched to Abu and loved them also, but the cost difference made my mind for me. My rods and reels get a hard working out every year, and the fact that I can get that kind of life out of them says alot for them. | |
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Location: Lake Vermilion Tower,MN | I have been using Shimano reels for me and my clients for years.
They are smooth, durable and very affordable as well.
I tried some new abu's a few years back, because I have used their baitcast reels for muskie & pike for a long time. I was disapointed
by their performance and they also twisted my line when casting.  | |
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Posts: 2300
Location: Berlin | I re-tooled most of my rods in the last few months and purchased about 15 more. I spent alot of time checking every reel out on the market. The things I look for are reel wobble, how instant the instant anti-reverse is, smoothness, weight and to me the most important is the drag. Front drags are the only way to go. If you turn the knob a half turn and it makes a big difference in resistance it is not a good drag. If it takes a little extra to get the drag started when pulling on the line, it is not a good drag.
The Stradic is a light weight reel with a great drag and very smooth as well as the Sustain and obviously the Stella. Okuma makes a nice reel but is a bit heavy. Abu's last forever but only score average for all my tests. Pinnacle's are nice but I don't like the aluminum handle on the Alyssa. Pflueger are a bit on the stiff side and alittle on the heavy side. Diawa's are just to pricey and the quality definatley does not justify the price. I have used Tica the last two years. They are nice new but do not last very long. The plating starts to peel and they just are not as smooth after the first year.
I have been using Abu's most of my life and for the price they are a great reel. They last forever and have a decent drag. They are bullet proof. They do not compare to the high end reels. I wanted to find the middle ground. Something nicer than my Abu's but not as expensive as the Stella. I found my answer in the place I least expected to...Quantum. I know what you are thinking because I thought the same thing at first. They have completely re-vamped there whole line and it is sweet. The drag system is one of the best out there. You can turn the knob a full turn and it hardly affects the drag. The drag is nicer than the Stradic in my opinion. The reel has virtually no wobble what-so-ever and is very smooth. It has a springless magnetic bail trip that carries a lifetime warranty. It takes no pressure at all to trip the bail. I normally always trip the bail by hand to eliminate line loops but it is worth it for the times I don't. You know when you open the bail on an instant anti-reverse reel and it turns up to the bail trip and stops. It is hard to trip the bail with the handle on almost all reels. You have to trip it by hand at that point. With this reel you don't. There are a few different models to choose from. In order from the cheapest they are: Icon, Kinetic and Catalyst. They all are great but the kinetic is the one for me. It is half the cost of the Stradic and as good if not better in all areas except weight (and there is not that much of a difference).
If I was as rich as Rick I would go with the Stella's. They are the Catillac of all the reels. Honestly if they were all the same price, the Kinetic would still be second.
I did the same thing for casting reels and won't bore you with the details but I choose the Pinnacle classic. The drag is second to none. I lost alot of money this year from a bad drag on a Mitchell and it won't happen again (I share in the blame obviously). The Classic or Matrix are two of the sweetest casting reels out there. Check them out.
P.S. I bought almost everything off of Ebay and never paid over 50% of cost on anything. Everything was new and in the package. Gotta love it! | |
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| I use alot of the Abu-Garcia spinning reels. Like them alot esp for the price. I have used and owned Shimanos and like them as well.
Zach | |
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Posts: 538
| I have been a symetre fan for many years. I got started buying them because they seemed the best buy in the shimano line that had the instant reverse stop. I have stuck with them because the smooth action and good drag system have never cost me a fish that I didn't find another way to lose. I have some abu's on bait casters that keep plugging along. I am curious about the newer Quantuums to see, if in fact, they have as good a drag as advertised. On Rich's advise above, I will give them a harder look.
Take care,
Jim O | |
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Posts: 103
Location: Collins, WI | I have pinnicles and they seem to work, the drags are great in my opinoin. | |
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Actually Rich, really would like a pair of Stella's, and have bid on every 1000 that has come to my attention on Ebay (but I don't go past 100 bucks, which is 20% of its retail cost). But do think the inference about me being rich is a little off base. The real description should be I have learned how to buy wisely. This knowledge has lead you to the perception that my pockets are overflowing with riches, when in fact, all I have is alot of stuff (And I don't own a 55000 dollar Ranger!).
But thats ok, kinda liked your spotlight shining on me for a bit, just don't want anyone to get the wrong impression.
Besides, your the one everyone calls "RICH"! HA! | |
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Posts: 538
| Rick,
Too bad about the ranger thing. Work hard and keep saving. You'll get there :).
Take care,
Jim O | |
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LOL!! That is too good! | |
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