Top Saltwater Spinners?

[gatrapper]

What are your top saltwater spinners based off performance, durability, easiest to service, etc.

[handi2]

I'll leave out the "easiest to service" but I really like the Quantum PTS 80 I use offshore. Also the Daiwa Saltist's I used for the last 4 years with no problems at all.

[Alto Mare]

You didn't mention cost, you will get a few different answers, you'll need to decide for yourself afterwards.
These are reasonable as for affordability, I personally would recommend the Penn SS series, the700 and Z series are older and a little rougher, but will  never let you down as well.
Good luck!

[Aiala]

I totally agree with Sal. As a diehard fan of vintage reels, I'm devoted to the original metal-bodied line of Skirted-Spool Penns: 850/750SS, 650SS, etc. Never had the slightest issue with one, and even landed a 50 lb YFT on my 750SS. I'll be taking it with me next month to throw poppers.

~A~

[ChileRelleno]

Another vote for the Penn SS series & the Z series.
The 7500ss, 8500ss & 9500ss are great for boat or surf, as are the 704z & 706z.

Alan Hawk rates the 704z third in his top picks for general use SW spinners in the $100-$250 range.
He also rates the Penn Battle third in general use SW spinners under $100.

Yeah, I'm a Penn fanatic, they are all I have, SS series, Z series, Battle & Senators (special/original).

[johndtuttle]

Leaving aside discontinued or used reels...it depends on what you are after and what you are fishing for and where.

The only ones that are delicate surgery to work on are the Baitrunner/Live Liner type reels as that mechanism is decidedly tricky.

All the rest are really no trouble, small fiddly parts sometimes but not rocket brain surgery.

After that if you look at them dollar for dollar then the ones that cost the same start looking remarkably the same. If a reel costs a little more then it's a little nicer etc. This should not surprise us as they are all made in the same offshore locations, more or less.

After that, the availability of parts and the reputation of the manufacturer goes a long ways with me. If you take a flyer on a new introduction then it's nice to have some deep pockets behind it rather than a fly by night operation.

Daiwa, Penn, Shimano for me. I've got different ones from each of them. They'll be around.

[gatrapper]

i have several Shimano Stradic FJ's that I really love. I don't ever see myself dropping $1000+ on a reel, but was interested in hearing what the folks who religiously work on reels assessment of the current spinning options.

[Black Pearl]

For spinner reviews, you should check out Alan Hawk's spinner reviews.

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lists.html

[gatrapper]

I've checked his site a ton. Some of his reel review links dont work for me. Plus I'm sure there are spinners he hasn't reviewed that folks on here really like.

[johndtuttle]

i have several Shimano Stradic FJ's that I really love. I don't ever see myself dropping $1000+ on a reel, but was interested in hearing what the folks who religiously work on reels assessment of the current spinning options.

Yea, I did a service tutorial on the Stradic and they kinda have that price point sewn up.  Penn doesn't have an offering there and the Stradic is nicer than the comparable Daiwa Saltist, unless you need a very fast retrieve.

It really comes down to needs for a particular fish/style of fishing.

I love the Stradic, but it hates the beach etc.

[basto]

My favourites are my Daiwa Sol 200 for casting very light lures on 10lb braid and my Daiwa Catalina 4500 for casting medium lures on 50 lb braid. For bigger lures and jigs I like my Saragosa 14000f and Fin Nor Lethal 100.
I also love my Penn 6500SS, but have retired it because I consider it not replaceable now. It now resides with my other irreplaceable classic and vintage reels.

[orlando miguel]

Another vote for the Penn SS series & the Z series.
The 7500ss, 8500ss & 9500ss are great for boat or surf, as are the 704z & 706z.

Alan Hawk rates the 704z third in his top picks for general use SW spinners in the $100-$250 range.
He also rates the Penn Battle third in general use SW spinners under $100.

Yeah, I'm a Penn fanatic, they are all I have, SS series, Z series, Battle & Senators (special/original).

don´t know about the others , but the battle  4000 is one of the reels i used for seabass , over here they don´t guet biguer than  12kg  and are hard to find hover 4kg , the reel  andles  this sized fish without a problem , what i totaly hate and that is the reason why i got it to the shelf instead of the beach , is that it has a realy BAD  issue with braided lines , it just keeps making knots every where , i totaly wasted 3 diferent braid lines of diferent diameters , from 0,12mm to 0,18mm and 0,25mm  it simply has a terrible line lay .

it´s curious , before fishing it , it really didn´t seem to have such bad line lay, it was almost perfect, only had a little gap in the botom and on top , nothing serious i thougt, and there whent several 29€ lures launched to infinity and beyond ...

[thedw]

stellas for me

2008 models

[erikpowell]

FinNor Offshores and Stradic 4000's the older the better

[Three se7ens]

I love my fin nor spinners. I've seen a lot come and go, and I keep going back to my sportfisher and lethal reels for bang for the buck. They are solid, well designed, and the cost cutting doesn't affect structural integrity or mechanical strength. They aren't the smoothest or most refined, but they are reliable, trustworthy, and easy to service. And in the case of the lethal 100, built like a tank.