MY REELS

[LTM]

Wallacewt,

My favorite reel? You really made me sit back and think about that one Wallace. I find it best to go by catagories, starting with the top pictures of my current lever drags. Thank god for the Avet LX6/3 for 40#; a true blessing to my aging body. However I think its slightly too big and I really look forward to getting an Andros 5-II (lighter, smaller and better built). I think the Andros will be my favorite lever drag. All of the Daiwa lever drags (LD30/50H) are my favorite Albacore reels; Im a one-man factory ship on Albies w/these reels, these are GREAT reels and still going strong. The last one to the right is basically BRAND NEW, only been out once and caught a baby ~80# Black Sea Bsss on 30# and the reel was just great. HOWEVER, since I am a light line fisherman the little Avet SX is my favorite w/12# line. I love testing the limits of the reel and have managed 30# class White Seabass, It casts like a dream and I love casting!

In the next pix w/the large star drags; the 113HN was (30 yrs ago) and still is (thanx to Sal's TANK project) my favorite reel to modify and tinker with. And I like fishing the classic reel with the modern upgrades; sort of like driving '63 Vett on Sundays.

Next up the medium sized star drag reels: Ive sold-off quite a few reels in this catagory in the last several years. Let's see the SL20SH is close to 30 years old (my last one) and its been everywhere and still goes everywhere, but not my favorite in this class. The TLD Stars I bought for PURE DEPENDABILITY and cast well; but not my fav. Since I love throwing Iron Ive found the Torium 20 flawless and a great value for the money (I added the third bearing when I purchased it). If I had to purchase another jig reel I'd probably by another. The Saltiga 30T would probably be my favorite reel of the bunch for jigging (line retrieve is just right not too fast) and especially fly-lining bait and the Saltiga 30 for 20#. These reels are just absolutely smooth and enjoyable to use. So much so that I have the TLD Stars as "stand-ins" for getting bumped around on day trips on crowed party boats.

This last group of reels are my MOST FUN reels (Ive a strong affinity for this size of reel), I use them all for Ocean fishing and they are trully light line reels. My favorites are the Coastal 153H, Luna 203 and the CVX-253 all of which cast like dreams, work flawlessly and feel solid in hand. Not to say the others dont work well for the little Abu's are my favorites for rock-hopping around the Marina's and piers where I'll occasionally take a fall on the rocks and scratch up the reels (and myself). The Calcutta CTE300 is a bit of a dissapointment for me after learning how to do a complete service on it from this forum. When I had stripped it down to the bare frame I was shocked at the thin-ness of the aluminum frame. It must literally weigh as much as 3 aluminum soda cans and about as thick. I can crush the frame in one hand with about 3 times the effort to crush an aluminum soda can. I WAS TICKED-OFF, feeling that its not worth the money and Shimano is ripping people off. It was my favorite reel until I learned how to service it and found out how it was made. The Lunas are made just the opposite and why the Luna is tied with my most favorite in the group. Daiwa just make a hell-of-a product and are quite overlooked by the fishing public.

So, thats my 2-5 cents (or maybe a little more) on my favorite reel. Wallace, I think you knew that no fisherman could give a simple answer to this kind of question.

Good fishing Wallace,

Leo

[wallacewt]

haha
you think the andros will be your fav;reel.
you havent owned or fished it yet.
you got the bug bad leo!
cheers

[broadway]

I have to agree with Wallace... you're hooked! You're in good company here, pal
All the best,
Dom

[LTM]

Dom & Wallacewt,

Hey, I thought that was a fairly sane and reasonable response. OK then guys; whats your favorite reel and why in just a few words? You know Wallace this should be a seperate post. Wonder how well received it would be. But Im not letting you two off the hook on responding to the question, besides I would like to know.

Wallace, is there something wrong with the Andros or where you just kidding me?

Take care guys,

Leo

[wallacewt]

just kidding
magic reels,i take mine on every trip,loaded with 470m or yards of
30lb braid/15kg ugly.

[LTM]

Wallace, what are "magic reels", never heard of them?

Leo

[wallacewt]

"magic reels"
(1)andros,i always take it with me fishing,even if i dont use it.
i like its company. magic!
(2)tld5. perfect for what it was designed for.30yrs old,still going
even after i didnt know how to look after it.all i did was squirt a
bit of sewing machine oil on it.
(3)shimano 500 baitcaster.40+yrs.i killed it,alto mare bought me
1 of the same off ebay and between the both of them on the seventh day it rose again.magic
thanks sal.
i bet everyone on here has a magic reel or too.








93

[broadway]

Leo,
     This topic has been posted, but in a few words I'll say... Penn 113H hands down.
It all depends on whatcha fish for and the type of fishing you'll be doing, however I feel the 113H is the most universal.
Someone's either gonna have to bury me with a 113H or rip it from my corpse
Dom

[LTM]

Thanx Gents,

Wallace, I see you have an affinity for small effecient/powerful reels as well. Im looking forward to the Andros as well for company on fishing trips. I like your expression: magic reels.

Dom, you tickle me with your statement of burying you with your 113H (I feel your passion). Im going to look for that post on favorite reels.

Passion for fishing is what this forum is about. Thanx you all!!

Leo