I am often asked what makes you buy a certain reel over another. My initial response is that, "I just have had good luck with the reel". I use Abu Garcia reels (Revo's). As of thus far I don't have any complaints. But I know others that swear by Shimano, Lew's, or Penn. Why? I am not sure. So I am reaching out to the forum to ask, "What do ya'll look for, What is it that makes you buy a certain kind or brand? Is it just Brand loyalty? There are some obvious things like number of bearings, and heavier duty parts. But is there anything else?
Looking forward to a healthy conversation. Help me to help others understand.
#1 for me is familiarity. I have tried using something other than star drag single speeds, but it just seems more like trying to use an unfamiliar OS than fishing. Second is function, I look for the least expensive way to get into the equipment I want. Third, of course, is nostalgia. I put a whole bunch more money into reels than I need to to get then to function at the level they do, but that makes me feel good and satisfies my rule #1.
Ron
I like older Penn's. Started with them in 1963, model 85, and never wanted any other. Although a Mitchell Garcia 300 was purchased in 1965 since Penn did not make a fresh water reel at that time. It was replaced by a Penn 722 in 1970.
One of their features was that with the factory in Philadelphia parts and service were just a short bus ride away.
Quote from: Ron "Jones on September 22, 2017, 07:59:48 PM
#1 for me is familiarity. I have tried using something other than star drag single speeds, but it just seems more like trying to use an unfamiliar OS than fishing. Second is function, I look for the least expensive way to get into the equipment I want. Third, of course, is nostalgia. I put a whole bunch more money into reels than I need to to get then to function at the level they do, but that makes me feel good and satisfies my rule #1.
Ron
ditto... for an amateur who repairs his own, brand loyalty is mighty convenient:
I'm kinda' stuck on Shimano spinners from the 90's, because I have a modestly respectable parts "library" for repair/modification/upgrade; can often work without schematics; recognize certain design platforms by sight & know which parts are interchangeable w/ which other models, so I can get good deals on non-functional reels; and no reel ever truly dies -- parts of it go on in other reels
I have no loyalty to any brand. I have some of the best of each and every major brand.
Penn, Shimano, Daiwa, Mitchell, Pro Gear, etc.
My favorite reel in my hand? My Cortez squidder.
Not positive why I now prefer the older reels to most anything "newer" I can buy in/from a retail store.
My first "serious" reel was a Mitchell 320; yeah, they were bargain basement, but for a poor college kid, it was a step up. Got 'er with a Conolon rod for "Green Stamps", if anybody remembers what they were. So, been a bit preferential to Mitchell for a long time.
Probably a member of the Foakes school of spinning reels now; like using mostly metal-bodies spinning reels from the "golden age", that being roughly 1960-1990. Pick good ones & they are tough, likely to last forever with a little care & I'll always have a reel or two with long ago memories associated with 'em. I'm a bit of "homer", as I like the old US-made reels, but don't turn my nose up at good, durable reels from other places (witness the Mitchells).
As you can guess from my use of "tough" and "durable", I look for reels that were well made likely to last.
I buy reels I know work well for what it's for. For star drag reels it's the Shimano Trinidad and Penn Baja Special all used offshore. My trolling reels are Shimano Tiagra's. My multi purpose reels are Avet, Makaira, and Shimano lever drag reels.
My inshore spinning reels I like the best are Shimano and Quantum Smokes. Also Quantum Cabo's.
My offshore spinning reels are Shimano Twinpower, Penn Slammer III, and Daiwa Saltist. The Saltist are the oldest and have never let me down. The Slammer III 6500 is the newest and everyone loves it. It has brought in all sizes of Amberjack like it was made for it.
Recently I have been reading more and more about Mitchel being a bargain brand. This kinda floors me, I never knew that was the case and never felt under-gunned with one. I've also read that the 300 is a fresh water reel. That blows my mind. I guess I should tell all those bonita, barracuda, halibut, white sea bass and sharks that they should not have been landed by a reel as inapropriate as the one I was using.
Yeah, I like French made Mitchel spinners.
Ron
Quote from: Ron "Jones on September 22, 2017, 10:00:39 PM
I've also read that the 300 is a fresh water reel. That blows my mind. I guess I should tell all those bonita, barracuda, halibut, white sea bass and sharks that they should not have been landed by a reel as inapropriate as the one I was using.
Awesome.
How did they hold up to the salt for you? I've fallen into so many of them that's it's silly I don't think of them for light salt use.
I used them too. Why..? That's all we could get when I was a kid. Ive been through plenty of them. All saltwater fishing for me. Ive caught so many fish with the 300 its ridiculous. I used them up until 1988 or so.
Quote from: danielmcharron on September 22, 2017, 07:51:15 PM
I am often asked what makes you buy a certain reel over another.
gotta be gold..... ;D
Ambassadeur baitcasters are still my favorite. Why? I remember the first time I saw one, it was red, probably an Abu 5000. You can see a round metal culvert at the arrow. This was one of my favorite fishing holes as a teenager some 50 years ago. Lots of shad minnows ran through there, and I caught a wide variety of fish, largemouths, smallmouths, white bass, yellow bass, sauger, crappie, channel cats, drum, buffalo, carp, suckers, even an occasional rainbow trout.
Back to the Abus, most every time I was there fishing, an older, well dressed gentleman smoking a cigar wearing a Fedora hat would park up the road a few yards and stand on this side of the guardrail at the X and cast a big Smithwick Devil Horse beyond a fallen tree at the bullseye where there always seemed to be 4 or 5 big largemouths lurking. Never saw him catch one of those big bass, he would only make 2 or 3 casts and go on down the road. I was amazed at the range of that reel and the sound of it. I was lucky to cast half that far with my Zebco 606 spincaster and Zebco 707 spinning reel. Some time later my dad got me a D.A.M. Quick 220 spinning reel which is my second favorite, which I still use.
A few years later after I went to work, I bought a red Abu 5000 that had a baitclicker, a Mitchell 300, and a Mitchell 308 the same day. Still got the Abu and the Mitchell 300 but lost the 308. Next reel on my wish list will be a D.A.M. Quick 110 or one of their vintage ultralights.
Gotta have a fulcrum brake! Nothing else will suffice when I'm seriously fishing. Needless to say, I haven't bought a brand new, from a retailer, spinning reel for quite a few years. My bonafide fishing arsenal consists of 1 black & tan ABU Cardinal 4, numerous green & cream Zebco Cardinal 3s, 4s & 6s, numerous black ABU Garcia Cardinal 3s & 4s, but my main, and favorite, go to reel, mounted on a custom built, by me, St. Croix Legend Elite rod, is an American Classic IV made in the USA. Not many people are even aware they exist. They were made & sold by American Classic Sales of Salt Lake City, UT from 1996 through about 2007. They are more or less an exact replica of the ABU & Zebco Cardinal 4 but have an aluminum spool. All parts are interchangeable with the ABU/Zebco Cardinals. Here's what they look like. The one on the rod is my main outfit.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/17004_22_09_17_7_28_49_219752225.jpeg)
I prefer reels made in the USA.
I look if the reel has a tutorial here 8) and see how hard it is to maintain. I mostly buy Penn and Daiwa reels.
I like Penn reels because you get the best bang for your buck. The reel I'm talking about are Fathom series star and ld drag. Con is pure fishing is some where in Iowa.
Daiwa because they're local (15 miles from my house) which make warranty and parts a breeze. Also, they take a long time to change their lineup of conventional reels (at least for the sealines). And if the model design does change, most of the time parts interchange from older to newer model.
The nice thing about living in SoCal is that most of the rod and reel companies have their U.S. HQs here.
I have most brands... Abu Garcia, Accurate, Avet, Daiwa, Lews, Okuma, Penn, Pro Gear, Shimano. I pick the best available for the Hole I'm trying to fill at the time.
Aesthetics means very little to me, I buy a reel on functionality and have a pretty good idea of my precise needs.
For about 15 years I bought only one type of reel, Daiwa SL50SH and that was a very good strategy for me. I had lots of interchangeable parts, I could service that reel in 20 minutes, they were durable and strong.
In those early days we also had very limited choice in reels here.
From about 2005 onwards I started to fish a bit differently and there were so many different reels on the market and I acquired some other reels.
So, to me it looks as if most of us have a since of loyalty to the reels that first brought us to the sport. I find it interesting how marketing works on our intellect to try and get us to buy a certain brand. I have been guilty of succumbing to their tactics I admit. For me, I just haven't seen the need to venture out of my comfort zone. I do favor the new Abu Garcia reels, mostly because I feel familiar with them. I wouldn't mind having some shimano's but not sure why. I live in South Texas and Shimano has been a popular reel for this area. Maybe that's why I feel like I need to have one, so I can fit in with the crowd. Not sure but I sort of feel like it doesn't matter what brand you decide to go with. They can all be comparable to each other dollar for dollar, size for size, and ratio to ratio. As I have grown in the sport I have learned to look for certain things in a reel. I'm going to look at the number of bearings, ratio, size and how it feels in my hand. The Abu's fit the bill for me, for now anyway. No, I'm not a big time professional by any means but man the stories I can tell and I'm thankful for those.
I like the smallest and most comfortable reel that will get the job done. The ones that hold up and are not destroyed by occasional neglect or abuse become favorites.
-steve
My favorite make is avet, simple service, rugged, good performance, not extravagantly priced. Biggest flaw in my opinion is insufficient lube and grease from the factory--easily managed with a pre fishing service (including greasing the drag with cals).
That said I'm only familiar with SX through HX, can't say I have ever looked inside the bigger reels.
For spinner, daiwa BG SW for compromise of price and performance.
Daiwa and shimano both make nice star drag reels, I'm happy with both.
CB
Quote from: SeaBush on February 14, 2018, 07:27:45 AMThat said I'm only familiar with SX through HX, can't say I gave ever looked inside the bigger reels.
The EX 30 is somewhat of a PIA to get the Bellville washers in place but the EX series is stronger and easy to work on. A EX30 would work for sharks and I have seen thresher and salmon shark off the CR when fishing on the Manaki and Ms Behavin.
I look at the specs of all the reels available for fishing the technique/species. Then I look at reviews of the reels that are spec'd closest to what I feel is perfect. Then filter by price and that's how I choose. I've gravitated to the now out of production Fin Nor Santiago conventionals and Off Shore spinners. They rank extremely high in ALL my categories and perform perfectly for me. The only spec they don't do well in is weight but they make up for that and then some in the price.
I'm also a big fan of the Shimano Spheros fb spinners which are lighter than the Fin Nor OFSs but don't use a large underspool drag washer which is something I like. The Penn Spinfisher V is another I like especially the Live Liners.
For me I look for quality feel, longevity, availability of parts, and ability to service. I didn't include price because I have found high price doesn't always equal high quality.
well Im a tackle Ho, so, I like to buy reels just "because" dont really need an excuse :P ;D ;D ;D, I like to buy them test them and keep them or sell them.
I have in my arsenal many brands like abu garcia, penn, shimano, okuma, daiwa, van staal, Plueguer and off-brands like Omoto, Rovex, Tica, from time to time I found a really nice one and it becomes a keeper the rest I just sold them to buy new ones, use them one season or two and if it dont fill the requirements to be a keeper is sold.
some of my current keepers are daiwa saltist 20h, okuma komodo 364, Penn Baja Special, Shimano gold trini 16, Shimano calcutta 400TE, okuma Mak15 and all my abu garcia 5500, 6500 and 7000 models, van staal vs275 and my penn 320gt, penn squider 146, etc, etc (etc list is pretty long ;D)
I'd say performance, solid dependable construction, simplicity and comfort are the elements I want in a reel. I've stayed with my old reels from the late '60s, '70s or '80s, because they're solid and have lasted 30+ years and I still enjoy using them.
For freshwater I'm probably fondest of using my early Shimano Bantams and smaller 1st generation Penn Spinfishers --the same ones I've been using for 35+ years, plus more than a few more I acquired on the 'bay. I also like my old Ambassadeurs. Back during the years I fished saltwater I mostly used Penn reels --various SS & Z Spinfishers, No.9, 113H & 114 and more recently a 140 & Mag 10, but also used a Shakespeare Sigma Supra 080 and Diawa Sealine 47H which I liked quite a bit. Those reels have held up a long time, and since discovering this website I've learned to maintain them and make them work as good or better than when they were new.
I can't say I won't buy a new model reel. Recently I was in a tackle shop giving serious thought to a Shimano Chronarch and the smaller Penn Battles. But, there are still a lot of fine vintage reels out there that keep catching my eye and wallet and that makes it harder to pull the trigger on a brand new store-bought reel.
Pflueger for small game because there light weight,,,,and the reels built here with custom parts,,,like the 9/0 Uncle sal built ;D
What makes me buiy one reel over another ? Well to start with it's not being a Shimano is a start. Second is durability of it's performance & parts availability. I've never owned a reel that I fished that didnt at some point need parts... Jeff
I buy the reel on eBay that has a price lower than what I could sell it for, in case I don't want to keep it.
Quote from: Decker on February 15, 2018, 08:16:59 PM
I buy the reel on eBay that has a price lower than what I could sell it for, in case I don't want to keep it.
ditto... plus, cheap parts/repair reels that I know to contain UNOBTAINIUM ;)
I've done very well with Shimano over the years so when I was looking for a new planer reel their products were first on the list and after a lot of looking & comparing I lucked into a BNIB Tekota for $100 off retail-a no brainer decision.
Quote from: Ron Jones on September 22, 2017, 07:59:48 PM
#1 for me is familiarity. I have tried using something other than star drag single speeds, but it just seems more like trying to use an unfamiliar OS than fishing. Second is function, I look for the least expensive way to get into the equipment I want. Third, of course, is nostalgia. I put a whole bunch more money into reels than I need to to get then to function at the level they do, but that makes me feel good and satisfies my rule #1.
Ron
That's it for me also. After using several different brands of baitcasters, I've settled on the Sweden-made Ambassadeurs. Rugged, reliable and easy to service and repair. Parts are easy to find, too.
As far as spinning reels go, I'm all over the map. I started with Mitchell because it was the most easily obtainable in a left-hand configuration. I also have several Shimano, Daiwa, and Pflueger reels.
Tom
Application, application, application that is why I choose one reel over another.
I currently fish 5 different manufactures of reels in my line up. Not all 5 manufactures of reels may be on the same trip but I still have cross over reels as far as lb test for the application I plan on using. Say I want 2 30 lb setups, one for bait/yoyo iron and another for surface lures/jigs. These for me can two very different reels and applications (rods also). Cranking power for deep drops around structure or speed to get a reaction bite can not had by just one reel many times. With that said is is where two speed reels make sense for me in higher line classes.
I only fish saltwater but the line tests I use start around 15 lb and can go to 80 lb depending on what I'm fishing for and how. So with the varying line test and how I intend to use my gear no one manufacture cover's all the bases the way I like. That's why I have 5 different manufactures and even different manufactures of reels in the same line class.
Like I said to all boils down to application and my intended use.
Great question. No 2 answers seem to be the same.
Unfortunately, for me first it's price. Even though I could afford a $700+ reel, such as a Stella super-spinner, I just can't see myself not freaking-out when I accidently smack it hard with the kayak paddle. I've smacked my Lethal 100 several times and it didn't bother me too much. My $200 Static 8000's got slight dent in the spool lip. In fact all my reels get beat on pretty good. Then there's thievery, difficulty of repair/maintenance, future avalibility of parts? No, too much worry. Got a few new-fangled ones in the $300 area and that's been a good limit so far...
Though I'm still in the phase of trying diffrent manufactures, my preference is always evolving, especially since I came here. Thank you all for all the information! Now it's vintage Penns with bushings insteda ballbearings(i.e., no more Senators for now, though I do gotta get a Squidder some day). They are relatively cheap, tuff, easy to service, upgradeable and have an interesting history, and those things would be the second reason I buy one over another. I recently bought 2 of the same vintage Penn conventionals, so I could have parts, for under $70.
Third'ed be what So-Cal's talkin about." Application", for example, quick, no backlash casts with lighter lures when I see somethin happenin on the surface, means for me my Static or Cardinal 4 spinner, or the Abu Revo baitcaster, with the great cast controls on it. The Revo's expensive, but not crazy $ and well worth what it cost, so far.
Gfish
I can so relate GFISH! Many times my best reels don't make it out to the piers for fear of damage or having one stolen as I'm busy chasing after a big'un. My "beaters" see most of the action, but I do like to take out the "Cadillacs" on occasion.
As for picking one reel over another, I do prefer older Daiwa's and Penn for their durability, simplicity and parts availability.
why I buy a reel....usually something i recognize as a deal, or maybe catches my eye due to being neglected that with a little TLC can be great again. Couldn't say the last new edition reel I bought at retail price. I use Penn's for saltwater, as we know due to serviceability. other than that, application. Penn's, Mitchell's and Quick for spinning. I love my Penn 940's and have a half dozen Calcutta's, but somehow when I actually go fishing it's the old Abu's. My favorite out of dozens is a 1972 5500C. Still sings a Spook WAYYYYY passed the guys in the boat with lil bitty trendy low profile reels, on its original bearing, with just a shot of Corroson X sprayed right on it.
I'm with GFish....NO WAY I'm dropping a grand on a spinning reel and hurl if i scratch it.
I used to have a mint Calcutta TE. One day I left it leaning on the rail with a baited hook... along comes a bird and tries to fly off with the bait. My precious goes up... then slams down on the deck! :o :o :o
Thankfully, it came out ok. PHEW!