Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Hey everyone!

Looking for input on a new salt water spinning reel.  I currently have several Shimano Stradic FJs that I use.

I can no longer buy these reels new and I have read that they are not fully sealed and need to stay well maintained.

I do a lot of surf and inshore fishing (casting bottom rigs with 4-5 oz lead weights). I would like to go out to deeper water in the future as well.

That being said, could you recommend a great spinning real that won't be insanely expensive?

Thank you!

I like to use older reel that easy to take apart and clean up .Even the sealed reels water still get in and it's so hard to take apart

FWIW I like Penn Spinfishers. I think they are the best bang for the buck in the Penn spinning reel lineup although only the 5th (SSV), 6th (SSVI), 7th (SSVII) generations have seals. The first four generations are stout and still in use by a lot of folks. For decades Penn has made Spinfishers for practically any thing that swims, from the tiny 716 to the monster 10500. For me one of the biggest attractions for Penn reels is the parts availability, both new and used. Mystic Reel Parts can get parts to me overnight if need be. They also maintain an online database of parts diagrams and reel specs for practically every reel Penn ever made. Most of my SW spinning reels are black and gold.

I also have one Okuma Azores Blue 14000 that I like very much. That 14000 translates to roughly 7000-8000 in the older numbering scheme. This reel is all metal, has seals and the spool has top and bottom drag washers, the top washers are oiled felt which I replaced with CF. Drag is supposed to be in the 44# range. The price was comparable to a similar size Spinfisher when I bought it. I have no idea about parts availability.


I agree  with Quang Tran. In general older reels are simpler by design and any saltwater reel will require more frequent and thorough maintenance.

All reels are insanely expensive right now., good used ones (even bad used ones) even more so. To be honest I'm afraid to buy any used spinning reel. If the idea of the Spinfisher appeals to you shop around on and offline. Penn has recently introduced the SSVII spinfisher line so there are probably  some good savings on the SSVI reels.

Agree 100%. Spinfisher. DAM Quicks are really, really stout as well, though tho less prevalent. Fred (foakes) has the parts support covered on those. I also have prolly two dozen DQ from Microlite to 5000 and 5001 (the last courtesy of Wayne-o via Fred). I said on another thread yesterday, basically all my saltwater spinning is SS, and that I have several V and VI's sitting NIB....because the one's I have from the 80's and 90's just won't die. Fished remotely in design limit, about the only wear part is bail spring and AR spring. And they take a LOT of fishing to wear. 75% of my freshwater spinning (striper fishing) is also SS, as I did buy a Battalion DX last year and like it a lot throwing poppers and metal. Seals on the older ones, well, they are pretty simple to open, flush and regrease without taking a ton of parts apart (unlike Shimano. I have a few, and HATE opening them). 5000 - 7000 size would be plenty of reel. We catch grouper on 750SSM's that are 20 years old.


John


EDIT: I also frequently use some first gen, made in USA Slammers. I didn't say this originally because the current Slammers, tho excellent are getting up there in price and the OP wasn't asking about carte blanche. The only thing I see my Slammers do better than SS is that the older SS's have a corner on the bail arm which can occasionally catch line and snap bail shut during a cast.

A good medium size older reel for me has been the Zebco Cardinal 7X. Well made, drag contained inside the easily accessible gear box, self draining rotor. The gear box is surprisingly water resistant because of the manufacturing tolerances, though water can enter through the bottom located drag knob area(godda rinse from the top down only) and has single screw access.
It has some nylon and graphite(?) parts that seem tougher than usual. Prolly kinda expensive for an old-school reel and not as common as some other popular brand/models, but worth it to me.

  I am another fan of Dam quicks , to the point that most of my sticks hang Dam`s .  The Mitchells and penns sit in a container .

Penn 700, 704, 706.  Plus the  "Z's" & SS models in various sizes.

D-A-M Quick 270 Super (possibly the toughest SW spinner ever produced), DQ 550, 550N, 5000, 5001 (a real contender and tough with large drags).  Slightly smaller would be the 4001 sizes.

Cardinal 7, or 6.

Any of these can be purchased for 1/3 of a new Tupperware Asian Marvelous —- are easier to work on, and parts are readily available (at least through my inventory).

Regardless of what is stated by the marketing and engineering guys —- NO reel is fully sealed and waterproof.  Water WILL sneak in to the most sealed reel —- and the danger becomes when the angler expects it to always be sealed —- gets it serviced, then all of this milky, pukey stuff (grease, oil, and water mixed) drains out when it is cracked open.

The solution is to buy what seems to be the best value for your needs —- use marine grade grease such as Penn or Yamalube.  Grease all of the innards and case seams really well, and service it regularly if used in the salt.

Reels have advanced with new gimmicks and shiny ornaments over the last 60 years —- but the fish haven't changed over the last 10 million years.

Best, Fred

You've gotten some great advice already. What I'm going to say may be an unpopular opinion here.

Your stradic is fine for the beach. If it's gotten a GOOD pre-service and gets a thorough rinse every time.

The two reels I take to the beach every time are my upgraded 4000 spheros XGSW (added bearings it's basically a stradic fk now) and my 250 Calcutta. I wade deep with them. They get splashed ALL THE TIME. And occasionally dunked. And laid down in the sand a few times. All these things have happened since the last service. Neither are sealed. Not even a little bit. But I put a thin layer of grease (no globs anywhere) on every internal surface. And I rinse very thoroughly every time it gets used. Sometimes multiple times each use (if im at the beach with my family and taking a break from fishing for the next half hour to swim I'm gonna rinse my reels).

I'm gonna open both up in the next week or so, it's been over a year since either has seen a screwdriver. They're still butter smooth, and I'm betting they're gonna be fine inside.

I'm rambling. The point is give your reel a good service and rinse excessively and it's fine for surf fishing.

I like the Saragosa's!

Quote from: MarkT on September 11, 2024, 07:32:34 PMI like the Saragosa's!

From a maintainers POV, I have to agree with Mark.  Most of (even the well flogged and abused) 'Gosas I get just need the LRB replaced; even the original grease is usually uncontaminated.  Just as well built and sealed as the more expensive siblings, and often found on special at the local camping/tackle department stores.

I actually have a handful of DAMs. Is there anything that needs to be done to bring them up to more modern specs?

I enjoyed using them, but they are heavy and built like tanks.

Dam series 1001-5001, 1000-5000 if you up grade to SS ball bearings then they can compare to modern reel or better .original bearings are not SS bearings and will get rusty .I do have Stradic 5000 XG and compare to Dam 2001 they're same size .Stradic is lighter but much weaker when fight fish ,the plastic that hold the bail extend too far made it much weaker compare to thick metal bail arm on Dam Quick 2001

Compare the 2 reels

I just pulled my box of reels out.

I have one DAM 330N.

I have 6 550s. One is a 550N and one is broken where it attaches to the rod that I purchased for spare parts.

Some of the 550s reel fairly smooth, but several seems a little tight.

What should I do to get them salt water ready?

Quote from: LowCountry on September 13, 2024, 08:01:28 PMI just pulled my box of reels out.

I have one DAM 330N.

I have 6 550s. One is a 550N and one is broken where it attaches to the rod that I purchased for spare parts.

Some of the 550s reel fairly smooth, but several seems a little tight.

What should I do to get them salt water ready?

All good reels , just do a service on them . Very simple reels to work on .