Best Conventional Reels Made, List Your Top 5

[redsetta]

Great question SL - really enjoyed reading everyone's responses so far.
I'm in the same boat as others here, in terms of the brand mix:

• Penn 113H (narrow) Tank
• Pro Gear 282 Albacore Special
• Newell C220-5
• Penn 349HC Semi Tank
• Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500C3

Like Sal, all of the above "are loaded to the brim with upgrades" .
All that could be done has been done (aside from a Tib kit for the 349, which I'm still considering).
I feel bad for leaving out my 'Bluefin Special' 9500SS, but that's another thread entirely  
Cheers, Justin
PS Welcome aboard!

[BMITCH]

Good one! Mine in order from favorite on down. All with cf's and Tib frames. Of coarse all the A.T./Sal bling.
113HN
112HN
114H-super tank(waiting on BP gears)-wait till you see this one folks
Newell P235-5
Newell C220-5
Like Alan said. For the way I fish. Both boat and beach.
Bob

[josa1]

Interesting question....I do mostly long range fishing now, started by taking 10 outfits and have now pared that down to 7 or 8 but have similar reels on some.

1) Tiagra 50W LRS, 200 Pound Spectra, 200 pound topshot.  Makes for a great kite reel.

2) Penn 50 (Just recently got a new VSX, but for years used a 50S) filled with 130 pound Spectra, 100 Pound Topshot.  Use for live bait, both large and small.  Caught most of my 200+ pound fish on this size reel.

3) Shimano TTS 50W, 200 Pound Spectra, 130 Pound top shot.  Use for wahoo trolling and big bait fishing.  Caught my biggest fish on these reels.  I'm a glutton here, I have 4 of them   .

4) Makaira 30IISEa  Use for live bait.  Just used them for one year but so far found them to be great. Great freespool and smoothly operating drag system.  I can cast a sardine 40-60 feet with this set up.

5) Shimano Trinidad, TN40.  I have three.  Set one up with a wahoo bomb.  Set one up with a jig.  Set one up to fish live bait for wahoo with light wire.

I still have some reels I use for local fishing but don't do that much any more.

josa1

[SoCalAngler]

I'll list mine by # test.

15lb= Penn 525 Mag
20-25lb= Avet SX
30lb= Penn Fathom 25N (I would like a Torque better but don't own one)
40lb= Avet JX 6/3
80-100lb= Okuma Makiara 20SE

You said only 5 so I have a gap in 50 and 60 lb test.

[Dominick]

I fish mostly down in Cabo.  So I mostly* use these 5:

Penn International 50 VSW
Penn International 30 ll
Penn International Torque 300
Penn International Torque 100
Penn Senator 114 HLW

*Now that I have the "Tank" I have to eliminate one from the list.  Any suggestions?

Dominick

[nelz]

5. Diawa Millionaire 300A CV-X/Z Fished day in and day out for over 10 years and will fish it till I'm gone. Thousands of fish and no issues.

Hey Ron, glad to see another fan of that reel, it's the predecessor of my Luna 300 I believe. I don't have 5 favorites, but my top 2 are:

1: Penn Torque 100 (anybody got an aluminum balanced handle for it out there?)
2: Daiwa Luna 300 (wish it had a better clicker and backup IAR though) Still it's like butter smooth and a mini tank!

[Ron Jones]

My reel is indeed a precurser to the Luna. Like I said, lots and lots of fish for lots of years.
Ron

[conchydong]

1) I have to admit that my TLD 15, 20 and 25 single speeds have been very, very good to me for light trolling 20-40lb test mono for almost 20 years. I have the original made in Japan models. Since I will only list one, I will go with the middle of the pack TLD 20.

2)  Penn International 50TWs and 50SWs for my heavier trolling. Again no problems. I will pick the single speed 50TW for the list due to simplicity of use.

3) Penn Senators. All of mine are  USA models from 4/0 to 12/0. None have been modified except for drag washers. The newcomer 113HN Baja Special, however, gets my vote for the best overall Senator for my use.

4) Shimano Toriums. All are Alan Tani upgraded. Economical reels for multi use. I will choose the 16 size as my favorite.

5)  ABU Garcia Black Max 6600W. I use this for plug casting to Jacks and Mackerel. Lots of fun.

[joel8080]

Here it goes, not in any special order

113H Yellow tail special
Pro Gear 454
Penn 112H
Penn International 12LT Great for Sailfish
Penn 113HN Baja

Joel8080

[southland]

Thanks men, I see there is not much love for the newer reels, keep them coming.

[saltydog]

Well most of them are plastic or are 400 to 1000 bucks, way out of my price range and fish don't care if the reel is a 30 year old upgraded Penn or a 700 dollar spinning reel. Go figure, some have to have all the latest but some of us still enjoy the best.

[floating doc]

I like Alan's approach, of picking the best value reel. 

I have been wondering whether I could afford a two speed 20 that would handle 80 lb braid or 60 mono. I can't budget for $300+. Until now I've been afraid of the graphite frames, but if Alan would fish a TLD 20 with 80, that's a pretty good endorsement.

[SoCalAngler]

I like Alan's approach, of picking the best value reel. 

I have been wondering whether I could afford a two speed 20 that would handle 80 lb braid or 60 mono. I can't budget for $300+. Until now I've been afraid of the graphite frames, but if Alan would fish a TLD 20 with 80, that's a pretty good endorsement.

You could fish 200lb test on them if you wanted but don't go past around 19-20lbs of drag without a metal frame upgrade. I have a TLD 30II and with a aftermarket parts of a aluminum frame and sideplate, carbontex drag, drag plate, handle arm and grip and I'd still feel my 20SE way out fishes it in the 80-100lb class.

[Jeri]

Hi All,

We all obviously have too many reels and have a hard time picking just 5. Personally, having switched from boat to surf fishing, the task is even more difficult. Here's my choice, a mixture of both:

•   Release SG – straight from the box.
•   Avet MXL Mag – converted to lower magnetic effect, but speeded up with ceramic bearings.
•   Duel Speedy 12 – awesome little reel for Sailfish and light trolling.
•   Penn International 16 2 speed – a powerhouse.
•   Tiagra 30 2 speed – winch!!!!

Never fished more than 30lbs off the boats, so never needed the 'big guns'. Though this has been difficult, there are a few reels that I would have in reserve to cover specific fishing applications like extreme distance light surf fishing would require my Penn 525 Xtra Super Mag, and for Tigerfish on the Zambezi I wouldn't be without my Finnor Megalite 4000.




Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri

[alantani]

ok, i don't fish for bass, but if i did, it would be with the old shimano curado, the old greenie.