New spinning reels?

[Superduty]

Help me pick some new spinning reels. Currently hitting the end of a good run with some quantum energy pti reels. What's the best bang for the buck these days? ABU Garcia soron? energy again? shimano stradic? synergy? Pfueger? I like to keep all my reels the same. Thanks in advance

[TonkaBass]

I like the stratic a lot. The diawa fuego is very smooth but I haven't used it, just messed around with it at the store. I think I am gonna end up with another stratic (CI4). Looked at the abu and wasn't a fan, but who knows. Quantums mag bail is pretty sweet but I am overall not a quantum guy, but their spinning reels are way better than their casting ones.

[Larson15]

The first question would be how much do you want to spend. Im a big fan of the stradic as well but they are a little pricey. Daiwa makes a really good spinning reel as well. I bought a Daiwa Tierra this year and am really impressed with it. Any of the Daiwa reels with the air bail are really nice. Supposedly Daiwa has the best line management. I will be curious to see how it holds up compared to my stradics. I would stay away from the Pflueger and abu, I know a few people who have had problems with there spinning reels and had a hard time getting them fixed under warranty.

[RK]

Hiya -

I've really gotten to like the Daiwa spinning reels over the last couple seasons. I'm not a fan of spending huge $ on spinning reels, and the Daiawa TD series is pretty good for the money. Their spools are a little wider than most other brands, which is nice if you use Fluorocarbon. Larson's right on about any model with the Air Bail being solid. I like the TD Advantage a lot, and I have several TD Pros, which was a Bass Pro only model that was basically an Exceler with an Air Bail. Honestly, for the money, it'd be hard to find a better deal than the Excelers.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Larson15]

Speaking of the exceler, some places have last years model for 1/2 off right now. The 2011 models are out now and they now offer higher gear ratios and a few other improvements. The big C store also has there own brand called the Prodigy which is made by Daiwa and virtually the same reel as the Tierra for 60 bucks.

[EBass]

I used to get Gander's cheapest spinning reel they made and every year I'd need to get a new one. Then I decided I didn't want cheap gear any more and slowly upgraded over the years.

I bought a stradic 2500 a few yrs ago and liked it so much I bought another stradic 4000. This is when they were $120 though. I did have to send it in for service a couple of times. (I dropped it in the river and the handle broke twice) Otherwise I really like them. Haven't used the other brands for spinning. I'm a big fan of Shimano. That's my .02

[Raider4ever]

Not to express a minority opinion here (been there, done that, learned my lesson. Yes I have seen the light, fishing for money is fun), but I think if you get a new Shimano Sahara in whatever size you think you need, you will of purchased more than enough reel to meet your needs and save yourself some money over the higher echelon Shimanos. I have 4 or 5 different brands of b/c reels running around in my rod locker but only one brand of spinning reel. I have Marks I, II, and III that still work as well as they did when they came out of the box 30+ years ago. Now I primarily use Symetres, Saharas, and a even a Sedona (gasp). All work very well in doing what I need them for, even the Sedona (again, gasp). Don't get all wrapped up in bearing count and features. Just my opinion. Peace.

[Jig Master]

Daiwa or Shimano are your best bet.

[Superduty]

Thanks again to everyone that replied. It's nice to hear opinions that are coming from a fisherman and not a salesman. I almost hate to admit it, but after looking at every spinning reel on the sales counter, I really liked the new 2010/2011 Pflueger supreme XT and Patriarch. Both were made to compete with the stradic c14 and were extremely light and smooth. Went to the store to look at some other brands and left with the opinion that these pfluegers were better reels for the money. Never owned a pflueger before and don't know about the long term durability...I have owned shimano and daiwa spinning reels and have been disappointed in both brands. I know one thing for sure, there are way too many options at every price point!

[Nick Kuhn]

I bought one of the orange supreme xt's (the older ones) and like it, but I don't have enough hours on it to say anything about the durability. Lightweight and smooth though.

[RossT]

I've had two Pflueger Supreme XT's for two years now and haven't had an issue with them. They are still as smooth today as when I took them out of the box. I've been using braid on one of them, which is hard on reels - still smooth.

Lightweight for the price.

The drag system had performed really really well, which counts when drop shotting 6lb. fluoro.

[Larson15]

I definitely like the new Pflueger designs they seem really nice. I am not sure if I can justify spending over a $120 on a Pflueger because of long term durability. I also know for a fact that getting one repaired or getting parts is almost impossible. I bought a president and a supreme xt in the beginning of last year and really liked them till I put fluro on them. They didnt seem to handle fluro very well at all. I spooled up both reels with the same line that was on my Stradic Mg's and there was no comparison in regards to line management. I got line twist after line twist on the Pfluegers. That is the only complaint I have about them and maybe the newer models will do a better job with it. We all know the aches and pains of fishing fluro on spinning reels and it has become my #1 deciding buying factor when purchasing a new spinning reel. I have always been a big shimano fan but I think the team Daiwa Tierra I purchased is the best reel I have used in regards to line management. If you go with the Pflueger let us know how you like it.

[Superduty]

Larson15, Do you think the larger diameter bail on the daiwa helps with line management? Pflueger added the large hollow bails to the new reels for helping with line twist. I havn't used a reel with this design and wonder if it has any merit... They also made a move to a carbon fiber drag to reduce weight.

[Larson15]

The design of the spool on the Daiwa's utilizes a wider spool and a reversed taper which doesnt allow your line to dig deep in the spool. This wider design lets the line to move more freely because there is less friction which will produce less line memory. This is how they achieve fewer line twists. A reel with a smaller spool allows line to form tighter coils which will produce more line memory and more friction. Daiwa has actually trademarked and patented there line twist technology. They call it Twistbuster®. Shimano has a similar type of technology called Propulsion Management System. They also incorporate a similar spool design like the Daiwa with the reversed taper and an angled spool lip.

They both handle line extremely well but IMO if you go with Shimano you have to get a Stradic or better because anything less does not utilize a completely smooth bail design and you do not get a spare spool (stradic CI4 does not come with a spare spool either and its $200!). So in other words you are spending $160 or more. If you go the Daiwa route you can get into the Ecxeler for $70 and the Team Daiwa line for $110 and up and they all come with a spare spool.

Well that was my .02 cents. I obviously spend a lot of time critiquing my gear!

[turn_in_poachers]

If you can find older Daiwa Capricorns, those are awesome reels. Since theyre older, theyre usually on sale.

[Esox_Magnum]

Got 2-3 Sedonas that were bought first year they came out ( 15-17 years ago) still going strong and never even been cleaned or oiled.

[KickNBass]

I've used a lot of different spinning reels and at this point I think the best bang for your buck is the Daiwa Hardbodyz series. These reels are indestructable. I'd put them up against any Shimano, and I'm a Shimano guy (baitcasters only now). The Shimano with the Paladin gears are probably comprable but will cost you $50-$100 more.

One note, I'm going from a durability/smoothness of the gears over time perspective, Hardbodyz are heavy, that's why they are so reliable. I run spinning reels on my skipping rods where I'm using braid and setting the hook on a short line, hard. I can break a quantum in a day, a regular shimano in a week. Love my Daiwas.

[slipperybob]

Winching power and smoothness under load - Shimano

Working the lure and smoothness of retrieve - Diawa

Best value for money - Pflueger

That about sums it up.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Anyone held the new revos yet? They sound amazing on paper but they are pretty spendy ($250). Way more than I could ever justify for a spinning reel.

Im a shimano fanboy. Id say of the current line of reels the Sahara is the best bang for your buck. $80 for a sweet reel. $100 maybe $120 is where I draw the line for a spinning reel.

[Larson15]

They almost look too pretty to use!

[Fishwrench]

I'm usually not one to fall for a product just because some name in fishing recommended it, or slapped their name on it. But the Skeet spinning reel from Wright and McGill is looking pretty darn yummy! All the features of more expensive reels, but just a hair over the $100 price point. I may have to sneak one of these into my fishing in 2011.

Wired2Fish

[74mph]

I am typically a Shimano guy all the way. I have three symetres and one Sahara, all 2008 model or newer. I just sold my last Shimano symetre 2500 that was older than 08'. The newer reels have a lot better bail wire design that prevents it from coming apart (had that happen a few times on my older shimano reels).

I am disappointed though, that they no longer have the 1500 size. I dont like the bulkiness of the 2500 for most of the fishing I do and I find the 1000 a little on the small side.

For this reason I'm looking at other reels. Ive used the Daiwa with the air-bail but didn't like the feel, It felt to me like a "clatter", for lack of a better term, when the bail closed. Other than that it was a nice reel just picky about the feel. Nothing against it.

Recently Ive been checking out the new Gander X-Factor GMX Series and they look and feel realy nice. Its a little higher price range than I would typical spend but they have one in the 1500ish size range.

I don't like to switch from Shimano but they are forcing me to here. I also had to switch to Revo's vs curados because they don't offer the 5.0 or 6.3 gear ratio in left handed models. I have always been a huge Shimano fan but they are just finding ways to make me buy somewhere else.

Any info on the Gander X-Factor GMX?

[Larson15]

I know that gander reels are either made by quantum or pflueger

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I dont recall witch one the GMX is but Larson is right some are made by pflueger and more recently quantum. The newer spinning reel that looks similiar to the shimano C14 is made by pure fishing (abu garcia).

[74mph]

Thats the one. It looks like the black/red shimano C14. Well it makes me feel better that its made by Pure Fishing. It seems like a realy nice reel. Anyone used it?