Need new spinning reel

[bloom]

Well, I spend 99% of my time fly fishing (over 75 days a year) but I do spend the odd day gear fishing. It's almost always for pike or walleye, either trolling with bottom bouncers or casting spoons or plugs. Never ever lunker pike usually around 5 lbs.

The reel I have, broke (the pin that holds the handle on is snapped) is an Abu Garcia Ultra Cast UC2000F (was a gift quite a while ago). I know very little about spinning reels, but I like quality gear.

Any suggestions on reels? Will likely buy one off ebay and I have no preferences right now. Looking to spend between $50 and $100.

Thanks

[jesse34567]

you wouldn't be dissapointed in a shimano stradic

[Albertadiver]

Send a PM to BBJ. (BigBadJohn)

He lives to fish.

[Deano]

you wouldn't be dissapointed in a shimano stradic

Definitely my favorite. But if you can find them in that price range I will take 5 more!

[SuCraM]

X2 on the stradic I own a 4000RB and 2500CX and I love both of the reels. My Christmas list includes a stradic and an ice cube fishing hut. I always buy Shimano and have never been disappointed with any reel over 50 bucks.

[jeprli]

Take a look at Daiwa regal XI 2500, it's $59 at fishin hole and is a great deal for the money.Last week i got two 2500 and a 3500 I spin about 120-150 days a year and in 4 to 10 hour sessions, never had a problem and it's always smooth as butter. Stradic is a little better but it is also in a $159-$200+ range depending where you shop, for me that is a waste of money since you'll be hard to notice difference between the two. I use 4-6lb braided line for trout with flourocarbon leader, for pike it's power pro in 10-20lb without a leader. Also if you're considering a rod I would highly recommend Shimano Clarus 1/4-3/4oz 10ft medium fast action($80-$100) for the fish you said you are catching, very versatile rod i've tossed smallest of the cranks that weigh maybe 3-5grams all the way up to 1oz spoons and bucktails without a problem. What i like about it the most is it bends evenly from handle to the tip coupled with it's length it's very easy to control fish up to 10lb, it has a long cork handle that extends little past the elbow, this gives you even better control and is easy on your wrist. However if you're fishing from a boat sitting down you'd need a much shorter rod.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

You want a quality reel, good for both , pike and wylleye , Best reel , is the Quantum Pulse, Its my new favorite reel , and for 65 bucks not to bad. Go with the pl40 its a bit bigger of a reel bit it sits in your hand like it should be there. Might be something to look at. Another reel i really like is the Shamano Sahara I think I spelt that right, about an 80 dollar reel its really deasently built. Hope this all helps you out .

[jeprli]

None of those reels even come close to regal XiA, yet it's more money for them let me just put out the specifics on this one.

-10 ball bearings in the mechanism with extra 1 on the spool.
-DigiGear rotor(cnc cut)
-infinite anti reverse
-free extra aluminum spool
-ABS(advanced ballistic system)
-twist buster
-5.3:1 ratio, pulls over 3ft of line by one turn of the handle(2500XiA)
- Six disc clutch in the spool, which you can rearrange any way you like your drag, depending on size of fish you're going after.

Only quantum that comes close would be the PTi series($120-$200) by quality, by price there are still better reels for the money.

Sahara is just plain awful, unless you're gonna fish with a 4-6lb line all the time.

Trust me guys I've been doing this since I was 4 years old, I've tried lots of different products out there and used them on open water, 99% of the time from shore, rarely in a boat. After 11 years of spinning in Europe and 11 years in Canada i'd like to think i know what i'm talking about.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

None of those reels even come close to regal XiA, yet it's more money for them let me just put out the specifics on this one.

-10 ball bearings in the mechanism with extra 1 on the spool.
-DigiGear rotor(cnc cut)
-infinite anti reverse
-free extra aluminum spool
-ABS(advanced ballistic system)
-twist buster
-5.3:1 ratio, pulls over 3ft of line by one turn of the handle(2500XiA)
- Six disc clutch in the spool, which you can rearrange any way you like your drag, depending on size of fish you're going after.

Only quantum that comes close would be the PTi series($120-$200) by quality, by price there are still better reels for the money.

Sahara is just plain awful, unless you're gonna fish with a 4-6lb line all the time.

Trust me guys I've been doing this since I was 4 years old, I've tried lots of different products out there and used them on open water, 99% of the time from shore, rarely in a boat. After 11 years of spinning in Europe and 11 years in Canada i'd like to think i know what i'm talking about.

I beg to differ . I really like this reel , excellent for jigging for walleye , like you say a 6lb to 8lb line works great. Yes the regal's are great reels but then agian not in his price range.

[Waxy]

I don't think you can go wrong with just about any reel in the $80+ range - Shimano, Pflueger, Quantum, etc... I think that's kind of the threshold where you step into the real quality gear.

Pflueger Presidents or Supremes are good reels in that range, the Quantum Catalysts are nice reels too. The Shimano Symmetre or Saros are excellent reels. If you really want quality, you might even be able to pick up a Stradic on Ebay for pretty close to your price range (be sure you buy the new FI model) - if you can, that would hands down be my recommendation.

That said -

Don't get hung up on marketing gimmicks like the number of ball bearings it has and all the fancy names for the different features. They don't mean much when it comes to how the reel actually feels and works.

My advice - go and actually try them all for yourself before you buy. You likely won't be able to cast them, but mount them on a rod a get a feel for them - weight, smoothness of the bail, retrieve, drag mechanism, etc... If possible, wrap a little line on them and get a feel for the drag, it's the most important thing. Look at the quality of the reel, ease of maintence, etc... Even the little things like the shape of the handle or the base around the rod can make a difference in how a reel "feels" to you.

Waxy

P.S. Do yourself a favour and try some reels out of your price range too and get a feel for them. Just about every serious fisherman I know, myself included, has a bunch of "good enough" reels lying around that they bought because they didn't want to spend the extra $50-100, only to go out and buy the one they really wanted 6 months later anyway.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

P.S. Do yourself a favour and try some reels out of your price range too and get a feel for them. Just about every serious fisherman I know, myself included, has a bunch of "good enough" reels lying around that they bought because they didn't want to spend the extra $50-100, only to go out and buy the one they really wanted 6 months later anyway.

X 2 on this . Heck i'm sure If I had a look I got 4 or 5 descent reels sitting around .

[jeprli]

Well the original poster asked for $50-$100 and regal is $59.95 what did i do worng?

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Well the original poster asked for $50-$100 and regal is $59.95 what did i do worng?

My bad my bad , I was thinking there more expensive models.Forgive me im the *******

[Waxy]

Well the original poster asked for $50-$100 and regal is $59.95 what did i do worng?

Attitude...

Waxy

[jeprli]

What is wrong with my attitude, waxy???

Could you please explain yourself??

A person asked for help so i tried to help him. Is that a bad thing?

Machined parts are very important for longivity and precision of the mechanism.

Bearings add to smoothness and fight the friction.

infinite anti reverse is another great thing, meaning your reel will stop spooling exactly where you stoped reeling, for a instant hookset a must.

....

[Waxy]

What is wrong with my attitude, waxy???

Could you please explain yourself??

- None of those reels even come close to regal XiA

- Sahara is just plain awful, unless you're gonna fish with a 4-6lb line all the time.

- Trust me guys I've been doing this since I was 4 years old, I've tried lots of different products out there and used them on open water, 99% of the time from shore, rarely in a boat. After 11 years of spinning in Europe and 11 years in Canada i'd like to think i know what i'm talking about.

Advice and opinions are always welcome, however, IMHO, the comments above and their tone are the reason you received the kind of response to your post that you did. Put downs of other's opinions and bragging don't tend to get you too far.

I'm not a moderator and I'm certainly no angel, but in my experience, if you keep the tone positive you'll get a better response.

Machined parts are very important for longivity and precision of the mechanism.

Bearings add to smoothness and fight the friction.

I completely agree. However, people tend to get caught up in the number of ball bearings rather than the quality of the ball bearings and the machining, which is what really matters. It's also what you pay for on the higher end reels.

infinite anti reverse is another great thing, meaning your reel will stop spooling exactly where you stoped reeling, for a instant hookset a must.

Great advice. I completely agree.

Waxy

[jeprli]

OK Waxy if you say so, i'll keep it more socially acceptable next time. However regalXi is still the best reel for the money in my opinion :wave:

CCRB stands for corrosion resistant bearing, which is good even for sal****er fishing, considering this daiwa bearings are just fine, the more the merrier.

[bloom]

Wow, thanks guys, lots of good info here. I'll weed through it all and do my research. Please keep it coming, even it's just as simple as "another vote for the ***"

[bloom]

Well, looking at the Shimano Symetre 2500FI. Is this the right size?

Aslo, looking for a suitable line. What would you recomend for pike in the 5-10 lb range? Mostly casting lures or trolling. Brand and weight?

Thanks

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Well, looking at the Shimano Symetre 2500FI. Is this the right size?

Aslo, looking for a suitable line. What would you recomend for pike in the 5-10 lb range? Mostly casting lures or trolling. Brand and weight?

Thanks

It all depends on your rod, is it a telephone pole , is it ultra light , is it medium action . And now what about the guides on this reel, are they ceramic , or are they metal, or plastic.But for you id go with a braided lines , for trolling. I don't use my casting rods to troll so this is a bit tuff.Id go with a power pro braided line in a 10 to 15 or even 20 lb line. Remember braided line has zero stretch , for extreme sensitivity. you go into the fishin hole take your spool with you they'll fill your spool for your reel around 5 or 6 bucks .I suggest this as it goes on your spool tighter then if you were to do it the pencil method .