Fishing Reel

I am looking at buying a new spinning reel for redfishing here soon. The one I had didn't work too well, gears sripped and the drag wasn't as reliable as it should have been. Not looking for a huge reel, something light. What do yall recommend as far as a good spinning reel for fishing plastics and spoons.

not sure what you want to spend or what you had before, but I fish with the small fin-nor reels, not sure what the model is but I can check if you want. They have held up real good over the past years. I have heard the Shimano Sedona works pretty good too for the price - around $50. Hope this helps

bradley
team reel fine

get rid of that sissy stuff and get a good baitcaster. gears dont strip and drag is better. try a Shimano with a med heavy 7 ft rod. Academy has the combo for $130, cant beat it.

you get what you pay for. okuma, hands down reasonable inspira 30 or 40 size.

I have tried more than one spinning reel and they all failed due to line twist. I tried every trick in the book (flipping the line spool as you fill the reel/pulling the line off of the spool and walking the line out flat on the ground before you put it on the reel/letting all of the line out floating behind the boat as you drift or troll) No matter what I tried, the result with this type of reel was that after a couple hours of casting/reeling back in, the line would always twist on itself creating knots on the spool and preventing any distance in your casts. I believe that the design of this type of retrieval inherently twists the line around the spool as it comes in. Think about it. The spool remains stationary while the bail arm spins round and round, twisting the line with each revolution. It is like working with a garden hose or electrical cord that is all twirled up all day.

Many years ago, I threw away all of the spinning reels and started buying Ambassadeurs and Penns. I strictly use Ambassadeur 6500's for speck and reds, and Penns for bigger drum and fishing rigs. You can get a 6500 on a 6.5' ugly stick for about $100. These are awesome reels, easy to clean, and can hold plenty of line. Great drags too. As for the Penns, a Penn 209 or 309 will handle the biggest redfish you can hook up and also hold 300 yds of 40 pound line for fishing rigs. A penn 209 runs about $40 and is tough as nails. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Morning Skycop
The Shimano Stradic 2500 is my favorite hands down. Its a little pricey at $119.00 but they last great and really handle redfish well. As far as line twist goes the way that you spool the line on the reel determines whether or not the line twist alot or not. To be safe watch how the guy's at Academy or some other sporting goods store do it and you shouldn't have any problems.
Bryan

Of course, Skycop, the switch to casting reels as suggested would stop all your problems, but if you wish to continue with the spinning reels, buy a Shimano Spirex or Symetre 2500 with front drags, spool them with Gamma 12 lb. line straight off the spool(not off the top), and NEVER reel against the drag when you have a good redfish on. This is what twists the line the most. Fishing with spoons will alse add to the twist problem. Learn how to "mend" your line on every cast and never let the lure hit the water without a tight line. Use the same finger you release the line with to stop the line just before entry at the end of you cast and you can fish all day without tangles or twists.

Shimano Spirex or Okuma Inspira at the $70+/- range, and Shimano Stradic at the $120 level are my choices. I use power pro and have no problems with line twist. My first Stradic lasted me 9 years, and is currently getting a new gear set. I use Falcon 6.5' rods, med action. I have a 7' Shimano Compre rod, but the tip is a little fast for my tastes.

Yeah I heard about alot of the reels that yall mentioned, but wasn't so sure if they were really worth all the hype, due to the unreliable advice i get from the angelers up here. I'll look into these and hopefully i'll see you out on the water here shortly.

Hey bud, I've fished since I could walk mainly the Hopedale area,I've used baitcasters and spinning in every brand known to man. I'm stuck on spinning reels. The shimano stradic 2500 is hands down the best. Ultra smooth performs great, the only other the reels I use that come close are Okuma's they are a great little value reel. As far as line twist, get rid of the cheap monofilament line or get rid of mono altogether. I use power-pro braided line there is not one category that monofilament ranks better, it's far more stronger and sensitive than mono and it cast a mile. I've had line twist only twice about 5 years ago, it's never a problem.

Shimano and Power Pro!!!!

I've used spinning reels for 17 years. I mostly fish w/ people using baitcasters, and in the past they have backlashed as much as I've twisted. A friend told me about letting the line out behind the boat and retrieving at a slow speed and it works great. I've found if I have my reels spooled at Academy($3 ea), and do the behind the boat trick my reels work great and don't twist. I have had a Penn 440SSG for 2 years, and in the last year started using it for specks and reds. I think it's a great all around reel. I have just bought two more of them for saltwater fishing. Penn makes a 450SSG which is a little bigger. They cost around $80 from Bass Pro/Cabelas, but if you watch Ebay you can pick up a new one for around $50-$60.

All I use is spinning reels. I bought a Penn spinning reel a while back but I think it's a little heavy (probably because of how well it's made). The Shamono is probably your best bet. They are very well built and smooooooth working reels. I have also tried a mitchell which has done good for about 2 years now and is lighter than the Penn and a little cheaper but it still aint no Shamono.

There are two rules of thought in the saltwater use of spinning reels. You can buy cheap and have them last a couple of years . You might get 4 years if you are religous
about cleaning and oiling.
Or you buy high end and have them last for 10 yrs or more.
Either way get rid of the mono and go POWER PRO !!!
I do the cheap route . shakespeare catera or shimano 4000.
In my humble opinion, The rod is more important than the
reel. Kinda like having a weatherby vanguard and putting a $45 scope on it. You can have a high dollar reel, but if you can't feel the bite what good is it?

By the sound of your expertise, i am looking toward the shimano stradic, not sure which model(another decision i have to make) and the okuma inspira. Although i have heard good things about the penn reels, and also surprisingly nothing about a pflueger. maybe that's only for the fishing shows on T.V.

You are definitely 'right-on' with the two rules of thought, E-man. Here at the JLT Lodge for the past 15 years, I have used the cheaper Shimano Sahara 2500 spinning reels for our customers. They last like you said, about 4 years with NO maintainence and I donate them to the Make a Wish Foundation and order another 10 with matching 7'medium action Shimano rods. Do the exact same with the casting reels and rods, as we furnish our casting customers with Curados or Cronairchs on 7' medium action Shimano rods.
The only difference is we NEVER use the braided line as it is a liability with the amount of folks we have each day in each boat. There are some drawbacks to braided line that has no stretch and superior break strength with small diameter. I.E: it will cut off a finger in .01 of a second.

I have used Shimano spinning reels for the past 20 years. I have several different models. For 90% of my fishing, I use the 4000 series. What model you want depends on how nice of a real you want, but you get what you pay for.

I also have a couple of Penns. they are bullet proof, but not as smooth as the Shimano.

my reels:
Stradic 4000, 9 y/o, currently getting new gearset
Stradic 4000, 1 y/o
Penn 4500, 8y/o rock solid (wife's rig)
above are all on Falcon 6.5' lt/med action rods

Shimano Sedona 1y/o on 5.5' ugly stick rod (stepson's rig)

Stradic 5000, 5 y/o
Penn 5500, 8 y/o
both of these on 6.5' Ugly Stick Tiger rods. these heavy ones are for Bull Reds or light offshore use.
My wife prefers the big rod and reel for all redfish and drum, much easier for her to tighten the drag and crank them in.

My smaller reels are all spooled with 20 or 30lb Power Pro.
The 2 bigger reels are spooled with 50lb power pro.

I will add that my wife caught a 40lb Bull Red last April while we were fishing for Trout at the rocks in MRGO near Bayou Loutre. She caught it on the Sedona 2500 and little ugly stick!!! Was about a 15 minute battle.

I prefer the 4000 series, where many others prefer the smaller 2500 series.

By poular demand, it looks like the Shimano Stradic... I have 4 of them 4000 FH series... Didnt realise so many people use them. the only Baitcaster in my boat is the Quantum Cabo, I do also employ a Quamtum Boca Spinning reel for The Bulls.. Have Fun Fishing

Capt.
You are right about the fingers , It will also cut off a rod tip if you try to cast w a wrap around the tip.
But as an electrician i'm used to having screw driver in my back pocket so i just carry a 6" piece of broom handle in my back pocket to wrap the line around to pull loose from snags.

If you are dealing with issues with your electrical system, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
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