Originally Posted by teamprairiedog
Originally Posted by brayhaven
Originally Posted by teamprairiedog
Originally Posted by brayhaven
As a lifelong fly fisherman and former Orvis store owner, I'm picky about fly reels, even though on a 4 wt, it's most there to store your line. Last yr when I went looking for one to match a ross pack rod, in 4 wt, I ran across the ubiquitous chinese cheapos. I figured what the heck and bought a couple. And they aren't bad. The piscifun "Blaze" at @<50 bucks on Amazon is as good as some 200$ reels I've seen.. I just replaced a Hardy LRH with one. Unless you're a brand snob, I would check them out.


I'm curious about replacing a Hardy with a Piscifun? Lighter? Smoother? Better function? Don't have to worry about something happening to the pricier Hardy?
For spinning reels I have always preferred the Mitchells... the 308s have been a favorite of mine since the late '60s but this spring I bought a few Pflueger President spinning reels and they are so much smoother and the drags are much better so they have become my go-to jigging reels. Next I need to buy one of the largest size to try on a surf-rod for catfish. May retire my Mitchells all together. Switching to chinese made reels... who would have thought?


Several reasons. The Hardy on my 7/8 wt Orvis 4 piece "all rounder" had no drag, and I use the rig (as the name implies) for everything on trips. A couple big salmon in AK were too much for that rig, with no way to slow em down (& save my fingers). Also, believe it or not, the piscifun is at least as smooth or smoother and has a better line holding capacity for backing. That Hardy was on the rod for 25 years and I had a lot of fun from 8" brookies to Redfish in the gulf flats with it, but I wanted a little more power. Plus I can buy several of those Piscifun reels for what one heavily used old Hardy brings.. Not all the Chinese reels are acceptable, so read the critical reviews. Generally stay away from the 20 dollar ones on ebay, buy on amazon, or from someone with great returns. Get one with a sealed drag & machined spool. Another reel that impressed me, though not a "pretty" is the Okuma SLV.. I put one on my 9x9 for Sea trout & Redfish. Still waiting to jump a Tarpon on it to see what it really has though smile


Smoother, better function for less money, what's not to like?
Now if only the chinese will start making their versions of Anschutz 54 action rifles and Beretta o/u shotguns and S&W revolvers in the same manner.



They certainly have the capability, but don't seem interested in making guns. Though their optics have steadily improved over recent years to the point of being pretty good.
And I couldn't agree more on the annie 54 being the finest rimfire action ever made. Especially the early ones. May even be one or 2 on my website for sale 😊
Maybe the Chinese govt doesn't want the peasants to gave their hands on a lot of firearms. They had a problem with that a while back.

Greg
"An abundance of information can exacerbate ignorance if the information is of poor quality" Tom Robbins
http://classicsportingguns.com/