Home Forums Fishing Saltwater Spinning reel preference?

What’s the quality buy regardless of price? Mainly for fish up to 50 lbs or so.

Since you said quality buy regardless of price I like the Shimano Sienna FD in 2500, midsize or 4000, a little bigger. Around $30 with a lot of the same features as their more expensive reels. I've never caught a 50 or even a ten lb fish with them so don't know how the drag would hold up but have been using them for over five years for all kind of fresh water and salt water surf fishing with no problems. They quit making the FD model a year or so ago but you can find them on ebay.

Regardless of price? Buy a Saltiga or Stella - I'm sure they're great. I have a spinfisher for exactly the kind of fish you are expecting, and haven't been let down. Have a Sienna RD too, and it's been very nice for inshore fishing - light and reliable, but not enough line capacity for larger fish.

If price s not a consideration then a Shimano Stella is gonna be tops.

Lots of great reels for a fraction of the cost though. Hard to beat a Saragossa for the money. Diawa Black Gold gets really good reviews and are about $100. Quantum Cabo’s a bit more. I like the Penn Battle II’s well enough.

Check out the Daiwa BG4000, very affordable SW reel at about $100, (I've got two now, both spooled with 30 lb. braid). Great inshore SW reels.

Always Shimano for me.

I been using shimano Stellas I believe since 2003. I have about 8 of them. Most 4000s. A few 6000s and 10k . Still using the first one I ever bought. Only one ever needed a bearing in the line roller. I fish exclusively in the salt. I fished an average two days a week from 2003-2009. Less after but still alot of fishing. Skiff, wading , yaking . Keep them rinsed and lubricated and they will last a long time. Salt and saltwater fish are hard on reels. I must disclose I havent bought one in 7 years so if they changed them up I wouldn't know.

new model Shimanos are not as robust as those of several years ago, I can't get a whole season out of them (Stadics and Sustains) any more. Have begun trialing some other brands after a couple decades of loyalty to Shimano. I've never had enough class to own a Stella.

You usually get what you pay for,no matter the brand. Just don't buy into the latest gimmick until it's been vetted.

This

If you are not wanting to spend hundreds, the Penn Battle 2s hold up and cast very good and made for braid. You can pick them up for under $100 on ebay often in $60-70 range.

I have about 20 from 1000 to 4000 size. In larger sizes I have gone with the Fin Nor and they are rated as one of the top salt water reels. They are under $100 or so in the 50-60 size.

I tried several and settled on a Shimano Thunnus for my salt water use. Has been great so far.

The Daiwa BGs have been great reels for me.......I fish close to 30 or 40 days a year on the east coast, as well as the middle grounds out of tampa..........the 4000 has caught blackfin tuna, yellow fins up to 25 pounds, mutton snapper and of course all the spanish and blues you could want to shake a stick at off the piers here..........I was a die hard shimano guy(still have a number of older stradics that are still going strong) but the new BG series from Diawa is as good as I have used in a while.........

I always begin and end my spinning reel shopping in the Shimano section.
I have a bunch of Sahara and Sedona models, but if price were no object, it would be a Sustain.

I had luck with Diawa. Emcast

28,

I can heartily recommend the Shimano Stratic ci4+
I have two of these in the 2500 size that I use for just about everything.

You may want to up size to the 4000 series, due to the upper fish/weight size you mentioned.
Either the ci4+ or the FK will work very well for you.

The ci4+ utilizes carbon fiber and is very light weight, helping keep day long fishing fatigue down.
The FK is basically the same reel without the carbon fiber. Both are very smooth with fast retrieval rates.

Good luck 🎣

A buddy of mine fished with a bunch guides and told me many guides are using Penn Battles with good sucess. Hear say but probably good information.

Fished with a guide on the Charleston harbor jetties last week - all his rods were Ugly Stik Big Water or Tigers and all his reels were Penn Fierce II & Battle II (6000 & 8000), or Penn SSV (inshore - 4500, 5500). All spooled with braid (30 lb. to 50 lb.) I asked about his choices - said Ugly Stik's are nearly unbreakable and if they go over the side he hasn't lost much investment. As to reels, he personally prefers Daiwa for his own use but, Penn has a terrific Charter Captain/Guide program and he can buy all he needs at dealer wholesale, Daiwa limits him to 6 reels per year. He also feels the Fierce is just as good as the Battle for the life expectancy - the extra cost of the Battle doesn't give him any longer use than the Fierce. Interesting to listen to his take on it.

Have always been a big shimano fan and thought the sahara was a great durable reel for the price point.
I put in a lot of hours in the salt.I think shimano quality has diminished the past 10 years for their

r sub $200 reels

I think then past few years diawa has really improved their quality and design. Picked up a diawa battle and really think it is a good reel.

Have a few penns too and no complaints. For the money I would go Diawa.

If price is no object, Van Stahl or Shimano Stella. With the right rod, they will stop most anything short of big marlin and bluefin. Smaller sizes will last damn near forever with proper maintenance.

I like Van Stahl reels a lot. I've also had great performance from the Fin-Nor Offshore spinning reels and they are priced well below the Van Stahl and Shimano Stella.

Pretty much, any quality reel should do as long as you remember and adhere to ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,A REEL IS NOT A WINCH!,,,A REEL IS NOT< I SAY AGAIN< A REEL IS NOT A WINCH!
Pump your rod
Reel in the slack
Repeat

Just bought an Okuma salt water reel at Cabela's

The salesman said they had never had one come back, and that it compared closely to $300. reels.

$75. out the door. Had 20 lb. bright green mono. put on it. Should show up good when casting in the surf

Anyone have any experience with one of these?

Thanks! Virgil B.

Not only am I a professional fisherman, I also use to have a Penn reel repair business (that I sold). Penn design wasn't always that great. I got to test the 950ssm series before they hit the market. I helped them perfect it. I got a Stella 20000 and it was smoother than a Penn. Only problem is, just 8 years later the bail roller bearing got corroded and Shimano DOES NOT have the parts to replace it. They don't make them anymore.

You can get Penn parts for very old models but Shimano stops making parts in just 5 years on models that they have modified. I searched many places to find parts to fix it but at 8 years, I was just too late. Now I have a $1000 paper weight.

Capt. Jeff

Always thought the Stellas were way overpriced for what they delivered.

The shop that has been cleaning/repairing/rebuilding my reels over the last several reels has a serious dislike for the Stella, not a good working tool in their opinion. They have also observed the decline in quality of most Shimano models over recent years.
They have been good about finding parts for older Shimanos, but, like Capt Jeff, I have been burnt by Shimanos lack of support for expensive reels that don't seem that old.
Current recommendations from them is to look at Okumas, Shimanos, and some of the Penns.
I'm liking some of the newer magnetic bail developments.
One of the better fisherman I run with has taken to using very good rods with low end (cheap) reels, simply regarding them as disposable. He might be right.

Just bought a new surf reel two weeks back - a Penn Slammer III 5500. Fished it twice now, but caught nothing to really give it any work, seems well built and very heavy duty, looking forward to fishing it some more.

Read Alan Hawks review on spinners.

Diawa BG spinners have most of the features found in their top of the line spinners and cost wwaaaay less!

I was going to suggest the NEW Daiwa BG line. Depending on fish size and style. Alan Hawks review is what made me get one. Corvinas in Peru fight hard in tough places (much like stripers up NE), people use Shimano Stradics (4 and 5k size), Saragosas, Penn Battle and above. Shimano's have a reputation for being finnicky in the salt/sand.

My Daiwa BG3000 is equivalent to my Penn Battle 4000, though the Daiwa is smoother and I would compare it to the Stradic FJs I've handled. Durability may be the difference, but I haven't used it enough yet.

For fish up to 50lbs you would need a size 5000 reel, and capability of at least 15lb of sustained drag, maybe more if fishing around rocks/lots of current.

Daiwa Saltiga, Shimano Stella, Van Staal, Zeebass, those I can't afford, but supposedly float on top of the top of the creme de la creme.

My favorite is 4000 Stradic. It’s a beast in disguise!!

I have always favored Abu Garcia baitcasting and spinning reels primarily for the quality and primarily for parts availability. Heck if you need parts for the 50-year-old Cardinal 4 series plenty of parts available on Ebay.

Daiwa may be a rising star, but the ones I looked at for the size I use are heavier, which may help durability, but for most of what I do, I like LIGHT or UltraLight when it comes to spinning gear. In larger sizes the weight may be comparable to competitors I have not checked. Had a Penn Battle first gen, 3000, solid reel but heavier and too much for bass etc. Would be great on Catfish and Redfish, etc of modest size. A 4000 or 5000 would def be a top pick on size of any reel using for thru 50lb fish.

No doubt on the comment above, one might could run a cheap reel a season or 3 and replace, good rods do not get the same wear and last.

Not worn out a Pflueger or Shimano...yet.........but if I do, they will have landed many fish.

I agree with 65 BR re Diawa. The 2500 Diawa BG I've got is comparable to a 3000 Shimano and the handle seems a little big for the reel.

From what I've seen spinning reels get better and better for the money. IMO It's hard to go wrong with most major mfgs. for the average non commercial user. A good example are my two $30 Shimano Sienna 2500s. They've been used in fresh and salt water over the past six years with minimal maintenance and are still going strong.

I like the penn spinfishers have a couple 8500LL, like the live liner feature. use them offshore and in the rivers fishing for alligator gar.

I have five or so of the Stella 4000’s I bought back between 2002-2004. Been fished pretty hard. Skiff , wading and now kayak fishing. Every weekend at least a day March thru July in Southwest Florida saltwater. A few drops of oil every year and they work great. Only one has been to the shop for a line roller bearing. I never bought any other reels after that as I never needed to. In my opinion they were a great value. I got no opinion on the new ones but I suspect they would be too expensive if I had to retool. So I would probably look at other options if I ever need new reels. Seems I paid $400 or so back when I bought them. If they break now any I cant get parts then I will consider I got my moneys worth over 15-17 years of trouble free use.

1000.00 fishing reels?

Penn Spinfisher V on close out sale directly from Penn at half price right now. Several local shops as well, bought a SSV3500 for $70 locally early this week.

If money were truly no object, then I would have to try a Van Staal or a Zeebaas (both of those are spelled correctly, BTW.)

But since I don't want to spend the kind of money that will buy a decent rifle on a reel, my go to salt water inshore spinner for years has been the original Daiwa Black Gold, BG15. They are not elegant, but they are tough. I cannot say I use them as hard as some, but people I know who use equipment seriously, the late Billy Sandifer for one, speak highly of the original Black Golds. I keep thinking Daiwa is going to quit making them, but so far they have not. I guess they have a loyal following.

I have been getting into surf fishing and one of the more knowledgeable and still alive people I know, Nick Meyer of Breakaway Tackle Development, likes the newer Daiwa BG (confusing, I know) reels. They do have a lot of features for the money. I've a BG5000 I like a lot, but haven't used hard enough to recommend. That said, the Alan Hawk BG review mentioned earlier is as complete a reel review as you will ever want to read. I'm a PhD engineer, and I made a copy of it for my records. That said, I still bought a surf sized original Black Gold BG60 to put back in case Daiwa ever quits making the series. (I think I have enough BG15 reels to last me.)

If you want to learn from the folks that use stuff hard, read the surf fishing forums. The old Penn "Greenie" series and the almost identical SS series also have a following, and rightly so.

Finally, the first thing I do to any spinning reel is remove the parts that automatically close the bail. Learn to close the bail by hand and your spinning reel endeavors will go a lot smoother. Some remove the bail altogether, but I don't think that is necessary if you convert to manually closing the bail.

Hope this helps,
Gun Doc

Nick Meyer is a good guy and knows his stuff.

Great advise on manually closing the bail. After you do it a while it becomes automatic.

Agree on both counts, but never tell him I said so!

Great advise on manually closing the bail. After you do it a while it becomes automatic.
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Yes, it does, and since your are reaching down to crank the reel anyway, it is very little extra motion.

I only get to salt water fish a couple times a year. I still use the old Mitchell Garcia reels from the 60's and 70's. Have several 306's,1 302, and a couple 402's. Love em and parts are fairly easy to find on Ebay and the local fishing shows. Caught a 48 lb. striper last April in the Chesapeake Bay on the 402.

Back in the day, a pro fishing guide Dad knew always cut the bail wires off the reel, and manually closed - so mine got cut when I was barely a teen. I never think about manually closing the bail, it's 'Automatic'

you from corpus?

Born and raised in San Antonio. Spent a lot of time in Rockport as a kid, when it was truly a small little fishing town and not much else. Have lived in Austin since '73, when I came to school at UT. That was when it was a big small town not over run with idiots. Now looking to get the hell out and move south, but not sure where. Have a condo in Port Aransas, a lot in Holiday Beach, but not wanting to live on the coast (I said this before Harvey, but hurricanes are the reason I always said that.) We do want to get closer to the coast. Met Nick when I built a simple machine to test the breaking strength of fishing hardware like snaps and such. Showed it to him. He liked it, built his own and we became friends. I'm and engineer, so we connect, although he likes to pick on engineers. I just tell him "piss off" in my best British accent, and we both laugh. He is a great guy.

Maybe that was too much information and sorry everyone for the hijack. Stxhunter, PM me if you want.

Gun Doc

I recently bought a second hand Penn for $25. which is a very good deal. My fishing is limited to salt water only simply because of my proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

Sherwood

A little more on the Diawa Black Gold. Last week I surf fished every day for three or four hours with a 2500 model. There's been a lot said and written about the quality parts and engineering of this reel and it's value compared to reels costing better than twice as much. My use of it wasn't all that demanding. It got dunked a couple of times and no big fish but it worked perfect every day and IMO is as smooth as any spinning reels I've used including reels costing more than twice as much. I've been a Shimano fan for a lot of years, still am but I'd have to say for smoothness of operation and if the quality of parts and engineering is as good as reported, for around $90 the Black Gold might be as good a spinning reel value for heavy saltwater or freshwater use as you'll find.

You cannot beat the old Penn SS series. Built like tanks, and perform. They have been "re-discovered", so some sellers price them accordingly.

Doubt it.

Van Staal. Its a reel, not a chainsaw.

The Daiwa BG is a fantastic reel. Look no further unless you want to.

Very few warts on the battle, but for very little more you get a reel with a much more robust maingear. A home run imo for Daiwa.

I have penn slammers, ss, Z's, in addition to stradics and baitrunners from shimano. So I am not a brand loyal drone. Lots of great reels on the market, but the new BG hits a huge quality for price ratio.

When I use mine I have never said "I should have brought the _______". Not once. Not ever.

My go to surf and tuna plugging reel is the Daiwa Saltiga.

Van Staal is my #2 in the surf or from the boat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Penn-5500ss-Saltwater-Freshwater-Spinning-Fishing-Reel-Boat-Pier-Bank-4/153377314979?hash=item23b60018a3:g:EU4AAOSwsIFcZIJg

Nothing can touch Shimano.

Daiwa BG for me.

Daiwa Fuego. Tons of line capacity for the size, small and light for the size, tons of drag and mag sealed.

The only spinning reel I ever used for saltwater was the Shimano Baitrunner. My brother got it for my Mom. I don't remember the weight line but I want to say 20lb maybe heavier. It was a neat setup.

I have one. That is a perfect setup, depending on which size reel. Excellent for live baiting.

I'd set it up for her freshwater for stripped bass and big catfish. loves loves it.

That would work, too.

... including the repairman once the stocked parts are gone due to shimano's strategy of forced obsolescence.


Love my Stradic FD and FJ though. Great reels.

This seems to be a very very thought of reel that hasnt gained the popularity of some others yet. I never handled one, but a few guys I know who spend serious time on the water think highly of them.

A baitcaster is not a spinning reel.

I have diawa, abu garcia, Shimano , penn spinning reels. Diawa puts out a really good product for the price

This is the best advice on this whole thread.

The Battle 2’s give you the most value for the money.

The more expensive reels might give small increases in functionality, but demand very large increases in cost.

Good Luck.

Between the Penn Battle III and the Daiwa BG, which is a better all round reel? Flip of the coin?

For the VERY BEST quality Stella is IT! Regardless of which model Stella you get they are AWESOME! Expensive but AWESOME. You definitely can tell the difference between this model and anything else on the market.