New Spinning reel – Help deciding what one.

By the end of last fishing season I noticed that several of my older spinning reels were getting rather worn out. Think by the start of the next season I’m going to pick up 2-3 new ones. I’ve always been mostly a Pflueger or Shimano spinning reel fan. The last few of them I purchased from either company did not seem to be near as good as they use to be, and did not seem to hold up well over time. Cabelas has a few of the Pfluger’s on sale. They have the Supreme XT on sale for 100.00 ( Reg. price was 150.00 ) they also have the President XT limited addition on sale for 60.00 ( The regular XT is priced at 100.00 ) I have a few of the older President XT’s and Supreme’s and had decent luck with them. But had a few issues with recent normal Presidents. Is there some other reels out there in the 60.00-100.00 price range that I should be taking a look at?

I have a 20 series of the President XT Limited Edition. I really like it. Lightweight, smooth reeling, smooth drag, good casting. I haven’t had any issues with it. Only slightest negative would be the wood handle can be a little slippery, but I’ve gotten used to it.

Has anyone out there had bad luck with the Shimano Saharah line of reels?

I can’t get past the fact that I own reels from 3 gens of this line and I don’t know what else I could want in a freshwater spinning reel. They seem very reasonably priced, not cheap, but how much better of a reel would you get from spending more, I’ve no idea.

blank wrote:

Only slightest negative would be the wood handle can be a little slippery, but I’ve gotten used to it.

Ya that wood handle seemed a little weird to me as well. Then again I was not a big fan of the Cork material that was on my last XT either.

I’ve switched over several of my spinning to okumas. All have been solid. 3-Epixors, inspira, cymar, also a line counter.

Zero complaints on them from me which is impressive bc I can usually find something I’m not fond of

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Has anyone out there had bad luck with the Shimano Saharah line of reels?

I can’t get past the fact that I own reels from 3 gens of this line and I don’t know what else I could want in a freshwater spinning reel. They seem very reasonably priced, not cheap, but how much better of a reel would you get from spending more, I’ve no idea.

Grouse – What’s the difference between the sahara FJ and FI models. The compare feature on their web site does not seem to be working for me.

I asked this about ice reels last year and many suggested the Okuma Ceymar. It has been a fantastic ultra light reel. Solid and precise. I would get the same model or larger for a summer fishing rod. I stuck with Shimano my whole life but 3 of their most recent reels I use a lot now bind up while using them. It’s maddening. I have taken them apart, cleaned, oiled, etc. They work for a little while then start biding again. I think I am all done with Shimano.

I have a ton of spinning reels, I started off with “cheaper” reels early in my fishing career ( Presidnets, Sedonas, Symetre’s) They all worked good for what I needed them for. As my financial situation grew, along with my fishing needs, I moved more towards “better” reels ( Tatulas, Stradics, Patriarchs) and again they did everything I needed them too and they were a little better compared to the difference in the price, and that made me think…..I now have purchased about 10 Piscifun Carbon X’s in all different sizes and honestly for a spinning reel, they do everything I need them to and I save soo much money to buy other things. I have over 10 Carbon X’s from 500- 100 sizes for ice fishing and 2000-3000 for open water and I haven’t had an issue yet with any of them. I am a big fan.

I too am looking to buy new spinning reels. I have used Shimano Symetres the last 20 years or so. My problem is if I buy new reels I need 5-6 of them and at least than many extra spools.

I am seriously considering Daiwa Fuego. They are $100 but extra spools are $30.

I bought a Daiwa Revros (recommended here) for ice fishing 2-3 years ago. Cost $50 and Spool now down to $8. I have zero issues with it. But it’s hard for me to buy $50 reels when 20+ years ago I was spending $80. How long will the $50 reel last???? 20 + years like the Symetre??????

Penn Battle 3. Aluminum built mostly targeted for saltwater but they are fantastic. I have converted almost all of my Shimanos over after they go out.

I haven’t enjoyed the newer Pfluegers like I did the older ones. I’ve been running Daiwa Fuego LTs and Legalis spinning reals which both fall into your price range. I really believe those are the best two spinning reals in that price range and actually out perform that usual quality of that price range.

I’ve had great luck with Daiwa reels the last 3-4 years.

Definitely check out Okuma or Piscifun spinning reels. I have several of the Piscifun inline reels for ice fishing and they are 100x better than the Freefall I have. I hate that reel. Its not smooth, its loud and the drag isnt very good. I have to imagine that their spinning reels are made of equal quality and they are priced really well for what you get.

I used to be a really big Shimano fan and still have quite a few reels. I have a couple different shimano symetres of different generations. IMO the older ones are better quality. My newest symetre that is a 1000fl that is green has had some issues if it gets wet, becomes hard to turn and has to be taken apart and cleaned out re-lubed. I too purchased a daiwa revros lt1000 a couple years back and it is a hell of a reel for the price. Only thing I don’t like about it is the spool is pretty small and you can’t get much line on it if you are spooling it with even 6lb line. I like the 1000 size reels so that I am able to use them for both open water and ice fishing. I bought a even cheaper diawa crossfire this past spring for a trout rod and it is amazing how smooth it is. Unless something changes going forward when I purchase new reels, my money will be going to Diawa. Sheels also carries rebranded Diawa reels named under their store brand. I think they are the same price tho.

I started with a few of the regular Presidents in 20 & 25 size several years ago. A few years ago added a couple President XT 25’s. I’ve had zero complaints with any of them. Use them year round, switching 3 of them to my ice rods in winter. That being said, I’ll be following this conversation because I’d like to try something different on my next spinning setup just because. I’m leaning toward Diawa. Seems they’ve really improved over the last several years. Added a Tatula CT to a crank casting setup last year and really like it. Okuma is on the radar also.

suzuki wrote:

I asked this about ice reels last year and many suggested the Okuma Ceymar. It has been a fantastic ultra light reel. Solid and precise. I would get the same model or larger for a summer fishing rod. I stuck with Shimano my whole life but 3 of their most recent reels I use a lot now bind up while using them. It’s maddening. I have taken them apart, cleaned, oiled, etc. They work for a little while then start biding again. I think I am all done with Shimano.

I also purchased several Okuma Ceymar reels for ice fishing ( Smallest size ) they seem to be working well. The only problem I had was the grease they came with tended to get real thick making it hard to reel in cold winter temps. I opened them up and removed the factory grease and replaced with Quantum hot sauce and have not had any more problems. Most my summer reels get more use in a month of fishing than my winter reels get in several years. Just want to make sure they will hold up or time.

BCNeal wrote:

I’ve had great luck with Daiwa reels the last 3-4 years.

It seems like Diawa has turned things around the last few years. I had several of their spinning reels many years ago and had nothing but problems with them and said I’d never own another one. Maybe its time to give them another chance.

The one thing I’ve noticed about almost all spinning reels these days is they all feel great when brand new. I tend to put lots of use on my reels and to me how well they hold up over time is the important thing. Like a lot of items these days things ( Reels included ) just don’t seem to be built as well or hold up as well over time. I know lots of people here will say this is because so many things are made in China or other countries. I wish it was as simple as that. it seems even US made products ( When you can find them ) are not made as well. Maybe I’m just getting old and this is just what all old people say

Is there any reason to buy an “ice” sized reel? Like what exactly are the benefits? Is balance a concern? Does that realistically matter in an ice rod. Why not just buy a regular sized reel and use it for both ice and open water? Especially with the trend of longer ice rods these days. Don’t tell me a perfectly balanced ice rod is going to keep you on the ice longer/catch you more fish. I could see that being an issue with open water big sticks but cmon, on an ice rod?
Seems to me, the bigger the spool, the less “wraps” or twists in the line.

Just questioning my old buying decisions is all. love to hear some of your guys thoughts.

Jake wrote:

Is there any reason to buy an “ice” sized reel? Like what exactly are the benefits? Is balance a concern? Does that realistically matter in an ice rod. Why not just buy a regular sized reel and use it for both ice and open water? Especially with the trend of longer ice rods these days. Don’t tell me a perfectly balanced ice rod is going to keep you on the ice longer/catch you more fish. I could see that being an issue with open water big sticks but cmon, on an ice rod?
Seems to me, the bigger the spool, the less “wraps” or twists in the line.

Just questioning my old buying decisions is all. love to hear some of your guys thoughts.

Size. Matching the reel to the rod.
Sometimes you can overlap tiny reels between ice rods and full sized ultra-lite rods. You can always throw any giant reel on an ice rod and it will work but it wont be balanced and wont feel as good as properly sizing it.

BCNeal wrote:

I’ve had great luck with Daiwa reels the last 3-4 years.

X2 – Take a look at a Diawa Regal LT. Best thing out there under $100 IMO.

-J.

Matt L wrote:

Penn Battle 3. Aluminum built mostly targeted for saltwater but they are fantastic. I have converted almost all of my Shimanos over after they go out.

This…I love the Battle Series by Penn. Alot of saltwater guides run them so they will take a beating. The other reels I use are the Daiwa BG series which have been very good.

Jake wrote:

Is there any reason to buy an “ice” sized reel? Like what exactly are the benefits? Is balance a concern? Does that realistically matter in an ice rod. Why not just buy a regular sized reel and use it for both ice and open water? Especially with the trend of longer ice rods these days. Don’t tell me a perfectly balanced ice rod is going to keep you on the ice longer/catch you more fish. I could see that being an issue with open water big sticks but cmon, on an ice rod?
Seems to me, the bigger the spool, the less “wraps” or twists in the line.

Just questioning my old buying decisions is all. love to hear some of your guys thoughts.

I’m not saying it cant be done. But fishing a 40 or 4000 size reel on my 24″ UL noodle rod with a spring bobber would sure feel funny. Then again with the line recovery on the larger reels I’d only need to turn the handle a few times to have the fish up and out of the hole. I do swap some of my small reels from my UL summer setup over to my ice rods. I mostly only fish panfish in the winter so no ice rods to swap the larger reels over to

Shimano used to be my favorite, but last few broke . Switched to Diawa a couple years ago and love them! The drags are super smooth

For years I used Shimano reels with some Diawa reels sprinkled in.

Last year I started buying strictly Piscifun reels and have zero complaints with them.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Has anyone out there had bad luck with the Shimano Saharah line of reels?

I can’t get past the fact that I own reels from 3 gens of this line and I don’t know what else I could want in a freshwater spinning reel. They seem very reasonably priced, not cheap, but how much better of a reel would you get from spending more, I’ve no idea.

Have 2 – LOVE THEM

All manufacturers make reels to a specific price point. The difficulty is knowing what they cheapened up to get them there.

If I see high end models go on a spring sale at Cabela’s or bass pro, I would consider those. When $200 reels are 50% off, they are being closed out because a model change. My experience is the new model will have cheaper components

Jon Jordan wrote:

Take a look at a Diawa Regal LT. Best thing out there under $100 IMO.

I like the Daiwa Fuego too.

I still have a couple of Shimano Sahara reels that are at least a decade old and they are smooth as butter. I take them in for reconditioning every 3 years.

I have 2 Dawai B G 2500. Very nice reels. Very smooth drag. Paid about $100.00 at Fish Usa about 5 yrs ago.

Michael Best wrote:

For years I used Shimano reels with some Diawa reels sprinkled in.

Last year I started buying strictly Piscifun reels and have zero complaints with them.

I have some higher end Shimano’s 1 is made in Japan , and love them. Yet over Christmas ordered 7 Pisifuns ,Tom Boley pitching them . So far no regrets .