Want to start out well – spinning reel?

Hello,

I’m new to fishing and have been reading a lot and learning what I can. I’m trying to figure out what reel.would be best for me as a newbie. I’m leaning strongly towards a spinning reels it sounds like it’s better than spincasting reels and more durable while being easier than bait casting. I’ve seen a couple of people recommend a Shimano reel with Quick Fire technology so that you can cast with one hand. But other people have discussed that those reeks can baxk-spin a bit (I believe when hooking a fish) causing the user to lose a fish that they otherwise would have had. I don’t know if the one handed casting is good or if I should just go ahead and learn on a standard spinning reel. I also recommended that fit an allb around setup, a second (or third?) spool for the reel with different weight line is really helpful. I am curious if any reel can simply have the spool switched out if you purchase extras via a manufacturer’s parts department or if swapping spools is difficult on some reels. I’m trying to keep it in a reasonable price range. I don’t fully know what I will be fishing for but I’ll be lake fishing from the shore out dock in New England. That’s partly why I’m looking for an all around spinning reel setup. It may or may not be relevant but I’m disabled so easy casting would be a nice thing and if anyone thinks of other things that might be relevant to me, given certain limitations I may face I thought it worth mentioning.

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, advice, and learning from your experience and wisdom.

I am very fond of the Pflueger Supreme reels. Costly at $100, but does include a spare spool.

I prefer the size 25 for jigging and casting.

Shimano makes some great reels also.

Pickup and play with certain reels you are interested in pair them with the rod u have and make sure the weight of the reel doesn’t take away from the action of the rod.. probably on leaving of the biggest mistakes people make…pflueger is a darn good reel the president runs 60$ and that’s a solid reel for the price any Shimano reel is pretty stout as well from what I’ve been told I have limited usage with shinano6… I have all pfluegers ranging from the president to the patriarch xt and they have all been extremely great… the pure fishing warranty has been 2nd to none for me and that’s why I keep going with pfluegers…if your willing to spend a little more money on a reel they usually come with a spare spool. I have numerous spare spools just taking up space I rarely ever switch spools…if you run braid or superline and your worried about it just tight on a fluorocarbon leader of your desired length
Regardless pick something that is comfortable in your hand and a compliment to your rod
Good luck
Let us know what you go with

lifereinspired wrote:

Hello,
It may or may not be relevant but I’m disabled so easy casting would be a nice thing and if anyone thinks of other things that might be relevant to me, given certain limitations I may face I thought it worth mentioning.

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, advice, and learning from your experience and wisdom.

I would not worry about “one handed casting”. A standard spinning reel does not require two hands to make the actual cast. You will use two hands just prior to making the actual cast. The steps required would be;
(A)hold the rod in your preferred hand
(B) extend your index finger of the hand holding the rod and “pick up” the fishing line where it leaves the reel
(C) with your other hand, open the bail on the spinning reel, it will stay open and you can take that hand away from the reel

You are now ready to cast using only the hand holding your rod.

A good mid-price range spinning reel is a good place to start and can serve you well for many years. It does not need to be a major investment.

Here are a couple rod and reel combo’s you might consider. One is medium/light and the other is medium weight. The medium/light would be best suited for “panfish” and the other combo would be just a bit stiffer rod if you wanted something just a bit heavier.

medium/light rod/reel

medium rod

Hope this helps and good luck in your purchase.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Rae Phillips wrote:</div>
Hello,
It may or may not be relevant but I’m disabled so easy casting would be a nice thing and if anyone thinks of other things that might be relevant to me, given certain limitations I may face I thought it worth mentioning.

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, advice, and learning from your experience and wisdom.

I would not worry about “one handed casting”. A standard spinning reel does not require two hands to make the actual cast. You will use two hands just prior to making the actual cast. The steps required would be;
(A)hold the rod in your preferred hand
(B) extend your index finger of the hand holding the rod and “pick up” the fishing line where it leaves the reel
(C) with your other hand, open the bail on the spinning reel, it will stay open and you can take that hand away from the reel

You are now ready to cast using only the hand holding your rod.

A good mid-price range spinning reel is a good place to start and can serve you well for many years. It does not need to be a major investment.

Here are a couple rod and reel combo’s you might consider. One is medium/light and the other is medium weight. The medium/light would be best suited for “panfish” and the other combo would be just a bit stiffer rod if you wanted something just a bit heavier.

medium/light rod/reel

medium rod

Hope this helps and good luck in your purchase.

X2 ,good information for starting out. Good luck with your choice.

Shimano symetry. $100. As good as any reel out there and not a bad price. Size 2500 will cover most fishing situations for you.

Look into Abu Garcia Veritas Rods. Gander has them at $99 but they have a $20 rebate so they cost $79. For all around I would look into a medium power. The length will depend on your preference and height. A Pfluegar supreme reel is great and comes with an extra spool. It may be better to look at the Pfluegar president and the cost of additional spools from there.

Aaron mccarthy wrote:

Shimano symetry. $100. As good as any reel out there and not a bad price. Size 2500 will cover most fishing situations for you.

X2

Steve Hix wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Aaron mccarthy wrote:</div>
Shimano symetry. $100. As good as any reel out there and not a bad price. Size 2500 will cover most fishing situations for you.

X2

X3… I own a half dozen, a few quite old already, flawless.

Zebco makes a reel called the underspin,it hangs like a spinimg reel but has a trigger.Is it the best, no ,but it is one easy fishing reel to master. And the cost is reasonable. DK.

Shimano-Symetre @ $100. and Pflueger-President 6900’s @ $60 get my vote! My first open bail reel was the Spirex. However good it was to be able to grab the line and open the bail after a while it was aggravating. The slap in its position if I did not back reel to it’s stopping point would make me loose fish when setting the hook!

You already have some good advice. But one thing to keep in mind is that the group you are asking are a bit of a fringe element . No offense intended they have all given top notch advice on excellent gear. But, if you are interested in trying fishing, I do not want you to get scared off by the price of higher end gear. There are plenty of quality spinning reels that you can get get for less than $50, same thing with rods. If you got a shimano sedona and a berkley lightning rod, you will be out the door for somewhere between 59-79.

If $$$ is not an issue, you already have great info. But if $$$ is an issue you can get perfectly fine gear and have a lot of success at a price point that works for you.

ptc wrote:

You already have some good advice.,,,,,,,,,, There are plenty of quality spinning reels that you can get get for less than $50, same thing with rods. But if $$$ is an issue you can get perfectly fine gear and have a lot of success at a price point that works for you.

Exactly, that’s why both the rod/reel combos I suggested, were under $50.00 total. These are good serviceable combos that will get the job done.

Get a Shimano Sienna for $30-$40 to learn on, or splurge for a $40-$50 Sedona. You do NOT need to spend $100 on your first spinning reel, you will be perfectly happy spending $40-$50, you can put that saved money towards bait or lures or something.

You don’t need to pay big bucks to get functional solid equipment, I’d start with something on the lower end until you get your feet wet, then upgrade if you feel the need. Chances are you won’t need to upgrade for awhile though.

And yes, you can order extra spools and they are extremely easy to change, just have the guy at your shop show you how. If you are buying online then we can link to a youtube vid or something. It’s no more difficult than unscrewing a wingnut with your fingers.

philtickelson wrote:

Get a Shimano Sienna for $30-$40 to learn on, or splurge for a $40-$50 Sedona. You do NOT need to spend $100 on your first spinning reel, you will be perfectly happy spending $40-$50, you can put that saved money towards bait or lures or something.

You don’t need to pay big bucks to get functional solid equipment, I’d start with something on the lower end until you get your feet wet, then upgrade if you feel the need. Chances are you won’t need to upgrade for awhile though.

And yes, you can order extra spools and they are extremely easy to change, just have the guy at your shop show you how. If you are buying online then we can link to a youtube vid or something. It’s no more difficult than unscrewing a wingnut with your fingers.

I have a couple siennas and love them. They are very smooth for the price. big fan of the flueger reels too. As far as a rod goes, I have the berkley cheerywoods as my panfish rods and they are great. I have the medium action and they have plenty of feel. Have used for walleyes too. for the price they are a good rod IMO. Best of luck to you.

When it comes to spinning gear I would rather have a 50$ reel on a 100$ rod than a 100$ reel on a 50$ rod.

Mr. D dropping truths

Thank you all so much for the replies and such excellent information! I’m extremely grateful. I appreciate hearing about your favorite reels to start out with in both splurge and tighter budgets. It’s great to hear that I can start out a little less expensively and still enjoy the process if I can’t afford the “dream reels”.

@Denny O, what you described is exactly what I read other people had complaints about on the Quick Fire reels, in order for them to get to their necessary position, they backspin enough to cause loss of the fish in certain instances. I suppose everything has tradeoffs and maybe some people prefer the one handed casting with the price of the lid of occasional fish. I have to admit, after watching the mechanics of a few casts on YouTube, I began wondering about how much a one handed car would really help add you still have to reel it in with both hands. It’s not like you can just be drinking something, reading a book, out using your cell phone with the other hand. Plus, it sound like even with the one handed Quick Fire cast-ability, you have to immediately reel in a bit too try to stop the back spin issue losing whatever was gained by the one handed benefit. Many thanks to @Huntingdave as well for such a clear and succinct description of a cast. It’s kind of what I was thinking that if I’m going to learn a spinning reel, just go ahead and learn with a standard one.

I also appreciate hearing about the Zebco undersign trigger spin reel. I had actually seen that one in passing and though it was cool to have options that would work with a spoon rod if I had to much difficulty in learning the spinning reel starting off. I’m grateful that you were thinking outside the box which gives me another viable option just so I have somewhere to go if I get frustrated with the spinning reel rather than quitting altogether. I hope I’ll be able to learn the spinning reel right off but I’m happy for the knowledge of an alternative.

One further question, as I’ve been reading, I’ve come across some interesting and I think relatively recent recommendations about spinning reels. The idea seems to be to go up in size on a spinning reel from what would traditionally be used for a given type of setup (even an API around one). My understanding is that with the improvements in design and weight over the last few years, that the larger spools have less line issues and other benefits making it essentially easier to use and perhaps more versatile. It sounds like the proponents of this idea feel that the benefits of the larger reel size outweigh the small weight increase. I’m just curious as to what you feel about this concept. The price difference for going up in reel size from most of what I’ve seen, is negligible and I’m curious if it might take out some potential challenges with smaller gear.

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience with a newbie. I’m truly grateful!