# spinning reel for less than $100?



## OSUBryan (Aug 26, 2009)

I would like to hear from experienced fishermen about what would be the best spinning reel in their opinion less than $100. I am new to fishing Ohio's rivers and do a lot of crank baits, spinner baits, and buzz baits. I have been fishing for small mouth mostly (or whatever eats my lure).


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## Fish G3 (Jul 16, 2008)

Shimano Symetre retails for around 99.99 I believe...by far the best you can get for less than 100 bucks. You can even go with the Sahara's which are a step lower than the symetre's 79.99 and IMO those are the best choices for less than 100. Good luck.


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## OSUBryan (Aug 26, 2009)

Should I consider a more expensive reel? Am I really limiting myself with only spending $100?


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## Tokugawa (Apr 29, 2008)

OSUBryan said:


> Should I consider a more expensive reel? Am I really limiting myself with only spending $100?


You should always consider a more expensive reel! 

The Saros is a nice reel at $129. The Stradic is a very, very nice reel. If you hurry, the Stradic 1000 Mg is on sale at Tackle Warehouse:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpageRLSSHIMANO-SSMGFB.html

It is a steal at $135.


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## Stauff (Mar 7, 2005)

Brian, there are some terrific buys in reels today. I've purchased a number of Shimano's in the past, with my favorite being the Symetre - but I'm just not sold on the current version @ $99. The past few years I've tried a few models of Pflueger and been very pleased. The Supreme model can be purchased for around $99 and stand up to almost any other model at twice the price. There are a few President models (some Dick's exclusive) that are great reels for the price (around $60). The Cabela's house-model Prodigy is a Daiwa-made reel that can be purchased for around $100 that is a very good value. Get out and play around with some. A lot will depend on what size reel you are looking for and what features YOU like. Do your part to stimulate the economy - buy more than one!!!


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

I have owned a Pflueger Supreme for the last 2 years and it has performed very well. It has a nice smooth drag and it is pretty light due to the magnesium frame. For $100, it is an extremely nice reel. You should also look at Shimano's and Daiwa's too but you may have to spend a little more. I know the lower end Daiwa's tend to be on the heavier side although they are fairly smooth. I own a couple of the older Regals with only 4 bearings and they pretty smooth but heavy. The tolerances are not as tight as their upper end reels though.

The Bass Pro spinning reels are not bad either for the money. I own thean Extreme and my brother owns a Pro Qualifer. Since I barely use spinning outfits, my Extreme has only seen a few trips of usage during the last 3 years so I cannot make a claim on how it performs over a period of time but it is nice and smooth and has a nice drag. My brother's Pro Qualifer on the other hand has seen a lot of usage the last two years and its even been dumped in the water a couple times and it still is nice and smooth. 

From my own personal experiences, the higher quality reels are smoother and lighter than the lower end reels. You will feel the biggest difference between a cheap reel and upper end reel with baitcasting reels than you would with spinning reels. With baitcasters, you can actually cast farther with an upper reel due to the quality of the bearings and the braking system. The reel over all is smoother and has tighter tolerances thoughout. Your casts will be more consistant too. On spinning reels, the handles will actually take less effort to turn with a better quality reel. They tend to have a nice fluid motion when turning the handle. The handle will almost turn just by its own weight...no kidding. The drags are also smoother on the more expensive reels...no shudderings between starts and stops.


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## Bassapprentice (Apr 14, 2009)

i bought an Abu Soron stx10 from FishG3 on the ogf marketplace for $75 the other day. I'm pretty sure he has another. I can testify. It's new in the box. 2 spools. never been used. it's a heckuva sweet reel, especially for the price.


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## Flashball (Aug 26, 2009)

Pfluger President


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## ROCKS (Apr 5, 2008)

I bought a Saros about six weeks ago and have used it seven times.This is by far the smoothest spinning reel I have ever used for the money.Well worth it in my opinion.


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## catfish catchers (Apr 9, 2009)

Bassapprentice said:


> i bought an Abu Soron stx10 from FishG3 on the ogf marketplace for $75 the other day. I'm pretty sure he has another. I can testify. It's new in the box. 2 spools. never been used. it's a heckuva sweet reel, especially for the price.


i 2nd this even tho i got one from BPS ,get a soron its a great reel you wont regret it


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## Fish G3 (Jul 16, 2008)

The soron's are great and I've got one brand spanking new for sale for 75 thats half off what you would pay at any store. Would keep it but have to buy books for school.


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## BiteMyLine (Sep 7, 2006)

I'm a big fan of the Abu Garcia Cardinal spinning reel. I have a 101 and 102. Very smooth reel for the price, and very durable. I throw mine through a lot of abuse and I've never had a problem with them. You can pick them up at wally world for 35 bucks. 

If you're throwing buzzbaits, spinners and cranks I'd suggest getting a baitcaster and a good rod with some back bone and a fast tip. I throw only light lures with my spinning tackle, or deep diver.


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## Oldsman67 (Mar 27, 2009)

Pfluger President,its as fine a reel as any other that is double it's price you can get them at dick for about $70 or less depending on the size.


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

Oldsman67 said:


> Pfluger President,its as fine a reel as any other that is double it's price you can get them at dick for about $70 or less depending on the size.


Some of the Gander Mountain reels are actually Pfluger Presidents and you can get a combo for $70-80. Ask the sales guy and he'll point out the right one.


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## OSUBryan (Aug 26, 2009)

I will be heading to check these brands and models out. I appreciate everyone's input.


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## iam20fan (Jan 15, 2006)

abu garcia cardinal 101 best 30 bucks i ever spent


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## gobrowntruck21 (Jan 3, 2009)

No mention of Quantum? I have two Kinetics and have been extremely pleased with them and I am not easy on my reels. Very much worth the money.


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## LimitOut (Sep 28, 2009)

Bar none, the Quantum PT reels are the best. They have ceramic drag, titanium bail wire with a magnetic bail flip. They have a titanium plated body (which i havent managed to scratch yet), and polymer bearings. Quantum spared at no expense looking for the best materials to create these new reels. And if im not mistaken, the catalyst and kenitec can be found under $100. I personally own an Energy pti20 spinning reel and an Energy E640pt baitcaster. These reels can EASILY compete with the more expensive Van Staal and Stella reels, but dont cost NEARLY as much. These reels are seriously indestructable in unholy ways. 

I have owned 2 Abu Garcia and the drag failed at some point on both my first year using them. Uncountless Shakespeare and Pfleuger which quickly lost their smoothness, and 2 mitchells which both had a failing anti-reverse mechanism. I have been using my Quantum PT reels daily for 6 years now, and never had the sleightest problem with them. They have fallen into the water countless times.... still fluid smooth. I've had to have had a mile of drag peeled from them and not only has the drag never shown signs of freezing up, they are STILL smoother than any other brand new reel i've ever used.
I gotta put it simply........GET A QUANTUM PT!


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## RareVos (Jul 29, 2007)

OSUBryan said:


> I would like to hear from experienced fishermen about what would be the best spinning reel in their opinion less than $100. I am new to fishing Ohio's rivers and do a lot of crank baits, spinner baits, and buzz baits. I have been fishing for small mouth mostly (or whatever eats my lure).


In my opinion, all those type baits are best fished with baitcaster. 

That being said, the Daiwa Exceler is hard to beat in the sub $100 spinning reel category. I've been through a few Daiwa spinners well over $100, and the Exceler is still perfect. I haven't exactly been gentle with it either.


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## Sleprock (Dec 16, 2005)

save your money buy you a med sized shakespere and go fishing exspensive reels don't make you a better fisherman if I put all my rods and reels together they might break 100 in value


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## LimitOut (Sep 28, 2009)

RareVos said:


> In my opinion, all those type baits are best fished with baitcaster.
> 
> That being said, the Daiwa Exceler is hard to beat in the sub $100 spinning reel category. I've been through a few Daiwa spinners well over $100, and the Exceler is still perfect. I haven't exactly been gentle with it either.


Im not too much of a fan of Diawa reels. Three months is all it took to wear out the gears on the more expensive Diawa Millionaire baitcaster. The ABSOLUTE BEST baitcasters when it comes to simply lasting years is an Ardent. The price isn't too bad being at $265, but the machining involved AND that it is made here in america really puts it over others. They have a tendency to hesitate casting light lines, but that comes with using a baitcaster with centrifugal brakes. Shimano is a REDICULOUS sell out changing the names of ideas from other companies to make it look like they created something new. I've never had a drag fail more miserably than the one on my Shimano Aero-Symetry. Performance wise, it's not possible to beat a quantum PT. The advanced materials they use puts them MILES ahead of anyone else. They were the first to titanium coat the reels, first to use ceramic drag, first to use titanium-nickle bail wires AND the magnetic bail trip. First to use polymer bearings (polymer can't corrode) and finally, the first to use a magnetic, not mechanical arm, anti-reverse mechanism. 
Testing fishing equipment is an obsession of mine. I have used almost EVERY reel on the market and know the ins-and-outs of them all. If you have any questions on ANY reel or equipment in general, please ask!


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## Tokugawa (Apr 29, 2008)

LimitOut said:


> Im not too much of a fan of Diawa reels. Three months is all it took to wear out the gears on the more expensive Diawa Millionaire baitcaster. The ABSOLUTE BEST baitcasters when it comes to simply lasting years is an Ardent. The price isn't too bad being at $265, but the machining involved AND that it is made here in america really puts it over others. They have a tendency to hesitate casting light lines, but that comes with using a baitcaster with centrifugal brakes. Shimano is a REDICULOUS sell out changing the names of ideas from other companies to make it look like they created something new. I've never had a drag fail more miserably than the one on my Shimano Aero-Symetry. Performance wise, it's not possible to beat a quantum PT. The advanced materials they use puts them MILES ahead of anyone else. They were the first to titanium coat the reels, first to use ceramic drag, first to use titanium-nickle bail wires AND the magnetic bail trip. First to use polymer bearings (polymer can't corrode) and finally, the first to use a magnetic, not mechanical arm, anti-reverse mechanism.
> Testing fishing equipment is an obsession of mine. I have used almost EVERY reel on the market and know the ins-and-outs of them all. If you have any questions on ANY reel or equipment in general, please ask!


Really?

http://www.tackletour.com/review2009highspeedfinalp1.html


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## LimitOut (Sep 28, 2009)

Tokugawa said:


> Really?
> 
> http://www.tackletour.com/review2009highspeedfinalp1.html


Not quite all, but around 100 or so. My cousin has some money and owns 75+ nicer reels and his property is on the mahoning river, so i got to try out quite a few. In return for using them, i had to clean them annually. Thats how i know what they are made of. I never really tried out many rods other than the standard st.crioxs and his kistler helium rods.
As for the Shimano guys, i didnt say shimano reels suck because they dont, im just not a fan of re-using other companies ideas and claiming to have a new one. They are easilly the farthest casting reels i have ever had a chance to use. The REALLY low quality trigger shimanos outcasts even the best quantums out there.


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## RareVos (Jul 29, 2007)

Tokugawa said:


> Really?
> 
> http://www.tackletour.com/review2009highspeedfinalp1.html


That was an interesting article. Though I don't own any of the reels on it. I do have a TD-Sol baitcaster and a Revo Inshore. The law of diminishing returns is much more pronounced in spinning reels rather than casters. $100 or so is the sweet spot in spinning reels. You have many choices, and they are all pretty good. Spend more than that, and you aren't getting much extra for your money. Baitcasters on the other hand... you are mostly getting what you pay for. Spend more, get more... really.


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## LimitOut (Sep 28, 2009)

You got a revo? I havent had the opprotunity to try abu's newer low-profile reels. How is it?


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## LimitOut (Sep 28, 2009)

Tokugawa said:


> Really?
> 
> http://www.tackletour.com/review2009highspeedfinalp1.html


Im not much of a fan of the "burners". I like being able to feel my arm the next day! In fact, my Energy baitcaster i had was the E640PT, which only had a 4.4:1 ratio. I loved it's finnesse capabilities, but you had to crank hard to keep a buzz bait up


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## RareVos (Jul 29, 2007)

LimitOut said:


> You got a revo? I havent had the opprotunity to try abu's newer low-profile reels. How is it?



It is excellent. The only thing I don't like is the centrifugal brake adjustment. I mainly use it for chucking heavier baits around so I don't have to adjust too much. The retrieve is perfect, casts perfect, has more drag than I need, and brings big fish in quick. All things considered, it is the bet baitcaster I've owned.


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