# Spinning Reels



## fishin red (Aug 29, 2008)

What is a good spinning reel for around $ 75.00 give or take a few bucks ?


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## jshbuckeye (Feb 27, 2005)

I have a good many shimanos in that range and just under that price range and all perform wonderfully. Dont forget about checking in Cabelas bargain cave also.


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## fishslim (Apr 28, 2005)

i second Jeff shimano is the way to go. All i use work great all year round.


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## Toolman (Jun 8, 2004)

Another vote for the Shimanos. The Symetry is in that price range and is a good reel. You can pick up a pre-owned Stradic for $75-often lightly used. IMO Shimano reels have better quality bearings and will stay smoother and last longer than other comparably priced reels.

Tim


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## ErieAngler (Apr 15, 2006)

From my own perspective, I fish hard and my reels take a beating on Erie. I buy the sedona's from dicks and probably pay $25-30 a piece (w/ coupons). These reels always last me a few years, they stay smooth and have good drags. You can pay twice as much, but depending on what you are looking to get out of it, you can get two reels for the price of one. I've bought higher end shimano's in the past and bought the cheaper 40 - $50 reg price reels, I trully did not see much difference in the operation or longevity. To each his own! But IMO, like many others here, shimano is the way to go.

Fish on!


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## hearttxp (Dec 21, 2004)

I know they are more than what you want to spend but I have been using the Stradics on my Charter Boat !! Great reels ! I have been buying them off E-bay. The new ones I bought I paid right around $100 incl shipping. The used ones around $75-80 ! Even the used ones have been fine. I think right now I have 7 of them Good luck !


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## Walleye007 (Apr 2, 2006)

Another vote for Shimano. 
I fish the Maumee River about 6-7 months out of the year. 
They can take a beating and still perform very reliably.


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

all one-sided answers. I vote for Okuma.


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## GRADY228 (Jun 25, 2005)

OKUMA for me also !!! Hard to beat all around!!!


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## Bulldog1149 (Feb 26, 2006)

For the money I cant say you can get a better reel than a Fleuger president. They run about 50-60 bucks and thay are smooth as silk with a great drag. I will more than likely change out every setup I have to these reels.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

For that price I like the Shimano Sahara reels. Stradics are great too but a bit pricier.


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## Jignpig (Jul 2, 2007)

A second on the "Fleuger", yea, ya can beat an ol Pflueger. If you buy 1 you'll end up buyin 3 or 4 more. I had Shimano and Garcias for years, but IMO for $60 the 6730 can't be beat.


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## BigDaddy300 (Nov 1, 2004)

Shimano symetres are great and around that price range.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

I also agree with bulldog I got a pfluger president for my bday and absolutely love it. I have a couple shimanos and prefer my pfluger any day!! Plus it looks really good!


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## fishingfoolBG (Oct 30, 2007)

Just got a pfluger president and also love it. You guys are right about it bing smooth as silk. The drag has been working nice for those steelhead. FFBG


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## RareVos (Jul 29, 2007)

No Daiwa fans here? I think the Exceler is hard to beat in that price range.


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## timmyv (Apr 26, 2006)

Okay, I would agree on the pflueger President as well. A great smooth reel for 60 bucks...I also have several Shimano Sahara's. The new ones are 70 bucks but If you can find the 08 models they are around 50 bucks and a great reel. I also checked out the Diawa Exceler the other day at the store and it seemed really nice for 70 bucks...I don't think you can go wrong with any of these reels!


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## jcfishing (Nov 30, 2008)

There are a lot of choices in that price range. IMHO the Shimano Symetre or Sahara offer the best bang for the buck. They are also quite a bit lighter in weight than most other spinning reels without sacrificing durability. I feel this really improves sensitivity when matched with the correct rod for a specific technique etc.


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## ohiojmj (Apr 16, 2004)

I vote for the pflueger President....smooth as silk, nice drag, have held up to abuse. I just got one for low $40's at Dicks with % off sale and the $10 off $25 coupon on OGF. I like the 6740 size for Canada when spooling 12# and then have plenty of line to strip off with 8# on Erie when the twisting gets out of hand.


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## shroomhunter (Aug 6, 2004)

I have Shimano Symetre,Stradic,Pflueger President and a Gander Mtn Guide I like them all equally well. I haven't had a bit of trouble with any of them. I have an old Zebco Cardinal 4 I bought in 1977 for $35 and it works as good as the day I bought it. The only reels I would NEVER buy again are Quantum, never had anything but trouble with them.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

I also would recommend the Shimano Symetre. The green one is last years model and they are what you are looking to spend. The new ones went up to 90-100 bucks depending on where you shop. I have 2 of the green models and they are hard to beat. Very smooth and slow oscillation for even line lay on the spool. Pretty good drag as well. Stradic's are even nicer but more $$$


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

I dont own a Shimano but Ive read a lot that Shimano's spinning reels arent the greatest. They seem to crap out.

I personally like Daiwa's but Id say the Pflueger President is the best bet. I own a Pflueger Supreme and im not too fond of it. Line likes to wrap around the bail when casting.


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## Get Fish (Mar 16, 2008)

I guess I would say I am a definite Pflueger guy since 5 are Presidents (From the 6725 to the 6740) and 1 Supreme in the 30 series! They are a great reel...been fishing with them for 3 years now. They are durable and have a good drag when dry. Now let me say what I think is the only down side of the reel is when you get it wet/ dip it in the water when wading! the drag/ reel binds up and is very hard to reel and can ruin your day on the water. But if you dont get it wet you're in the good. 

Has anyone else had this issue and what have you done to fix or eliminate this from occuring? Called Pflueger and they just said put more grease on the gears. checked gears they were good and lube...I'm pretty sure its the drag! 

Also...I have not had this problem with the Supreme (but it is $100 as opposed to the $60 President)...I believe it has a different drag system than the President.


Ken


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

I had that problem with my Trion I got from dicks. I fixed it by getting the Supreme.

Supreme is also lightweight and that's why I liked it.


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## ABA Ohio (May 31, 2007)

I use Shimano spinning reels exclusively and I own 30 some reels.
Right now Gander Mountain has 2008 Shimano reels on clearance sale, and all Gander Mountain Guide Series reels 25% off.


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## MDisbrow (Jul 14, 2006)

RareVos said:


> No Daiwa fans here? I think the Exceler is hard to beat in that price range.


I only use two spinning reels, Daiwa Tierra, and Abu 800. Been itching to check out the new Abu Soron, but I don't use a spinning reel much and haven't yet come up with a plan to justify dropping another $130 on a reel.

Exceler is, I believe, one step below the Tierra. Never really had anything negative to say about anything Daiwa. My Tierras are really tough. And I really love the feel of the matte finish. 

I literally hate Shimano products and will never purchase anything with their name on it for as long as I can help it. I've gone over this in a number of threads, but I used to race bikes both DH and XC and had nothing but problems with shimano components. They're over priced and unreliable, so I don't trust their fishing gear when you're talking about spending that kind of money, I'll take my business somewhere else. To each their own though. I know plenty of people who love them. Just not for me.

And yes, I know, this thread is kind of old news. Just my two cents...


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

I concur with Rarvos. A Diawa Excelor is the best reel for the money. 

Now, if you are on a budget then I would suggest an Abu Cardinal or a Mitchell Avocet. I really like the Avocets.

I will never own another Shimano EVER! Quantum aint very good either.


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## thelatrobe33 (May 19, 2008)

I have to give another vote for the Pflueger President. I have never had an issue with my 6735. I also have the Gander Mt. Guide Series 6735, which is basically a President as well. It works great and you can usually get one on sale at Gander.


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## lurer (Oct 25, 2006)

In the past I would say Shimano for spinning, but I have been trying the Team Daiwa spinning td-pro(I believe)BPS had them on sale for 79.99 down from 120 and they have been fantastic. I now use them for my drop-shot and light crankbait.


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## mjchiodi (Mar 14, 2008)

daiwa exceler is hard to beat in that price range.


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## boatnut (Nov 22, 2006)

hearttxp said:


> I know they are more than what you want to spend but I have been using the Stradics on my Charter Boat !! Great reels ! I have been buying them off E-bay. The new ones I bought I paid right around $100 incl shipping. The used ones around $75-80 ! Even the used ones have been fine. I think right now I have 7 of them Good luck !



Mike,
what? you're not buying exclusively from "tailgate tackle"? LOL


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## timmyv (Apr 26, 2006)

The Gander tourneys are on sale for 37 bucks. These are the 10 bearing pfluegers...just picked one up for cattin!


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## norseangler (Jan 8, 2009)

Interesting discussion. No one has mentioned the Shimano Spirex. The double handle is easy to adapt to and the reel is smooth and reliable. I normally prefer a reel without a trigger, but when my daughter lets me use it, I like it almost as well as my old Cardinal C4R's (which I'll use until they wear out). I think the Spirex sells for about $69 and comes in both rear drag and front drag models.


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## Wolfhook120 (Oct 17, 2007)

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but check BPS for their Pro Qualifier Spinning Reels, I think they were $69.99 in the 2009 catalog.


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## Toolman (Jun 8, 2004)

The Old Dutchman (Sunbury Rd. in Westerville by Hoover) has Symetre reels on sale for $65. Pretty good deal.

Tim


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## M Whit (Jan 12, 2009)

I purchased a couple of the Pflueger president reels a couple years ago. They worked really well the first year I had them, but then got "sloppy" after that. By "sloppy" I mean the instant ant-reverse wasn't nearly as good. I think I paid $60.00 bucks a piece for them. I went back to the daiwa tierra line. I know they are more than the $75.00 alotted price, but I think it is worth it.

M Whit


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## The One (Jun 9, 2007)

+1 Have used nothing but for the past 5 years and have no complaints. I had the Okumas and although good I have had problems with the finish and the bails don't seem as durable. I actually fell on one (okima) while hiking into a canyon and cracked the casing and broke off the reversing toggle. It still works though.



Lewzer said:


> For that price I like the Shimano Sahara reels. Stradics are great too but a bit pricier.


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## The One (Jun 9, 2007)

norseangler said:


> Interesting discussion. No one has mentioned the Shimano Spirex. The double handle is easy to adapt to and the reel is smooth and reliable. I normally prefer a reel without a trigger, but when my daughter lets me use it, I like it almost as well as my old Cardinal C4R's (which I'll use until they wear out). I think the Spirex sells for about $69 and comes in both rear drag and front drag models.


I have an older 4000 series spirex that I gave up on becuase it had some back play/nonantireversing when you set the hook.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

I have a few shimanos including a stradic and symetre and my favorite reel I own is my daiwa exceler. The drag is awesome and the reel is smooth as can be. I also own a few okumas and like them also. I will not buy shimano anymore. IMO I think their quality has gone downhill. I have had nothing but trouble with my stradic and had it swapped out twice. Once a gear broke 2 months after I bought it and the other time it was a bail issue. its your choice but I vote Exceler!

Jake


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## OldSteelGuy (Dec 13, 2008)

Everyone has good answers to what reel they would buy. I personally like Shimano's. But the key to a good spinning reel is getting one with a front drag. The rear drag models in any reel have very small drag systems and if you just look at the size of the drag systems (front vs rear) you'll see that front is bigger and better. Shimano.

OldSteelGuy


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## ts326802 (Aug 9, 2008)

I've never had a problem with any Shimano's - however - for the money I truly do not think you can beat a Pflueger President. I bought one 2 years ago, now I have 3 in different sizes =)


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