I am about to build a spinning rod for light saltwater/medium freshwater use. 7'6" popping blank, 6-15 # line, 1/4-1/2 oz. lure. I have not yet selected the reel, and am wondering if any reels are better than any others for braided line. My concern is that, if braid can cut through metal rod guides, it most certainly can do the same to the line guide on a reel. The last spinning reel I bought was a Mitchell 300, and I know that even mono can groove the line guide on that reel. What should I be looking for in a new spinning reel? Any recommendations, suggestions, comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

As long as the line guide turns, nothing will be cut. If the bushing or bearing inside the line guide were to lock up and the line guide stopped turning, then at some point it would groove or be cut by just about any type of line.

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G'day George
I have two teams that fish our pro comps and pretty much all we use is braid/GSP/super-lines and this is pretty much standard for our scene which is running small spinning reels and 2 - 6lb lines. Over the last few seasons we have ended up with Daiwa reels featuring their real 4 systems which we have found lays the line best and together with their larger spool diameters and slow retrieve rates, extracts the best from the lines while being pretty much free of all the usual troubles like tangles and picking up loose coils on the cast that we were having with other brands of any budget. Our scene is saltwater and just the normal rinsing after fishing type maintenance has kept the rollers rolling and we haven't had any dramas with grooving. A good thing to look for in a reels feature list is corrosion resistant ball bearings in the roller and a PVD coating like TiN on the roller. We occasionally hook pelagics like yellowtail kingfish and bonito and the runs on the light lines are spectacular and if the fish are around 80cm or under then they are quite manageable with some smart boat and rod work. As long as you maintain your reel and look out for any part failures, grooving would be the last thing you would have to worry about

The technical name is actually "line roller" ... and it should "roll" as the name implies. Like Tom said, as long as that is occurring, there won't be any problems. IF the line roller starts to seize, you should be aware - it will start making a pretty loud grinding noise.

I am a dealer for Daiwa and Shimano products and I can highly recommend the following reels for use with braid AND the new rod you are building: Shimano Saros 3000F, Shimano Stradic 3000FI, Shimano Sustain 3000FE, Team Daiwa Advantage -A 2500, Team Daiwa Sol 2500, or if you have the pockets ... the Daiwa Certate 2500.

My speciality is inshore spinning - speckled trout to tarpon ... so I have tested all of them in use. The sizes I have listed ARE the correct size IMO for the application intended. I do recommend the use of braided line in 10# test for typical inshore use - nothing heavier is generally needed AND it will cast farther and allow more on the spool, than heavier lines. My favorites are Sufix Performance Braid or Spiderwire Ultracast - both perform very well.

Hope this helps!

Jim -



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2008 11:08AM by Jim Gamble.

And then if you really want to solve the problem, just look at the Accurate spinner, or the Van Staal.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Thank you for all of the suggestions, everyone!
I haven't bought a (new) spinning reel in 35 years, and it boggles my mind to see what is available, and how much reels have changed since then. Any recommendations for "value-priced" reels, say, under $100 that weigh 10oz. or less?

The Daiwa exceller plus are pretty good value and the minimum that I use with braid. I think they have just been replaced with an updated model in Oz, not sure what the situation is in US. The Daiwa infeet is another greater starter reel more suited to very light braids and casting weights

Shimano Sahara and Symetre, new models. A little more, but worth it. Daiwa Exceler, Pflueger President, and there are many more. You can get recently updated or discontinued reels on that @#$%& site for a steal sometimes..

One word: DAIWA.

DR

We (wife and I) fish a lot. We fish spinning most of the time, but I do fish with casting some. We also build rods. We build rods that we have speced for our stradics. We love the Shimano Stradic. We use it with braid up to 25 lbs. I fish a lot of heavy flooded timber, rough stuff, using braid and mono both. These reels are great for both. We use the 2500 mostly, but have a couple 1500 also for lighter conditions, like drop-shot, lighter line applications. The newer ones, as well as older ones are a great product. The spool design is great, service acess is good also. All you have to do is fish with them, Good drag system also. I have looked at the Diawa, they look great, but stay with our fleet of Stradics! I am sure you would want the saltwater version, as your application seems like it would involve saltwater. Good luck!
Kyle Robinson

One of the best reel(quality /price)for fresh and salt water is DAIWA SS TOURNAMENT.The size of SS TOURNAMENT what you need is SS1300
The reel have aluminium long cast spool,SIC "cut proof" line roller guide,very fine drag etc.

I have fishing with SS TOURNAMENT 700,1300,1600 for over 10 years without problem using braid +fluorocarbon leader in fresh and salt water.Before i was fishind with SHIMANO STRADIC,but now just with SS TOURNAMENT because are better reels and cheaper($90)

Jean Scurtu

The use of braid for spinning has really taken off in the UK over the past couple of years & the most popular & reliable reels I sell are the Daiwa Exceler® & Exceler Plus® range.
The Air Bail & Twistbuster line roller handle braid very well. Both utilise CRBB in critical areas.