I have carried daiwa, lew's, abu garcia, quantum, and shimano reels in the past, and now that I have my online store up and running, I'll be getting some more in. In order to facilitate sales and before I invest much in inventory, I'm asking for opinions on which reels to carry.

Typically I have carried the following:
Lew's Tournament Pro
Lew's Super Duty
Lew's BB1

Abu Garcia Winch
Abu Garcia STX
Abu Garcia SX

Shimano Stradic
Shimano Curado

I carry these in mixed gear ratios and will be adding the new Lew's spinning reels. I can also add in abu garcia round reels and shimano round reels. I expect to have the reels in late February and would be offering a good discount. Most reels that retail for $100 or less, I typically do not carry as I cannot compete with Walmart and some of the chain sporting goods stores. Also, usually by the time you figure in shipping costs, you'd be better off getting it at a local store on the $100 reels or less.

If you'd like to preorder a reel, shoot me an email at ReedRods@gmail.com or sales@bluecollarsportinggoods.com. You will not be charged until I have the reel for shipment. If you have any questions about pricing, shoot me an email or give me a shout.

Take care.

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods

Some people may not be aware, but I am a sponsor on this site so that is why I am posting this. I thought there may be some people interested in reels and was looking to help some people out by offering them at really good pricing. My Mad-Swirl grips should be up for sale on the by the end of next week at my online store. If you have any questions, give me a shout.

Thanks,

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods

Got any photos of those grips? They sound interesting.
On the reels, what about Penn? Some of the upper range models like the Torques, spinfishers, fathoms, squalls etc.

Mr. Gwynne -
I will look into the Penn models. I don't do any saltwater fishing, so I know very little about them.

Here are some pictures of the grips. The new ones have been tweaked some and are split grips.

[www.facebook.com]

These are some shapes I am experimenting with. [www.facebook.com]

[www.facebook.com]

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods

if you want my honest opinion the lews spinning reels feel like cheap walmart reels to me. have handled a few when they came in at work and i was underwhelmed greatly. I feel the quality of Abu and Lews is going down as time goes on but a lot of people still love them so you're good there. since you're inland you have no real need for fathoms squalls or torques etc. look in to the new daiwa tatula, MSRP $149 and it has become my favorite baitcaster. shimano calcuttas and cardiffs are also excellent round reels for the price. abu c3s and c4s are still the best of their class. both stradic FJs and Ci4s are excellent as well

James Zimmerman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> if you want my honest opinion the lews spinning
> reels feel like cheap walmart reels to me. have
> handled a few when they came in at work and i was
> underwhelmed greatly. I feel the quality of Abu
> and Lews is going down as time goes on but a lot
> of people still love them so you're good there.
> since you're inland you have no real need for
> fathoms squalls or torques etc. look in to the new
> daiwa tatula, MSRP $149 and it has become my
> favorite baitcaster. shimano calcuttas and
> cardiffs are also excellent round reels for the
> price. abu c3s and c4s are still the best of their
> class. both stradic FJs and Ci4s are excellent as
> well

I haven't tried the new Lew's spinning reel, but the older model did feel cheap and was a waste of money. I'm partial to the Lew's tournament pro, I think it's a great price point, and good quality reel. I also have the BB1 and like it, but do not like the plastic look to it. The Tatula has been getting a lot of great reviews but I haven't got a chance to use one. I agree, the calcuttas are hard to beat. I haven't tried the newer cardiff, but I have an older, and that thing is still a tank.

Thanks for your response.

Hi Jeremy,
While not in the same league as Stellas or Sustains the Stradics are a quality reel at a much lower price. The CI4 carbon models are probably the lighest spinning reel around and still offer some grunt. If you are building an UL to M saltwater outfit and want to keep the weight down then they definitely deserve a good look. Apart from the cheap models I've always found Shimano's to offer very nice and dependable reels. I've got quite a few and about the only thing I've ever had to change were drag washers.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Those grips are nice!! How much may I ask?

Col Chaseling - I agree on the Stradics. They are a great, dependable reel and at an attractive price point for most. I haven't used the CI4, but I haven't heard anything bad about them. I'm curious to see how the new shimano lineup compares to years past.

Mr. Gwynne -

Thank you. Right now they'll be roughly $3/inch or $18ish for a two color split grip. I'm still trying to find the exact price. Because of the number of steps involved, I still haven't set a price. The final grips will have a 8# pour foam base, custom turned, feature 2-3 color Mad-Swirl, sealed and primed base, dipped, and clear coated with the epoxy sold be Riley Rods for protection. They also have a rubber butt plug or will have a piece of rubber cork or spotted rubber cork. There are a lot of steps involved in creating these grips and getting them right, so I will not be able to offer a large number at first.

Grips can also be custom ordered with any color combination and with 6# foam. I will also be offering some high end hybrid grips featuring carbon fiber and a Mad-Swirl.

I will have them posted on www.bluecollarsportinggoods.com when they become available. These will all be hand turned and handmade by myself, so it'll take some time. I had hoped to have the grips available before now, but we recently had our 2 move in a year, so it's been a bit hectic lately.

If you have any questions about specific pricing, just shoot me an email.

Take care,

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2014 10:15AM by Jeremy Reed.

Mark Gwynne Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got any photos of those grips? They sound
> interesting.
> On the reels, what about Penn? Some of the upper
> range models like the Torques, spinfishers,
> fathoms, squalls etc.

Mr. Gwynne -
I will be able offer Penn fathoms and spinfishers and a number of shimano saltwater reels. Email me for models and pricing.

Take care,

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2014 11:31AM by Jeremy Reed.

I was SHIMANO fan but because my SHIMANO STRADIC 4000(made in Japan) after one sezon in salt water(before i was fishing just in fresh water) start to don't work right ,i sold the reel and for over 10 years i am fishing just with DAIWA WHISKER SS TOURNAMENT 700,1300,1600.
These reels was made the same for 30 years ,just with 3 stainless steel ball bearing,never was in sale like SHIMANO and never have any problem fishing for 10 years with this reel ( most of the time i am fishing just with artificial with SS 1300)

I have personally and sadly come to the conclusion ( after 9 Shimano reels, ranging from Spirex to Stradic { I'm a slow learner}), that the spring that trips the bail is under-gunned for their reels. Not ONE of them worked well for any length of time last summer, even after cleaning and lubrication. I have tried to contact them about this but have had no luck.

Steve Cox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have personally and sadly come to the conclusion
> ( after 9 Shimano reels, ranging from Spirex to
> Stradic { I'm a slow learner}), that the spring
> that trips the bail is under-gunned for their
> reels. Not ONE of them worked well for any length
> of time last summer, even after cleaning and
> lubrication. I have tried to contact them about
> this but have had no luck.

I have had the same issues on some stradics myself. Supposedly the current model, FJ, is a lot better about it, but I haven't used them. I have some of the older Stradics that are a few years old that occasionally mess up. One thing I learned young was not to reel the bail shut, so I never do that. This helps prevent a lot of line twists.

The reel I'm really interested in is the Lew's Team Gold Spin reel that Lew's just came out with. I will have a couple in by the end of the week. I've been impressed with Lew's other stuff, so I am hoping it isn't a disappointment. It also has an attractive price point at $129.99 MSRP. I have an xsb802.75 I'm wanting to pair it with.

I am also on the list to get some curados in when they become available, which I should have about April.

They can put a man on the moon -- yet can not build a fishing reel of Quality

GOD BLESS AMERICA -- And Over seas

Bill - willierods.com