If this is too far off topic I apologize feel free to delete. As with any build I like to match the reel to the rod from the beginning. I was and still am a big fan of the Diawa SS tournament series. I have a untold number of them from over the years. Got thirty years on some of them. They have one problem which I encountered in the past and see it being a bigger problem now. The line roller on the bail is SIC but it has a soft plastic spacer it mounts against. They groove or crack fairly easily, with mono. I am really getting into braid now and can only imagine how it will treat this piece.

Been using a couple Pflueger President XT on the last couple builds. I like them drag smoothness very good but occasionally it seems a bit jerky.

Been looking and can't find anything that jumps out as a better option than the president. Looking for 100 bucks or less, ul to light so a 20,25,1000,2000 size range. Running 6 pound braid would like at least about 100 to 120 yard capacity. Key features smooth consistent drag, lightweight for it's size.

Any suggestions. Not against another president just wondering if there is an option I may have overlooked.

I fish UL and light rods. Have used Pflueger Presidents for many years. I recently tried a Kastking Sharky III (1000) and loved it, bought three more and put them on my trout and panfish rods. I use Nanofil on the trout rods and Power Pro braid on the panfis rods.

Look at the BGE Daiwa series
Best reel I’ve seen close to a hundred dollars From Amazon
1500-6000
I fish 3000 series for snook and redfish
18 months and no issues
Cast a country mile , quiet easy to maintain

BG1500 6BB + 1 5.6 : 1 28.3 8.5 4/155, 6/100, 8/80 8/220, 10/130 4.4
BG2000 6BB + 1 5.6 : 1 29.5 8.5 6/135, 8/110, 10/90 10/160, 15/130 4.4
BG2500 6BB + 1 5.6 : 1 33.2 9.3 6/210, 8/170, 10/140 20/170, 30/120



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2021 08:13AM by John Duncan.

Many reels being sold now do not have anti reverse switches. Instead have full time anti reverse. Most Pfluegers still have the switch, as does Daiwa, but some major brands have gotten rid of them. If this is important to you, make sure you know what your are getting.

I have one Pflueger Supreme, about $100, and it's a great reel.

I have the president xt 25, Quantum energy 10, Okuma RTX25. All have been good reels for me. The energy (now only available in size 15 on up) is the smoothest. I would say the rtx was in between the other two. the Okuma inspira is what I would get if i was currently looking at Okuma. I manually flip the bail on these reels, not sure if any would do well otherwise. Again all three work well for me.

Shimano, Shimano, Shimano.

Presidents are OK, but cannot take saltwater.

I spent years on the bench as warranty service tech on reels here in central Florida.

If it came across my bench all the time I avoided them. Its the reel we did not see all the time I would turn my attention to.

That said, I am not fond of the direction of the reel industry lately.

Fishermen have demanded lighter and lighter reels, and this is literally forcing brands to make cheaper quality reels with more and more plastic parts inside.

When I was working at the rod and reel repair shop, we had Shimano engineers visit our shop every year at ICAST time to do a little research on their reels to see how they were holding up and what was the common problems, etc. We tried showing them what we saw on a regular basis in hopes they would go back and correct some of the issues. But I have since retired and did not stay long enough to see if they did make any changes, but regardless, I avoid newer reels.

Look at what replaced in this newer stradic... less than 2 years old at time of this photo. All new drag washers and all new internal plastic gears wore out already.


Being a repair tech, I seek out other people's junk for cheap and fix them.

If I need a heavy duty quality built reel for saltwater I go for the Penn SS black and gold series- the old school reels. Built like tanks and if maintained will outlive me.

For freshwater reels I focus on the Shimano Stradic line- a mid-line reel series. And out of those reels my preference is for the older FG, FH, FI, and even FJ series. These reels have the old school drag mechs that last forever. The drag washers in these reels can last 20 years or more without replacements.

The newer stradics tend to chew up drag washers because of the new design which is something our shop made the engineers aware of as well. They assured me they would address the issue. The 4 posts chew up the top drag washer the most. And what does a fisherman do when he needs more drag? He cranks it down even tighter. This causes the drag washers to skew out sideways under the pressure and right into the 4 posts with sharp edges that chews up the drag washers. For this reason we were replacing them in newer stradics in under 1 to 2 years rather than the 20 we saw for older reels.







Another issue I learned real quick was that Shimano liked to save on production costs. So they made different series of reels that are in reality virtually the same. For example the Citica is the same as a Curado minus a bearing or two. Stradics being mid-line can perform nearly as well and last as well as top of the line reels. And, many of the internal parts are interchangeable across the different series of reels. Other brands do this same thing as well.

Another issue Shimano changed on the stradics is the line guide roller. In older stradics that I use, I can replace just the bearing and not the roller because they are separate parts. But in the newer Shimano spinning reels the bearing is press fit into the roller and has to be replaced as an entire unit which is now more expensive, and when Shimano stops making those rollers the reels in use will not be fixable. The brands do this on purpose and one of the worst offenders is Daiwa. Their magseal magnetic fluid is just one example of how Daiwa was trying to design and build reels the end user could not service without making things worse and destroying the reels. All done on purpose. Daiwa did it in hopes their customers would come back and buy more reels. For me it drove me away and I would not buy a newer Daiwa reel for anything. I will use 20 plus year old Daiwas I rebuild.

The problem we have today is reel companies being sold over and over. Zebco/Quantum has been turned over. Penn is now owned by the same people who own Shakespeare which is Pure Fishing investment conglomerate. So what this means today for Penn reels is they are now made in China and not much better than Shakespeare reels because the new owners are only in it for one thing and that is bottom line profits as they destroy Penn's former reputation with their newer cheap Chinese junk reels.

All I can is buyer beware. Do your due diligence in seeking out user reviews on reels. And we fishermen who use to buy a reel with the mentality we could use it for years to come and it was serviceable has now been changed into we have to think about our new reels as disposable and not really serviceable over the long term.

For me, I take advantage of the old used reel market and get all of my parts to keep my older reels going from the used market. I get them cheap too. I also use insider knowledge on Shimano reels and know which reels are built the same as stradics but under a different series name other people are not aware of and wind up selling very cheaply because they do not know what they have. So in that sense I can often pick up stradic quality reels with years of life left on them for $10 to $20 while the same reel under the stradic name sells for $70 to $120.

Oh, and another issue for reels and built in obsolescence is some brands use internal parts materials designed to fail if used in saltwater, or the wrong lubricant is used and the part can dissolve into goo inside the reel. Some brands use a pot metal for the gears- like the president reels- that when put into saltwater oxidize and corrode like an alka seltzer tablet dropped into a glass of water. Look at the bubbles on this gear caused by saltwater.



In this reel a couple of parts are seen to turn green from saltwater. And yes, I fixed this reel. A typical saltwater reel used until it ground to a halt filled with beach sand and corrosion. I have had shells and crabs fall out of reel onto the bench. This reel is an old Chronarch about 25 years old at time of this image having worked well all those years without fail and without servicing until I got it in this condition. Once done he can get another 20 years out of it if taken better care of than this


Another change is the quality of steel used in reels today is crap. Newer stradics rust right up in a year or two, while my older stradics last for decades without rusting like this:


Here is another salty dog I had to fix. This one is a curado E used until it ground to a halt. And yes this one was repaired and put back in service as well.


Regardless of the issues, if I had to buy new reels I would still buy Shimano only at this point. Best there is for the money.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2021 11:20AM by Kent Griffith.

MIchael,

I've had a lot of Shimanos over the years and thought they were great reels. Until about 5 years ago. Most of mine were Stradics and Symmetries. Had a problem with one of my favorite Stradics a couple of years ago that required a new drive gear. Called Shimano. Their response was "the reel is too old and we don't stock parts for that model anymore". So I guess I can take this $200+ reel and junk it. The reel was 5 years old. I agree with Kent; they're making a lot of junk now and charging serious money for it. I don't see myself ever buying another Shimano.

One of the best reels I have currently is an Okuma Helios. LIght, smooth, strong, great drag. They also have a cheap reel, the Ignite A series, that my son has been using for pier fishing on Lake Michigan which is a rough environment, and they are holding up with no problems. Okuma made a lot of garbage about 12 years ago until they decided to revamp into quality and got Tiburon Engineering involved. Now, in my opinion, they make very good products. I bought an Okuma Makaeira SeA 50 salt water reel two years ago and it's a real tank. Excellent worksmanship. I'd look at Okuma's website and check their line out. I think the prices you see aren't what you will pay on the street, either.

Dave

I have an old Penn SS reel, not sure the model number but it holds about 150 yds of 8# mono. Bought in 1986 and it still works pretty good after years of abuse that includes full dunking in saltwater. Kent is correct that they don't make them like that anymore and the last few Penns I have bought and used in SW have had issues with corrosion. Expensive reels and they just don't hold up without corroding. I have even tried Okuma and Pfluger with poor results. What I started doing is buying the cheap Shimano Nexave 2500 for about $50. This has held up the best in reels under $70. I have been spraying it with Corrosion X, every once and awhile and it has held up for going on 2 years. If I can get 2 years out of it in a corrosive saltwater environment that will pay for itself. You are looking at $100 for 4 or more years. I do have a way more expensive Daiwa Saltist reel that had has held up exceptionally well but it cost a little over $200. The good thing about spinning reels is that they are fairly easy to take apart and clean. The bad thing is the corrosive parts that need to be cleaned on a regular basis.

You indicate you want a 500 size reel. That limits choices a lot. The best I can suggest in your price range is the Nasci. They are coming out with a new model (FC), probably around the end of the year before it shows up. So if you can wait, you might get a good deal on the current FB series.

These days you can get a 1000 size reel that weighs the same/less/close to a 500 reel. Then you have more choices. But maybe you like the sport of using such a small reel? In most cases you could buy a 500 spool and put it on the 1000 reel as they are typically the same body.

Be advised the Daiwa reels hold a good bit more line than same size Shimano.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Michael,
Replies to your post could very well be endless!!! Being the cheap bastard that I am, I rarely spend more than $50.00 for my UL reels, 50, 75, 1000, 1500. Personally, I have not found a need to spend more for my lighter, trout reels; my heavier saltwater reels are a different story. I was a Shimano man for 40+ years and they were fine; tried a few Diawas and they also were fine as well. In the last 3-4 years, I have become very fond of the mid-range Lew’s reels and think they offer the best-bang-for-the-buck of any reels I have tried. They have numerous reels ranging in price (and performance) from $20.00 to over $100.00.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

The old Daiwa SS tournament reels were excellent but they were never built with braided lines in mind and if going with light braid they would be far from my first choice . I don't like the Pflueger reels for anything saltwater related so don't know if you have plans to fish the salt . The older SS tournament reels were extremely popular for saltwater usage . I as you do also build rods specifically with one reel in mind and one specific type and size of line because once you have that information you can really dial in amazing performance that's not possible when switching reels back and forth. To do this however you need to have the reel chosen first before even attempting to proceed . Always a good idea to mention the specific rod/blank length and power because it's much easier to recommend the ideal reel size.





As Russell mentioned this one is pre order: Shimano 2021 Nasci FC Spinning Reels

Currently available: Shimano NASCI Spinning Reels


Some other very popular reels that fit your budget below :

Since you mentioned Daiwa many seem to like the ( Daiwa Fuego LT Spinning Reel) for around $100.00

Okuma RTX Spinning Reels

Okuma ITX Carbon Spinning Reels

Okuma Epixor XT High-Speed Spinning Reels

Another that people RAVE about below:

Tica Libra SX Spinning Reels


Good luck with whatever you choose.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2021 08:11PM by chris c nash.

Wow I never expected such in depth replies. Thought this would be a simple back and forth of one person saying brand a is junk and the next person saying brand a is the best ever. Thanks to everyone. Extra thanks to Kent for such a in depth reply. You confirmed a lot of what I have heard.

Got a lot of options to look at now. Probably going to look at 1000 series, as confirmed by this thread there are not many options in the 20/500 series reels. This is for FW use only. Might just go with another pflueger. I could just be too picky especially in todays market. I ain't that old but I remember when you could not decide which reel to buy because there were so many excellent options.

I'd put the epixor as a possible best buy for fresh water only. Forgot to mention that one. The Shimano Sienna is okay if you really want to go budget (but some say only buy the 4000 size).

The Daiwa SS tournament will spoil you on other reels. If they added a AR bearing and a screw in handle it would be great.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

The reels shown look more like vctims of abuse and lack of maintenance rather than manufacturers poor quality.

Most reels with proper maintenance and care will hold up well for fresh water use. If you plan to use it in salt water pick one designed for salt Water use.

I use a Shimano Stradic 2500 with a 7ft .medium Action rod for large mouth bass.

Have fun



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2021 08:16PM by John DeMartini.