Cutting through all the hype.

If I fished 1 or 2 times a month I would be satisfied with any $29.00 reel.

Since I fish 3 or 4 times a week I find the Shimano Stradic works best for me..

Michael Danek.
I went to replace my old Shimano reels I was upset when I found out the anti reverse lever was eliminated, But I still bought the Shimano because of their past performance, Surprising enough I have not missed that feature and am fine without it. But I agree with you it can be a deal breaker.

For baitcasting i like the daiwas....The tatulas are a great value and i dont see a need to go any higher in the line up. Tatulas come in a wide variety of models too. Still fish my old TDZ'S , original Fuegos. I have a couple JDM Daiwa pixy's for finesse. JDM Better? Cool factor? i wouldnt say that....When i got them Daiwa USDM didnt offer anything like those pixys and presso for finesse casting stuff. IDK anything about shimano JDM . But JDM is cheaper now with the exchange rate , which wasnt always the case.

Spinning, I settled on that $80 -$100 range mostly. Tried higher end and for me I dont really get much better performance or longevity so why spend more. Been buying pflugers last few times. I do have one of the original stradic 3000 ci4 that i bought on clearance when they redesigned. Its a very good reel thats lasted longer than most of my other spinning reels.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2022 08:51PM by Matt Ruggie.

Very informative and true comments Kent.

For spinning reels for saltwater use I have been and still am a Shimano fan. Even the freshwater Stella series have performed pretty flawlessly in the saltwater environment for however long they've been around. The "best bang for the buck" in my opinion is the Vanford/Stradic for the smaller reels. I don't have any other larger reels, 5000 size and up, except Stellas so I can't compare to lower end reels. I did use Daiwa Saltigas in addition to Stellas at one time but while the Daiwa felt mechanically sturdier than the Shimano they ease of cranking, drag, AND ease of obtaining service made Shimano the Champion.

I am concerned now since Shimano has stopped giving priority to servicing their Stella line over other reels. What was once 10 days turnaround time now is possibly 3-6 weeks.

I used the Shimano curado E’s for years, switched to lew’s tournament pros 7.5 for my all purpose reels, lew’s bb1 pro 6.2 for my moving baits/cranks, lew’s custom pro 8.3 for high end rods and bottom contact and lew’s super duty for my heavy applications (thick frogging, lures over an ounce, etc). Really enjoy them and they’re nice and small so easy to palm. Lew’s go on good sales. I’ve used almost all brands and grade levels. Lew’s are solid in their mid grade reels.

Thanks for all the info supplied in this thread. Great to hear from techs who actually work on these things. I was debating the Shimano - Daiwa decision on a new spin reel and this thread helped me decide. BTW the new shimano Sahara does have an anti-reverse lever - just got one., the first new spinning reel in about 30 yrs - quite smooth actually.

I am mainly a fly fisherman with a few spinning reels and 2 casting reels.
Fly reels (freshwater) - old Orvis, Lamson, Ross, and old Pfluger Medalists.
Spinning reels - all old (80s and 90s) Shimano and Abu-Garcia., sorry, I don't know specific models.
Baitcasting reels - old round Abu reels without magnetic brakes, just drag and spool tension knobs.

I use low and mid level spinning gear because I'm not serious about warm water fishing, don't have a boat, just a canoe, and make occasional trips to the river or lake and the gear I have does just fine for catching a few bass. I plan to do more river wading small mouth fishing next year and have built a new NFC SB 722 rod with KL-H guides for that. First impressions of the rod are that it is very light but won't do anything more than the old rods I have for what I am going to fish ( many new rods seem to be very stiff with no flex or feel). The Sahara reel will be a great fit for that rod.

I jumped into the JDM reels this year for the first time due to exchange rate. Scorpion DC for $210 vs $260 for a curado DC but scorpion has the higher end DC module with more adjustments), zillion sv tw g for $250 instead of $350, a 22 zillion HD for $270 vs what will be well over that in the USA when released, aldebaran mgl $244 vs $430 here.

So, the cost savings can be significant right now.

I have had good luch with most of them, if cared for. The Shimano SW Spheros is a lot of reel for the money. For smaller baits, I like the Diawa baitcasters. The Zillion is unbelievable. With bigger baits, Curado and Tranx have served me well. Even an odd Komodo SS before moving to bigger Penns. Had the worst luck with Lews bearings until upgraded

Dean Veltman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I jumped into the JDM reels this year for the
> first time due to exchange rate. Scorpion DC for
> $210 vs $260 for a curado DC but scorpion has the
> higher end DC module with more adjustments),
> zillion sv tw g for $250 instead of $350, a 22
> zillion HD for $270 vs what will be well over that
> in the USA when released, aldebaran mgl $244 vs
> $430 here.
>
> So, the cost savings can be significant right now.

Dean
IMO its a no brainer with the exchange rates right now. You pretty much have a another high end reels worth in savings when buying multiple reels.

I get the whole service end of things but , Ive never needed to send any reel in for service USDM or JDM. When i needed parts, there were a few go to shops online out of japan that had parts or could get them. For those that didnt work on their own reels there are guys from some of the tackle junkie forums that were pretty good reel techs and had zero problems working on the JDM stuff.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2022 07:49PM by Matt Ruggie.

Die hard Daiwa guy here.

There is no substitute for a high quality reel. A poor quality reel can really ruin a day on the water.

I think spinning reels are more finicky when it comes to line management. A poor quality spinning reel can result in line twist and a day of tangles.

Baitcasters have come a long way and many of the high end features from Daiwa and Shimano have trickle down into there $200 reels.

For a baitcaster, there really is diminishing returns.

That said, $200 gets you a Tatula SV or a Curado. Both well made and will last several seasons.

I am a fan of the original Daiwa SV103. A discontinued reel I have 8 of. With yearly service, they are all still going strong. People always tell me how smooth they feel 7 years later.

I guarantee the $100 reel is a coffee grinder after 3 years.

These are my favorite reels;

1. Surf spinning- Shimano Ultegra 5500
2. Surf casting- Seigler SM
3. General bottom fishing/jigging/slow pitch- Daiwa Saltiga star drag
4. Light chum/chunk/live bait- Penn Fathom 25NLD2
5. Heavy trolling- Penn International V 30VSX
6. Light trolling, chum/chunk for tuna to 100#- Shimano Tiagra Ti16 If I had to pick a favorite, this is it- smooth operation/drag and has been bullet proof for me.

As Kent mentioned, every new reel I buy, I open them up and apply a coat of silicon grease to the inside surface of the side plates, etc. and apply a synthetic to all the fiddly little parts, and grease up the gears.