Best Bang for the Buck Spining Reels

[Just_jiggin83]

Im a shimano man too but recently purchased a president and i really like it. I think shimano's quality has dropped over the years. A 5 yr old sahara is far better than a new sahara. Plus now if you dont at least spring for the symetre anything else is just not what it used to be.

[stinkybaits]

Ya I've kinda noticed some of the newer old models have been revamped and not for the better on some. I miss the extra spools too!

[TightLinesMaine]

I love my shimano symmetre and even the shimano sedona is a really nice reel for the price, i have a sedona 2500 coming up on 3 years old still feels like a brand new reel

[jeffro9023]

W3 FISHH Do not sp3II so W3II. I'd worry about your own posts. Looking at your other replies I'm guessing you were a solid C or D student in your English courses. Does this reply look familiar to one of your posts:

Makes me giggle cuz no matter how good the system u have something gets forgotten. I left ratchet straps on back of the boat connecting the boat to trailer couple times 

Who uses GIGGLE CUZ 

Go back to the NY boards or post your favorite ultralight reel. CUZ Nobody cares about "Hooked on Phonics" on a fishing forum. It makes me giggle..... Bahahahaha!!!!

The difference between using literary terms / wording deliberately and purposefully to show expression and personality, as compared to  butchering simple spelling of names of equipment you use daily with the names plastered all over them are two different galaxies CUZ...

[rivereddy]

I'll be the first to admit, I kept Shimano in business in the 90's. The reels were smooth, the
drags tough and the spools for the same series reel fit any other model in that series. I'll bet
I had at least 8 of them.  Then some time a way back they changed the configuration of the spools.
The new models would no longer take the older spools. I also noticed that, on the newer models
the bail became harder to close as the reels got to be a couple of years old. This happened on
Symmetre series reels....not cheap ones. The third strike came up on Lake of the Woods Ontario.
We were having a good day catching decent sized pike.  My wife had a nice one on when all
of a sudden it was like someone loosened the drag completely. Line raced out with no tension
on it and the pike spit the spoon.  When I looked at the reel I noticed that the bail had separated
from the reel on the side opposite the roller. There was no missing bolt or screw. It looked like
that end of the bail was simply wedged into the reel.  I took it to two repair shops and no one
could get the parts to fix it. I guess I'm part of the trend.  I now have 3 presidential series Pfleugers
and so far they are performing well at less than half the cost of a symmetre...  My "go to" reels....
70's era Zebco Cardinals made by ABU of Sweden. 45 years old and smooth as silk with a drag that
would turn a VW.

fish on,

rivereddy

[Be pro]

Shimano for sure

[TightLinesMaine]

I'll be the first to admit, I kept Shimano in business in the 90's. The reels were smooth, the
drags tough and the spools for the same series reel fit any other model in that series. I'll bet
I had at least 8 of them.  Then some time a way back they changed the configuration of the spools.
The new models would no longer take the older spools. I also noticed that, on the newer models
the bail became harder to close as the reels got to be a couple of years old. This happened on
Symmetre series reels....not cheap ones. The third strike came up on Lake of the Woods Ontario.
We were having a good day catching decent sized pike.  My wife had a nice one on when all
of a sudden it was like someone loosened the drag completely. Line raced out with no tension
on it and the pike spit the spoon.  When I looked at the reel I noticed that the bail had separated
from the reel on the side opposite the roller. There was no missing bolt or screw. It looked like
that end of the bail was simply wedged into the reel.  I took it to two repair shops and no one
could get the parts to fix it. I guess I'm part of the trend.  I now have 3 presidential series Pfleugers
and so far they are performing well at less than half the cost of a symmetre...  My "go to" reels....
70's era Zebco Cardinals made by ABU of Sweden. 45 years old and smooth as silk with a drag that
would turn a VW.

fish on,

rivereddy

just curious what specific Symmetre did you have? they've remade em and changed them a few times... I've had no problems with mine so far

[stinkybaits]

The difference between using literary terms / wording deliberately and purposefully to show expression and personality, as compared to  butchering simple spelling of names of equipment you use daily with the names plastered all over them are two different galaxies CUZ...

Giggles, We truly don't care. What's your favorite fishing reel or do you just read Webster and play Words with Friends?

[stinkybaits]

Zebco Cardinal! Killer reels and posting that brought back some great memories.Those things are built like Sherman Tanks. An older angler that lived on the lake I grew up on used those reels. Same guy taught me how to fly fish when I was 8 and I fell in love with it. Thanks River Edy for sharing that!

[rivereddy]

The Shimano reals that let me down were  the 1000 and 2000 series Symmetres. All were probably purchased
between 2006 and 2012. My main issue is the degree of difficulty getting the bail to engage after a cast when one
begins to retrieve the lure. For trolling rigs this is not a problem, but when casting continuously for bass or silvers
it gets to be a pain. When the handle is in certain positions one must make an effort to close the bail and begin
cranking.  The problem was actually worse on the Symmetres than on the Sedona and Sahara models. The major
bail failure came on a 2000 series Symmetre. I finally gave 3-4 of the reels to my repair guy for parts in exchange for
tuning some other reels.  I still have several Saharas on long crappie rods and a 500 series for ice fishing.
It really is against my nature to pop off like this, but at $100 a shot, one would expect a reel to last more than a season
or two.  Yes the reels get fished hard, but they are babied, not tossed in the bed of a truck, between uses.

fish on, 

rivereddy

   

[TightLinesMaine]

The Shimano reals that let me down were  the 1000 and 2000 series Symmetres. All were probably purchased
between 2006 and 2012. My main issue is the degree of difficulty getting the bail to engage after a cast when one
begins to retrieve the lure. For trolling rigs this is not a problem, but when casting continuously for bass or silvers
it gets to be a pain. When the handle is in certain positions one must make an effort to close the bail and begin
cranking.  The problem was actually worse on the Symmetres than on the Sedona and Sahara models. The major
bail failure came on a 2000 series Symmetre. I finally gave 3-4 of the reels to my repair guy for parts in exchange for
tuning some other reels.  I still have several Saharas on long crappie rods and a 500 series for ice fishing.
It really is against my nature to pop off like this, but at $100 a shot, one would expect a reel to last more than a season
or two.  Yes the reels get fished hard, but they are babied, not tossed in the bed of a truck, between uses.

fish on, 

rivereddy

   

do you close the bail by cranking the reel or do you manually do it by hand? I ALWAYS do it by hand as I've been told be several dealers (employees) to do that as closing it by cranking puts extra unnescessary stress on the reel i've been told and I think they're right.... and I've never broken a bail ever on a shimano year been using shimano's for almost 3 years now

[rivereddy]

The fail on my wife's northern was the result of a part breaking and  unrelated
to opening and closing the bail.  The bail was closed as we were trolling when
the fish hooked up. The only time I have ever manually closed a bail was on
a big salt water Penn "Bait Runner" reel. It was made that way. I have used too
many reels over too many years to call the binding of the bail anything near normal
reel function. While I have heard this claim made by others, I've not seen very many anglers
doing it (manually flipping the bail)  I'm going to start a new post and ask
the forum.  Maybe I'll see the folly of my ways....

fish on

rivereddy

[jeffro9023]

Giggles, We truly don't care. What's your favorite fishing reel or do you just read Webster and play Words with Friends?

I own a pflueger supreme, Its pretty nice. I like that it has stainless steel bearings, functions well. Havnt had it long so longevity cant be spoke about. I owned a couple of quantums and meh, they were ok, the plastic drag trip broke off, and the plastic/nylon friction washer wore out on it , replaced it with a metal one and it works much better now, the other one turned into a baby rattle. . I had a Mitchell once, oops sorry about that. My all time favorite reels are Fin nor. If you've never owned one, spend the money once and you'll never have to spend money again. Silky smooth drag, practically bullet proof and built to last forever. I watched my buddies drag on his Shimano get smoked by a steelhead down in the gorge a couple of years ago. He now owns a Fin nor and will until the day he dies.
   My first Fin nor was an Ahab, they dont even make them anymore 20ish years old and its still my go to . They have an ultra light line up IFS2500 and they are nothing short of amazing little reels. Even has a rubberized spool core for you braided line guys! NO SLIP! These reels are built for salt water so everything is stainless steel/ aluminum and sealed tight and virtually no maintenance.
     

   

[MC_angler]

I have to go with the Pflueger President as well... have abused one for 3 years on my steelhead rod, horsing some big fish around, smooth drag even on those line peeling runs, and hasn't yet been stopped by mud, snow, ice, etc - still in tip top shape. Great reel for a great price.

I used to like Shimano a lot but I feel like the price-to-value ratio isn't as good as it was 10 years ago.

[Get_the_Net]

The fail on my wife's northern was the result of a part breaking and  unrelated
to opening and closing the bail.  The bail was closed as we were trolling when
the fish hooked up. The only time I have ever manually closed a bail was on
a big salt water Penn "Bait Runner" reel. It was made that way. I have used too
many reels over too many years to call the binding of the bail anything near normal
reel function. While I have heard this claim made by others, I've not seen very many anglers
doing it (manually flipping the bail)  I'm going to start a new post and ask
the forum.  Maybe I'll see the folly of my ways....

fish on

rivereddy

I have seven Symetre's (2500's) and 3 saharas (2500 and 1500) and have never had a single issue with any of them in 8 years.  Then again I NEVER use the reel to close the bail either and I grease and lube them annually.   My guess is closing the bail with the reel is your issue.  Not sure who you fish with or see fishing, but 20 to 1 the people I fish with and see fishing flip the bail over by hand and not with the reel.  Soft or hard water, I don't think I have flipped a bail by reeling in 20 years.  I have not had a single bail issue a spinning reel probably 15 years.  I have had other parts wear out on reels that are not Shimano, but never the bail.