Looking To Buy a New Reel

[manitoubass2]

(04-17-2012 08:09 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  Love my Pfluegers! I have the Solara, Trion and Medalist at home. With those reels, I've caught your everyday bass, pike, muskie, steelhead, salmon, carp, etc...and then I've caught barracuda, queenfish, Japanese seabass, redfish, bluefish...etc. They are very good reels with much better components for their price. For example, for $70, you can get the President XT with graphite body and carbon fiber drag. You not not find it on Shimano and Diawa reels at the same price points. For another $30, you can get an aluminum body reel with sealed, carbon fiber drags.

Don't get fooled by the number of ball bearings...more ball bearings does not make a better reel. Sure, it may make the reel smoother to crank, but if the drag is low quality, it is poor for fighting fish. If the body is weak, it can strain and flex from the pressure of a large, fast running fish. Make sure your reel body is made of durable, flex resistant material. Some reels components (drive gear, drive shaft, other gears) are made of lower grade metal and they may corrode.

Of course, all of this may be costly, but for the price, Pflueger offers high quality reels for a fairly affordable cost.

This is excellent advice.

As for bearings, some 3 bearing spinning reels are actually much better performance wise then some 9 or 10 ball bearing reels. Unless they are ceramic bearings, lol. Ceramic Powell Swiss take the cake, big time.

Anyhow, What I look for in a reel depends on how its going to be used. So perhaps a little more information may help garnish some more great opinions.

I'm still gonna say, for that price point, the Okuma Avenger is the reel to look at. Last time I looked, they were also half price at Cabelas, just saying.

You wont go wrong with Pflueger either, excellent reels