Spinning Reel Advice

[hockeyfishing620]

Morning all, do you guys have any recommendations for a decent spinning reel to go on my 6' medium action Ugly Stik.  Heading to Cabelas this weekend (didnt get to go last weekend as originally planned!)  Not looking to spend a lot of money, probably less than 40 bucks on it.  Ive been reading that the Cabelas brand reels have gotten good feedback.  Has anyone tried these, if not any other suggestions will help!  Thanks.

[DBrooke]

A decent one is a Shimano Sonora, but your still looking at $45-$50 I have 1 for finesse and love it.

[Canesfan]

I recently picked up a Shimono Sedona for like $ 59.95 at BPS.  Works for me.  If I was into tourney fishing might invest in something more expensive but have had a few Shimano's over the years (spinning reels) and they always have come through.

[nuke]

I still have some old Shimano gear from the early 70's that STILL works great.  They're not as balanced as todays reels but they DO hold up.

All of my tourney reels (when I USED to tourney fish) are Shimano.

[willthebad]

Can't go wrong with Shimano, but Pfleuger makes an excellent spinning reel, the President, for around $50.00...Come with an extra spool too...Good Luck!!!

[cward1234]

For a reel under $50, go with Shimano. Peolpe say that you get what you pay for but with Shimano, you're guaranteed quality.

[DBrooke]

I have a few more minutes to type now than I did earlier today.

Until last season I tourney fished with ONLY spinning reels because baitcasters weren't in my price range at all. Here is what I used and still have/use

All Shimano:
2 Spirex 2500 rear drag
2 Sonora front drag
1 Sedona front drag

Now going into this year here is my tourney arsenal (my wife will also be using my gear this year )

Spinning
2 Shimano Spirex 2500 rear drag
2 Shimano Sonora 2500 front drag
1 Shimano Sedona 2500 front drag
1 Abu Garcia Soron stx20

Baitcasters left side retrieve
2 Shimano Curado 201e7
1 Quantum Code

Notice the Shimano trend? Love the reels and have yet to have any issues with any of them. Go Shimano and you won't regret it... IMO

[hockeyfishing620]

Ok Shimano it is lol!  Thanks everyone

[scottydoesnt]

Dang, already made his mind up without hearing about the Pflueger Trion 

[nuke]

Whatever you decide, be sure it comes with a spare spool unless you have an arsenal of rods/reels with you.  Being able to swap line test when needed is priceless.

[Stump bumper]

A decent one is a Shimano Sonora, but your still looking at $45-$50 I have 1 for finesse and love it.

My local Wal-mart had them on cleanace for $25 last week.

[dave0943]

I love pflueger reels. I've got a few presidents, president XT, trion. Excellent reels. I'm also a big Abu Garcia guy. I have a few Sorons and a few Cardinal 5 Albi reels. The Sorons are the highest I have in regards to price. I picked up a few trions to let friends use. I only paid like 39.00 for each. A steal for the price. The Cardinals and presidents were around 69.00. I don't pay as much for spinning reels, but do put out quite a bit more for baitcasters. I reccomend all of these reels. I do have a few Shimanos that I bought some years ago that still make a trip here and there. Go shopping and check out how they feel. They should be smooth and well constructed. You can buy very good spinning reels for way under 100.00.
Dave

[DBrooke]

My local Wal-mart had them on cleanace for $25 last week.

Yeah that sucks since I paid about $50 for mine when I got them

[Pferox]

I'm the Penn guy around here when it comes to just about all my reels. But I wanted an inexpensive reel for an older rod I had, the origonal shakespear reel lasted a couple of years and then just died. 

I picked up a Diawa Sweepfire 3500 reel at Bass Pro for 14 dollars, and found it later at Academy for 10. It is being sold as a fresh water reel, btw.

I've been using it every other weekend at least on average for about 6 months, I have caught some pretty large fish with it, the drag is very smooth, and it is holding up very well, heck even the finish has yet to chip or get the corrosion buildup that I have found with cheaper reels in the salt environment.

It might be a little largeer than you were looking for, but it will hold from 10 to 15lb line, and quite a bit of it, which makes it a pretty nice little reel in my book.

Shimano makes a great reel, and there are others which are of good quality in that price range, I am used to paying 80 to 150 for my salt reels, but this Diawa seems to be a diamond in the rough for the price.

[bassbmx]

Shimano is great.  I won a Sienna(only a $30 reel) in a tournament last year and I used it since last August and it still feels better than the $100 BPS Johnny Morris reels I bought last year.  I pulled a 10+ year old Sahara out of a lake and it still works perfectly.

[hockeyfishing620]

Thanks for the advice guys - just a side question.  Why is it that crankbaits under 1/4 oz size work better with spinning gear as opposed to baitcasting?  Is it because these lighter lures are easier to cast with spinning?  Is the action of these lighter cranks work just as well with spinning?  Thanks

[screwballl]

Depending on your budget... for a cheaper but still good quality reel, look at BPS for the Pfluefger Trion GX7 reel. For a bit better quality look at the Pflueger President series.

Thanks for the advice guys - just a side question.  Why is it that crankbaits under 1/4 oz size work better with spinning gear as opposed to baitcasting?  Is it because these lighter lures are easier to cast with spinning?  Is the action of these lighter cranks work just as well with spinning?  Thanks

Since the line on spinning reels comes straight out instead of having the tension/brakes from the baitcast/spincast reel, the lighter lures work very well on spinning rods.

I myself only use spinning reels for my bass fishing, mostly because I like how they work, but also because my oversized hands cannot use a baitcaster without moving them in directions designed for a gymnast.

[bayscotter]

All good choices here on this topic. I have had good seasons wih my Mitchell 300. It's bulletproof. and I belive it has some affiliation with abu

[Dan1962]

Thanks for the advice guys - just a side question.  Why is it that crankbaits under 1/4 oz size work better with spinning gear as opposed to baitcasting?  Is it because these lighter lures are easier to cast with spinning?  Is the action of these lighter cranks work just as well with spinning?  Thanks

the reason a baitcaster has a hard time casting lite lures under 1/4 oz is not really the Brakes  its the Spool weight  On a spinning reel the spool does not have to turn for line to come off  But on a  Baitcaster  The spool has to turn and a very lite lure does not have the force to start the heavy spool turning  But there are Baitcaster that Can cast Very Lite lures  as good or better then some spinning reels because they have Very Light weight Spools  made from special Forged alum  most reg baitcasters spools weigh between 18-24 grams & hold a lot of line 120+yds  which adds weight  the reels like the Chronarch 100D & the  Core there spools are only 11grams & only hold about 90yds of line  so the lite lures can start those lighter spools turning MUCH Easier  but those reels are NOT Cheap $300 ++

You can also Order A Super Performance Aftermarket spools that are only 8 grams and only Hold 50 yds  for the the High Ends reels But again there not cheap $115 + Sh  So that's $300+ for reel then extra $115+  for a 8 grams spool  that's why spinning reels are More Popular  Much Cheaper then $415+