Help with spinning reel 2025

petes67bird reply :

Hi,

I have been using the same reel going on near 15-20 years now at least. It's a Shimano symmetre and it started grinding so I finally need a replacement. I am not a professional fisherman, but probably fish 3-4 days a month for bass etc. I am struggling to figure out what to buy. Obviously I want the best for the money but would like to stay around 100 if possible.

These are what I am considering, please add your choice for reels as well. Thanks

Shimano symmetre on sale for 59 cabelas

Daiwa freams from Japan 115 or recommend me a different jdm

Daiwa Lexa 80

Penn conflict 100

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

Shimano symetre, that what I got.

KDW96 reply :

If your shimano gave you that much service, id get another one. Or look at the pfhluger president.

timsford reply :

The best reel for the money around 100 to me has to be the daiwa Procyon. They can be found for about 110 on eBay depending on size. Aluminum frame so it will last and all the latest technologies. It is much smoother and more solid feeling than the shimanos at that price that all have graphite frames. It will last a long time and retails for 150. It's a great buy at retail and at 100 it is definitely the best new reel design I have used.

That being said I also have a very soft spot for the tournament ss 1300 from daiwa. Rock solid and should last practically forever with maintenance. They haven't been making them exactly the same since the early 90's for no reason, and they are bulletproof and last forever. Not quite as smooth on the retrieve as the Procyon or some newer reels, but the drag is silky smooth and the reliability more than makes up for any lack of smoothness on retrieve. Lots of guys use these in salt and have for years. These 2 would be what I would look at. If you never want to buy another spinning reel, buy the tournament ss . If you want the newest stuff, but still a very well built reel that should outlast it's competition, look at the Procyon.

NYWayfarer reply :

I feel your pain as my Symetre is going on 8 years and I am going to hate replacing it when it goes.

I would have said replace a Symetre with a Symetre but they seem dramatically different from the old aluminum versions. The reviews are scaring me as well. I got to handle one in Field and Stream over the weekend and it seemed fine to me other than the flimsy bail wire. The new compact body is nice so I might bite the bullet and get one soon.

If you are staying in the $100 range you might try the new Shimano Nasci. Looks real nice and loaded with features.

My other suggestions would be:

Pflueger President (regular or limited edition)

Daiwa Exceler

Molay1292 reply :

Pflueger Supreme, Pflueger President, Daiwa Revros, Diawa RG-AB, lots of great reels out there for under a 100 dollars.

Hulkster reply :

I handled the new shimano symetre replacement the other day. its called the Nasci. it was amazing for the money. I guess the symetre line will be discontinued and replaced with this reel.

BrianSnat reply :

I'd go with another Shimano, or perhaps the Pfleuger President. Can't go wrong with either.

"hamma" reply :

For a little more money the shimano saros is what I replaced my 20 year old symetre with. It has the aerowrap so it casts a bit better. the old symetre's had aerowrap but the new ones do not.,...I love the saros it has a larger diameter spool and has yet to disappoint.

petes67bird reply :

Thanks guys. I am trying to get a new stradic at a really good price locally. If that falls through, I may go the route of the procyon by daiwa or abu revo sx

fishnkamp reply :

I just purchased a Symetre 3000fl for Linda 3 months ago. I did it based on its gear ratio, and the success I have had with other Shimano reels in the past. All 7 of our other spinning reels are Pflueger Presidents and with the exception of one Shimano Solstace. I like her new reel but I am concerned because I have read a lot of complaints about them going bad ( the rotor can get bent). I would stick with a Pflueger.

petes67bird reply :

On 9/9/2016 at 4:57 AM, fishnkamp said:

I just purchased a Symetre 3000fl for Linda 3 months ago. I did it based on its gear ratio, and the success I have had with other Shimano reels in the past. All 7 of our other spinning reels are Pflueger Presidents and with the exception of one Shimano Solstace. I like her new reel but I am concerned because I have read a lot of complaints about them going bad ( the rotor can get bent). I would stick with a Pflueger.

That is the same thing I have been reading along with a thin bail wire. 59 dollars is awfully tempting on the symetre though. I know cabelas has the Pfleuger Patriarch for sale for 129 which seems like a good deal. I am going to head up to Cabelas to put my hands on some of the reels. I will let you know if I walk away with one.

fishnkamp reply :

The President will run $60 at Dicks and most other places. That reel is a 10 ball bearing reel which is why I think it works so well.

By the way did you an my friend Ed ever catch up on the phone? I knew he tried to a couple of times.

petes67bird reply :

On 9/9/2016 at 7:59 AM, fishnkamp said:

The President will run $60 at Dicks and most other places. That reel is a 10 ball bearing reel which is why I think it works so well.

By the way did you an my friend Ed ever catch up on the phone? I knew he tried to a couple of times.

We played phone tag a bunch of times and just never connected. It is ok though. I ended up already picking up some Goop Coat it to seal up the boat and will try that way for now. I started getting into too expensive territory so I scaled back alot of what I had planned. I will update the other thread once work is closer to being done.

petes67bird reply :

Just want to update stating I got a great deal on a trade with a local seller. I traded 40 dollars of ammunition and 100 dollars to some selling a brand new Shimano Stradic CI4+. 3000HGFB. I think I did really well! Thanks for all the help. I was wondering which rod you guys think would match up well. I have a 6`6" st Croix premier medium action rod? Or I can save up and get a better rod around black Friday.

dopey reply :

I'm a die hard Shimano guy - just wanted to say don't give up on your old symmetre. It may just need to be cleaned, one thing I like about them is you cn pull the side cover off and look inside just by taking the side plate off.

I have Shimanos from the 1980's up to the Syncopate I bought last October, and they all work great!

You didn't say what size your symmetre was so for the rod - take your new reel and put it on and see how well it balances out.

petes67bird reply :

Quick question guys. So I took my new reel out today and threw for a little while. It was a horrible day, I have never had issues with my old reel. When I bought this reel, I purchased PLine 20lbs braided line and cabelas put it on for me. While fishing with my toppers today, Every other cast I had knots in my line. What could be going on? I didnt change my technique or anything, fishing the same way i have been for the last 25 years. So its either the line or the reel. What should I do?

At the line station in cabelas, the guy took my spool off and put it on a machine. He slid my line onto a pole with the label facing away. Normally when I put my line on, its label out. He then fed the line onto the spool manually moving the line back and forth as it was laid on the reel. Any suggestions? Thanks

fishnkamp reply :

Could they have just put too much line on?..I think what i would try first is find a ball field, big grass field or some area like that. Walk out all of the line Take a rag, starting at the reel, and wipe the line through the rag. Tie the line to something like a fence or tree. Now rewind the line on. Make sure it does not have too much line on it. Be sure to spool the line fairly tight.Tie on a lead weight and toss it a few times. It may just be the way the line was put on by Cabelas. Memory is really not too much of an issue with braid as compared other types of lines.

J Francho reply :

On 9/12/2016 at 8:48 AM, petes67bird said:

At the line station in cabelas, the guy took my spool off and put it on a machine. He slid my line onto a pole with the label facing away. Normally when I put my line on, its label out. He then fed the line onto the spool manually moving the line back and forth as it was laid on the reel. Any suggestions? Thanks

This is incorrect, and why I always spool my line myself.

Per Shimano spinning reel instructions:

petes67bird reply :

Thanks guys. I called cabelas and I am going back on Friday. I am gonna get the replacement line and spool it myself. I never had anyone ever spool line for me other than myself. Appreciate the feedback. Glad it's the line and not the reel.

wnspain reply :

On 9/9/2016 at 4:26 AM, petes67bird said:

Thanks guys. I am trying to get a new stradic at a really good price locally. If that falls through, I may go the route of the procyon by daiwa or abu revo sx

I try not to talk bad about any specific brand on these forums but if I had a choice between 3 Abu Revo SXs or 1 Plueger President, I'd take the President all day long and twice on Sundays. I own both...

petes67bird reply :

Here is a picture of the line. If you look to the left, you can see the line knotted and sticking out. I have 3 knots currently, leaving them for Friday.

fishnkamp reply :

I have been using a Berkley Line Winding station for years. If you look at Cabelas they sell them for $20.

The directions actually tell you to use the bar in this configuration for a baitcaster and to move the bar to the other hole for a spinning reel. I do not do this. I find if I leave the bar in this configuration it works best. If I am spooling a baitcaster I turn the spool so the line comes off the top of the bulk spool. If I am spooling a spinning reel I make sure the spool is turned so the line comes off the bulk spool from the bottom. That always works best for me. Make sure you add some mono on first in order to get a good tight arbor knot, Personally I prefer 1/2 of a spool of 14 pound Stren mono as my backing, and then fill the rest of the spool with the main line either braid, copoly or fluoro. The nice thing about that spooling station is the line spool is held under tension and the reel is held securely so all I have to worry with is getting the line on nice and smoothly. I hope it helps.

petes67bird reply :

Thanks Fish, cabelas used a spooling station with mono backer and I am still having issues.... Not sure what is going on or why.

fishnkamp reply :

I personally never experienced a problem with braid having a memory problem before. I have used a lot of different braids but they do not include P Line. I like P Line CXX for leaders, and I use both Halo and FloroClear. If you are not sold on that exact braid, I can recommend several god braided lines. All of our spinning reels have Berkley Original FireLine or FireLine Fused in 14 pound test. I really like the way it plays on a spinning reel. When we set Linda up with her newest rod/reel combo we picked a Irod Genesis II 7 foot MH spinning rod with a Shimano Symetre 3000FL reel and loaded it with mono backing and Power Pro Spectra in 30 pound test. That line was chosen in order to hold up against heavy vegetation as this is her frog rod. On my baitcasters you will find Power Pro Spectra, Suffix 832, and Spiderwire Stealth. I have had no problems with any of them. The only braid I did have problems with was the free spool of Tough Line i tried. I di not think it held up it would sorta fray and look like your wind knots. It did not matter as it was free from the factory during a promo they did along with Fishing University.

Molay1292 reply :

I have never really seen it make much difference how braided line was spooled on as it typically has no memory. If it were me, before I spent any more money on line I would remove enough line to remove the knots. Connect a swivel to the line and attach it something stationary, walk the line off the reel and then reel it back in. Give it a try like that and see how it goes.

J Francho reply :

That picture shows a wind knot from twist. Braid will twist, and especially if it's loaded wrong. While you don't get the fly away loops like you do with single filament lines, you will get wind knots.

The solution: troll it out, reel in through a towel, with some pressure, and treat it with KVD L&L.

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