Which reel reviews do you trust? 2024

dulouz reply :

I am looking for a new spinning reel in the $100ish. I have read up on shimano, daiwa, pflueger, and okuma. When I examined similar reels from different companies I found that they all got 4 to 5 stars. What I don't understand is that there are always several reviews that say the reels are junk, and then most people say that it is the by far the best reel in the price range. It doesn't really matter which brand, all the reviews seem the same. It makes it hard to decide which will be the best buy.

B-Dozer reply :

Pretty honest group here, do a search for the reel you are considering, or just ask outright.

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

Trial+Error=personal opinion....best way to say it, is you gotta try em for yourself and form an opinion on your own. It helps to actually go into a store and hold the different brands or use one if you have a friend that uses a certain brand. Usually what i do is start with how it feels in my hands then go from there. I have been through 5 manufacturers( Abu, Pinnacle, Daiwa, Quantum,and BPS PQ) and have found the best for me is the PQ's so far. I also like the Daiwa's i have. Never owned a Shimano cause it just didn't feel good in my hands and if i don't like holding it in a store for 10 min, chances are i'm not gonna like holding it on the water for hours.JMHO

bigbill reply :

I would only trust the reel reviews i read here or the tests i do on my own.

I been testing the okuma's with the 10 ball bearings and the Fin-Nor's and both seem to be that i can't wear them out yet. The Fin-Nors are a good quality reel too. They make the larger gold color reels for saltwater fishing and i use there spinning reels for fresh water fishing. One guy here in texas who repairs fishing reels said once here if everyone used fin-nor reels he'd be out of the repair business. I also been using the cheaper spinning reels with less ball bearings on my spinnerbait setups.(Quantums) There is less friction to crank them with less ball bearings. there holding up ok too.

Now if i had to pick just one spinning reel it would be the Fin-Nor. But the okuma is equal but a little higher in price. For me personally i'd rate these two tops. Don't sell the spinning reels with lesser ball bearings short too. I also been hammering the viva brand, the Quantums and the other mid priced reels too just to test them. So far nothing has broken do to wear. In my early years of bass fishing the $6 to $10 cheap spinning reels the bass actually wore out in half a season but i hammered them too. If there is a tight budget these will work but if we lube them often the'll last a little longer.

I think the lube matters when we grease the reel that counts about the life of the reel. I use a moly lube in all my fishing reels but make sure you don't get any moly in the drag clutches.

Moly;

Eliminates all wear

Reduces friction

Prevents galling

fights corrosion

stays were we put it.

www.ts-moly.com I use the ts70 moly. Just a little will do. It may seem tight at first but it will loosen up as you crank it.

I take care of my fishing reels by lubing them and i still have my older DAM Quick spinning reels from the 70's that still function today. I recently seen them in an antique shop too. DAM I got old so fast??

northern basser reply :

I picked up a shimano saros on ebay for less than $100. I haven't used a saros yet, but I've used the stradic and symetre and they are both very nice reels. The saros is right between them in the shimano lineup.

bilgerat reply :

There are two types of reviews - those from people who have actually fished with the product and reviews that start with "I heard"....disregard the latter, usually nothing more than parrot squawk.

Learn to read between the lines and you can get quite a good bead on different reels right here.

I like Pfluegers and Abu's, some here wouldn't use either as a paperweight. In the end it's what YOU like.

FishinDaddy reply :

Quote
There are two types of reviews - those from people who have actually fished with the product and reviews that start with "I heard"....disregard the latter, usually nothing more than parrot squawk.
Learn to read between the lines and you can get quite a good bead on different reels right here.

I like Pfluegers and Abu's, some here wouldn't use either as a paperweight. In the end it's what YOU like.

X2 - especially on the Pfluegers

Mr SwimJig reply :

I like and trust TT and the majority of the members on here. I really don't read to much into the reviews you read on BPS, Cabelas etc...

BASSclary reply :

As for your spinning reel, I'll recommend the Daiwa Exceler Spinning reel. My dad has 2, they're fantastic, and a steal if your local Gander Mountain has them on sale for $50, like mine.

flippin and pitchin reply :

I normally would say you get what you pay for but with spinning reels it's different. There are some tremendous products from the 60 to 100 dollar price range. I don't like to pay retail for anything and will shop my butt off once I get a feel of the brand and or model I want. If you get to the point you narrowed it down to a model or two, search the threads and or ask. The benefit of this group is you have opinions from OWNERS, USERS, SELLERS and FIXERS. It doesn't get better than that. I have spinning reels by Okuma, Lews, Abu, Pflueger, Diawa and Shimano. They all perform from well to excellent.

northern basser reply :

Quote

Quote
There are two types of reviews - those from people who have actually fished with the product and reviews that start with "I heard"....disregard the latter, usually nothing more than parrot squawk.
Learn to read between the lines and you can get quite a good bead on different reels right here.

I like Pfluegers and Abu's, some here wouldn't use either as a paperweight. In the end it's what YOU like.

X2 - especially on the Pfluegers

I haven't used pflueger spinners yet, but I just picked up 2 president xt's and really like the way they feel also. Can't wait to try them out.

Wammiee reply :

I try to find reels with majority being positive. Than just check the negative ratings and see what the issue is. Its mostly poor handling or misuse or the reel getting shipped broken. The main concern is it performing to your expectations, so going to the store to try it out is best if possible.

A-Rob reply :

I just buy shimano now and never had a problem

Stasher1 reply :

I think any reviews that you read on retailers' sites can be immediately dismissed. BPS has been known to "filter" their reviews to skew a product's ratings. What's left are a bunch of reviews from people who haven't even used their new reel(s), but feel compelled to leave a positive review anyway. :

hookingem reply :

My review! ;D

Raul reply :

On 3/30/2011 at 11:25 AM, Stasher1 said:

I think any reviews that you read on retailers' sites can be immediately dismissed. BPS has been known to "filter" their reviews to skew a product's ratings. What's left are a bunch of reviews from people who haven't even used their new reel(s), but feel compelled to leave a positive review anyway. :

Let alone the filtering process, a big bunch of reviews are from people who just purchased the reel and haven´t tried it yet, you can´t make a great review on an out of the box reel, every new reel feels great out of the box, a few months later the story is different.

I can´t comment on certain brands like Pfleuger, I´ve never owned one and to tell the truth, I´ve never even seen one in the flesh, they are not sold in Mexico. I can only comment on Daiwa, Shimano, AbuGarcia & Quantum, those are the brands I´m familiar with and there are things I like and dislike about them, if the likes overweight the dislikes then I can purchase one.

Stasher1 reply :

The same can be said abou their rod reviews. I can't tell you how many reviews I've read just like this...

"I just got back from my picking this rod up at my local BPS and it's gotta be the best rod ever made. I haven't tried casting with it yet, but it feels great and looks fantastic with my reel on it. I can't wait until the snow and ice melt so I can try it out on the water. I give it five stars!"

It might break on their first trip out, but they still felt compelled to give it five stars.

endless reply :

I prefer My pflueger President XT over my Supreme. Both size 35's. Now it might be different since I have them for different purposes.

The Gander Mountain tournament reels served me well too. I have that combo for over 3 years now I think. It was my first combo I bought when go into bass fishing. The rod and reel still is good. Which I need to get it back from my brother.

Grey Wolf reply :

On 3/30/2011 at 6:24 AM, dulouz said:

I am looking for a new spinning reel in the $100ish. I have read up on shimano, daiwa, pflueger, and okuma. When I examined similar reels from different companies I found that they all got 4 to 5 stars. What I don't understand is that there are always several reviews that say the reels are junk, and then most people say that it is the by far the best reel in the price range. It doesn't really matter which brand, all the reviews seem the same. It makes it hard to decide which will be the best buy.

They all make pretty dependable reels in the 100.00 range and they all make lemons once in a while. The best is subjective.

Pantera61 reply :

In no particular order, a quality review requires these points:

Detail - If an individual is going to take the time to provide a review or respond to a request for information take the time to describe, in detail, what distinguishes this equipment in a COMPARABLE category.

Duration - There's nothing wrong a first impression of an item in the field. The longer a piece of equipment has been used by the reviewer, the more weight I will give to the review.

Performance - pros, cons, what would you change, what did you like or didn't like. I don't care if you used an Fenwick ultralight rod to beat a shark into submission, how did it perform under normal conditions.

Reputation - What is the manufacturer's reputation for quality components and customer service? What is the reputation of the reviewer? Does he continually praise a brand without mentioning negatives? Is there a constant knee jerk response or pat answer whenever a question is proposed?

dulouz reply :

I had a feeling the reviews I was reading (BPS, Cabelas, Amazon, etc...) weren't the right ones. It sounds like most of the reels around $100 should be pretty good, so I am going to narrow it down by what features I am looking for in terms of line capacity and weight. Then I will go see how they feel in the store. Thank you everyone for your help.

CWilliams reply :

On 4/3/2011 at 5:19 AM, Stasher1 said:

The same can be said abou their rod reviews. I can't tell you how many reviews I've read just like this...

"I just got back from my picking this rod up at my local BPS and it's gotta be the best rod ever made. I haven't tried casting with it yet, but it feels great and looks fantastic with my reel on it. I can't wait until the snow and ice melt so I can try it out on the water. I give it five stars!"

It might break on their first trip out, but they still felt compelled to give it five stars.

The same thing happens on this site and all others that I have been to. "New rod/reel is amazing, so light and balanced. Much more sensitive then all my *insert previous favorite company here* rods. Best bang for your buck. Will purchase more. Cant wait to fish with it...."

Then you get "rod broke on first cast, cant believe it. I emailed the company 5 minutes ago and no response. I wont purchase ever again. I will purchase something that matches my reel next time."

Thats why I like this site. Even though posts like that still exist, there are enough people that participate on these forums to give you a good idea overall of just about anything.

Dave T. reply :

On 3/30/2011 at 6:24 AM, dulouz said:

I am looking for a new spinning reel in the $100ish. I have read up on shimano, daiwa, pflueger, and okuma. When I examined similar reels from different companies I found that they all got 4 to 5 stars. What I don't understand is that there are always several reviews that say the reels are junk, and then most people say that it is the by far the best reel in the price range. It doesn't really matter which brand, all the reviews seem the same. It makes it hard to decide which will be the best buy.

Take almost all "reviews" with a grain of salt. Everyone has their own take on what they like and dislike, and some "reviews" are biased in favor of a product (or product line) and some are quite the opposite... sometimes for obvious reasons.

When I look for a reel, I decide on how much I want to spend and what features I want. I like a lightweight, high speed retrieve (or high IPT) reel with a good drag. The lightweight/high speed retrieve requirements narrows down my list real fast.

Try doing the same. If your not that picky about specific features, you've got a wide choice of good reels in that range.

BassThumb reply :

On 3/30/2011 at 6:43 AM, northern basser said:

I picked up a shimano saros on ebay for less than $100. I haven't used a saros yet, but I've used the stradic and symetre and they are both very nice reels. The saros is right between them in the shimano lineup.

That's what I would recommend, an eBay Saros for $100. I've always had good luck with Shimano reels.

I have to admit, I take most online reviews from retailers with a grain of salt, especially on sites like Bass Pro, Cabelas, Amazon where they give products a star rating. The editors at TackleTour seem to know their tackle and I trust their opinions for the most part, and there are a lot of members on Bass Resource that really know what their talking about and tell it like it is. But that only counts for so much. If everybody felt that same about tackle, then there wouldn't be so much lightly used tackle being sold online or boxes of unused stuff sitting in people's basements.

I like to get a product in my hands and fish with it for at least a few months before I can really form an opinion about it. Then if I don't like it, I'll try to sell it at a fair price on various online flea markets and chalk the loss up to experience. Gradually, after a few bad purchases, I figured out what brands I like and now I don't really deviate very often.

Stasher1 reply :

There are some on TT who seem to know what they're talking about, but there's a LOT of brand snobbery on there. Generally, if it's not Daiwa or Shimano it's considered inferior and/or substandard. I think a lot of this bias carries over into their product reviews, as well.

guitarkid reply :

I trust Tackletour.com and Bassresource.com

-gk

CWB reply :

On 3/30/2011 at 11:25 AM, Stasher1 said:

I think any reviews that you read on retailers' sites can be immediately dismissed. BPS has been known to "filter" their reviews to skew a product's ratings. What's left are a bunch of reviews from people who haven't even used their new reel(s), but feel compelled to leave a positive review anyway. :

Just curious about BPS filtering the reviews. Where did you here this? I've read plenty of crappy review of their own products.

Don't put a whole lot of stock in them anyway.

boatlesswonder reply :

I think you have to take them all with a grain of salt. If you use a reel with a quality rod, keep up the maintenance like you should(Clean and lubricate it) all of the ones you mention will do a good job. Like any thing else it only will last as long as you let it. Just my humble opinion.

Stasher1 reply :

On 4/4/2011 at 6:03 AM, CWB said:

Just curious about BPS filtering the reviews. Where did you here this? I've read plenty of crappy review of their own products.

Don't put a whole lot of stock in them anyway.

I have left negative reviews which never got posted, and some of the ones that did get posted were somehow "lost" during the refreshing of their site...yet some of the older positive reviews remained. Sounds like filtering to me.

JacobK reply :

I'll usually go and check out online reviews on store websites or forums then go see how the reel feels in person. If a reel gets good reviews in general it can't be that bad. I'm a huge Daiwa fan for casting reels, but I've been using Shimano spinning reels my entire life so thats what I'll recommend.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

It's kinda hard to wrong with a brand name spinning reel at this price point. IMO Pflueger spinning reels are one of the best bang-for-your-buck wise.

21farms reply :

i don't trust anybody's really...that's why i've bought and sold so many rods and reels over the past few years...i basically have to see for myself.

the reviews that i almost completely discount are from pro staffers and from self-described fans. fan is short for fanatic and fanatics are inherently biased toward overlooking any fault with their favorite brand's products while discounting anything good about their competitors. when someone says, "i only fish brand X", that tells me they're not open-minded to anything else no matter how good it might be. i've fished with enough stuff from many different manufacturers to know that not any one company holds a monopoly on quality and innovation.

generally, however, i do find tackletour's reviews to be an excellent source of information. i really respect how they fish with a piece of equipment for many months or even over a season before they ever post a review. for example, they've been fishing the new lew's reels for awhile now (even mentioning them in their amazon peacock bass trip article, but are still evaluating them. i appreciate them not rushing to judgment even though there's probably a lot of people clamoring for it.

BrASSmonkey reply :

I actually like to look for the negative reviews. I then filter out reviews that I do not think are based on any substance (ie - have not actually used the product). I then tend to look for common complaints or issues with a particular product. If there are enough of the same issues, then it is not likely user bias; a lemon; or too small of a sample for me to develop an initial opinion. I try to ignore the obvious biased reviews in favour of any brand, and dig until I find the grain of truth, if there even is one.

It has worked for me thus far.

roadwarrior reply :

Choosing the right equipment is challenging. Even listening to guys you trust, their response is going to vary.

We have fans of just about every brand here on BassResource.com. If you want specific advice, you really

need to specify a price range. I'm a Shimano guy, so these are my recommendations:

Spinning reels:

<$100 Symetre

>$100 CI4

Baitcasting:

~$100 Citica

>$100 Curado

SoFlaBassAddict reply :

I generally ignore the reviews on most of the big box store websites. Like other people have mentioned, a lot of those get filtered and whatnot. I put far more stock in independent websites, and the opinions of people that I know and trust. As long as you can get through the biased opinions of the manufacturers fanboys, you'll find some honest reviews on several different websites.

The single best way to learn what you'll like is to get out and test it. Each person will have their personal likes and dislikes about a certain reel.

rubba bubba reply :

My recommendation:

If you are a brand zealot, then I would search out the reviews on this site from your fellow zealots. Their input will be most similar to your needs.

If you are not a brand zealot, then I would discard all the reviews from the zealot population (that would be both the positive zealots - i.e. Abu/Shimano snobs - and the negative zealots - ie. the Quantum bashers). I would focus on the reviews from those who are not brand loyal but have obviously used the gear for a while (not the noobs). People like Raul/J Francho/etc... They have their preferences but they aren't nazis either.

SirSnookalot reply :

For the most part I'm leery of any review, especially bias towards any certain brand. I like to think I have enough experience to know what I want, not that I have never made a mistake, I have. If possible I want to see someone using equipment, then try it it myself if they let me. A few weeks ago a guy I see at the jetty all the time was using a loomis rod and calcutta reel, so I tossed it around for a half hour and I liked it very much, something I would buy if I were a B/C kinda guy, which I'm not, but the outfit was super.

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