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[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Probably been asked before but I would like to know what you guys use day in and day out for gear (both baitcasters and spinning). Reason I ask is I had a client this week and while out poundin' em' I blew bearings in 2 reels! I think it's time to either upgrade or switch brands altogether (I'm not tellin you what I use so there will be no bias). Remember, I PUNISH reels. I'm not that interested in rods because once you get in the "priemum" price range, I feel they are all pretty compatable. So.........What is it Shimano? Garcia? Quantum? Scooby Doo? Tell me, Tell me!!



TOXIC

 

[Andrew Zuber]

I've never been disappointed with Shimano reels...both baitcasters and spinning reels...

They make up the majority of my inventory.



az

 

[Staci Matheis]

Shimano here as well.



Curado 101's for baitcasters. Saharas and Spirexes for spinning.

 

[David Jordan]

quantums for baicasters. I like the E400's but I've tried the curados and that would be my next if my quantums ever go south. For spinning, I've tried many. BPS metals are decent. but I like the mid range diawa's for under $50. The Regal Z's (3500)are excellent buys for the money. I like it better than my shimano stradic. My Stradic is to small. Just get the big size. I like the 40 or 35's in spinning reels. It should hold 200 yards of 10# test. The reason is the bigger spool has less twisting. On my stradic, I screwed up and bought 1 that hold 100 yars of 10# test. I have to run 6# silverthread to use it in a tournement. W/ 8 or 10 # all I do is untangle the twist after 1 hour of use. The spool is to small and will force you to respool line after 3 hours of use. Spraying it w/ silcon only helps so much.

 

[David Towne]

I use all spinners. Always used Shimanos and never had any problems. Recently went to a Daiwa Regal.. So Smooooooth. Time will tell on the durability..

I am tough on them too. Little maintenance from me...

Contrary to the previous post, I have no problem with line twist and use all 1000 or 2000`s Its the line.... FUSION.....

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Shimanos are too pricy for me to let clients bust up. I used to use Quantum until I started having the problems you listed above. I have owned about 12 quantums. ALL but one have given me trouble. The one is my trusty old Iron that has caught at least 1,000 smallies and never given me a whimper other than oil and grease each spring. I now use Daiwas and Pinnacles.

 

[TrepMan]

Noah - Mickey Mouse, Eli - Mickey Mouse, Daddy - Scooby Doo!!!



Seriously, and I do NOT pound reels like you guides, my longest lasting reel is a Quantum 1310mg baitcaster. Others range from 2 XPS Pro Qualifiers to low end shakespere spinning reels.

 

[Steven Atwell]

I second the Quantum Iron. It may be the only Quantum I've ever bought, but it's still here after 6 years of use. I think I got the 4 or 5 bearing............sa

 

[Bill McElroy]

I use ALL Johnny Morris stuff now,..it's awesome....they're as smooth as the Shimano's and 1/2 the price. The spinning reels are really sweet.....never had a problem all year with either the baitcasters or the spinning gear. I use the ProQualifier's last year too and the new Morris Signature series reels are simply the BEST reels BPS has ever carried with their name on them. I used Quantum's for years prior to switching and I think the older Quantums were much better than the ones they've been producing for the last 3-4 years. The old Pro Series reels were great,..albeit a little heavier than I like...but they were solid! The new JLM B/C reels are incredible....excellent drags,..10 bearings....low profile,...and you can pitch a jig a mile with one,.....they're a tad easy to backlash, but that's the trade off for being able to pitch so far!!

I'm very pleased with the quality of that reel for it's first year......I HIGHLY recommend you try one!!

Mac

 

[Ben Robinson]

I've got a totally mixed bag. 1 Garcia Ambassadeur, an old 88' model Shimano Bantam Magnumlite w/ the famous fightin' drag, a Shimano speedmaster ultralight spinner, a Shimano TX series spinner, a Shakespear axiom spinner... all kinds of stuff. I like the Shimano Curados but can't afford the BPS combos! I'd say my favorite reels are Shimanos and Garcia Ambassadeurs.

 

[Ben Robinson]

Oh yeah- my 2 year old daughter has the pink minnie mouse zebco combo!

 

[Jim B]

I only use Shimano reels. Stradic 2000's for spinning and curado 201's and calcutta 151's for casting. ive pounded these reels for years and never had a single problem with any of them.

 

[James D.]

i do a lot of flippin mostly so i use baitcasters almost exclusively. my favorite (for the money i'm gonna pay anyways) is the shimano curado superfree. love this reel. i also have a standard curado which is a great $100 reel. i also have 3 or 4 pflueger trions which seem to have real good performance although i've had a couple of problems with them. i also am a big fan of the abu garcia c-4's which i use for wormin and also catfishing (they have the clicker feature so them cats don't run off with your pole). i like the falcon low rider rods and the all stars too.

 

[Ken Neeley]

Shimano and Johnny Morris/BPS stuff.

 

[Chad Justice]

Just bought my first Shimano a few weeks back.. Light spinning reel, only about $25-30 at wally world, but so far it feels like the best quality reel I've owned. I'm very pleased with it...



The old Shakespeare rod I had it on broke the other day, too, so I got a replacement last night.. Berkley 'Lightning' Rod, 5'6" Light action.. This rod is pencil thin and really limber, so it oughta be fun for the 13-14" creek smallies. Matter of fact, I think I might try it out tonight if it doesn't rain!!

 

[Jon Puhalski]

Been doing fine with ABU's for casting reels. Most of my clients will use the spinning gear and have been doing fine this year with a pair of Shakespear Axiom reels. I'm also not spending a bunch of money on gear that's going to get abused.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Shimanos for spinning. Diawas for casting.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Favorite baitcaster is my red AbuGarcia - new this year. Right behind it are my two 6600/6500 Abu's (one in the shop now getting a new spool - left it in the lake too long last winter!). Have a whole bunch (3-4)of Shimano Cosair's right now, from Ebay. Three new, 1 used. Jury still out on them. One BPS Extreme reel - works nice.



Two FinNoor spinning rigs (rod/reel combos). Very nice. No problems at all.



Several other misc. older reels.



Nothing expensive here. Maybe in the future, a nice Shimano high end reel, but not this year.



Tex

 

[Mike Levesque]

LOVE Shimano's for spinning, and a mixed bag for baitcasting, Quantum,BPS,etc....... Don't beat on 'em too much, and am happy with all of 'em, also, can't afford those higher priced ones, my favorite spinning are Shimano Spirex-4000's and 2000's, smooth and reliable. I can't remember off hand the baitcast model from Quantum, but like I mentioned, it's not at the higher end of the price range, prob. middle of the pack...... and of my baitcaster's it's my favorite.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Shimano/Garcia for Spinning gear...Garcia for baitcasters...just gotta love those big round reels...(geezers get stuck in their ways)

 

[JEFF WHITE]

spinning reels are shimano's,trolling reels are daiwa gl47lc's and okumas.the okumas are really smooth reels,the madga 20's are nice for spring browns,and walleye trolling.

 

[JEFF WHITE]

spinning reels are shimano's,trolling reels are daiwa gl47lc's and okumas.the okumas are really smooth reels,the madga 20's are nice for spring browns,and walleye trolling.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

All Shimano here, mostly spinning, and being a lefty I own a Curado 201(thanks to this board)which I am still learning on.