New spinning reel
 

Looking for the best spinning reel in the 100-150$ price range at academy only (giftcard).
I always wanted a Penn battle but I've heard the internals are pot metal and wont hold up. Thinking about going Shimano or Abu Garcia...I've been using Pfleuger President's with great success but they don't hold enough line to keep me happy without moving up to a larger size reel.

What reels in the price range have yall had success with?

Shimano Stradic CI4

99-150 usually pretty good price range. Shimano makes some good reels. I usually get my reels in the 2500 size range but I use braid so it holds plenty of line. In my opinon it holds enough mono too. You might think you cast 100yds but you dont. I cant remember ever running the spool out on anything other two times and it was fish I wouldnt have kept anyway.

I would look around at other stores for the reel I wanted and order it online from Academy if they dont have it in stock. Usually the price from store to store is about the same but what is in stock is limited.
Good luck.

x2

Ive had a pair of shimano symetres for at least 5 or 6 years and I abuse the hell out of em. They still run flawless

X3

X4 best spinning reel out there IMO.


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Academy only sucks. OKUMA makes the best spinning reels on the market. That's the only spinning reels I will ever buy. GREAT product.

They have the best warranty. I know I had to swap plenty of them. They great if you don't use em a lot.


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I was looking at that model, this is the kind of info I wanted to hear. I like the look of the Revo S anyone have any luck with that reel?

Im not a big fan of Academy myself but I sure am glad to have them here rather than only few small local shops and Walmart.
I have had a few Okuma's never had a lot of problmes with them but they never have been my favorate reels for a number of reasons personally.

to each there own like I said find what you want if its not at in the local store order it online. Most of the time its free shipping anyway.

Im telling u Brian u cant go wrong with a stradic!

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Nate how long did I say you cant go wrong with a spinning reel and now u telling me what to get haha!
I would get a stradic ci4 but I'm rough on my gear and I would rather put extra gas in my truck or boat. My 50$ pfleugers have been great but just don't hold enough line for me or else I'd keep using those.

I love my Stradic. By far the best reel I have ever owned.

Put it like this if I ever get divorced she can have the house Im taking my Stradic!!

How much line you put on your reel? and what size

I cant fit a 150yrd roll of power-pro 20lb and then once I fit most of it on the reel I end up getting a pretty solid knot in my line within the first 10-20 casts, I cut it out (usually isn't in the reel) and once I do that I'm good...so probably about 125yrds of power pro 20lb

I think everybody tries to put that 150yds of power pro. As you are doing it you are thinking man I can get just a little more. always ends the same. A knot in the wind.

So Im not understanding you want a reel to hold more line? How much more line you want?

I hate to throw this in there too but get a good rod too.
I used cheaper rods for a long time until someone gave me a nicer rod. 150 range now all my rods and reels are mid high level. 100/200 range. Not saying I did this overnight.
I would by the rod or reel then later get the other that I realy wanted.
Look this stuff can get crazy but in the long run better equipment will last longer than those 50/60 dollar jobs. Just dont try to get everything all at one time.

Yea I have two nice rods in the 100$ range and my popping cork rod is 40-50$ range, I tried wetting the line to get it to spool tighter but my reels also don't spool very evenly...this is another factor in buying a higher end reel. Having a good rod will help casting distance more than anything I've come to find out.

The spooling issues could be from the balance/location of the spool. Usually the reels come with these tiny washers help cure that. I don't remember how the placement goes but I bet if you looked up the manufacturer and the troubleshooting tips they might have some tips.

stay away from phlueger president its crap, i have one penn battle, not bad for 100.00 buck

I have a penn battle to. It's been good but it's heavy.

Those 90$ wright and MC gill blue rods are perfect. Reference Chris Ds post for evidence.


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I love academy,I was referring to the fact that he was limited to shopping there since they don't carry much OKUMA products. I ONLY use their spinning reels. I strictly stick to shimano baitcast, Okuma spinning, and waterloo/ falcon rods.

Pretty much any shimano reel 50 bucks on up. I have two symetre's(100.00) one sedona(60.00) one sahara(80.00). Never owned any stradic's but always heard nothing but good about them. The new lews spinning reels feel nice but not sure how they will hold up in the long run.

You can buy the okuma product on there web site. Pretty much all of the big stores you can order all of the major brands on there web sites.

It's a little harder to make recommendations with the new composite frames because use and time will determine the durability. I have a Stradic CI4 3000 that is a couple years old and it has held up very well to a lot of use. Price on that is over $200. Based on overall Shimnao quality I'd look at the Saros series which is $139 on the Acedemy website. The Saros line is one step down from the regular Stradic.

I bought a penn battle last year around this time. The gears and paint didn't last 6 months. Good news is they carry a 1 year warranty, bad news was I couldn't find the receipt. Stay away from penn, get a Shimano.

I've used the the CI4's for the last 4 years, and am extremely satisfied.
academy will honor other stores prices if you just ask, and they sell for anywhere of 159.99-219.99 at diffrient retailers.

I got my Stradics for about 180$


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I've pretty much made up my mind last night I think I'm gonna go with a Saros 3000, I'll be ordering online after not seeing any locally last night. Looks like I'll be buying a new rod in the near future also. I've heard great things about TFO and the Wright & Mcgills.

ive got a duce spinning rod ill sell... i like a realllly soft tip and it was a lil stiffer than i want.

What kinda warranty does it have?

Wouldnt matter for the price id sell the rod to my buddy for!

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I've fully converted to waterloo rods. Best on the market IMO. Special thanks to W for the suggestion. Just bought a 7.5' spinning from academy on sale for $140. Love it!

Shimano. Good experience with 8 Symmetre's I bought a couple years ago for general boat use.

Nate I appreciate it but I've seen and heard enough about those to stay away from them. I really like the idea of walking in and swapping out my rod for a new one.

Duce is the best rod ive ever used! Hands down.

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I've got a TFO, no 'ragrets'.

I have 2 ill sell you.

I'm thinking TFO, Loomis, W&M, Shimano and Waterloo

I mainly use mine for slingin corks. I have tight lined on it and the sensitivity was great. I don't think it's on the level of a Waterloo or G.Loomis, but it only cost me $60.

What other rods have you used?

I have a Stradic (3000 size) which is slightly out of your price range and a shimano Sahara (3000 size) which is on the low end of your spectrum. The Stradic is a little better but the Sahara is legit too. If you take good care of your stuff, either would be fine.