New Shimanos arrived today
 

The UPS truck delivered the 8 new Shimano Symetre 3000 reels today. Up to the bevel on the spool holds just over 150 yards of 30 lb power pro. The reels look solid, great fit and finish, probably just the ticket for my inshore and nearshore (state waters only) uses. We'll see how these hold up over time. I was on the fence between these and the Penn Battle model, ended up going with these because of the slightly lighter weight, higher retrieve rate, and concern that Penn quality might be slipping lately from its very respectable historical reputation. Was tempted by the Shimano Stradic, but at the end of the day, the added features didn't seem to justify the price differential, and the Stradic did not have as long a track record for durability as the Symetre.

you will be more than happy with those. I have caught many big redfish on my symetres along with trout and spanish mackeral only been spooled once and I was fishing for bull reds with 12lb line

Good reels. I primarily fish baitcast, but I keep a couple of the Symetre's around for super windy days fishing for reds. Good choice.

Good choice. I am a spinning reel guy myself. Never could get the hang of a bait cast. Spend more time fixing bird nests than fishing.