Fishing Reel reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 155 Reddit reviews across 12 subreddits and 38 posts to rank the best Fishing Reel brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/Fishing_Gear, r/Fishing, r/FishingAustralia, r/SurfFishing, r/muskiefishing. Top-rated brands include Shimano (4.6/5), Daiwa (4.5/5), Penn (4.7/5).
Stats
Reviews155
Subreddits12
Posts38
Brands32
Products83
155 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Shimano
4.6
(56)
"Shimano Stradic 3000 or 4000 depending on your preference"
"Need to get a Shimano Stella and St Croix Legend extreme or you won’t catch fish"
"Came here to say the Ultegra also....I have a bunch of them. Never once had an issue."
"If I’m good spending over $100 I’m getting a fuego or Ultegra cause they are better"
"Ultegra all the way. Fuego is probably second."
"Thank u I think I will buy the ultegra"
"I have a couple of siennas and they are great reels for the price. I mainly use them on squid setups but have also caught decent snapper on them no dramas."
"Shimano does lifetime warranty on the stradics. There's a reason all the old blokes use shimano, stuff is good quality and reliable."
"Exist no question."
"Exist is the comparison to Stella but only as it's the highest end from each, Exist is built for freshwater and bass fishing in mind and is a lot lighter and smoother than the Stella."
#2
Daiwa
4.5
(33)
"I don't think you can go wrong with the Daiwa Regal/Revros."
"This is a great combo for $80."
"The real is a beast too. So strong the mq makes it pretty salt resistant also."
"These will set you back $200-350 but just wait until there's a good deal on one."
"These will set you back $200-350 but just wait until there's a good deal on one."
"These are all good, comfortable, well sealed reels."
"Daiwa td black."
"The Daiwa BG series of reels are affordable and popular. I bought my brother a 4,000 size for inshore fishing in California. He likes it and its more than capable for the size of fish he would encounter."
"My daiwa BG has put the hammer down on quite a few, mostly spinners and tippers 4-6'."
"I would suggest a Diawa BG."
#3
Penn
4.7
(15)
"It's been through hell and still performs perfectly after a few years of hard use."
"I am a huge fan of the Penn Spinfisher series. I have beaten the absolute piss out of mine for years and it still pulls the big girls in without a problem."
"Get a BG 3000, load it with 20# braid and get a 7.5-8' rod rated for ~8-15# line. That will do double duty for both the bays and the surf."
"My Penn saltwater (gold/black) reels have outlasted all my other reels by far."
"Penn spinfisher 8500 worked for 4-5’ sharks off New Jersey coast."
"Penn slammer or spinfisher 10500."
"My vote goes to Penn Slammer III."
"Slammer fo sho"
"Slammer 3 4500. Can’t go wrong."
"I have a 7'6 Tsunami Carbon Shield ll with a Penn Slammer lll 4500 and its great."
#4
Abu Garcia
4.4
(8)
"I'd rather go with the Revo X"
"I use an abu revo sx..7.3:1."
"Bass pro shops has a deal till December 17th buy any revo reel and get a Veritas rod for free"
"An all metal Abu Garcia, and a medium 6-7ft ugly stick with braided line has always been my go-to."
"Look at the revo x."
"Is the revo5 x good? I’ll get that if it is"
"The reel is alright though, I found it nice as a first Bait cast reel to learn on"
"Any of the garcia MAX series reels shouldn't be more than about $50 U.S. They are good starter reels for sure."
#5
Pflueger
5.0
(5)
"Been really happy with mine."
"I don't think you can go wrong with the Pfleuger President."
"This was my first combo and it served me well until I was ready to upgrade."
"They're extremely cheap and work very well, even 10-20 years down the road."
"For my money I like the Pflueger Supreme."
#6
Okuma
4.3
(4)
"Check out the Okuma Avenger."
"I still love my okuma evx telescopic 9 foot rod. Handles everything(big runber,etc) which you need if you own 1 rod. $120"
"Not on the list but Okuma Avenger 2500 gets my vote."
"I bought a cheap Okuma Ceymar spinning reel ($35!) and haven’t looked back."
#7
Lamson
4.7
(3)
"Lamson Konic or the tried-and-true Orvis Battenkill."
"Awesome reel for the price."
"I'd do what homie below said and look at the Lamson or wait a little..."
#8
Ugly Stik
4.0
(3)
"Go buy an ugly stick"
"Ugly stik, They don’t break and are affordable."
"Buy an ugly stick with okuma reel"
#9
Aijoz
4.0
(3)
"Recently upgraded to a aijoz 300 and a musky innovations bulldawg 8’6. Rod was $120. Reel was $80 on sale Amazon."
"I have an alijoz 400 with a diawa prorex 8' 6" heavy rod. I do like it and it was less than 350 all in."
"I'd grab a few Alijoz reels before the tariffs kick in. I have a 300 and a 400, they seem solid for what you pay."
#10
Piscifun
4.0
(3)
"Picifun alijoz and okuma evx"
"Reels....lots of folks using Piscifun 300 and 400 series reels now. I used to be a Made in Sweden Abu Garcia Ambassador 6500 guy, mine are all worn out."
"Piscifun alijoz"
#11
Tackle Direct
5.0
(1)
"Thats a great reel he’ll love, so whatever works out best for you is more than fine 👍"
#12
Senator
5.0
(1)
"I use tuned 4/0 and 6/0 Senators (High speed models) because they can be made to cast VERY well."
#13
Revelry
5.0
(1)
"Absolute steal right now."
#14
Baitrunner
5.0
(1)
"Get a big baitrunner or live liner. Live baits are the way to go for big game."
#15
Ryobi
5.0
(1)
"Ryobi Zauber Pro = Stella 2008."
#16
St. Croix
5.0
(1)
"Either a St. Croix Mojo Bass casting rod ($130)"
#17
Everol
5.0
(1)
"Everol 18/0 if your serious about it."
#18
Van Staal
5.0
(1)
"Go Van Staal VR 150 for about $150 more than the salt-x."
#19
Lews
5.0
(1)
"I have a lews mach 1 baitcaster combo and its amazing."
#20
Revros
5.0
(1)
"I have a revros, used it for 2 years now. Caught 4 meter plus pike on it and it still cranks like a champ!"
#21
Fuego
4.0
(1)
"I wouldnt go less than a fuego and falcon"
#22
Berkley
4.0
(1)
"Berkely Lighting Rod with a President or Sienna reel."
#23
Bass Pro
4.0
(1)
"Should cover the 6000 reel with tax depending on which state."
#24
Academy
4.0
(1)
"Great reel for the price"
#25
Bass Pro Signature Rod and Reel Combos
4.0
(1)
"I have 6 of the bass pro signature rod and reel combos that I picked up for around 80 or 100 bucks can’t remember but they’re great deals."
#26
Avet
4.0
(1)
"A small avet reel, Penn slammer, diawa saltist are good options depending on how he fishes"
#27
Quantum
4.0
(1)
"The quantum qvex 40 is a good reel."
#28
Surfblaster
3.0
(1)
"The surfblaster will def get you more casting distance,but the battle is def a bit more sturdy tho"
#29
Shimano Sienna
3.0
(1)
"Do you think I should go with the cheaper sienna or the more expensive nexave?"
#30
Shimano Nexave
3.0
(1)
"Do you think I should go with the cheaper sienna or the more expensive nexave?"
#31
Shakespeare
3.0
(1)
"I would rather trust a Shakespeare than any AliExpress reel."
#32
Ross
3.0
(1)
"If you do get that model be very careful if it is cold out..."
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