Best reel on Reddit
311 reviews from r/Fishing_Gear, r/SurfFishing, r/flyfishing and 13 more subreddits
311 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Shimano
4.5
(112)
"I think it’s about $220 or so a little above, but if you don’t wanna go above budget nasci is very good (I just got one the other day and super smooth) and you should be safe from saltwater with it."
"I prefer Shimano bait-runner reels for inshore fishing."
"Shimano VanFord."
"I love my stradics2500,4000,8000."
"Saragosa is the best reel in at that price point and it's not even close."
"Shimano Vanford or Daiwa Ballistic MQ."
"I went to Cabela’s and they priced matched Dicks sporting good for a Shimano vanford paid $108 out the door"
"Stradic 5000 is the way."
"Stradics because they are super smooth."
"Look for the Stradic FL or Vanford 5000 versions."
#2
Daiwa
4.5
(74)
"Daiwa BG is the best bang for your buck, pretty cheap for a saltwater reel and will last awhile as you clean it after trips."
"6k Shimano Speheros, which is the same size as a 4k Daiwa, and is the only IPX8 sealed (safe to dunk underwater) reel in that price point."
"BG MQ would be my pick."
"I recommend 2023 Daiwa Tatula 100. It's super smooth and lightweight."
"DIAWA BGMQ 2500 or 3000 for inshore."
"Fuego or BG, I love the fuego."
"BG stands out for sure"
"I have the fuego and freaking love it."
"I like daiwa bgs a lot for saltwater"
"I love my saltist. I use it significantly more than my slammer"
#3
Penn
4.5
(36)
"I love my Penn Squall II."
"Penn Spinfisher or Slammer."
"The battle 3 is a lifetime bulletproof reel and the rod is pre"
"I love my penns, Battle, Spinfisher, slammer etc.. all great for stripers."
"Penn Slammer"
"Penn Spinfisher long cast edition."
"We love the penn slammer or surfblasters here"
"Penn Slammer. Spinfisher if you’re not going to submerge it."
"I would give some thought to the Penn Battle 3 with 7' rod and a 4000/5000 reel on sale at Walmart for $75."
"Always Penn."
#4
Lamson
4.5
(13)
"My reel is a LAMSON Guruthat works perfect for the coastal waters and bays."
"The lamson reels are the best general duty reels."
"I love my Lamson reels."
"They’ve held up wonderfully for me."
"Lampson makes a very reliable reel and a good price."
"Get a Lamson Guru or upgrade to a Grande if you want to stay with Redington."
"Anything Lamson! They’ve held up wonderfully for me."
"IMO its hard to beat Lamson’s quality for their entry level reels."
"I use a Lampson Liquid. Around $140."
"But I beat the absolute shit out of all 3 of my old Lamson Liquid's and never had anything more than a scratch."
#5
Pflueger
4.2
(10)
"I pulled the trigger on a pfluger president, very happy."
"The pflueger president is my go-to recommendation for a budget spinning reel."
"Pflueger president if anyone doesn’t agree they are complete buffoons."
"Ugly stick with a pfluegar president."
"I bought two Pflueger Medalist reels 50 and 35y ago... they're beaten, scarred, scratched."
"3 or 4k reel, pflueger, shimano, or daiwa reels in that price range are all about the same quality wise."
"Toss a pflueger president on there."
"Pfleuger president 20 or 500 sized ceymar baitfeeder."
"Pfleufger president."
"Amazon has pfluger one for $30."
#6
Okuma
4.3
(6)
"I just picked up a Saltist BB 4K and and freakin love it."
"Is the best $50 reel on the market."
"Okuma ceymar, great reel and it matches with the black and red."
"Okuma Ceymar C-10, or if you wanna go real cheap Piscifun Flame 500."
"Ceymar is tough to beat for the price."
"Okuma Ceymar is really solid at around $45-50."
#7
Danielsson
5.0
(4)
"I’m gonna second the Danielsson L5W 6nine recommendation."
"I have one, it’s awesome."
"Danielsson is the best value out there."
"The best reels for the money are made by Danielsson."
#8
Shimano Nasci
4.8
(4)
"Reel - starting out go nasci, get stradic if more experienced bc price."
"I got one the other week (I tried and loved both, the Raider being $30 cheaper helped get it over the line) and paired it with a Nasci 3000 reel."
"I recently picked up a 500 and 1000 Shimano Nasci for my UL rods and absolutely love them."
"Anything more $$ than a nasci or a daiwa Exceler is unlikely to be worth it."
#9
Lamson Liquid
4.5
(4)
"Lamson liquid all day."
"I have a Lamson Liquid and Guru and like the both."
"I've been impressed with my liquid s so far."
#10
Battenkill
4.0
(4)
"Get a used 5/6 graphite rod with battenkill reel or an old rimfly."
"Pulled the trigger on a click and pawl Battenkill."
"Love my Battenkill click 3-5 good price works perfect."
"Battenkill works great for me"
#11
Piscifun
4.0
(4)
"Piscifun sword if you want something cheap and durable, it’s held up better than my Lamson liquid."
"Under 75: Piscifun Sword."
"$50-60 retail."
"Piscifun Carbon X II - 2000."
#12
Galvan
5.0
(3)
"Good American-made company that makes quality stuff."
"My guide buddies use that reel for saltwater and like it better than reels that are twice as expensive."
"Really happy with my new Galvan. Feels super durable."
#13
Lamson Guru
5.0
(2)
"Lamson Guru"
"Lamson guru. Love mine the drag system design and weight are perfect for me."
#14
KastKing
5.0
(2)
"Kastking kapstan elite. Best bang for your buck."
"To be honest? KastKing Sharky. Fucker won't die."
#15
Shimano Stradic
4.5
(2)
"Imo the best mid priced reel for sw."
"Reel - starting out go nasci, get stradic if more experienced bc price."
#16
Rugged Creek
4.5
(2)
"Check out the rugged creek GRProto. Full cage design, smoothest drag."
"Super solid drag and build quality."
#17
Hydros
4.0
(2)
"I will +1 the Hydros and the Lamson Guru, which is currently on sale."
"The most robust reel I have and is mid range is the Hydros."
#18
BG
4.0
(2)
"I recommend the BG4000 with 20# braid to a 15 flouro topshot."
"BG 4000 sounds good if that’s your budget."
#19
Sage
4.0
(2)
"They are legit for the price point."
#20
Shimano Sienna
4.0
(2)
"Mate buy a shimano sienna, bulletproof, almost as good as waaaay more expensive reels and cost ya $80."
"I recently bought a Shimano Sienna size 1000 and a Daiwa Laguna LT size 2000 and both are pretty solid for under $50."
#21
Shimano Saragosa
4.0
(2)
"I would not get a reel cheaper than a saragosa or slammer."
"It’s only like another $100 and it’s a huge step up."
#22
Pflueger President
4.0
(2)
"I use a pflueger president, personally."
"I really like my pflueger president."
#23
Zebco
4.0
(2)
"My son learned on a zebco 202."
"Zebco Omega Pro is a great spincast reel."
#24
Echo
3.5
(2)
"Echo has some good options in that range."
"The cheapest Echo Reel will work just fine."
#25
Hewes
5.0
(1)
"Hewes reels. expensive but damn they're great."
#26
Tibor
5.0
(1)
"Tibor reels tougher than woodpecker lips!"
#27
Penn Conflict 2500 II
5.0
(1)
"I love my Penn Conflict 2500 II. It's been through hell and still performs perfectly after a few years of hard use."
#28
Shimano Chronarch 201E7
5.0
(1)
"Shimano chronarch 201E7 things bullet proof… put so many fish on this reel and it keeps going."
#29
Shimano Miravel C2000S
5.0
(1)
"I recently tested a Shimano Miravel C2000S with an Atec Crazee Trout Game 5’6” rod and it was a stellar combo."
#30
Taylor Reels
5.0
(1)
"I’ve always loved Taylor reels. Smooth actions, sick colors, and good machining !"
#31
Lamson Litespeed
5.0
(1)
"Anything lamson has always done me well and they have all been very smooth."
#32
Okuma Saion Spinning Reel Series
5.0
(1)
"The Okuma Saion spinning reel series, including the SN-20, features a strong aluminum spool."
#33
Fly Shop
4.0
(1)
"The fly shop shop reel I think it’s called the l2a"
#34
Phenix
4.0
(1)
"Check out Phenix M1 rods."
#35
Dobyns
4.0
(1)
"I just picked up a Dobyns Maverick rod paired with an SLX XT A reel."
#36
Lews
4.0
(1)
"I use a lews medium custom rod with a shimano sedona c5000xg."
#37
Glass
4.0
(1)
"I disagree specifically because you can get a glass rod in 7'6'' 4wt."
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