Reel reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 395 Reddit reviews across 20 subreddits and 125 posts to rank the best Reel brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/Fishing_Gear, r/SurfFishing, r/flyfishing, r/saltwaterfishing, r/FishingAustralia. Top-rated brands include Shimano (4.5/5), Daiwa (4.5/5), Penn (4.6/5).
Stats
Reviews395
Subreddits20
Posts125
Brands33
Products79
395 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Shimano
4.5
(158)
"Curado is probably the best reel under $210 IMO. I can bomb cast light lures with that thing like no other."
"The Curado MGL 150 weighing 6.5 oz is a killer option too."
"You could pair it with a Shimano Sedona, Sienna, Sahara, Nasci, Miravel, Pfluger P"
"Pretty hard to go wrong with a shimano sienna combo."
"Very happy with my nasci 5000 on an equivalent rod."
"I recommend going 1 step up and get the Miravel if you can!"
"Shimano Sienna is about as good as it gets for the $30 price point and mine has lasted for years."
"If you want to upgrade from the BG I’d recommend a shimano stradic."
"For a heavy casting reel I'd go either Shimano Curado K, Tranx or a Calcutta Conquest."
"Shimano Sahara is a great reel for the price."
#2
Daiwa
4.5
(88)
"Great reel. Serious bang for buck and it’ll survive a night underwater without any issue"
"Daiwa ninja is the best reel you can buy sub €100 my friend had one for years before upgrading done him very well"
"Daiwa ninja for about 60-65 off fish deal most would agree it’s one of the best reels if not the best at that price"
"I really like the 200 Daiwa Tatula and Shimano Curado M. Those would be my top choices for a frog combo."
"I love my ninja reels they’ve been flawless for the 5 years I’ve owned them"
"Daiwa ninga awesome reels 300 or 400 ideal I used mine Saturday and Monday got 6lb line on carp to 12lb"
"Daiwa Saltist PE Special BFS or Daiwa Gekka Bijin are both meant for saltwater."
"Just clicked the order now but on the CQ."
"Daiwa saltist PE special."
"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."
#3
Penn
4.6
(38)
"Just get a Penn Pursuit 3000 it last as long if not longer than the more expensive ones."
"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"
"Okuma Rock away sp medium with my Penn battle 3 size 4000 works wonders."
"Penn Spinfisher long cast edition."
"We love the penn slammer or surfblasters here"
"Penn Slammer. Spinfisher if you’re not going to submerge it."
#4
Lamson
4.6
(17)
"I'll second, third or fourth the Lamson liquid."
"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."
"I have the guru and speedster. Can't go wrong with either. If you order the speedster from big y. You get free fly line."
"Lamson speedster is on Sierra for 280, or the Guru is still a good choice. Hard to beat Danielsson for that price though"
#5
Pflueger
4.2
(14)
"Pflueger President (prior gen--havent used the new refresh). Only reel I will use."
"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."
"I have a Berkley CherryWood light rod paired a Plueger president that was on clearance at Walmart."
"I'm using a Pflueger President XT and would recommend."
"Previous generation Pflueger President size 35 is on sale at Walmart for $40."
"Ugly stick with a pfluegar president."
"3 or 4k reel, pflueger, shimano, or daiwa reels in that price range are all about the same quality wise."
"Can recommend a Pflueger president XT."
#6
Okuma
4.3
(11)
"For ultra light i like the Okuma celilo b series."
"Get an Ugly Stick spinning rod, the shortest one they make, and a Okuma Avenger or Ceymar baitfeeder reel in the 4000 size."
"Is the best $50 reel on the market."
"Okuma Ceymar is great."
"Okuma is reasonably priced for their quality."
"Okuma avenger. I see these more than any other reel as a rental on charter boats."
"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
Piscifun
4.3
(10)
"I purchased 4 of the Piscifun Torrent Baitcasting Reels and I've had them for 3 years now and I love them."
"I use a 3000 piscifun Carbon X on it and love it."
"I have an 7/8wt Piscifun Sword reel that I absolutely love. Machining is pretty nice, and it’s hard to beat $55. Just caught a pretty nice Coho on it last week, drag worked like a dream."
"Depends on your budget. I would stay in the 5000-6000 size. Piscifun or penn."
"I just took advantage of their black Friday deal and picked up both the 1000 and 2000 size Carbon X."
"Piscifun sword if you want something cheap and durable, it’s held up better than my Lamson liquid."
"Under 75: Piscifun Sword."
"I’ve had good luck with the piscifun reels."
"$50-60 retail."
"Piscifun Carbon X II - 2000."
#8
Danielsson
5.0
(6)
"Danielsson reels are perfect for this."
"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."
"It’s the best you can get at that price. There is no middleman in their model. Any other reel at that price is produced with far cheaper costs. Danielsson is not as good as the $1000 reels, but it’s incredible value"
#9
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."
#10
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."
#11
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"
#12
ARK
4.3
(3)
"Yes I have the ARK Gravity BFS reel and it's the best reel under $200."
"That's a BFS reel. Check out the ARK Gravity BFS for $150."
"I'd love at the Ark Gravity BFS, Daiwa Tatula BF70, or KastKing Kestrel Elite for US market reels."
#13
Lew's
4.3
(3)
"Lew's SuperDuty in 7.5:1. It's been on my yak every time I've gone out for the past 6 seasons. It's been beaten to death and even left for dead at the bottom of the lake until I could find it the next morning. Still going strong."
"I have the lews hyper speed. Nice just to get them to bank faster. Has like a 9.3 to 1 or something plus 20lb of drag"
"Lews speed spool"
#14
Ugly Stik
5.0
(2)
"I second the GX2"
"Get an ugly stick GX2 I think it’s called. Check out the unbreakable videos of it on you tube. It comes with a rod reel combo. It’s my favorite rod."
#15
Galvan
5.0
(2)
"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."
#16
Nautilus
5.0
(2)
"I’m a big fan of Nautilus for reels."
"Get a Nautilus."
#17
Lamson Guru
5.0
(2)
"Lamson Guru"
"Lamson guru. Love mine the drag system design and weight are perfect for me."
#18
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."
#19
Rugged Creek
4.5
(2)
"Check out the rugged creek GRProto. Full cage design, smoothest drag."
"Super solid drag and build quality."
#20
President
4.5
(2)
"I've been very happy with my president going on 4 years now."
"The president is a great long lasting tell."
#21
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."
#22
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."
#23
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."
#24
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."
#25
Pflueger President
4.0
(2)
"I use a pflueger president, personally."
"I really like my pflueger president."
#26
Sage
4.0
(2)
"They are legit for the price point."
#27
KastKing
4.0
(2)
"Kast king makes some decent value reels compared to name brand ones."
"I just got a KastKing reel (Centron 3000) for a collapsible rod setup and am really surprised how good it feels."
#28
Echo
3.5
(2)
"Echo has some good options in that range."
"The cheapest Echo Reel will work just fine."
#29
Sougailang
5.0
(1)
"The three rods I always use for carp fishing all wear “Sougailang” bait-feeder reels from Amazon."
#30
Calcutta
5.0
(1)
"It's a sweet reel."
#31
Johnson
5.0
(1)
"I have had great success buying good old Johnson Citation reels on ebay."
#32
Shakespeare
5.0
(1)
"For ultralight I found the Shakespeare micro series to be a hidden gem."
#33
Redington
4.0
(1)
"I’m a fan of Redington reels. Less expensive but good quality. I have a Behemoth on a 10wt that I love and have heard good things about the Run. Both well within your budget."
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