Skeet Reese

[BassinB]

The Wright & McGill SK reel is pretty much junk apparently.  I've never used one but that seems to be the consensus, so my question is: What reels does Skeet fish with? Just curious...

[5fishlimit]

according to this article he's used the Revo stx and the cardinal, but this was back in 2009.

http://www.bassmaster.com/node/98779

[iabass8]

By the looks of it, unless he custom paints each individual reel according to the wright and mcgill victory reel, he uses his reel. I wouldn't be surprised though if he still uses his skeet reese revo which looks identical in paint schemes to his newer one.

[Grantman83]

He used Abu years ago but came out with his own in 2010...the tackle tour review of his reel says they looked at his gear and it is all the W&M rods and reels.

[Blues19]

He has probably taken them apart and switched out a bunch of parts. who knows  though. Im sure he has 4-5 spares on his boat at all times

[The Next KVD]

A friend of mine was fortunate enough to be Skeets marshal at the 2011 Classic on day 2.  I asked him this same question and he told me flat out:  Skeet uses the Victory reels and the wright and McGill skeet reese rods.  He does have a few spares new in boxes in the starboard rod locker though. 

 

I'm sure Skeet gets all his reels for free and dumps them after a tournament or two, especially seeing as how he keeps spares in a rod locker.  Skeet is a pretty cool guy from what I've been told.

[Teal]

Skeet reese is a dang good fisherman. Alot of these guys could still out catch most average folks even if they were using "wal mart special" im guess prpbably uses the victory reels and rods.

[Jrob78]

Skeet Reese and Brent Chapman both use the W&M rods and reels.  Rick Clunn uses the rods but I think he still uses BPS reels.  FWIW, Chapman won the AOY title last year......using W&M rods and reels.

[BassinB]

Wow that's surprising.  He is a hell of an angler that's for sure.  

[NorcalBassin]

It's pretty cool seeing Reese and Chapman using stuff that I would not even consider buying for myself. Makes me think I *may* have wasted some $ the past few years...

[Bluebasser86]

Most any reel is good for a couple trips at least, even the bad ones. He probably just uses them until he feels the slight hint of failure then switches them out. 

[SGT Rico]

It's pretty cool seeing Reese and Chapman using stuff that I would not even consider buying for myself. Makes me think I *may* have wasted some $ the past few years...

Trust me, you are not the only one who thinks that way. I own one of those victory model reels and they are ok at best. The reel sucks at casting light lures, and the brakes slip after casting awhile. All in all, I will never buy another. My shimano citicas and curados are drastically better in every form.

To be honest, I have a cheap diawa strike force that out performs the victory reel.

[BassinB]

It's pretty cool seeing Reese and Chapman using stuff that I would not even consider buying for myself. Makes me think I *may* have wasted some $ the past few years...

No kidding! Those guys are top tier anglers, with any fishing product imaginable available to them and they choose to fish those victory reels. There must be some SERIOUS money involved in those deals. I cant imagine being on the water 300 days a year using below average products like that.

[tritonguy]

Who's to say W&M doesn't super tune his reels.  They may look the same but not be the same mechanically.

[Grantman83]

I think that your everyday fisherman overrates the quality of gear the pros use. Guys feel that the pros MUST be using rods and reels better than what is available to us. However, I think they are just great fisherman. If it came strictly down to gear, Randy Howell, Ish Monroe and Jvd would always be on top as they are sponsored by the best rod/reel companies etc. Gary Klein has said on numerous occasions that the regular Angler spends too much on gear and he still uses the same quantum accurist reels for his heavy applications.

Watch Major League Fishing. Dean Rojas, Gary Klein and others are all the gear they are sponsored by. Also, some of their rods old, beat up and discontinued quantum accurist/pt rods. I think that like us they have rods for certain techniques which they prefer. They aren't using ALL new gear, but a hodge podge mixture. I think we look way too much into it sometimes

[mjseverson24]

I love the W&M Skeet rods, and I also like the W&M Victory reel. For the price range that the reel is in it is great. They usually come with too little of oil and greese in the reels so I take them apart and adjust them the way I want them. I really like how skeet seems to have US the fisheman in mind with his sponsered products. They are affordable and good quality. Are they the best rods and reels on the market? NO... are they adequate? YES... if you need a $400 combo to catch fish, that might say something about your abilities as a fisherman. I would like to think it is more the fisherman than the equipment that wins tournaments. JMO

 

Mitch

[BassinB]

I think that your everyday fisherman overrates the quality of gear the pros use. Guys feel that the pros MUST be using rods and reels better than what is available to us. However, I think they are just great fisherman. If it came strictly down to gear, Randy Howell, Ish Monroe and Jvd would always be on top as they are sponsored by the best rod/reel companies etc. Gary Klein has said on numerous occasions that the regular Angler spends too much on gear and he still uses the same quantum accurist reels for his heavy applications.

Watch Major League Fishing. Dean Rojas, Gary Klein and others are all the gear they are sponsored by. Also, some of their rods old, beat up and discontinued quantum accurist/pt rods. I think that like us they have rods for certain techniques which they prefer. They aren't using ALL new gear, but a hodge podge mixture. I think we look way too much into it sometimes

i think that most pros fish gear that is top tier for a reason.  Guys that fish for a living are on the water at minimum 250 days a year.  This means they need the top tier gear for durability, comfort, and performance reasons.  I don't think that we "overrate" their gear very much.  I use Abu Garcia Revos because they are affordable and are durable, comfortable, and provide top tier performance. A lot of pros use these reels as well for the same reasons. Its about what you get for your dollar.

 

I'm not saying that I think their gear is at some higher level than what I own or the average tournament angler uses.  But I am saying that I am surprised a guy who is so well known in the sport and obviously has no financial limitations when it comes to fishing, is using $80 reels.  I think everyone is going to agree that they are not on the same level as the Revo's he used to use as far as durability, comfort, and performance. Maybe its just his personal preference, but I'm thinking that his monetary compensation must be above average, there just doesn't seem to be any other reason to do it.

[Grantman83]

^^^^^^^^^

 

I would assume that he has some financial stake in the company ala KVD and Nitro boats.  I have one of his old Revo's and it is by far better than the W&M version.  However, as I related to MLF before, many of those guys are using discontinued rods and reels that many of us consider inferior.  Are we to assume that these guys are stocking up on old Accurist/PT rods/reels that are no longer made?  Or is it that they just have stuff that we consider not "top tier" that they prefer?  Or is it just that they are that good? 

 

I have fished on several occasions with an ex FLW pro for a guide down on Kerr resevior and he was still using his old rods/reels from years ago.  Old, beat up gear and he still fishes tournaments to this day.  I know this stuff wasn't souped up or supertuned.  A guy in my club marshalled for Edwin Evers and he said all he was using was Pro-Qualifier reels and rods.  Cheap, seemingly inferior product and he still out fishes most of the field every event.  I tend to believe they are just THAT good regardless of gear.  Give the top guys a zebco/ugly stick combo and I bet they could still do great in tournaments..

[hatrix]

Pros will turn there stuff in for new gear around January. Maybe not all of them do it and don't always turn in everything but they do get new rods/reels. I talked to a guy from "xxx" and I always wondered so I asked if they ever have like refurb rods for sale at a discount. He said around January, February they do when pros turn there stuff in for the new season. You can end up with a bunch of rods and reels that use to belong to a pro and at a discount.