Arv Posted May 30, 2013 Posted May 30, 2013 Hey guys, I'm looking at a new spinning reel for around 100 bucks. I'm planning on waiting till the July 4 sales start to pop up unless I can find a better deal. I know there's the 20$ mail in rebate till June 15 on the RTX. Anyways. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this reel. I've heard pretty much only good things about it, just not a lot of things period. Also, how would you stack it up against other reels in its price range? Pflueger Supreme MGX or Shimano Symetre? I'm planning on using it mostly for senkos, but probably some shakey heads and other light line presentations. Finally, what size? If I'm remembering correct, if you step up from the 25 to the 30 you go from 8# drag to 13#. Don't know if that's necessary for what I'll be using it for, but the reels both weigh 6.6oz. Thanks in advance! Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted May 30, 2013 Super User Posted May 30, 2013 Have one on the way. Will try to fish it pretty hard the next few weeks. Hopefully I will remember to bump this thread after review. If I don't feel free to bump it or send me a pm before you need to pull the trigger. On paper the reel looks solid for the price... Quote
Arv Posted May 30, 2013 Author Posted May 30, 2013 Have one on the way. Will try to fish it pretty hard the next few weeks. Hopefully I will remember to bump this thread after review. If I don't feel free to bump it or send me a pm before you need to pull the trigger. On paper the reel looks solid for the price... Sure thing! I appreciate it. Hopefully you like it. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted May 31, 2013 Super User Posted May 31, 2013 I'm not going to pit one brand against another, but I would want a reel with a larger spool for better line management, especially if the weights were very close. Drag maxes can be an over rated issue, 8# is plenty of drag considering the fact you aren't going to set it that high anyway. Quote
thehooligan Posted May 31, 2013 Posted May 31, 2013 I hit the okuma booth at a fishing expo back in feb. I was excited to test this reel out solely because of the light weight and price. I was really hoping this would be a cheap alternative to the ci4. I wasnt impressed, didnt feel like a solid reel to me at all. Sort of reminded of the new sahara/symetre, flimsy and feels like it will break. I know this reel gets recommended constantly, but id go with the stradic fj. I compare it to the curado of the baitcaster world.... Quote
Arv Posted May 31, 2013 Author Posted May 31, 2013 If I had the money I would definitely look at a Stradic, but I need to keep it around 100. The 2 that I'm really considering are the RTX and the Supreme MGX. Quote
Arv Posted May 31, 2013 Author Posted May 31, 2013 So I went ahead and changed the post. I found I can get all three reels for about the same price under retail value. Now, if you could pick any of the three, which would it be? Thanks. Quote
Super User aavery2 Posted May 31, 2013 Super User Posted May 31, 2013 The Pflueger Supreme is a great reel, it is very smooth, the weight is good, has good line management and the ergonomics are in my opinion very nice also. I have the Revo Premier Spinning, and to be honest I can't tell much difference. Quote
Arv Posted May 31, 2013 Author Posted May 31, 2013 The Pflueger Supreme is a great reel, it is very smooth, the weight is good, has good line management and the ergonomics are in my opinion very nice also. I have the Revo Premier Spinning, and to be honest I can't tell much difference. awesome, thanks avery. Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted June 4, 2013 Super User Posted June 4, 2013 Ok, I got the reel today from TW. This will be a brief "pre NOT having fished the reel" review. When I opened the reel box my initial thoughts were the color scheme of the reel is pretty cool. Similar to the Stradic CI4, bit more of a poor mans version of the reel. After admiring the fairly blinged out reel, I grabbed it and placed it in hand. It feels lighter than the CI4 by a hair but the difference isn't that noticeable. Pickup any other shimano 2500 series reel and the difference is very noticeable. The size of the reel itself is actually smaller than a 2500 series shimano reel. I tried it on cumara 7'2 medium xf drop shot rod. It looked very nice but the balance point shifted a few inches above the forgrip. Not a huge deal but the reel may be too light for a rod of this length. Next I tried it on a Team Daiwa Tony Bean smallmouth series rod (6 foot medium action rod). It balanced much better so this will be its new home for now. I decided to check the retrieve for a preliminary test of the reels smoothness. Like 'The Hooligan' noted it isn't as smooth as the CI4. Part of that may be attributed to the material used to make the reel. My CI4 made similar sounds as the air passed around the spool at higher retrieve speeds but became less apparent with line on it. I wouldn't call it rough by any stretch but just not buttery smooth. The nice thing about the reel is it seems to be very compact, lightweight, stylish, boasts a significant # of drag pounds, plus holds 175 yards of 8# line. I have the RTX 30S model reel for reference. I will withhold any further comments good or bad until I fish it at least a few times but the real teat of performance would be how it holds up over a year or two +. For $85 less a $20 mail in rebate ($65 into it) if it doesn't last I am not out too much here. Hopefully this weekend I can fish it but for sure by months end. Thought I would weigh in with some preliminary thoughts until I fish it. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted June 4, 2013 Super User Posted June 4, 2013 Good luck with the reel. Quote
Arv Posted June 4, 2013 Author Posted June 4, 2013 Ok, I got the reel today from TW. This will be a brief "pre NOT having fished the reel" review. When I opened the reel box my initial thoughts were the color scheme of the reel is pretty cool. Similar to the Stradic CI4, bit more of a poor mans version of the reel. After admiring the fairly blinged out reel, I grabbed it and placed it in hand. It feels lighter than the CI4 by a hair but the notice isn't that noticeable. Pickup any other shimano 2500 series reel and the notice is very noticeable. The size of the reel itself is actually smaller than a 2500 series shimano reel. I tried it on cumara 7'2 medium xf drop shot rod. It looked very nice but the balance point shifted a few inches above the forgrip. Not a huge deal but the reel may be too light for a rod of this length. Next I tried it on a Team Daiwa Tony Bean smallmouth series rod (6 foot medium action rod). It balanced much better so this will be its new home for now. I decided to check the retrieve for a preliminary test of the reels smoothness. Like 'The Hooligan' noted it isn't as smooth as the CI4. Part of that may be attributed to the material used to make the reel. My CI4 made similar sounds as the air passed around the spool at higher retrieve speeds but became less apparent with line on it. I wouldn't call it rough by any stretch but just not buttery smooth. The nice thing about the reel is it seems to be very compact, lightweight, stylish, boasts a significant # of drag pounds, plus holds 175 yards of 8# line. I have the RTX 30S model reel for reference. I will withhold any further comments good or bad until I fish it at least a few times but the real teat of performance would be how it holds up over a year or two +. For $85 less a $20 mail in rebate ($65 into it) if it doesn't last I am not out too much here. Hopefully this weekend I can fish it but for sure by months end. Thought I would way in with some preliminary thoughts until I fish it. Thanks for your initial thoughts kickerfish Quote
Diggy Posted June 10, 2013 Posted June 10, 2013 You can get the symetre FJ for 59.99 new for 2500 or 3000 with free shipping if interested Quote
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