Personal favorite reel brand

[Bluebasser86]

If money were not a factor, Daiwa.

 

Since money is a factor, I use mainly Pflueger and Okuma which I believe I get better bang for my buck on mid range stuff. 

[nighthawk25]

Lew's is my favorite brand. Theyre the ones I started with. I have a Revo Winch I like as well.

[frosty]

I’ve had a Lew’s that has worked just fine for 2+ years, a daiwa type r that I’ve only had for a few days but does feel really good, and had a couple quantum’s when I was a kid that still work but are huge by today’s standards. I don’t really have a favorite brand, I would trust the product to last from any major manufacturer. 

[crypt]

Abu Garcia for baitcast. Penn for spinning.

[DogBone_384]

It’s ShimanoDiawa*** for casting reels and Pflueger for spinning.

[Todd2]

I have several different ones but Abu Garcia and Shimano are my two favorites of what I have now.

[Chris186]

I used to use Shimano religiously, then I had gotten two or three new ones and had nothing but problems with them. I decided to try out Abu Garcia, had a couple revos that I had issues with. Bought a couple of Lew’s and that’s what I have most of now, no issues. I did however just purchase a new Daiwa Tatula Sv Tw, so we will see how that works out. Maybe I just have bad luck with reels haha

[new2BC4bass]

7 hours ago, JackKlassen said:

THIS! People like to assume throughout the fishing industry there is a "best brand" for everything. The truth is that every company has its strengths and weaknesses. Some models might be 'better' than others and each company has something in their lineup worth trying. The only real way to find out what suits your needs is to go out and experiment. For me, Daiwa and Shimano are the go to's, however, Lews has some decent offerings despite the hate they usually receive on here. The original Tournament Lite for example is an awesome reel for the price and competes with my more expensive daiwas and shimanos in terms of casting. Hope this helps.

We must not be reading the same threads.  I see Lew's being recommended all the time.

[MN Fisher]

If we're talking spinning reels - I've been an Abu Garcia fan since my first 'real' reel - a Mitchell 320 I got when I was nine.

Add to that, the Pleuger 640 I've had since I was a teenager still keeps going as well as the Cardinal 562 I got when the old 320 got wrecked in a move.

Now I have two Abus and a pair of Pleugers and am very happy with all four of them.

[Frisbie385]

BC - Lews and One Three Fishing

Spinning - Plueger and Shimano

 

Why can't you say One Three Fishing on here?

[tim_kovar]

Shimano

[PatrickKnight]

Spinning Daiwa and Shimano (more Daiwa now though)

Casting Daiwa

[LonnieP]

Mostly daiwa. Have one shimano 

[Cyacnba]

Daiwa/Megabass followed by Shimano.

[new2BC4bass]

47 minutes ago, Frisbie385 said:

BC - Lews and One Three Fishing

Spinning - Plueger and Shimano

 

Why can't you say One Three Fishing on here?

Because their minions spammed this site and any mention of them is now forbidden.

[burrows]

11 minutes ago, Cyacnba said:

Daiwa/Megabass followed by Shimano.

Megabass still makes reels?

[Yudo1]

After owning a bunch of different brands, my line up has evolved into daiwa and shimano. IMO they are the best. I like that they design, engineer and manufacture their own reels. I'm not a fan of oem products although they have some quality products. I've owned some of these reels and they were fine, but they just don't feel like daiwa and shimano.

[NYWayfarer]

17 hours ago, J Francho said:

I have favorite models that I liked.  Es, Aphas, Zillion, Primmus, Helios, Calcuttas...no real total brand loyalty, though.

I have the same outlook on this subject.

 

[J Francho]

42 minutes ago, Burros said:

Megabass still makes reels?

No new models currently, but there are thousands upon thousands in service at this very moment.  I'll bet a few them make Megabass a favorite.

[Beetlebz]

I am currently switching to shimanos but for a reason that nobody has mentioned yet. I have a kastking stealth that I love and a few garcias, all baitcasters.

 

What i love is the way the thumb bar on shimanos positions my thumb in relation to the spool but It's different enough that I have issues on the first cast when I switch from reel to reel. I enjoy the brake set up on my casitas so I'm sticking with shimanos for mindless transitioning from reel to reel. It may sound silly, but it works for me ?

[ratherbfishin1]

1 minute ago, Beetlebz said:

What i love is the way the thumb bar on shimanos positions my thumb in relation to the spool but It's different enough that I have issues on the first cast when I switch from reel to reel. I enjoy the brake set up on my casitas so I'm sticking with shimanos for mindless transitioning from reel to reel. It may sound silly, but it works for me ?

I noticed that too, I use mostly lews and when I bought a shimano I would have to adjust to the thumb bar which could potentially make me miss a fish if I were to get a blowup out there and were to throw out a worm or something to try and get it to bite again.  May seem small but for that reason the shimano doesn't get a ton of use.

[Cyacnba]

1 hour ago, Burros said:

Megabass still makes reels?

I believe the most recent ones were the Lauda and Monoblock Ito Gambler. They are coming up with a new model called Rhodium, not sure when it will be released.

[FrankN209]

Daiwa, Shimano, A brand that can't be mentioned here.... 

[Tywithay]

None of the brands pay me to use their products, so I don't limit myself to just one product line. Each company comes out with new stuff all the time and some of it may be exactly what I am looking for. I have reels that I love from just about every manufacturer.

[Columbia Craw]

I'm with J. Franco.  I like certain models within three brands. Diawa, Lews and Shimano.