Reels

[Wyatt Richardson]

What company makes the best overall reels and why. Smoothness, quality, casting distance.

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard, Wyatt!

 

That's a loaded question  I'm gonna say Shimano and Daiwa.

 

Ducks for cover....

[EGbassing]

Daiwa

[Wyatt Richardson]

Thanks Darren. I'm a high school angler. I started bass fishing last year and just trying to see what everybody else says is good to point me in the right direction. Everyone says quantum is bad is it as bad as everyone says?

[MN Fisher]

Once you get above a certain price-point, the differences in capability are negligible. It comes down to what features you want. In the case of baitcasters, what type of braking system you prefer.

 

Personally in the under $100 market.

Abu and Pflueger for spinning reels...I've got one of each that are 40+ years old and still going strong as well as one each newer that performed great last season.

Diawa, Pflueger and Abu for baitcasters...I have one each (new) of the two first, and just retired an old Abu that was 25+ years old.

 

Just now, Wyatt Richardson said:

Everyone says quantum is bad is it as bad as everyone says?

I stay away from Quantum for one personal reason - they're Zebco, and I had lots of problems with Zebco reels in my youth. They may be better now, but I still get this twitch.

[Bluebasser86]

Daiwa, Okuma, and Pflueger are my favorites but most everyone makes a good reel anymore. 

 

Quantum reels aren't bad, but they never seem to stay smooth long or developed issues after a year or two so I don't buy them anymore. KVD seems to get by with them, so there's that.

[Ppennin986]

It’s really a matter of personal preference and of course what you can afford to spend

[Glaucus]

Daiwa, Shimano, Pflueger (for spinning)

 

Daiwa is my favorite for everything. 

[NorcalBassin]

Shimano. 

/thread

[LionHeart]

To me, it's about the brakes.  Most reels above $100 are plenty smooth, low profile, and weigh about the same, and have similar casting distance with more than adequate drag for bass.

 I love all my Lews reels, but I now own a couple of Diawas and the Mag Force braking is really winning me over.

[punch]

I think if you judge a company by the entirety of their reel line, from the top of the line down to the budget reels, Shimano is number one with a bullet. Diawa would definitely be a close second but I think Shimano is a company that is innovating more often and having their technology trickle down the line quicker than anybody else. 

[22RangerZ520R]

10 hours ago, Darren. said:

That's a loaded question  I'm gonna say Shimano and Daiwa.

^^^ This ^^^

 

I'm 100% Shimano.

 

Shimano and Daiwa are the top dogs in the bass reel industry period.  Stick with one of them and you can't go wrong.

 

Good luck.

6 hours ago, punch said:

I think if you judge a company by the entirety of their reel line, from the top of the line down to the budget reels, Shimano is number one with a bullet. Diawa would definitely be a close second but I think Shimano is a company that is innovating more often and having their technology trickle down the line quicker than anybody else. 

^^^ This ^^^

[Oregon Native]

Love my Shimano's and have given me years of use....years.  Daiwa 1300SS spinning amazing.  Now into year two with a couple KastKing Assassin's….hmmmmmm….loving them so far.  

[Crankin4Bass]

Final answer...Shimano. Mods please close this thread. ?

[OnthePotomac]

12 hours ago, Wyatt Richardson said:

What company makes the best overall reels and why. Smoothness, quality, casting distance.

Do not fall into the trap of believing that you must purchase the top end of fishing equipment to enjoy fishing.  Do a lot of reading on line and initially pick equipment that will fit your fishing program.  i.e, where will you be fishing and how often will you be fishing and will you be in a boat, or on a bank.  My advice would be to look at some Bass Pro Shops equipment until you get your feet on the ground.  For instance, the Bass Pro Shops Qualifier is and excellent bait cast to start with.  I am a Shimano hound, but have been bass fishing for 20 years.  I started with BPS Qualifiers and they performed flawlessly for the three years I used them, then I moved into a couple of Shimano Curado reels.  To this day my rods are BPS Carbonlites and all on sale.  Let your pocket book be your guide.

[Tennessee Boy]

My most expensive reel is a Diawa Zillion $299.  My least expensive is a $55 Kastking.  I have several other Diawas and Shimanos in between and some very old Abu Garcias.  I can catch fish equally well with all of them. Some are designed to fill certain needs better than others. The Kastking actually cast further than the Zillion.  I appreciate the craftsmanship of a good reel and will continue buying and using them.  But anyone that thinks an expensive reel is necessary to catch more fish is fooling themselves.  An expensive reel should last longer but you can get all the performance you need for $50-$100.

[cadman]

You don't have to buy the best to catch fish. You can buy many other reputable brands that do the job ( Abu, Pflueger, Lews etc. Buy what you can afford. The most important thing to learn is to find and catch fish. A $600 reel doesn't catch any more fish than a $150 dollar reel. 

[Dens228]

1 hour ago, Crankin4Bass said:

Final answer...Shimano. Mods please close this thread. ?

You had my at "Final answer" lost me at "Shimano", ?

 

It's Final answer, Lews!

[Heartland]

Shimano lost me when they painted the curado white and tried to tell me it was a chronarch.   That coupled with the next two generations of reels being  basically turds was all I needed to never look back.     I purchased 5 of the top end Lews as soon as they came on  the market, only to be let down by how quickly they deteriorated in performance over the next year and a half.   I then purchased ABU Revo Premier Gen II reels and found them superior to anything I had fished previously, until the paint started basically falling off of them.  Many of my friends told me to stop avoiding the fact that Daiwa was building a superior product to everything else and just try a couple, so I did, and couple turned into a bunch and I have never looked back.  Spinning reels I like Pflueger, lot of bang for the buck, I still own and use many Pflueger spinning reels some more than 10 years old and have never been sorry I purchased them. 

[A-Jay]

 As mention a few time previously in this thread, as to whatever type, brand, and price point of tackle one has & fishes: while I believe quality gear is important and enjoy using decent gear - there are a ton of companies these days that make very effective & fishable gear that does NOT cost a ton.  Most all of the Mid-line price point stuff is really good.  Some brands are better than others but  seems very few are really bad.  

  Either way, they are tools and bassheads who have put the time in to develop 'skills' will catch and guys who don't (and depend on spending a ton of $$$ to make up for it) - not so much. 

 That said, I just finished cleaning these up and am looking forward to putting them through their paces.

(spinning reels not shown) 

Just as soon as there's some open water.

A-Jay

[drew4779]

I don't think one manufacturer can truly be considered "best" because individuals value particular attributes differently.  One may value innovation over durability, country of origin over cosmetics, castablity over breaking, etc.  It's truly in the eye of the beholder. 

 

That being said, I own, or have owned reels by many different manufacturers (abu, bps, browning, daiwa, lew's, pflueger, quantum, shimano), and my preference is shimano and daiwa. There are other brand reels in my arsenal that I love, but I keep coming back to those two.

 

BTW, my dad fished one quantum pro for over 25 years before it finally gave out on him.  He loved that reel. 

[J.Vincent]

Shimano and Abu have the greatest history of quality and performance in my book...but I’ve been surprised with the quality from every major manufacturer over the past two years.

[Jrob78]

To the best of my knowledge Daiwa and Shimano are the only companies that design and produce their own reels. Abu Garcia, Lews and Pflueger are all produced by the same company, in the same factory in Korea and their reels are all very similar internally.  I believe Quantum and Okuma are also produced by a different company but in the same factory. 

 

I'm not saying those companies don't make good reels because they definitely do but I am partial to Daiwa and Shimano. 

 

The bottom line is find a design you like that you can afford and you will have a good product that you will be happy with. All these companies make reliable, great performing reels.

[Obi_Wan]

I really like my BPS reels.  I've never had an issues with them and you can find them on some good sales.  Right now you can do a trade in if you have some older reels and get some money off gear at BPS.  I have a cheap Abu Black Max that has been a good reel.  The Academy Sports Metaniums are decent reels for the money.

 

I have one KastKing, but haven't used it yet.  I will this Spring.  I hear good and bad.

 

I agree with some above.  Once you get over a certain price point, it just doesn't make much difference which brand you choose.

[dodgeguy]

IMHO Lew's by far.The price is way less and the performance is better. They make enough different models and gear ratios to fit anyone's needs.My personal favorite is the Tournament Pro LFS.