Reel sizes

[EGbassing]

I'm about to buy a Daiwa Legalis for light duty surf fishing and inshore fishing. I'm looking to target smaller redfish, pompano, seatrout, smaller snook, etc. but I don't know what size to get. Should I go with, the 2500, 3000, or what?

[Dwight Hottle]

2500 series would be fine for those species. The 3000 size will probably have a larger spool & carry more line capacity so it's your choice.  

[OnthePotomac]

I do not salt fish, but you will find a 3000 is the same as a 2500 , but it has a larger spool.

[EGbassing]

27 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

2500 series would be fine for those species. The 3000 size will probably have a larger spool & carry more line capacity so it's your choice.  

Thanks. Do you happen to know how the 2500 series would compare to pflueger sizing?

[Allen Der]

7 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

Thanks. Do you happen to know how the 2500 series would compare to pflueger sizing?

Between a 30 and 35

[soflabasser]

On 3/31/2019 at 12:30 PM, EGbassing said:

I'm about to buy a Daiwa Legalis for light duty surf fishing and inshore fishing. I'm looking to target smaller redfish, pompano, seatrout, smaller snook, etc. but I don't know what size to get. Should I go with, the 2500, 3000, or what?

A size 3000 spinning reel should be ok for what you are targeting. You run the risk of having a large snook, bull redfish, big jack crevalle, etc spooling you so take that into consideration.I personally prefer a size 4000 spinning reel and have caught many +40 inch snook on these reels. Even caught a 7.5 foot shark on 30 pound test braid on a size 4000 reel once but this size reel is better suited for medium tackle inshore fishing. Many people use size 6000-8000 spinning reels for inshore fishing but that might be too much of most of the fish you are targeting.

[EGbassing]

Just now, soflabasser said:

A size 3000 spinning reel should be ok for what you are targeting. You run the risk of having a large snook, bullredfish, jack crevasse,etc spooling you so take that into consideration. I personallly prefer a size 4000 spinning reel and have caught many +40 inch snook on these reels. Even caught a 7.5 foot shark on 30 pound test braid on a size 4000 reel once but this size reel is better suited for medium tackle inshore fishing.

Thanks! Is it true that the only difference between the 2000 and 3000 is the line capacity?

[soflabasser]

9 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

Thanks! Is it true that the only difference between the 2000 and 3000 is the line capacity?

You are welcome. I suggest you fish with a size 4000 spinning reel. You never know if you hook into a trophy snook, bull redfish, big jack crevalle, etc and you get spooled on a small reel. Better to have a story about the fish you caught than the fish that got away. I got +24 years of South Florida saltwater fishing experience so I am teaching you what I learned through experience and not something I saw online, something I read online, or what some guide told me. Have caught all the fish you mentioned in your opening post by myself without a guide from land. With that said you should be ok with a size 3000 spinning reel if you are only fishing for fish 20 pounds or less and feel extremely comfortable with light tackle fishing.

[EGbassing]

2 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

You are welcome. I suggest you fish with a size 4000 spinning reel. You never know if you hook into a trophy snook, bull redfish, big jack crevalle, etc and you get spooled on a small reel. Better to have a story about the fish you caught than the fish that got away. I got +24 years of South Florida saltwater fishing experience so I am teaching you what I learned through experience and not something I saw online or what some guide told me. With that said you should be ok with a size 3000 spinning reel if you are only fishing for fish 20 pounds or less.

Ok, thanks. I'm going to be targeting fish under 20 pounds so I think I'll go with the 3000 size. I didn't get one bite all week last year when we were there so I'll be happy if I catch anything this year.

[soflabasser]

Just now, EGbassing said:

Ok, thanks. I'm going to be targeting fish under 20 pounds so I think I'll go with the 3000 size. I didn't get one bite all week last year when we were there so I'll be happy if I catch anything this year.

You can fill the size 3000 with 20 pound braid to have more line capacity. Use a 4-10 foot mono leader for abrasion resistance. Braid gets cut easily by barnacles, concrete, and other abrasive objects in the water so take that into consideration as well. Good luck and I am sure you will have fun on your vacation.