I'm looking for a spinning reel around $100, what about the Daiwa Fuego LT?

[michael1]

I am in the market for a spinning reel, $100 is roughly my price range. Going to use it for bass fishing primarily. With it I will probably throw a wacky rig worm, light t-rigs, possibly a small jerk bait or fluke and other normal lighter bass presentations. Probably will throw 15 pound braid on it as well. Anyone got a spinning reel they like matching these parameters? I was checking out the Daiwa Fuego LT spinning reel. Anyone have a specific opinion on it?

 

TIA

[Bluebasser86]

I'm sure it's a fine reel. Honestly been really happy with my Daiwa Revros. I've got 10lb braid on one, 8lb mono on one, and 20lb braid on one, they've handled all of it fine. Awesome reels for the money. They've taken over the spot the President use to hold has my budget spinning reel of choice.

[K1500]

I have two Fuego LT’s. I like them but  for $10 more I like the Daiwa BG quite a bit better. 

[michael1]

11 minutes ago, K1500 said:

I have two Fuego LT’s. I like them but  for $10 more I like the Daiwa BG quite a bit better. 

What is the main difference between these two reels?

[Ogandrews]

Shimano nasci is really hard to beat at $99. Such an amazing reel for the money, I have them on all my spinning rods. Great drag, super smooth in general and has stood up to my abuse.

[michael1]

1 minute ago, Ogandrews said:

Shimano nasci is really hard to beat at $99. Such an amazing reel for the money, I have them on all my spinning rods. Great drag, super smooth in general and has stood up to my abuse.

If only that gold color wasn't so ugly... LOL

[Hammer 4]

I have the Fuego XH which is a 6 speed. The BG and other Fuego's are 5 speed. Line capacity is about the same, give or take, and they have the same amount of bearings. Could be the body and spool are different material.

[WIGuide]

I haven't had the pleasure of using the Fuego, but I wouldn't hesitate on pulling the trigger on one. I've got a few Daiwa Regal's (RG) which is a cheaper reel, but I love them. They're great reels for the price and the little bit I've played with the Fuego's on the shelf they seem to be a bit of an upscale version. 

[TBAG]

Nasci

[MickD]

Everything that Daiwa makes is a good value, IMO.  But Pflueger has a Supreme that gives Daiwa a serious run for the money, retail $99.95, very light, saltwater capable, smooth drag, bail operation is excellent, very smooth.

[K1500]

Fuego is polymer frame and has mag sealed bearing. BG is aluminum frame, no mag seal. The BG is marketed as saltwater capable. Not sure about the Fuego.

 

The Fuego is lighter for its size, but it has a lot of flex. The mag sealed bearing is good in theory, but I don’t think it is user serviceable. Both my Fuego reels have more ‘drag’ than my BG when reeling in the retrieve. Not sure if this is the mag seal or less interia due to lighter parts. 

 

The biggest difference is the Fuego has a ton of flex if you load it (hookset, retrieving a snag, simply twisting the reel in your hand, etc.). The BG is rock solid. 

 

For me, the aluminum BG is worth the weight penalty for the feel of the reel. Both are great, but next time I would pay the $10 more for the BG’s.

[Fishin Dad]

15 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

I have the Fuego HD which is a 6 speed. The BG and other Fuego's are 5 speed. Line capacity is about the same, give or take, and they have the same amount of bearings. Could be the body and spool are different material.

The Fuego LT has an XH that is a 6 speed.  You have me curious about the HD.  I have not seen one of these before.

[Revival]

I have the Fuego LT 2500 and love it.  Purchased it for $75 and very hard to beat at that price.  I looked at the BG but it felt way to heavy to me.  I prefer lighter reels.  
 

The Fuego LT is the first spinning reel I always recommend in the $75-$100 range.

 

I think it comes down to what you are looking for in a spinning reel.

[Hammer 4]

1 hour ago, Fishin Dad said:

The Fuego LT has an XH that is a 6 speed.  You have me curious about the HD.  I have not seen one of these before.

 

Duh, it is the XH...sorry bout that..

[K1500]

The two Fuego reels I have are 2500’s. One XH and one regular gear ratio. They are light, hold a lot of line, and have a lot of drag for their size for sure. 

[michael1]

Shows my ignorance, I did not realize there was an option regarding gear ratios and spinning reels, like there are with baitcasters. What is a good "standard" gear ratio for a spinning reel?

[MassYak85]

I'll second the Daiwa BG. I have had three pfluger presidents now and I love them, I still have one. I think for the money it's the best budget option out there. But that step up in price to the BG, something about the it just has that "IT" factor. Maybe it's the frame, it almost reminds me of anodized aluminum (it's not though). But it just feels solid overall, it is a bit on the heavy side too. But also it's very smooth an I believe was designed with saltwater in mind (waterproof drag). 

[Hammer 4]

43 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

I'll second the Daiwa BG. I have had three pfluger presidents now and I love them, I still have one. I think for the money it's the best budget option out there. But that step up in price to the BG, something about the it just has that "IT" factor. Maybe it's the frame, it almost reminds me of anodized aluminum (it's not though). But it just feels solid overall, it is a bit on the heavy side too. But also it's very smooth an I believe was designed with saltwater in mind (waterproof drag). 

Just looked in my Diawa catalog, the BG is in fact listed as a saltwater reel.

[basser27]

My friend has a fuego lt. Horrible line lay Out of the box. couldn’t figure out how to get the shim on. There’s a small plastic thing on it that is nearly impossible to get off. We eventually ripped it off and put the shim on. solid reel besides the line lay issue at first. I’ve heard others have had the same issue

[Cgolf]

I have been using some Daiwa Regal XIAs and Pflugar Presidents for the last couple of years and been happy. One of the Regals needed a washer under the spool to get the line to lay correctly on the spool but works fine. I will say I have to of the XIAs and an old Regal Z and everyone has broken a bail spring.

 

Ultimately I don't believe that a lot needs to be spent on a spinning reel. I am still using a 15-20 year old Shakespere Excursion on my river rod I leave in the truck, or on my trout rod. That reel by far has caught more bass than most of my other reels and is still going strong.

 

13 hours ago, WIGuide said:

I haven't had the pleasure of using the Fuego, but I wouldn't hesitate on pulling the trigger on one. I've got a few Daiwa Regal's (RG) which is a cheaper reel, but I love them. They're great reels for the price and the little bit I've played with the Fuego's on the shelf they seem to be a bit of an upscale version. 

You had the bail spring issue with the Regals? I assume it is a design thing since I have seen it on 3 reels in two different trim levels.

[Fishin Dad]

3 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

 

Duh, it is the XH...sorry bout that..

No worries.  I was just wondering if there was actually an HD that stood for heavy duty or something.   I like my Fuego enough that if there was another that was a little different, I would look into it.  There are so many reels out there now, and a bunch from Japan, that I can't keep up.  Good fishing to you.

[K1500]

Ive come to the conclusion that cheap (sub $60) spinning reels don’t really stand up. I wore out three Pfluger presidents, two Shakespeare (can’t remember the model, 10 bearing looked like the president) and plenty of other older reels. I returned two Lews that got funky after a 2 week trout trip. They all felt good in the store and initially fished well, but they all went bad pretty fast. 

 

I am happy with the above mentioned Daiwa reels. My daughter fishes her 3 Sahara reels pretty hard and they hold up well. I am really leery of spinning reels that are much less than $100 msrp.

[ImThatGuy]

For $100 range, I seem to go back to my Daiwa 1300 ss.  I love the retro feel of the reel and still my favorite drag.  Simple, no frills but a solid performer 

[WIGuide]

9 hours ago, cgolf said:

I have been using some Daiwa Regal XIAs and Pflugar Presidents for the last couple of years and been happy. One of the Regals needed a washer under the spool to get the line to lay correctly on the spool but works fine. I will say I have to of the XIAs and an old Regal Z and everyone has broken a bail spring.

 

Ultimately I don't believe that a lot needs to be spent on a spinning reel. I am still using a 15-20 year old Shakespere Excursion on my river rod I leave in the truck, or on my trout rod. That reel by far has caught more bass than most of my other reels and is still going strong.

 

You had the bail spring issue with the Regals? I assume it is a design thing since I have seen it on 3 reels in two different trim levels.

I haven't had an issue with the bail spring yet. I'm not saying it won't happen as it's usually the first thing to fail on most spinning reels, but so far they've been holding up great!

[Armtx77]

I own three BG 1500's and use them for wading rivers for hybrids, taking Reds in the marsh and riding biatch in local LMB tourneys. My 15 year old nephew has been putting a beat down on one for 3 year now and it still runs smooth, looks beat up, but runs smooth.

 

I will say it again, if you learn to maintain a reel, it will give you years of use.