What's your favorite reel?

[ErieCan]

On 5/15/2022 at 3:36 PM, Glenn said:

Right now, it's my new Shimano Metanium reel.  Smooth-as-buttah!

 

 

Agreed! 

 

 

[T-Billy]

10 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

I have two Super Duty G, oldest is on 5th year in the salt. 

I did need to replace the brake magnets at the onset of salt corrosion. 

You can also see I love the reel enough to decorate it with upgrade parts.  If shallow braid spools were available for it, I probably wouldn't own any other reel. 

They're truly a workhorse with surprising light lure capacity when the spool is loaded for it (big mono backing, thin working line). 

SD also Must be the best value in a reel.  I paid $130 for my first from an ebay vendor, and $144 (shipped) for the second direct from Lew's, who keeps a closeout price going indefinitely (list price is $180).

 

Note, however, they are discontinued (Lew's is putting all their eggs in the ACB basket).  If you want one, now's the time. 

 

I have a couple of reels that will out-distance them - I mentioned my braid-modified Zillion at the light end on the 2nd post of this thread, and ZPI Alcance at the heavy end, but I could have bought 5 more SD for the cost of those 2.   What gives both of those reels an edge is shallow, light spool.  And what gives SD its edge over most others is its clean deep spool (no mass add-ons). 

Was just on the Lew's website. Looks like they've discontinued the original G and are offering a Gen2. Looks like pretty much same specs with added P2 and a Flippin Switch on all gear ratios. Still mag braked.

[bulldog1935]

@T-Billy

you're right, it has the mag brake and P2 pinion upgrade

The GX3 is ACB. 

[redmeansdistortion]

This guy right here, it's such a pleasure to fish.

 

[bulldog1935]

I'm going to run out of reels on this thread, because every reel I own is my favorite where I use it. 

So far, braid-raced Zillion and Super Duty - the first for mindless reliable distance, the second for surprising reliable distance and truck-stopping durability.  The Mg-spool ZPI Alcance is Revo on amphetamines - this is the reel that can cast too far - it fishes big weights best with a relaxed attitude. 

Most fun to fish are all my braid-raced Ambassadeurs, from NLW CT surf reel with nothing in between you and the other end - to my 1500C stream reel, and 4600C3 small water bass - just the sound of a raced-out LW during cast is fun. 

 

People have mentioned their favorite spinning reels on the thread, as well.  Anyone who owns Stradic to Stella will be impressed with the combination of smooth and workhorse in one package. 

But one reel from the line stands out - Vanquish - you won't notice the drive low-inertia difference from the other Shimanos in the line until you have them side by side.  But Vanquish drive starts with zero resistance, and stops without pushing your hand forward.  When you put it next to your other Shimanos, they feel clunky in comparison.   Any time feel through the handle matters in spinning, Vanquish can't be touched by any other reel on the market. 

The counter-balanced Livre handle further eliminates the tendency of spinning reels to keep turning under bail weight, and the MTCW TD drag knob increases the range of light drag adjustment, and gives you a panic-button on the front to add finger drag. 

[redmeansdistortion]

Since we're on the subject of spinners, here's my favorite.  It has an Avail shallow spool, IOS Factory bail springs, IOS Factory silent AR ratchet, IOS Factory SiC line roller, and a custom made (by me) carbon drag.  

 

[roadwarrior]

16 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

Just curious.... How does it differ from the new Calcutta?

 

Nothing notable, just "new".

[redmeansdistortion]

I affectionately refer to this one as my Creek Sniper, Alphas CT SV 6.3 with a 4.5g AMO spool, Roro bearings, and drag clicker.  I run this on a 4'2" Major Craft Finetail Stream Glass mostly throwing Pins Minnows, Snap Beans, Euro nymphs, and Z-Vibers.  It's the fastest starting spool I've ever used.  Lures fished on this are in the 1g to 2g range.  This reel usually sees action in the little trickles running through the forest.  Most people would pass them off as a ditch, but smallies and mighty nice trout hide in them.

 

[QED]

Spinning reels - my favorite has to be the Vanford.  It's not a high-end reel but rather mid-tier but it is very light and smooth for its price point.  Perfect for UL, slider, and midwest finesse techniques.

[Chris Catignani]

I was liking the Phleuger Trion until they removed the anti-reverse switch...now its Presidents.

[throttleplate]

sticking with my pfluegurs, XP, President, and supreme.

[Hytekrednek]

#1 is my 2021 Antares DC, 2nd is my 3 Calais 200 Mg5's.... older but still smooth as silk and strong and reliable.

[Chris Catignani]

11 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Since we're on the subject of spinners, here's my favorite.  It has an Avail shallow spool, IOS Factory bail springs, IOS Factory silent AR ratchet, IOS Factory SiC line roller, and a custom made (by me) carbon drag.  

 

Love that reel...I fished it for many, many years.

[PressuredFishing]

I like my pflugers lews and abus, but no debate nothing stock compares to stock  diawas and shimanos performance wise. Durability and aesthetics are a different story. Penn conventional reels are built like tanks.

[redmeansdistortion]

44 minutes ago, Chris Catignani said:

Love that reel...I fished it for many, many years.

I service reels for a man by the name of Jim Bedford, probably the most famous trout fisherman in Michigan.  He has written many books which are available on Amazon.  When we first spoke, he mentioned to me that when he bought his Cardinal 3 back in '75, he bought another for a backup just in case his failed.  That backup reel is still sitting on the shelf in his home unopened.  The one he fishes with is beat to crap, much of the paint is worn from the rotor and the body has its fair share of paint chips, but it keeps on trucking along 47 years later.  You can see that one in this video.  He sends it to me every winter.

 

 

[Bankbeater]

The BC reel in the current lineup would be a Daiwa Tatula CT100H.  For spinning it's a Pflueger President going on 12 years old.

[Deeare]

My favorite spinning reel is the diawa em-ms. And this is coming from a shimano guy.    The bang for the buck is amazing.  It’s a jdm reel but I bought my first one from TW one close out for less than $150,  couple others I bought from a jdm company around $170.   

[suzuki2903]

Shimano metaniums for the last two years won me over !  Went from several Lews pro ti reels to the metaniums and won’t go back anytime soon! Even sold of a few of the pro ti’s.  

[JMac603]

I'm a spinning reel guy. My favorite is the Daiwa Tatula LT. 

[Woody B]

I don't really have a favorite.  My oldest is a Ambassador 5500C from the 70's.  My Dad was a building contractor.  I worked for him cleaning up job sites for $1 per hour to save up and buy that reel when I was 12.   I still use it for worms and deep cranks.  I've got a couple modern Shimano's I like too.   I got a Curado DC and a SLX MGL 70 from a co worker who decided he hated baitcasters.   They're both great.   I didn't/don't see the "magic" with the DC, but will admit if I use the DC for a while I'll get a backlash or 2 the first couple cast when I switch to another reel.   

[FryDog62]

For lighter lures and/or skipping anything - it’s the gold standard of Steez SV TW. 
 

If I want effortless distance - Tatula Elite hands down ... 

 

[Jrob78]

I have a bunch of newer reels but my favorite is still probably the OG Zillion. I have several and I love using them. The new Zillion is definitely moving up the list though, awesome reels.

[PhishLI]

Right now it's a tie between the Catalina TW and Zillion 1000 G. The Catalina, with its 36mm tall wide spool, is super versatile and built like a tank. No problem throwing anything from 9 grams to 3 1/2 ozs. Even when it's tuned for distance it's a reliable, repeatable caster. Any of the available drop-in spool swaps out there stretch its versatility even further. Its 8oz Zillion HD platform might be a little big for the small-handed, but no problem here. Not as refined as a Steez CT, or a Zillion G, but I'm a caveman and couldn't care less. I like it that much.

 

The stock spooled Zillion G is probably one of the better reels ever made for standard sized bass baits. If I fished tournaments I'd have a boat full of them. It's forgiving, yet allows for bomb casts without being on the edge of disaster. There's very little if anything to squint your eyes over, or to hold your nose about, regardless of its very reachable price point. Super smooth, it's a true magic machine that's a pleasure to use.

[Big-Bass]

10 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Right now it's a tie between the Catalina TW and Zillion 1000 G. The Catalina, with its 36mm tall wide spool, is super versatile and built like a tank. No problem throwing anything from 9 grams to 3 1/2 ozs. Even when it's tuned for distance it's a reliable, repeatable caster. Any of the available drop-in spool swaps out there stretch its versatility even further. Its 8oz Zillion HD platform might be a little big for the small-handed, but no problem here. Not as refined as a Steez CT, or a Zillion G, but I'm a caveman and couldn't care less. I like it that much.

 

The stock spooled Zillion G is probably one of the better reels ever made for for standard sized bass baits. If I fished tournaments I'd have a boat full of them. It's forgiving, yet allows for bomb casts without being on the edge of disaster. There's very little if anything to squint your eyes over, or to hold your nose about, regardless of its very reachable price point. Super smooth, it's a true magic machine that's a pleasure to use.

Have you seen the new Zillion HD reels?  Based off the newer Zillion, they are pretty sweet!

[PhishLI]

3 hours ago, Big-Bass said:

Have you seen the new Zillion HD reels?

Just online. Someone in my orbit will have one eventually. AFAIK, it uses different material for the pinion and a deeper Mag Z boost spool. Looks nice, and probably is, but with what I'm using now I'm good for now.