Made a Purchase

[TOXIC]

Those who know me, know I use my gear to failure and a bit beyond.  Meaning, there’s a few repairs before retirement.  I am not overly sensitive to top notch gear because I’ve been in the game long enough to pretty much be able to figure out the different price point influences.  I was pro staff for Bass Pro for 15 years and I used exclusively BPS gear including a lot of JLM Signature, Pro Qualifier and Browning (including Midas and Citori).  I travel and do shows for a Manufacturer’s Rep group that opened the door to Quantum.  I am currently fishing with some Quantum and JLM baitcasters, Pro Qualifer, Browning and Quantum Smoke spinning reels and a couple Smoke baitcasters.  I ran across this deal on some Duckett reels where if you buy 1 you get 2 free. They are discontinued but that matters not to me.  At the retail price point of $149.00 they should be a good mid range deal and 3 for the price of 1 was enticing enough to get me to buy in.  Just got notified they shipped today and I hope they will be here before I leave for St Clair at the end of next week. Anybody have any predictions on how these reels will perform? 
 1 DFSR2500 PARADIGM SR 2500 1 ea 
  2 DFSR2500 PARADIGM SR 2500 2 ea 

[Cbump]

I was in the Navy out of high school then worked in the private sector while getting my degrees (BS and MBA). Then I became a police officer almost 7 years ago. I’m sure those reels will be fine. 

[roadwarrior]

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

Anybody have any predictions on how these reels will perform? 

 I suspect they will be fine for awhile, one season maybe. Mostly it depends on your

expectations.  If you have been happy with BPS reels,  these will be fine, perhaps an

upgrade.

[LrgmouthShad]

5 hours ago, Cbump said:

I was in the Navy out of high school then worked in the private sector while getting my degrees (BS and MBA). Then I became a police officer almost 7 years ago. I’m sure those reels will be fine. 

Hi my name is Jim, I’m 19 and I don’t know how to read. 
 

And yeah, keep it reel man ?

[jbrew73]

For that price I bet you will be fine.  
 

I would not have taken that offer though based on the duckett rods I have owned and used.  

[TOXIC]

8 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

 I suspect they will be fine for awhile, one season maybe. Mostly it depends on your

expectations.  If you have been happy with BPS reels,  these will be fine, perhaps an

upgrade.

That’s my thinking except for the 1 season.  At that price point and the fact that the BPS reels and cheaper quantum’s have lasted as long as they have with regular maintenance, I would hope these are a step up.  Time will tell.  

[garroyo130]

21 hours ago, Cbump said:

Then I became a police officer almost 7 years ago. I’m sure those reels will be fine. 

 

9 out of 10 police officers recommend them.

[Fishin Dad]

11 hours ago, TOXIC said:

That’s my thinking except for the 1 season.  At that price point and the fact that the BPS reels and cheaper quantum’s have lasted as long as they have with regular maintenance, I would hope these are a step up.  Time will tell.  

TOXIC, I saw that deal as well.  I would assume they are rebranded Doyo or similar and will be fine.  I didn’t buy them, but only because I didn’t need them.  I think it is a great deal and hope they work out for you!!   

[waymont]

You might poop yourself if you fished a Daiwa zillion or a Shimano met mgl.

a reel that just works isn’t as fun to fish than a reel made for a rod company by some other company IMO.

[TOXIC]

5 hours ago, waymont said:

You might poop yourself if you fished a Daiwa zillion or a Shimano met mgl.

a reel that just works isn’t as fun to fish than a reel made for a rod company by some other company IMO.

Oh, I’ve fished some top end reels and in my world, I need a reel that is smooth, has a good drag system and is durable or at least serviceable.  I’m not getting into that age old debate on advantages of some over the disadvantages of others but I will say, I have never lost a fish due to reel malfunction.  The bass in the picture was on an at least 10 hear old Pro Qualifier that survived a couple of good runs without failure. I don’t know exactly what a top end reel would have done differently.  That being said, I have fished some to failure and it’s usually a bail spring or anti reverse gears.  Some of these same reels have survived 20 years of St Clair Smallmouth without a failure.  Far be it from me to tell someone how much to spend on their gear but for me, I’m totally happy with my system. 

 

[waymont]

7 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I don’t know exactly what a top end reel would have done differently.

What's the fun in using something that's just serviceable. A top end reel would probably be lighter, cast farther, cast more easily, be smoother, and have a smoother drag. But you are happy with mid priced reels, so good on you for that.

[TOXIC]

17 hours ago, waymont said:

What's the fun in using something that's just serviceable. A top end reel would probably be lighter, cast farther, cast more easily, be smoother, and have a smoother drag. But you are happy with mid priced reels, so good on you for that.

While I don’t disagree, a top end reel that is lighter tends to be more fragile in my experience besides the fact I’ve never stopped fishing because my arm is tired, doesn’t need to cast any farther than what I have and the way I fish, and the drag systems are more than adequate.  I’ve had 75 fish days on St Clair and I’ve caught 14lb snakehead, 40lb catfish and 10lb bass on my rigs with 6lb test.  I’d just rather put my $$ into something that pays a better dividend.  Maybe I’ve just been lucky and have reels that punched above their weight class but so far I am happy.  

[garroyo130]

18 hours ago, waymont said:

What's the fun in using something that's just serviceable. 

 

Honestly the most fun ive had fishing was probably with the crappiest gear ive owned ... 

[NavyToad]

2 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

 

Honestly the most fun ive had fishing was probably with the crappiest gear ive owned ... 

And when I was a young kid and everything was simple. A 1/8 jig head and a 4” curl tail worm accounted for most of my fish back then.

[Kirtley Howe]

1 hour ago, NavyToad said:

And when I was a young kid and everything was simple. A 1/8 jig head and a 4” curl tail worm accounted for most of my fish back then.

A Bettle Spin was the "magic lure" when I was young. And a Rockey Jr. They were the first lures I had, and they both worked....probably still do. Do they even make the Rockey Jr. anymore?

[papajoe222]

I've been fishing for over 60 years and have gone through my share of mid priced reels, especially spinning reels. Although I don't fish with them as much as I did in my early years, two of my reels are what I consider higher priced ones.  One is 15yrs. old and the other is 12.  I never had a spinning reel last more than seven or eight seasons prior to that. For the cost of two decent reels, I was able to purchase that 15yr. old. Not to mention I enjoy having and using the better ones.  I will admit that I didn't notice much improved performance with spinning gear, but when I purchased my first Daiwa baitcaster, is was like switching form a Chevy to a BMW.