Pflueger President.

[Alex from GA]

For the novice and/or weekend fisherman, IMO, the Pflueger President is the best deal on the market for spinning reels.  Fairly smooth, hold enough line, reliable and not expensive.  They're heavier than newer more expensive reels but very serviceable.  I've been using two for a bunch of years with good results. 

[LrgmouthShad]

Shimano Sedona is a good option

[GRiver]

I have two presidents @Alex from GA, ones a size 30 and ones an XT size 35… 35 is kinda big, but I use it for my dock rig. I can hoss them away from the pilings, it’s over three years old. The other one is older that that, I haven’t had a bit of trouble from either of them. 
A good all around solid reels.

[Mobasser]

The older ones are good. The new ones, I didn't care for. Grindy feel and different. In the new reels I say Shimano, Diawa, or Lews have better options.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The President was hands down the best bang for the buck spinning reel but the competition has tightened the last few years. It’s still a good value though. 

[FrnkNsteen]

^^Agreed^^

 

I had a bunch of President spinning reels from the older ones with wood handle grips up through a few different generations. They were a very good reel for the money and I was happy with them.

 

As Mike said though, other reel companies have advanced and upped their offerings, and in my opinion,... They've surpassed the President reels.

 

I just gave all my larger heavy 35 series Presidents to a friend for backups or parts and replaced them with clearanced Fuego LTs.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I got a bunch of Presidents. They get used a bunch and hardly ever make me mad. 

[Mbirdsley]

when they first came out hey were a great reel.  in the year 2023 almost 2024 there are much better options either at the same price or $10 more.  seems who ever owns phlueger either changed out the parts or the mfg process on the reels somewhere around 2015-2016.  Before that time frame they were a well made reel. 

 

 I’ve watched 10lbs-15lbs river run king salmon just destroy the internals on presidents.  where other brands  at the same price point keep on ticking 

 

This time last year i could have pointed you to a forum where over 20 of the reels that had part #23 broken which, is the bail arm guide. this part was breaking so often that ereplacementparts * ( which, is the company who handles phluegar replacement parts in the USA) ran out of the replacement part and had a 6-8 month back order on the part.  I know first hand because, i had one of the 20 reels that the part broke.  

 

I have 1 size 20 president and a size 30 president which, have been nothing but problems.  as soon as i get the time to fix the size 30 it’s gong down the road. this is also not counting the phlueger supreme bait caster that the frame completely fell apart on me one day while fishing cranks. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Pflueger President is one of the last spinning reels with an anti-reverse switch and slower (5.2 : 1) retrieve ratio...

[FrnkNsteen]

3 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Pflueger President is one of the last spinning reels with an anti-reverse switch and slower (5.2 : 1) retrieve ratio...

Yep,... Getting harder to find. The Daiwa Fuego 2500D meets those two points but those are going away too with the MQ series coming out.

 

Personally,... I never use the anti-reverse switch to be able to backreel, but I know people that do.

[Bankbeater]

I have two 35 size reels that I got back in 2011, and one 30 size I bought back in 2016.  I don't use the 30 that much but the 35's are still as smooth as when I got them.

[ironbjorn]

In 2008, sure. Times have changed. They've been bad for years. Shimano and Daiwa now dominate this price range with infinitely superior products, while Pflueger continues to get worse.

[JackstrawIII]

Agreed. They're a killer reel for the price. 

I personally love the Pflueger Supreme XT and grab them on sale whenever I can, but the President is a very good reel for the price. 

[OkobojiEagle]

18 minutes ago, JackstrawIII said:

Agreed. They're a killer reel for the price. 

I personally love the Pflueger Supreme XT and grab them on sale whenever I can, but the President is a very good reel for the price. 

I bought a size 30 Supreme XT awhile back and have considerable problem with it's anti-reverse sporadically not catching.  Have you experienced that problem with any of yours, if so, how did you fix the problem.

[JackstrawIII]

6 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

I bought a size 30 Supreme XT awhile back and have considerable problem with it's anti-reverse sporadically not catching.  Have you experienced that problem with any of yours, if so,

I have not have any issues. I have two of the 35 size XT's and they've been bulletproof. I use them for all my "heavy" spinning tasks like skipping around docks and t-rigged stickbaits. Also, when I fish with people who can't use a baitcaster, I let them use these reels for things like topwater toad baits and stuff that can be pretty hard on a spinning setup.

No problems ever. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Glad yours' have been all good

[WRB]

1 hour ago, OkobojiEagle said:

I bought a size 30 Supreme XT awhile back and have considerable problem with it's anti-reverse sporadically not catching.  Have you experienced that problem with any of yours, if so, how did you fix the problem.

Try a drop of oil or CLP Break Free, it may be dry.

Tom