Am i the minority when it comes to reels?

[volzfan59]

I have found what I like and suits my fishing style. I only use BPS Platinum bait casters (7:1.1) and Shimano spinning reels. I have one Piscifun spinning reel that my friend @Eric 26 recommended. It seems to be a good reel but I haven’t had the opportunity to use it very much.

[Motoboss]

@A-Jay I see 20 bait casters and 11 spinning!! That’s an uneven number of spinning reels, which my ocd would never accept an odd and even collection.

 

Better pony up another spinning set up there soldier 🫡

[new2BC4bass]

3 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

I see 20 bait casters and 11 spinning!! That’s an uneven number of spinning reels, which my ocd would never accept an odd and even collection.

 

Better pony up another spinning set up there soldier 🫡

I have an odd number of spinning reels and an even number of casting reels....I think.  Will have to recount the casting reels. 

 

I'm sure most will realize from my first post that I enjoy trying different gear.  It is the only thing that kept me from quitting fishing again.  I continued fishing for 2 years after moving to the ABE area, but then quit for 23 years because fishing sucked so bad.  Especially when compared to where I moved from.

 

Sometimes a reel can surprise you.  I'd be surprise if more than 2-3 people on here have a Primmus HS Xi.  It was a factory tuned reel.  Liked the first one enough to buy two more on closeout.  The reel is not the least bit finicky.  Casting distance is great.  Looks very nice.  Pretty light.  Whats not to like?

 

My first thought after making my first cast with the Helios Air was, "Man.  This reel can cast!"  I remain very pleased with this reel. Looks are so-so, light, not finicky.

 

The BPS Prolite was their 'finesse' reel.  However, I used two older Carbonlites when learning to cast #5 Shad Raps (3/16 oz.).  Dual brake.  Not pretty (to me), but they are a pleasure to use.

 

The old blue Patriarch XT, dual brake, light, nice looking.  Can run brakes set lower than almost any other of my reels without backlashing.

 

My old aluminum framed Trion is not light, not small, and not pretty (put nicely), but is a fine casting reel with the right line/rod combo.  Thank you DVT for the suggestion.

 

Chronarch 100B is like the Trion.  It's not light, not small, and not pretty, but is a great caster with the setup I am using.  A backlash is hard to get.

[Bigbox99]

Daiwa

Shimano

Abu

BPS

Seasir

Piscifun

Johncoo 

Leydun

Histar

Haibo

Pinnacle

 

And they are all function the same.  All have zero adjust spools tension and all cast in the same ball park with each other for distance.  The Daiwa SV spools reels are my stand out reels in that they make skipping easy compared to any other reel I own.  

[Randy Price]

I'm primarily a Shimano guy for spinners and BC but I do have a couple of Diawa spinners that I have been please with.

[Texas Flood]

From the first BC to the current. 
 

BPS

Abu

Shimano

Lews

Daiwa

JDM Daiwa

 

 

As of now I see no reason to at all to switch from a JDM Daiwa. The difference was night and day. 

[MonsterZero]

I do not have brand loyalty to any one manufacturer, but I do have some that I very much prefer and tend not to deviate from. I have never been let down by Daiwa, and have consistently been impressed by their quality:price ratio, so they are usually where I look first. But Shimano and Lew's have also been good to me. In the salt, I am 90% a Penn man for the same reason; I have horsed in some big fish on my Penn reels with no malfunctions or disagreements.

 

How a company and their product treat me factors heavily into how I shop next time I need something, and if they stand by me, I stand by them, until they give me a reason not to.

[redmeansdistortion]

I don't discriminate. If it's good, it's good.  I can appreciate anything that's well made regardless if it's a vehicle, knife, cookware, or fishing gear.

 

[The Baron]

I like to try different brands. I’m also extremely frugal, so the majority of my gear has been bought used for 1/2 or less than retail.  For reels I’ve got mostly Diawa and Shimano, but also a couple Bass Pro Johnny Morris and a Quantum Smoke that I like.  I don’t have any reels I don’t like, but my overall preference for both baitcasters and spinning is Diawa.  In particular, a cc80 I bought last year quickly became a favorite and I plan to get another.  And I’m very impressed with the Diawa Revros LT spinning reels for the money, but the sweet spot of cost/performance for me is the Fuego.

 

Early on in my arsenal build up I bought a couple Shimano Curado DCs.  Great reels, but IMHO they’re overpriced.  I’ve read before that Shimano is amazing at the top end gear, but for my budget I could buy nothing but Diawa and be very happy.

 

I’ve got a few Lews rods I like a lot, so might give one of their reels a try sometime.  Will just keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace.  lol

 

 

[ike8120]

All my rods and reels are Kastking. I have never had any issues with them.

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, ike8120 said:

All my rods and reels are Kastking. I have never had any issues with them.

But have you ever tried anything else? If you get used to Temu grade gear, you'll be fine with it because you get used to low end stuff.

[bp_fowler]

I use stuff from all the major brands, or at least what I consider “major”.  Shimano, Daiwa, Lew’s, and Abu.  
 

Admittedly I’ve been on a bit of a Daiwa kick lately.  The last 4 rods and reels (3 baitcasters, 1 spinning) I’ve purchased have come from them. Although I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a “Daiwa Guy” just yet since I still use my other rods and wouldn’t be against buying one of the other brands if it filled a need and the price was right.
 

[Robinhood21]

I'm the type of guy who finds a pair of pants or a certain shirt that I like and I'll buy multiples of them.  When I dove head first back into bass fishing a while back I bought BPS, Lews, Abu & Shimano...  I've switched them all to Shimano, mostly Curados with a couple scorpions and a Metanium.  I like what I like and have a hard time getting away from it.

[thediscochef]

I have no brand or model loyalty outside of the lews tournament pro. The new daiwa tatulas with the hyperdrive are also great. But it's all tools in the toolbox, being a brand die-hard is limiting