Best surf fishing spinning reel

[pommy]

Use my Sustain with my 10ft Seajigger (12-20lb) as a popper reel with either PE 2 or 3.

104cm of retrieve ? quite good.

Rob.

[PNG1M]

Hmmm...the options certainly are opening up.
Thanks for the replies...

Did some research on the Sustain and they also shape up pretty well and darn good value at around US$250 with 7/1 bearings and a 5.7:1 retrieve ratio.

I wonder what the Catalina has to offer to make it worth an extra $200 in price?

I did read that the Catalina can take more of a saltwater dunking than the Sustain & is more robust.

Any ideas??

[gr hilly]

mate pump some iron and stick with penn

[PNG1M]

My iron pumping days are over. Well into the 40's now and the six pack is beginning to turn into a keg.

I plan to enjoy my approaching twighlight years of fishing; that's why I want the good gear - so I can enjoy using it before I start pushing up the daisies...

During the 90's I had three beach rod set-ups and each had a Penn Spinfisher.
I wouldn't use anything else (two 6500s and a 7500). Loved 'em but sold 'em on when I moved o/s.

Right now, I have a near new Slammer 560 and my missus has a new Spinfisher 6500 so the Penn's are still in the family... but as I like to dabble with higher end stuff I thought I'd broaden my horizons towards something more spiffy.

High end?? My PNG barra/bass baitcast gear include:
Calcutta 300 Conquest & CT400/Blacksheep 300/Millionnaire 253-z/Curado DSV300/PENN 965 (and no, they're not for sale) so once you get used to using higher end tackle of a certain type it starts to play on your mind to use higher end for other applications as well.

NB: Used some cheaper reels in PNG before I purchased the above but they got stuffed fast - grinding & clunking - because of the bass. Hence over a three year period, I accumulated my collection. Next trip to Suki, png is already on the burner.

I'm hoping that my kids will continue to enjoy fishing into teenage-hood so they can use some of my well looked after 'hand-me-downs' instead of buying new reels. That way I'll still get to upgrade with new ones.

[nigelr]

Once there were literally dozens of reel manufacturers in France, now only one remains.
http://www.peerless-bam.com/index.php?page=gb_intro
Very high quality specialist saltwater and trout reels with an illustrious heritage.
Only problem, you would have to order them from France!
I have a 620 that would be 30+ years old and still going strong. French fishing reels gained an excellent reputation for quality in the US during the 40's and 50's; Mitchell took that popularity a step further in the 60's and beyond.
Cheers and good luck with your search, sure is plenty to choose from!

[PNG1M]

Yeh, I checked out the link to that site.

They do resemble the Mitchells. It kinda makes'em appear old fashioned. You'd probably get a few looks (curious...) if you owned one.

The 650 model specifically mentions surf casting and a fast retrieve but the blurb doesn't mention the ratio; how many bbs; or line capacity.

I wonder what the internals are like? Don't go much on the BAM name either just quietly... it makes me think about Fred Flintstone.

The reels look like they work on the K.I.S.S. principle which might be a good thing in this day & age.

[nigelr]

Ratio about 4:1, single bearing supporting the pinion gear, huge line capacity due to the size of the spool, the large diameter of which also results in a fast retrieve rate. Certainly an old-fashioned design used both at home and abroad to excellent effect by several French rel-makers well before Mitchells' 498/499 appeared in the late 60's.
Van Stahl and ZeeBaas have arguably taken this design to the nth degree, bringing improvements with CAD and innovations such as sealed gearbox, internal drag system etc etc.
Cheers.

[PNG1M]

Think I'll stuck with something more mod-con.

Still eye-ing off the Daiwa Catalina although I've seen some Saltiga Blast reels available at a similar price.

I wonder how the Blast & Catalina compare, given that the Catalina shares components with the Saltiga-z

[LostNearBribie]

Shouldn't the Emblem Pro get a mention here, it is after all a surf reel.
The Catalina etc are more jigging reels.

[nigelr]

Yeah Emblem Pro will sure cast a mile; bloke I know uses a Shimano Spheros 14000, targets (and catches a lot of) jew with worms, so encounters plenty of large rays as well. Fishes with 50lb braid, reel has stood up well to some pretty heavy abuse hehehe.

[PNG1M]

Yep, quite a few options emerging out there...

I'd better start reading some more reviews!!

Thanks for all the input.

[deepfried]

At this point, a saltiga might be the go... I mainly want something that looks & feels reliable and doesn't weight a ton and casts well.

If money isn't an issue thats the reel that ticks all of your boxes. It is not much chop for metals though with a slow retrieve rate. It will cast pretty much as well as the emblem, is lighter than every reel mentioned so far, has a water proof drag and the internals are strong as.

Dont get me wrong though a lot of the other reels mentioned are more than good enough. I have used or own a few of them except the funky yank ones which like you i just dont like the look of regardless of them probably being the best of all. If i was to go beach fishing and had to pick from the reels i have it would be the Catalina because it is water proof.

[banshee]

............. If i was to go beach fishing and had to pick from the reels i have it would be the Catalina because it is water proof.

The Catalina is a great reel no doubt,but it's not water proof.I seviced/repaired one a while back that had a dunking (droped into water at the ramp and retrieved imediatly) it needed draining and a couple of bearings.The only reel that is water proof to the best of my knowledge is the Van Staal,I think they have a blurb somewhere that states they can be wound under water without water ingress.

[deepfried]

The Catalina is a great reel no doubt,but it's not water proof.I seviced/repaired one a while back that had a dunking (droped into water at the ramp and retrieved imediatly) it needed draining and a couple of bearings.The only reel that is water proof to the best of my knowledge is the Van Staal,I think they have a blurb somewhere that states they can be wound under water without water ingress.

Mine has had a dunking as well after hitting every rock from the top of the wall to the bottom and no water got in at all. The impact was enough to knock the handle of, bend the bail arm beyond use and put some decent dings in the body of the reel. It was in for a while as well until i got another rod to cast over it although it didnt sink so didnt have much water presure to push water in. I sent it to Daiwa and it was fine except for a few scratches but i did have to replace the roller bearings and the bearings in the handle shortly after. They are sealed but not to the extent of the van staal..

[PNG1M]

Now it gets confusing:

* Saltiga-z
* Saltiga Blast
* Saltiga Surf
* (Catalina)

All suitable for general surf applications but what's the big diff apart that the 'z' is more expensive than the others and on the top shelf?

Would the Catalina be better than a Blast given that the Catalina is based on the Saltiga? And where does the Surf fit into all this (by the name, I'd say it fits well). Is the Blast better than the Surf?


And I did some research on the Emblem Pro and it has some very positive write-ups. There's some good reviews out there... but the Sustain also has good reviews. Emblem??? Sustain??? Hmmm.....!