Which reels do you prefer?

[shaunl]

I currently own two Shimano Stella's 1000FB & 4000FB, a Sustain 1000FD & 6000FD, two Stradic's 2500 & 4000
versus
Daiwa Certate Custom 1504 and Certate Custom HD 3500.

Both brands make very good spinning reels but I prefer the shimanos. they're smoother overall and they have somoother drag when fishing light line eg. 1lb or 2lb.

My vote goes to shimano.

[skeeter]

For the smaller size 1000 upto 3000, can't go past diawa. But over that not really sure. I have penn and a shimano, both great reels. Diawa aren't in the price range i can afford for the larger models.

Peter

[smoked]

Daiwa is my vote

[dogsbody]

Fair priced ones. It all depends on what type of fishing your doing and whats available. I own a mixed bag. Each reel is great.


Dave

[humfmonkey]

Diawa steez and certate hyper great reels but still love my penn 700ss

[Kendall249]

TSS 4 , while its not as smooth as the more pricey reels, but robust and extremely capable

[paul cooper]

Been thru most every brand thats under 400 bucks mark and currently having a good run with okuma spinning reels.
Got a shed full of diawa shimano shakespeare and pfleugar and dam reels collecting dust these days.

Jack.

jack why not sell your older gear and spend the bucks on some thing good coop

[Momentum]

Daiwa followed closely by pflueger.

[kevvie]

I'll put my 2 cents worth in....

I was a devout shimano man. Admittedly the old 1000's and 1500's practically drove me to try daiwa. The airknots inherent in the spool and poorly designed spool lip kept costing me a fortune. Even under-loaded spools kept having the same probs.

I am trying daiwa certates and exists and i am comparing them to the newly designed spools of the shimano stella's and sustains. These are comparable by cost and both include the company's flagship models.

What this effectively do is give me a comparison which are better.

What i have found so far is the shimano's are wearing better with shielded bearings etc and are remaining smoother longer. The daiwas are smoother out of the box but the un-shielded bearings in the handle wear quick and create a grinding noise. Its a simple matter of replacing the bearing.

So if you are rough with your gear or use it everyday or get alot of salt spray on your gear maybe shimano is better for you. If you want super smmoth gearing and light reels daiwa is better, but is more prone to wear and tear.

So, basically choose where you fit in. All the other brands of spinning reels dont compare to the top end gear of the big 2. Okuma's, pfluegers, penns abu's etc are second rate gear aimed at those with a limited budget. No disrespect intended.

[johnny funt]

Dont forget South Australias finest the Sea Martin

[notsa]

I was after a overhead and had trouble making my mind up, so I placed an order in for a Daiwa Saltist 40 with level wind, just new out.

[2manylures]

Going back 25 years, maybe even 30. I had my first spinning reel, a Mitchell for fresh water spinning in Tasmania, I think it was my dads hand me down & he bought the newest model. Alot of the lakes we fished in Tasmania were shallow & we fished off the shore in thigh waders. Hence I was taught the proper way to spin & that is wind with your left hand. Well for that enviroment at least. The idea being for a right handed person you normally cast with your right hand above the reel & your left at the bottom.
Catching trout in Tas lakes by spinning is without a doubt aided by the wind, wether it is because of the chop there is more oxygen in the water & the trout are more active. Or because the tiddleys get smashed about in their hiding spot & have to venture out into more open water I don't know.
But on a calm day you can catch fish in the evening or morning, & you may as well give up fishing for the rest of the day.
When its blowing a gale, fishing into weather, thats almost impossible to fish into you can catch your bag of trout. Thats why I was taught to wind left handed, When your side casting (Horizontal rod with a spinning reel) into the wind in shallow water a fraction of a second means the difference between retrieving your lure before it hits the bottom & loosing 30m of line to the wind. Loosing your lure to the bottom & with freezing uncooperative fingers tying on a new one.

Most people are right handed, & if you have to change hands after you cast the rod to wind there is your 1/2 second you can't afford to loose.
I think we fished with Mitchells because they were the best you could buy at the time (25 yrs ago). A large spool diameter for easy casting, A compact body for light weight. Quick button change spools for different line requirements & if you ever did wear out a gear from thousands of hours use. This happened to me from dads hand me down we were amazed that the local shop stocked the gears for a dollar or two.
25 years later I have my own boat, thinking about trawling for mackeral around mud island & landing. Hoping to land a 5kg fish. Sometimes see the seagulls & the fish working I want something that is the best & won't let me down. I was in BCF today buying some lures to hopefully land that big mackeral & looked at some reels. I was amazed at how cheap they were. Then I started looking at the bail arm, most were wire into plastic. Picked up a few & smooth to wind, But felt cheap & tacky. Diawa were absolute crap when I was a kid, but they were the only brand I Saw today with a lathe spun bail arm.
The amount of times I have cast into the wind with a wire into plastic journal & it has double looped.
Or just a plastic journal that grooves & frays your line. $300 for the reel that I wanted. I can't afford that kind of money. I came on here to see what fisherman thought. Most have an opinion with no reason. I want to be told that this reel is iron clad best you can buy in its range. Then I can search for it & buy it secondhabd

I've had all sorts over the yrs and I look after my gear with kid gloves.

10 yrs ago Daiwa didn't have a reel that could compete even on today's market against cheap reels. No rocket science there. The best they had was the PS - BL series of which I still have two.

Thus far the only reels I've had die are Daiwa and simply because they don't go the distance. Cosmetics wise I could still sell them as new yet mechanically they are RS. I only fish freshwater these days & have been fishing for 38yrs.

I have a set of original Shimano Aero Stradics & Aero Baitrunners along with Chronarchs & a couple of the famous little BSS 2000 ULS’s. All these are still in pristine condition and have been USED heavily over the entire almost 20yrs I've had them & still as smooth as the day I got them. They’ve all caught more than their fair share of fish & had better than a good workout.

I also have TD Daiwa’s along with Shimano Antares 2’s {Jap/Yank S/W Calais} & MG 50’s. & out of these mentioned I would only recommend the Shimano MG-50.
I also have my old retired Mitchells, Shimanos & a few Vintage none of which get used with some never having been used.

Not a great deal of full time or busy anglers keep reels long enough to know what's good & what isn't.

Anglers purchase reels & other tackle on what their favourite personality says. These people are paid to say what they say.

If anyone wants to buy the best tackle for their style of fishing check out what your local guides or charter boat operators are using be it fresh or salt water. They’ll have tried the rest & now use the best.

The most honest advertising is by those who use for a livelihood.

Most other opinions are just opinions based on mainly looks or feel not performance.

SHIMANO for me based on toughness, longevity & performance...Older Reels.

Unfortunately we don't see any or very many of these Aero series reels for sale as those with them won't part with them. Another good indication of a good gutsy reel.

One other thing I don't personally like too much is the 8-14 BB's in some so small. Sacrifices have to be made to fit all the technology in when it isn't needed in the 1st place.

[alphas]

Daiwa for me..The recent generation of spinning reels are really good,IMO

[MeePee_99]

Shimano for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PaulMark]

Well my first choice would be Shimano,however I've just had a look and bugger me...theres a Pflueger,Abu garcia??2 of those.well what d'ya know.The Trion is a nice lil reel.
Paulo