Recommended Fishing Reels?

[Brian Jones]

Any spinning reel is good as long as it says Shimano on it somewhere.

[Al Agnew]

Any spinning reel is good as long as it says Shimano on it somewhere.

I'd say that about their casting reels, but every Shimano spinning reel I've ever owned except the oldest and cheapest one did the binding thing. Maybe they've finally fixed that problem, but I'm not going to buy another Shimano when there are plenty of other good spinning reels available.

[RSBreth]

Any spinning reel is good as long as it says Shimano on it somewhere.

I guess someone was never was a member of Riversmallies.com

We already hashed this one out as far as it could be done - most Shim-bindo's spinner's don't like water. Ironic, but true.

[Gavin]

I agree with Al & Randy, Shimano spinning reels are great until you get one wet. They turn into binding pieces of junk after that. They are probably OK if you are high & dry in a jet or bass boat...but no good for canoe, kayak, or extended wade trips.

[joeD]

My recommendation is to buy what you can afford and feels good in your hand and appropriate to your quarry. Everything else is noise. Too much information and too much choice leads to indecision and buyers remorse leading to the condition of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

I mean, look at:

Cars: Honda Chevy Acura Ford Dodge Kia Mercedes Suburu Buick Cadillac Volvo Nissan Olds

TV: Sony Samsung RCA Vizio Panasonic Pioneer LG Zenith

Cereal: Cap N Crunch. Well there is no need to go on, Everything else pales in comparison to the Cap'N. Poor example.

Anyway, point being, there is so much out there, and most of decent quality, there is no such thing as the best. You can't make a bad choice. It's your choice, and therefore righteous.

Unless you choose Cocoa Puffs. Then you have problems son.

[Brian Jones]

I'd say that about their casting reels, but every Shimano spinning reel I've ever owned except the oldest and cheapest one did the binding thing. Maybe they've finally fixed that problem, but I'm not going to buy another Shimano when there are plenty of other good spinning reels available.

Interesting. I would have said the exact opposite. I've had nothing but good luck with the shimano spinning reels that I've owned and I've only bought the middle of the road ones; mainly the Sonoras. I haven't bought a shimano baitcaster however since they re-made and jacked the price up on the Curado a few years ago. My BIL has a couple of the new Curados and IMO they aren't near the reel that the old Curado is/was. It should be noted that my stuff isn't getting the miles put on it in a year that your (Al) stuff does. So maybe that has something to do with why I can get several seasons out of their spinning reels.

[Guest]

deleted.

[Seth]

I did really well last year using a $60 Pflueger Pink Lady Trion combo last year during our bass club tournaments. In fact I wont a tournament where I never put that rod down all day. There wasn't any need.Just goes to show you that it really doesn't take much for a spinning setup to get the job done. Spending more money on a good bait caster is a lot more bang for your buck than when it comes to spinning gear.

The girlfriend has banned me from using her rod though I guess I have to buck up and buy my own spinning setup for this year. She couldn't understand why I kept user her rod instead of my casting rods. I had to explain to her that is was all about the baits I was throwing and a spinning rod did a better job than my casting gear.