I Need Help Choosing a Inshore Reel!

Discussions focused on the pursuit of saltwater species
ematsuda
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Re: I Need Help Choosing a Inshore Reel!

Post by ematsuda » Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:44 am

+1 on the Battle for that price point. For stripers, I'd go for the 4000/20 lb. braid.

hawkoath
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Re: I Need Help Choosing a Inshore Reel!

Post by hawkoath » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:03 am

Get the Penn Battle for the price its an extremely good reel and if you can find a deal at your local tackle store or a sportsmens show then it will be around 50-70 depending on the state. Shimano/Daiwa at that price are really, really not recommended especially for inshore. This is someone who has a lot of Shimano, Daiwa, etc... reels. This is especially true if you are catching more than fishing as I have found the Penns are generally stronger at reeling in the fish. My beat up Penn Fierce is a lot more robust than my Shimano Stradic FJ in that regard.

Btw there is a Revo Premier PRM40 on evilbay that will probably end around your price range of $100. If you want to take a chance at a discontinued reel and find you like lighter reels then I recommend that one particular item.

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fishing_tx
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Re: I Need Help Choosing a Inshore Reel!

Post by fishing_tx » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:02 pm

For what you want, a 2500 size spinner is the right size to throw things like soft plastics on 1/8 oz. jigheads. You're not going to get a "sealed" reel of any quality for that price, just learn how to keep your reel dry, rinse off after trips, and open up your reel to maintain it, and you'll be fine. In that price range, I've got some Quantum PT Irons that are nice for that job.* They seem to be replaced by the Quantum Accurist Inshore which seems to share more with the S3 Smoke Inshore (which I also have). Any way, the Accurist seems to be exactly at your price point.

I also have Stradics and Tatulas, but they are much more expensive reels. For my kayak, I like keeping the price point low because they are going to get saltwater on/in them, and I will have to rebuild them (which is not really that hard once you do it a few times). I lost two Revo Inshore reels in two trips due to safety related incidents on the water, that's why I switched to cheaper reels on the yak.

That said, the Daiwa BG gets amazing reviews, and is also at your price point. I haven't played with the less expensive Shimanos.

If you're going with live bait and not worried about size as much, I'd probably try to bump up to a 2500 size Penn Spinfisher VI because they do have some sealing going on, and they can take saltwater a little more than the others it would seem, though I haven't been inside the Accurist, I have seen the inside of a Spinfisher VI and a Daiwa BG. The Spinfisher VI is a bit more expensive. I'm seeing them for $140. They are not light reels at 10+ oz. I prefer a lighter reel for the amount of casting and jigging I'm doing fishing for redfish, speckled trout and flounder.

EDIT: * Tonight I was replacing the rotor on one of my PT Iron 25s and found a nasty surprise. The magnets within the bail mechanism have lost some of their coating and are covered in a fine powder of rust. I was replacing the rotor because I ham-fistedly stripped screws that hold the main shaft support/rotor nut in the first one. Now, I'd say this is an oddity, but I just threw away an old Quantum Energy baitcaster that had magnets that disintegrated over time. So, I'm about $500 in to Quantum spinners between the two PT Iron 25s, maintenance parts, and the S3 Inshore 40. They do not all have magnetic bails as I first believed.** The Smoke S3 Inshore has a heavily greased spring, phew. because I went and opened up my other PT Iron 25 and it has the same rust problem.
rust.jpg
rust.jpg (258.75 KiB) Viewed 13312 times
So, now I can see why they discontinued the PT Iron 25, but honestly it seems like I should get my money back. That magnet design is crap; it's a plain flaw in a reel that was truly a good reel that caught a ton of redfish. I'm retiring them both. The Quantum Accurist Inshore is marketed for saltwater directly, and appears to be similar to the Smoke Inshore with less bearings and I'm not sure what else. If it has a magnetic bail, I would not recommend it, but otherwise, I'd make a tentative recommendation on the quality the Smoke S3 has brought to the table. Wow, I really didn't know I was fishing with time bombs - and I'm a little upset that I purchased a new spool at this point as, with the way I fish those reels - in saltwater, in a kayak, I don't think that I'll ever finish having to replace rotors and bail arms. Well, you win some you lose some.
Transducers are great for finding fish; when torn off the transom, it's shallow enough.

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Impreza619
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Re: I Need Help Choosing a Inshore Reel!

Post by Impreza619 » Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:31 pm

Tranx 500hg! Great for 20-60lb!

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