spinning reel help/info needed

[lil_man72]

i'm looking for a little info on spinning reels. i've always used smaller spinning gear mainly for crappie. i currently have a 500 sahara, but i'm looking to get a couple outfits for bass. i'm looking at the pflueger patriarch, president, shimano stradic CI4, and the quantum exo, smoke, and older(rainbow) energys.
can you guys give me your thoughts on these or other reels you think would be better?
also what size is best for bass fishing?

[steve1206]

Based on the reels you mentioned, you would probably be very happy with the CI4 (2500 size) or the Patriarch (9535 size).

[Smead]

Quantum Energys would either be 20 size for a medium light rod, 30 for medium.

Their newer reels have slightly changed numerical designation and capacities....but 25 size fo ML, 30 for medium. Rxo's are about the same, though they have a few sizes with greater line capacity.

The new Energy's, the "C's" aren't bad at all...better oscillation system.

http://www.quantumfishing.com/products/ ... o-PTi.aspx

The rainbow ones are the Energy "B's"...you should get them at a decent reduction from original cost.

Another super saver is the now out of production Pflueger Supreme...8000 series, magnesium frame and rotor and aluminum sideplate. Would be the 8035MG size most likely.

[tracker01]

Quantum Energys would either be 20 size for a medium light rod, 30 for medium.

Their newer reels have slightly changed numerical designation and capacities....but 25 size fo ML, 30 for medium. Rxo's are about the same, though they have a few sizes with greater line capacity.

The new Energy's, the "C's" aren't bad at all...better oscillation system.

http://www.quantumfishing.com/products/ ... o-PTi.aspx

The rainbow ones are the Energy "B's"...you should get them at a decent reduction from original cost.

Another super saver is the now out of production Pflueger Supreme...8000 series, magnesium frame and rotor and aluminum sideplate. Would be the 8035MG size most likely.

Are you saying that the "Supreme" or just the "8000" series is now out of production, or both?

[Canga-]

the supreme is still in production, they just slightly upgraded it last year (braid ready spool, different bail wire i think) its now called the "supreme mgx" but its largely the same reel as before, and a great option at $100

the OP seems to have a WIDE range of prices in the reels mentioned, from $60 for the president all the way up to $200 for the patriarch and ci4... with that wid eof a range, i would take your rod into a tackle shop, and put each reel that you think you will like on the rod and choose the one that you like best.

all the normal reels mentioned on this board will likely work great for you. just comes down to a personal prefence, i have daiwas and pfluegers that run the same price range (excelers up to fuegos for daiwa, presidents up to patriarchs for pflueger) and i have yet to find one that has worked anything below flawlessly.

[RIK]

The Pflueger President and Daiwa Excelers are both really great bang for the buck reels. I have both and use the snot out of them. The Presidents are bullet proof as near as I can tell. The Supreme MGX is also very very solid, and still a $100 reel.

What price range you land on may depend on how you use your spinning reels. I'm a lock the drag and backreel guy, so drag performance - the one area where there's a noticeable performance difference in spinning reels once you get past the low budget models IMHO - doesn't mean much to me. If you rely more on your drag and are using light line where a jittery start-up may cause problems, going a little higher end may make sense to you. Most reels today have balanced rotors and decent bail assemblies so it's down to weight and drag and other personal preferences like handle knobs more or less. But, I'm not super picky about that stuff so your mileage may vary.

As far as size goes, that can depend on what you're using for line. For braid and mono, a smaller spool is fine, which cuts down on size/weight, but if you plan on using fluoro a slightly bigger spool diameter can make handling easier. If you're looking at reels with comparable size frames, a wider spool can work better with fluoro.

Really though, taking a rod into the tackle shop and seeing how reels feel is great advice. In the price range you're looking at, even at the floor with reels like the President, you'll find it hard to go wrong. JMHO, but the variability in quality and performance across the range of prices is a lot narrower with spinning reels than it is with casting reels.

[mitchct]

Based on the reels you mentioned, you would probably be very happy with the CI4 (2500 size) or the Patriarch (9535 size).

Agree on both recommendations (I think you would be fine with the Patriarch 9530, but 9535 works too).

As RIK mentions, the size that is "best for bass fishing" is a trade-off between line capacity, line type, and weight. The larger spools will handle flouro better (less loops/better line handling in general) and give you more runway to fight a striper but you pay the price in the amount of line you have to spool up and the overall weight. The compromise that works for me is the 2500-sized spools, but others will certainly have different opinions on this. FYI, the JDM reels typically offer shallow spool options.

[Smead]

Quantum Energys would either be 20 size for a medium light rod, 30 for medium.

Their newer reels have slightly changed numerical designation and capacities....but 25 size fo ML, 30 for medium. Rxo's are about the same, though they have a few sizes with greater line capacity.

The new Energy's, the "C's" aren't bad at all...better oscillation system.

http://www.quantumfishing.com/products/ ... o-PTi.aspx

The rainbow ones are the Energy "B's"...you should get them at a decent reduction from original cost.

Another super saver is the now out of production Pflueger Supreme...8000 series, magnesium frame and rotor and aluminum sideplate. Would be the 8035MG size most likely.

Are you saying that the "Supreme" or just the "8000" series is now out of production, or both?

Just that the Supreme 8000 series has been superceded by the 8200 series. Both should still be xxxxMG, though the capital "X" suffix denotes a old version in Pflueger nomenclature. Thus, the reel I recently bought was designated as a 8025MGX...the newer version would be 8225MG. Same with the Presidents...older ones are the 6700 series, newer ones are the 6900 series.

And those 8000 Supremes are a bargain, if you can find them...got mine for $68. There were a bunch available about a year ago...they have been steadilly drying up.

I'm not totally sold on the EXO, same concept as the Okuma Trio. The Smoke seems to get good reviews. Though the Energy "C" may be the real bargain. I've seen them listed as low as $106 shipped. It has essentially the same internal layout as the Smoke and EXO...which includes adopting the Shimano style guide rods for the oscillation cam.

The Catalyst "C" is essentially an old Energy "B" without the fancy finish. Given that, it makes sense to pay 80 bucks for a bass sized Energy "B", rather than a $120 Catalyst "C".

Seems like 2012 was a year for a lot of reel line changes...making some now out of production reels obtainable at a decent cost. Though this circumstance will end when the stocks are used up.

[Snyder Rods]

Out of the reels mentioned, I really like the Pfluegar Patriarch. I've been beating a 9530 to death for almost 2 years now, and just started fishing tournaments with it. I've probably caught over 500 largemouth with it up to 11lbs. and it's held up without a hitch.

It's smoother than the Supremes and the metal rotor + light weight make it more sensitive that the others too.

Something else you might want to add to your list before you buy... the Abu Orra and Revo series... these use a patented one-piece frame to keep the gears aligned and there are no side-plate screws to come loose or cause alignment problems - dual bushings/bearings in every location - very light rotors for smoothness even in the high gear ratio models... These are very refined reels for the price.

[lil_man72]

took a trip to bps and got a chance to handle a few reels. i'm leaning towards the pflueger reels, the supreme xt to be exact. i also found that the quantums also have the reel foot placed back farther than most like the pfluegers. the rod i tried them on seemed to fit the way i hold the rod/reel better with the reel sitting back farther.
how good of a reel is the quantum kinetic?
are there any other brands that has the reel foot shorter on the back side of the reel like these 2?

[finebar4]

I own a Patriarch 9530, a Revo PRM 20, a Shimano Sustain 2500FE, and just picked up a Daiwa Fuego 2500. I haven't fished the Daiwa yet, but rotated between the othe 3 all last summer. It is a real toss up between my Revo and my Patriarch. I am in a bit of a quandary myself as I want an ultra-light rig and can't make up my mind if it is going to be a Revo or Patriarch sitting on it. They both are incredibly smooth, light enough to cast all day, and both have great factory drags, the Revo comes with carbon drag washers. I use both primarily for trout as I live in CO, but both went on vacation to northern MI and landed large amounts of bass, walleye, and pike. I would say try a Revo before making a final decision, but I would lean to the Patriarch if you can't find one local to try out.

[Smead]

The Kinetics aren't that bad at all.

You'll find that Okuma reels have that same sort of reel foot.

[civicrr]

This might seem a little weird but I sold all my CI4 reels & now use the Stradic FJ series.

When the Stradic FJ series was introduced, I watched and read the ICAST propaganda. Of particular interest to me was the X-SHIP claim of making the reels not only more smooth but also more powerful. When they got into the shops, I checked them out & thought they were pretty smooth. Obviously, in a store, all you can do is hold it & spin the reel. I thought they were cool but not enough for me to start buying more reels. The TackleTour review http://tackletour.com/reviewshimanostradicfj.html, particularly the section on the 'retrieve' pushed me over the edge & I bought one to try. Once I got it on the water and actually fished it, I couldn't believe how smooth & balanced it felt. What was really incredible though was the power in the reel. You know how with a baitcaster, the reel makes it feel like you can just kind of winch them in. I've never had that feeling of such solid power with a spinning reel before.

After that first trip, I started selling my CI4 reels. I now have Stradic FJ's (2500) on all my spinning setups.

[Hogsticker2]

If you have a chance take the rod with you and start mounting some reels on it. Balance is a big deal so if you get that giddy feeling you've likely stumbled onto something. I forgot what tour gonna be tossing, but balance is even more critical when fishing light spinning gear.
Lots of reels to choose from. The Daiwa Fuego is great and should balance well with lighter finesse sticks. The Daiwa Procyon is a solid reel with another ounce of weight, but on the right rod you can find that magic balance point. A couple other really good reels I would look at are the Pflueger Supreme XT, and you want a workhourse that won't break the bank the President XT is an awesome reel at a very fair price.
I only run Pflueger and Daiwa on the last 3 spinning rods I own. I prefer the Daiwas for 2 reasons. The tubular air bail, and the bail does not have that audible click. The new Abu Garcia Revo SX looks like it may be a pretty slick reel.

[Hogsticker2]

Oh yeah, don't ever go with the smallest reel in the line up. It may be a touch lighter but you want a bigger spool that is still relatively light. For Daiwa reels the size 2000 works great if your running braid, def. the 2500 if your using fluoro.