20 Best Vintage Spinning Reels (2022 Updated)

I just bought the Mitchell 300 C Spinning reel 8/28/21. It was a Birthday gift from Wife. I was born 9/6/60. My Father was a avid fisherman. He taught me. How to fish at 5 years old. I started my fishing life with a Zebco 202.

A hook a sinker and a bobber. Later moved up to a close faced Century combo. Till, I could learn the spinning combo in my early teens. My Father always fished with a Lew’s speed spool and a speed stick.

My favorite spinning combo was The Mitchell 300 from France. Spinning always worked for me. Never fish with anything else except the Zebco 33 and a pistol grip Ulgy Stick. I used all kinds of lures with The Mitchell over the years.

I eventually wore the Original 300 out. Just wasn’t fixable. So I went Meijer’s on a whim to see if they might have a Mitchell 300 C in the clam shell. Why, Yes they did. I was very happy with my purchase.

Put it on my 6’6 Spinning Ugly Stick rod from Shakespeare. Also Added 14 pd Berkley Fireline in Black. 6pd size. This turned out to be a great combo. Shawn.

This reel lasted me not even two seasons. That’s not much for a reel that’s this expensive. My old 320 lasted around 40 years and that model that the new 300 was to replace for me was nowhere near that expensive.

This reel is smooth, the drag is the best I’ve had and it is enjoyable to fish with. A little heavy for my taste but still acceptable. I do a lot of stream fishing. Many times while releasing a fish and standing in the stream, the reel will take a dunk/bath.

The anti-reverse clutch bearings are just plain steel and almost overnight, they rusted. It did not matter how much I cleaned, lubed after the fact I couldn’t get it to work properly and quietly. I ordered a replacement clutch from the Mitchell distributor in my area which was a frustration in itself.

Long story short, the reel still does not work properly so now I have the initial cost plus parts. I feel I shouldn’t need to be repairing a unit that is almost brand new by my standards. After checking online, there seems to be numerous brands that all seem to have issues and copy each others mistakes with these instant anti reverse pins.

It would take some convincing for me to look at another purchase like this. My backup reel – a Bass Pro Quick Draw – is almost as good at a fraction of the price and it has not had any issues.

Mitchell 300 reels really loud, sounds like junk. I’d prefer to email Mitchell privately and make some other arrangement but that doesn’t seem possible. ? Perhaps they could contact me. ? It’s my fourth, it’s my last.

Other fishermen commented on how loud this piece of sheet was. There was a time that I took pride in a Mitchell Reel.

I have one of these badass little reels filled up with 30lb powerpro. I use this reel every time I visit Florida for all of my inshore fishing needs. Snappers, snook, small tarpon, bonefish, redfish, making bait, spanish mackerel etc.

On the west coast I exclusively use it to throw light surface lures like waxwings and stickbaits to schoolie yellowtails and calico bass. I did one local half day trip out of Long Beach last year and landed 4 15-20 lb yellowtail on it.

The deckies were casting heavy irons and each got one but just couldn’t get the distance or accuracy to present to the breezing fish that I was able to with the light spinning gear. I had a sea lion grab one yellow by the tail and i fought him for it for about 15 minutes.

I got the fish back from him after another sea lion came up and bit the fishes face, they proceeded to fight each other as I cranked that yellow in across the surface as fast as I could. A couple holes in the head and a couple in the tail with the meat perfectly intact.

This little reel stood up to a 500+lb sea lion and didn’t skip a beat! Couldn’t ask for more, I disassembled the whole reel afterwards and I couldn’t see any wear marks on any of the gears or anything like that.

Put it back together and its still operating at 100%.

We fish in Alaska, one of the best places for testing durability endurance in power of any fishing reel. 6000 and 8000 are my favorite versatile fishing reels. Most of the time we use the same setup with 100 lb braided line.

130 lb spinning jigging Penn rod. Just changing lure and presentation allowed us to use for: jigging for monster halibut, cod and rockfish. Also we use it for trolling for Kings or silver salmon. It is much faster to drop fishing lure 5, 7 or 9 oz to 200 ft of water then conventional open face real.

Indirectly your lure action and presentation is 50% faster. Coolest thing about jigging for rockfish in Alaska, sometime School of king or silver w will show up and you can just cast, Target them directly around your boat just below surface.

Enjoy fishing it is great fishing reel.

I switched to Penn after using another brand for over 30 years. What attracted me to Penn was the website (excellent product information) and the value for the money Penn reels deliver. My first Penn was the Fierce III liveliner, I quickly followed up with the Battle II for my other rods.

I fish only freshwater, great lakes salmonid species and used the Battle II on my rods for pier fishing with spoons. The Battle II has performed extremely well for me, the HT-100 drag system is extremely smooth and more than capable of handling the quick long runs of salmonid species.

The reel is well made with an all metal construction and is very durable with a smooth retrieve when casting my favorite spoons. The line capacity rings are a great feature, when I first spooled the reel with line I over filled the spool not understanding how the capacity rings worked.

I had as a result a few tangles occur when I cast, once I realized my error and removed the excess line filling the spool to only the last ring, I have had no issues with casting this reel. The 4000 model has plenty of capacity for 10 lb line (over 200 yards) which I require when pier fishing for salmonids.

In summary a high performance reel for a very reasonable price.

I grew up fishing freshwater with a spinning reel in my hands, and for 3 decades I have purchased/used all manner of spin outfits. When you walk up to the reel counter at any retailer there is one reel company that immediately stands out from all others to the discriminating consumer, Pflueger.

Their family of reels at reasonable price points like the Supreme and Supreme XT come out of the box with the butter smoothness only a Pflueger does, a beautifully crisp bail, lightweight, perfectly balanced/zero wobble rotor, all in addition to a design and look that is like a sports car in a lot full of mini vans which make the purchasing decision a no-brainer.

that said… I have now been burned by my third and last Pflueger. As I have recently come to learn it is fairly well known that the upper end Pfluegers like the Supreme (but not limited to) are subject to a flawed anti-reverse.

This feature will randomly fail (in any temperature) as my fishing partner and I have both experienced with our Supremes as well as the XT, and of course this usually happens when fighting fish. If that weren’t bad enough, the other day when reeling on a modest sized fish the drive gear on my newest Supreme temporarily disengaged from the pinion gear which of course caused the handle to momentarily stop working.

Once I got home I took the body cover off hoping to find a non-design related and therefore simple fix for this occurrence, which I am very sorry to say was not the case. Over the course of another 2 or 3 outings this irreparable problem has only gotten worse and worse, and I am afraid this reel has been reduced to a $100 paper weight.

I would add that this specific Supreme has only seen 2 seasons of moderate use before this issue and I am one who takes care of my gear. I do not claim to be any expert on the reason or reasons for these problems, however with what I have read it would appear that these issues are likely due to the very cutting edge magnesium parts that Pflueger champions in this reel, which may reduce weight but in this case drastically compromises reliability.

As a lifelong Pflueger customer I am more than just disappointed by these short-comings, the design failures I have mentioned are not acceptable for a reel that retails for $100 (or more), especially one with the reputation that precedes the name ‘Pflueger’ amongst anglers.

For that reason I have chosen to give them the lowest rating of one star and to take the time to write this review. To those reading this, DO NOT BUY A PFLUEGER if you care about reliability in your next fishing reel.

Pflueger, you broke my heart for the last time.

1st off I bought this supreme over a decade ago. I’ve never owned any pflueger product until that day. Pls read all of this review. I tend to buy high end gear. This seemed to be good quality at a good price.

Smooth n precise like my other $200+ reels. This rod/reel combo stays in my truck bed (which is usually dirty from using it) from spring till late fall for quick after work fishing trips. It was retrieved from the muddy bottom of a pond.

Was left outdoors an entire New England winter. Pulled from a sand dune ( I live on the ocean). And just two weeks ago submerged in ocean water for a whole day (my basement flooded with 3. 5′ of salt water).

To say I abused this reel is an understatement. It’s been violated in every way my other gear has not. This reel works n works good to this day as I’ve cleaned n lubed it every few seasons. Is it smooth n precise like before? Nope.

Does it work reliably? You bet ur butt. I’ve owned every reel imaginable on many different boats. it’s outlasted all 3 trucks it lived in. Has outlasted 3 rods. This has easily been the best reel I’ve owned.

And for the money? No brainer.

Absolutely love this reel. It is so light, when I received it, I thought the box was empty! Really good flow from open bail to closure and has a good line retrieval system. I look forward to many years of fun with this reel.

I bought a 3000 over 3 years ago and shortly after that bought a 2500. I’ve caught everything under the sun on them from dinky croakers in the surf to 25” stripers with plenty of 20+ inch trout and upper slot redfish in between.

The biggest thing I like about this reel is the durability. I’ve owned several shimanos in the same price range and none of them have lasted me as long as these bgs. The drag adjustment is up there with reels 200$ above its class.

I’ve dunked it in saltwater on a few occasions and just made sure to take the spool off when rinsing it off and had no issues. All around great reel. 2500 pairs well with my fenwick hmg medium light and 3000 does great on my fenwick hmg medium.

I’ve swapped with a friends Penn battle which fits in the same class and price range I preferred the bg and he was regretting his brand new purchase of the battle.

I live on the coast of Georgia and fish for everything from speckled seatrout to 250 lb blacktip sharks. This reel handled our East Coast Snapper season very well easily bringing up large red snapper off the bottom some 90 feet down and a couple of cobia.

I loaded the reel with 80lb braid and attached to a heavy duty Daiwa rod. I bought this reel to replace a Daiwa of similar size for casting to sharks and tarpon. I’m confident I’ll be able to use this reel for years to come.

Handle will switch from left to right.

Amazing spool for an incredible price! The body is well made, it is not overly heavy, and it reels so smooth. Handle is ambidextrous. Wonderful value at its price point. I got the BG5000 for my 10’ surf rod and I would definitely recommend this product in any of its sizes.

Note: you must flip the bail down after casting as turning the handle will not flip it down for you. This wasn’t that big of a deal to me as it’s supposed to be better to manually flip the bail anyways!.

Bought this reel from Amazon in August and have used it several times. Today while fishing with it, the screw that holds the bail on fell out during a cast. I was shore fishing and was able to pull the line in by hand.

The problem was that the screw and all of the other pieces fell into the grass. I found most of the pieces and was able to put it back together when i returned home and could look up the diagram online.

I checked all of the other screws on the reel and found some of them to be loose as well. I have been fishing for a lot of years and have never had this happen, even on cheaper reels. Buyers beware!.

I had ordered a rod/reel combo from another company. I received the rod (which is just what I wanted!) but no reel. The invoice said out of stock and the money refunded. (translation: tough luck). I saw this Pflueger President reel at the Guide, and decided to give it a try.

Got it in just a few days. I mounted it on the rod and it was a perfect balance. Taking it fishing a few days later, I could not believe the smoothness of operation and the ease at which the drag worked.

Lucky for me I DIDN’T get the original reel I wanted.

I’ve been a baitcaster my whole life. I’ve tried spinning setups a few times over the years but they never felt quite right for me and I’d end up returning them. In the last couple months, I got the bug to try it again with all the talk of finesse fishing, so I tried a few Lew’s and Shimano spinning reels in varying price points just because I was more familiar with the brands, but nothing felt quite right again and I came close to deciding AGAIN that spinning setups weren’t for me.

As a last ditch effort, I tried the Pflueger President based on the passionate recommendation of another angler. Most of my baitcasters are in the $200+ range, so I was worried I wasn’t spending enough, but I tentatively accepted his advice because he he was just so confident in this reel and had the same experience as I did with other reels.

This reel changed my mind and I am officially, and finally, a spinning rod guy. I love this reel. I’m not experienced enough with them yet to pretend I know the intricate differences between the other reels and this one, I just know this one felt better than the rest and it was much easier to get this reel to do what I wanted it to do.

Less tangles, snappier functions, and better looks to top it all off. I mightsay something like, “the quality is great for the price,” but really its just great quality regardless of price. Maybe one day I’ll figure out why I’d need to spend more money on a “better” reel, but for now I can’t imagine that I’ll ever need anything better than this.

If you’ve had the same experience as I did with other brands, don’t give up before you try this reel. It changed my mind and I’m betting it will change yours too.

I’ve got a Sahara C3000 spooled with 20lb Nomad Panderra, maybe 150 yds. I don’t remember exactly how much got on the spool. This reel was smooth out of the box, but after using it for 3 months, and I use it 4 days a week, it has gotten smooth as silk.

I could not be happier. The drag is so smooth. Whether I’ve got a Crappie, Bass, or a 10 lb Catfish, the drag is smooth. The retrieve is Shimano quality. I’ve never turned the handle on a Shimano I didn’t like.

I can’t believe I got this quality at this price point.

i have had a lot of reels fishing for over 55 years specks, red fish in the hopedale area louisana, The reel is smooth , cast a long distance, and with 30lb. power pro line , have landed 30lb red fish.

More then i have ever expected from a reel,.

Shimano has always been my reel of choice. I’ve bought $20 shimano reels that have held up over the years and have caught some nice fish too. So I was expecting the best with the Sahara. Shimano did not fail.

The reel not only looks great it performs as well. It casts a country mile and is smooth as heck. My expectations were met with this reel, well done shimano.

Purchased 2 of these reels thinking the combination of stainless gear and brass pinion would be good. After a small GT (8 – 10kg) one reels gear set got sloppy (backlash) and rough. Gears were replaced under warranty.

Placed new gears in unit and after another small GT of about 12kg gears are rough and sloppy again. The second reel has not caught a fish yet and the gears are already rough just from pulling poppers.

I read a review online about the material in the gear set being backwards, stainless gear, brass pinion. Then a longtime engineer friend verified the same thing saying that the pinion should be stainless as it take all the torque.

If you plan to use these reels for hard pulling fish, or larger poppers, I say stay away. I am going to look into returning mine. I wasted my money. Just read on Alan Hawk’s website that Quantum has discontinued making this reel.

This is my 4th Cabo reel, in a range of sizes from use for inshore flounder, deeper wrecks, and Surf. They are amazing tools for fighting any species On the mid- Atlantic coast. Drag is strong AND smooth.

Do yourself a favor and try one!.

This is my go to spinning reel for all my local fishing needs. Its smooth, lightweight and powerful. Ive tamed some big fish including a 39# Chinook Salmon, 36# Striped Bass and most recently a 50# California Halibut.

Its a durable beast packed with a lot of quality features and I highly recommend it. You wont be disappointed.

I’ve had a number of Mitchell 300’s in the distant past when they were made in France and loved them. Lately, I bought one of their new age ones at the Walmart for about $50. It looked good and seemed to work good until I spooled it with braided line.

I kept getting knots in my line, and at first, I blamed it on the cheaper line, but when I put the same line on my Daiwa capricorn, it did not knot up at all ! Well, that told me something. you get what you pay for.

I’ll be putting my new Mitchell 300 in storage and will save it as a souvenier! It sure didnt work as well as the vintage ones which I had purchased many years ago.

I got out my old Daiwa’s and decided to get back into fresh water fishing. They are the typical $29. 99 variety with a $19. 99 pole. After cleaning them up, and checking them out, the handles were wobbly and the operations are a little rough.

I thought its time for a “Real” outfit. I paired up the Mitchell 300 with an Ugly Stik. Yes, it is a Chinese Mithchell, as is the Chinese Ugly Stik and my Chinese Schwinn, and my Chinese Buck knives.

Still, all are a great quality. I can not hear the reel winding at all when I crank the handle, silent operation. The others seem to make a little noise going round and round. I thought the bail was a little stiff to close until I tried my others.

You just can’t be to dainty with it. A good crank closes it fine. This reel definitely shadows over the others. Until the end of May there is a $10 rebate on the reel, so it really is not much more cost than my cheapos.

I cant wait to get it to the lake.

Came for 2 days in Moscow, ordered from the Russian warehouse. The coil is made neatly, the stroke is smooth. Winding the fishing line so-so (in the photo re 2. 5). The size of the coil seemed too small, took 4000, and looks 2500, if on the dive.

The roller of the storekeeper was twitched and did not rotate, it is necessary to loosen the screw. The coil took 110-130mm for the wobblers. The balance at the spinning with the coil is good. In general, the coil of its money is worth.

Seller recommend! I recommend to the seller to add a spare spool in the kit!.

Visual comparison between KastKing Speed Demon 3000 and SeaKnight WR3 4000 which are good and completely different in their details. The Deamon is producing a little bit more noise than WR3 against theirs speed ratio.

I like them both and hope they will last forever. The Deamon is elegant and looks amazing! I hope to have a chance for a spare spool. The reel was packed perfectly and shipped fast. Thank You!.

I was looking for real with a faster retrieve and after looking at the reviews I decided to try this thing out in fact I bought two of them because the reviews were they good. I am 100% please with these rules about two of the 2000 series and they do not disappoint I landed fish on each of them.

It gets them in fast and should increase your ability to cast further. It did for me. I almost fit a whole 300 yard spool of 4lb.

The new Z is the same quality product that made the originals legends in the surf. On the outside, the full metal body with graphite sideplate are tough as nails. Inside, the machined brass main gear and stainless steel pinion gear smoothly drive the rotor around the anodized large line capacity aluminum spool.

The HT100™ carbon fiber drag washers let you confidently apply smooth, powerful pressure when you’re leaning on a big fish. The ease of use, simplicity of design, and overall “fishability” of the product is what makes it a great investment.

It can take a beating and still deliver a champion performance, plus it is easy to service and keep clean. With its classic lines and recognizibility, you’ll get an envious glance from any fisherman who recognizes the true value of a reel that can produce decades of fishing excitement under practically any condition that you’d be willing to stand out in and cast a line.

A bit more suited to be fished with bait because of its 23. 5 oz weight and somewhat slower retrieval, it can be totally at home slinging artificials from a beach, pier or jetty. When I was fortunate enough to take part in field testing the 704Z before Penn re-introduced the line, I felt like I was part of something bigger than just testing a “new” fishing reel.

I was a part of fishing history come back to life and had the opportunity to make even more of it using one of the great reels made by Penn.

Most consider it a poor man’s Van Staal. I wouldn’t purposely dunk it, but I’ve had to on occasion. ( I underestimated the depth of the water during a short walk between rocks. ) A little preventative maintenance is all you really need, along with possibly a bi yearly degreasing’ cleaning and re-greasing of the cavity.

It’s a great first bailess reel for someone learning the technique. It pairs great with a rod from 9 to 11 feet. And is not so heavy to make it a real wrist killer. Most of my fishing situations require a lot of power to turn a fish from deep heavy currents.

I’ve had no problems in it’s first few sessions in the surf, jettisoned or canals in the Northeast. Just don’t try swimming with it.

So glad Penn reintroduced this series because of my personal experience. When my Dad retired, his company gave him a beautiful Penn rod and reel surf casting set because my Dad announced he was moving to Florida.

I was envious. I know of Penn’s reputation but I didn’t think I could afford the “luxury” of such a fine reel. A few years later, I moved to Florida, too. My Dad had only used the rig about 3 or 4 times but he didn’t take care of it.

When my Dad offered to give me the set, I jumped for joy! I have always loved Penn products for their reputation for quality. That was in 1982. I cleaned the reel and took it out right away. It ran like a top! I caught redfish, trout, snook, sea bass and ungodly amounts of sailcats.

I hate sailcats! I’d rinse the reel in fresh water after each trip but that’s about all I did to maintain it. In 1986, my son was born. As he grew, he and I fished often and that rod and reel have seen many happy years of service.

Of course, we’ve also bought many other Penn products since. Today, 34 years later, I am proud to say I still own that rod and reel – and it still functions flawlessly to this day. I’ve had it professionally serviced exactly one time in 1999! And that was only due to it being stored for many years in a hot garage.

The reputation for quality Penn has earned isn’t due to slick ads or marketing hyperbole, it’s in the build quality, the design and attention to detail. I have 3 generations of fisherman and a lot of smiles to prove it.

I got the 500 size reel. It has been a solid ultralight reel for catching Crappie and small Largemouth Bass. Drag system works great, but there is not as much control as I would wish. The handle and bail will continue to move in the 12 o’clock position when let go.

This thing runs circles around every budget combo reel I’ve used though.

This is my second and last Shimano reel. I reluctantly purchased this reel for crappie fishing. About every third cast the bail will clise while casting. This is very frustrating and it destroys the soft plastic jigs that I am using.

Going to return this reel tomorrow and never look back.

the Lew’s Light Speed 75 is entire leagues above this pile of junk. this Sienna is inferior in every single way imaginable. just watch youtube reviews if you have any doubts. The fanboys will hail these as the best, i doubt they’ve even used a quality spinner before.

I consider myself a value shopper, especially with outdoor gear. I firmly believe that there is some very good value items that are under priced in relationship to their performance, this reel is not one of them.

I used this to put on a NOS Mitchell Spidercast rod I have been saving and I set it up for Crappie fishing with a slip bobber. after the first couple large Crappie went in the box I noticed that the main bearings in the crank were already loose, tried tightening the screw and no more adjustment was left.

I figured if this is how it acted first time out, only bad things were in the future, returned it and bought a Pfleuger Trion G7, just like the one I have fished for years and caught hundreds of Walleye on.

The bearings on my old Trion are still as tight today as they were in 2003 when I bought it.

My 2nd one; the only negative is the part called the body. It is made of a fiber & I couldnt seem to repair it. Otherwise, it is a real good little spinning real.

The fishing reels arrived in nice shape – hard to tell they have been used. While not having used them to fish yet, all I can say is the action is smooth.

I am usually conventional reel guy in west coast. Wasnt sure about spinning reel. But contrary to my initial bias, it had more than ebough stopping power for yellowtail and smooth drag all the way through.

Very impressed. Given less hassel of casting and with better casting distance with my older version of terez, i would highly recommend this reel.

Otto’s Tackle World got the reel to me reel fast! A great reel that can handle #200 GT’s, yellowfin, and others. I ordered a Phoenix Megalodon Rod from Tackle Direct to pair with the reel and found a reasonably priced extra spool at Samurai Tackle.

I like the fact that I can quickly change from #60 to #100 JB Line One hollow core. The spool is pricey, but includes the entire drag system capable of #55!.

Received items in good condition on 24 Oct’17. Label printed on spool as SW14000. Printed on the bottom handle as SW14000XG-B. Ordered Stella 14000 SWB XG. Just concern why the inconsistency in the product ID.

Are they the same? I hope the product is as per advertised. Could FTS clarify on this. Haven’t tested yet. Thanks.

I was a big fan of the reel out of the gate, excelent value for the price. However, it took less than a year of light use for this reel to defect. I figured a well known, reputable company like Pflueger would stand behind their product.

I was wrong. I contacted Pflueger about the issue and they were able to diagnose the issue over email and later a phone call, stating there was likely an issue with the oscillation gear. I was unable to produce a recept reflecting that this reel is less than a year old.

(I get it, I should have kept it but come on. ). They let me know that they could fix it for a service fee not including shipping and taxes. The cost of this fee, taxes and shipping adds up to over half of what the reel cost initally.

I would rather put that toward a reel that actually works. BUYER BEWARE. Stop supporting companies that wont support you when their product fails. This is the last thing I will ever buy from Pflueger.

I want a refund.

I bought this reel on the suggestion of a guy in the sporting goods store that I was shopping in about a year ago. I’ve only used it once in salt water and then took it home and rinsed it off. The next time that I went to use it, the handle felt like it was turning in sand.

I took it apart to try to clean it and didn’t realize that there is a very small spring attached to the lever that allows the reel handle to turn forward and backward. It came off when I was disassembling the reel and now I can’t find it.

Not sure what Pflueger will do for me since it’s been more than a year since I bought it but very light usage over that time. Very disappointed in how quickly it failed after only one saltwater use.

I have the size 20. For 30 bucks it is very smooth and the drag works well enough that I landed a 3 lb bass (for a size 20 reel, that’s doing pretty good) One big problem. A couple times per outing I will have to (very carefully) pull the line out from the roller because it is caught in the groove.

This will put a small abrasion on the line every time and I end up with a spool full of damaged line. Have seen similar reviews so I know its a design flaw. I notice there is also about a 1/8th inch gap between where the reel handle meets the frame.

This hasnt caused any issues yet but could likely lead to sand or dirt getting in there. My dads president xt has the same gap, should be sealed flush!.

I purchased this reel primarily for the size. I like a big reel for the grip and significant ease in retrieval when I have a real angry 25-30 lb salmon fighting me. Summation , I bank fish 75% of the time.

Overall, a nice, smooth, and great casting reel. I am going to give this a shot on steelhead soon. Ya it’s like towing a 2 door Nissan car using a Semi truck. Due to its size it takes just a pinch of time to dial the reel in to cast & retreive.

Compared to my Okuma Ceymar C65 the Penn is just a bit better in my very large hands. I am going to buy the Penn Penn Battle III BTL II 8000 in a week. Any suggestions are welcome.

I bought this reel about a year and a half ago, within in the first months of owning it a relative used it to catch his balance in the surf – full of sand and saltwater. I had to do a total clean and rebuild; it is my go to reel for bluefish and Spanish Mackerel- you would never know it was dunked!!! So glad I bought it, high speed model is perfect for keeping lures in the strike zone when the rip is high.

Buy one, buy two you won’t regret it!.

I don’t know any other reel on the market that picks up line nearly as fast as the HS Clash. No spinning reels in the fresh water market either. This reel is an all around quality reel that fills a niche when you need to move a lure quickly.

Don’t dunk it in the salt and you’ll be fine with basic rinse & clean. Thank you Tackle Direct and Penn!.

I was excited about getting this new liitle reel, I have the older Model and love it. I use it for ice fishing and creek trout fishing with 4# braid, unfortunately when you cast and then close the bail the line fails to make it to the roller and gets hung up on the arm.

Never had this issue before but, its very frustrating, build and drag is as expected from Shimano but, this issue should be addressed. Looks like the larger sizes have no issues but the 500 does. Ended up using it for ice fishing with light flouro were line management is much easier.

I already use this reel myself and have now bought another as a gift for a friend. Would definitely recommend.

Great real. Nice smooth drag, infinite anti-reverse, smooth bail closure. It has it all. I own five or six of these and they are awesome.

Very beautiful aesthetically, soft, precise with very good rear brake, perfect for squid fishing for me, compact balanced with a 2.40 rod and perfect total weight

I have used Zebco Quantum reels for many, many years. For the price the quality of these reels are hard to beat. I am still using two Zebco Quantum Snapshot SX reels from the mid 90’s that still work like new! I bought the Quantum Optix OP60F to add to a Diawa Sealine graphite rod for heavy fresh/light saltwater fishing.

I also like the off set handle on the older Optix reels better then the straight handles on newer ones. The fact that these reels also look good is a plus as well. I also bought two Quantum Optix OP80F reels to outfit my medium heavy saltwater rods.

For the money, you can’t go wrong with any Zebco Quantum reel.

First one I owned I liked alot. Handle broke due to borrowing it to a buddy and got misused. Purchased 2 more thinking they would be same great quality for such a low price tag. They work fine but when fighting large fish the drag would seam rather inconsistent.

A couple of turns on the drag adjustment would either make almost no adjustment or lock the drag up almost too tight. But at the end of the day, I have landed some huge fish (sturgeon) with these reels.

I would recommend for a starter reel or back up. But they are not my go too. These are strictly on my loner poles for when someone new is in the boat.

Walked into walmart to buy the size 40 reel and the only one in store was opened, taped shut, and clearly missing a screw so I ended up grabbing the 60 since I was planning to put it on a medium-heavy rod anyway.

The foot size is massively different on the 60 and doesn’t fit in the reel seat quite right, causing the cork to crack as it turned around the foot that didn’t sit flush. I can glue the cork and at $25 I can file down the reel foot and not worry about it.

Wish it had a reverse switch, but all-in-all I’m happy with a 4 bearing reel of this size for what I paid. I’m sure it will handle the biggest fish the great lakes can throw at me.

Just received this Shimano Socorro 8000 sw reel. What a beast! Living in Michigan, the salt water aspect of this reel isn’t really necessary for me, but I like that it’s sealed and is of heavy duty construction.

I purchased this for catfishing, we do have some pretty ginormous catfish up here and sometimes they pull like a truck, then they will lay on bottom. Well you need something heavy duty to pull them up and land them.

This Shimano Socorro 8000 has been paired with an eagleclaw crafted glass 8’0″ MH spinning rod and 20# big game monofilament. Definitely gonna be purchasing another for an even heavier rod I have. I have always used and trusted Shimano reels almost exclusively, their quality imo, has always been top notch!.

I can’t say enough good things about this reel. I’ve owned nothing but Penns and figured I’d give Shimano a try. This reel is so smooth it not only impressed me, it impressed the fish. Excellent drag, casting is wonderful and if your into throwing lures this thing will not tired you out.

I was sceptical when buying it but landing 40″ plus reds and 35″ plus snook on this reel makes a world of difference vs penn. I’ll be buying another smaller version, currently have the 8000 and all my Penns can collect dust.

Making the switch to Shimano. Plus the $120 some odd dollars I spent thought it would feel cheap. Not at all. I can’t even say a bad thing about it.

Once the reel was ordered it was only a matter of days before it arrived. It was well packed and protected and was all that I was told. Can’t wait to test fire it. The body is very sleek compared to others and it is smooth as silk, it feels strong.

Thanks again fellas.

When I retired I knew I would spend a lot more time fishing and I wanted to treat myself to a really great reel. I go after a lot of panfish and find 2 lb line and a smooth drag makes it more fun and productive.

A really light reel makes the tackle better balanced, and after a lot of research decided on the Patriarch in the 25X size. My first experience with the reel was all I was hoping for. The light weight, very smooth and widely adjustable drag, retrieve speed, and slow spool oscillation worked perfectly and I was a happy camper.

Then, one day on a local pond, the bail no longer would automatically close when I started my retrieve. I finished the morning manually closing the bail and headed home. Being a retired product design engineer it is not in my nature to pack something up and send it in for repair, I want to know what has gone wrong.

Opening the reel I quickly found that the screw that secures the bail return ramp casting had backed out. I put the screw back in, closed things up, and resumed using the reel. After a fair bit of use, the same failure happened again.

This time when I opened the reel the same screw was loose, and now the ramp had developed a small crack where the screw goes through. I did not over-tighten anything, and view the design as inadequate for the service it is called upon to provide.

Screw replaced, back in service, another period of time, and it has happened again. I can’t readily use a thread lock because of the heavy lubrication presence. It’s back together, but I expect another failure.

I really find it inexcusable to have a problem like this with a $200 reel. Out of all I own, this is the only reel that has failed me while fishing. I’m ready to give up on it, but maybe I should try factory repair to try and salvage some of my investment.

I’m afraid I will never trust the reel again, and that’s sad because without the failures this is a really nice piece of gear.

Bought (2) 9525 reels over the last year or so. The lightest reel that I can find for the price. I pair them both with Cumara rods and absolutely love the feel. I have broken one of the handles and paid for replacement.

I think this is an issue judging by other reviews. I also had a simple spring come loose on same reel. I tried to repair myself but ended up sending to Pflueger; their service department repaired and returned the reel for free.

I was amazed honestly. 5 star service. I was expecting to pay a decent amount for sending in a half assembled reel. If you avoid banging the reels around you should be ok. The reel itself is a dream to fish with.

I purchased the 9525 Patriarch about four years ago and it was my go to panfishing reel. Then about a month ago it started binding up when playing a fish and I noticed that there was excessive side play in the main shaft.

I sent it back to the repair center and they repaired it, but the excessive side play was still there. I called the service department and after review of the repair they replaced the reel. That is top notch service in my book.

I realize that any mechanical device can and will fail from time to time and does not always reflect the quality of the overall product. But it is the quality of the companies customer service that speaks loudly of the overall quality and integrity off a company, and Pflueger customer service is top notch.