Fishing Reels Buyer Guide
Ok, there are other criteria to look at which are perhaps more specific. Notably: How is the reel perfoming in casting and retrieving ( how far can you reach when you cast the line? How precise can you be? Do casting and retrieving occur smoothly, silently? How many ball bearings?) How does the drag feel (how smooth, how precise is it when you turn the knob, cap) How is the end-user general handling or ergonomics (reel too big or small, difficult or easy to reach levers for your hands, break-away parts, quality of knob plastic, etc..?) and of course the durability, or how long can the reel last until breaking (how strong is the reel) But, let's say that money is a good filter to separate fishing reels and generally speaking, the more you pay the better the fish reel. Or stated otherwise, you get what you pay for. However, the risk of overspending for a mediocre reel is always present. So where is the best deal? Which reel is the top? Can I trust a tackle-shop owner advise? I learned on my own that to find a valid, honest feedback on a fishing reel is quite difficult if not impossible. On one side, often shop owners must sell what they have and are not independent, on the other side, the average fisherman cannot really judge the fishing reel in detail and will not go further than some general impressions. My 2 cents? Buy the cheapest reel you can find, use it for a while, and then buy a mid-range one. Like in Art, you cannot fully appreciated a masterpiece until you first see a bad painting. The money you lost with the first reel is the price for the lesson. Following is a buyer short list of the best fishing reels available today. In the attempt to further narrow the list I ticked the real good deals that I found from expert advises on the Internet. You can also visit my book and tackle store here to see and buy the same reels listed below! ..and don't forget to take care of your reels! Have a look at my reel maintenance page. ..puzzled by the odd terminology, ball-bearings, real gear ratio and so on? Here I explain them.
Up to $200, low-end rangeWhen I spoke to Marzio Giglio about bamboo construction he stressed the concept of tolerance (Marzio is a physicist): or how precise you can be in the fine detail. The same apply to fishing reels. In this price range, you can find excellent reels especially above the $130 but you need more attention. The tolerance of the internal gears is generally not as
high as in the higher-end reels, so probably here it will be difficult
to cast light lures at long distances. However, there are very good reels in this range, too. Here is a short list:
$200- $400, mid -rangequality, durability and performance are evident here. The materials are light, resistant, no plastic, the spool spin freely for a good length of time, the casting run smoothly, the ball bearings are high and the drag system is sophysticated.
$4000 and more, high-end rangeZero tolerance target here. No wobbling, funny noises, poor casting. Everything works smoothly, the materials are coming from the space-sciences (e.g. Titanium, special alloys etc..) even using micro-chips sometimes and the esthetics is sublime. The drag is very delicate, precise, smooth and runs like silk. The reels is like a perfect hand-mande watch you treasure. The only think you can try is to compare prices but is it really worth saving $20 on a $400+ reel? If you are used of a brand that you like, stay with them.
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I
am writing this fishing reels buyer guide from the easiest way anybody
can understand: the amount of money you must pay.