Over the past year or so in order to maintain my good standing with the AACB (Amalgamated Assn of Cheap Bastards for you newbies) I have conducted a study of sorts of inexpensive spinning reels.
My motivations (in addition to my AACB membership) were: A) indentify a good match for my backup UL rod - a 6'6" Berkley Lightening Rod - and B) identify a good match for my 30+ year-old 7' Daiwa Samurai. For the record, when I bought this rod in the late 80s-early 90s it wasn't a low end rod like Samurais are now - nor was it their top-of-the-line but it was and still is a really nice rod. I'd put it aside for a few years & decided to get it out & use it again.
The 1st reel I tried with the Daiwa was an old Abu Garcia (pre Pure Fishing) Cardinal 853. This was in its day an almost revolutionary reel although not as much so as the Abu Suveran - both were ahead of their time. It had dual rear drag knobs, a fast cast trigger & the spool spun backwards in order to deliver the line right to your finger. Very cool. Unfortunately it lacked (as did most spinning reels of the time) an instant anti-reverse. I tried it on the Samurai & while the feel & balance were as good as I remembered the reel was a disappointment.
So next I tried (on both rods) Shimano Siennas. I put a 2500 on the Samurai & a 500 on the Berkley. Both reels were incredibly smooth for cheapos but also felt incredibly unsubstantial. When I took them apart I was not at all surprised to find them full of plastic parts including some gears. Clearly a way to cut cost but not so good for longevity. They also cut costs by making the knobs out of cheap plastic that gets really slippery when wet. Oops.
My next acquisition was a Daiwa QR750 for the Berkley. WAY better than the Shimano. Smooth and much more substantial feeling. This is what I still have on it.
As for the Samurai, my next move was to an Abu Black Max 3000. Bad move. Not very smooth and heavy. Also 5.1:1 is just a bit too slow for retrieving buzzbaits and other lures requiring speed. Sure, I could crank faster but I'm an old man so give me a break.
Next up was a Lew's Speed Spin. Better than the Abu but again, too slow. My most recent acquisition was another Lew's - a Custom XP. Very smooth (I've always liked Lew's) and with a 6.2:1 gear ratio it's plenty fast & the 2000 size (yeah, I know it's small) is a good match for the rod. I caught 4 bass (almost 5 but the last one was a dink - when I set the hook it flew over my canoe & kept going) at Busse on Thursday. I've spooled it with 8lb Spiderwire - all-in-all I'm extremely satisfied with it.
I found that all of these reels came lacking sufficient lubrication. Maybe that's one way the manufacturers control cost. Shame on them. If you're in the market for an inexpensive spinning reel (to be safe let's say under $75) be sure to put some good grease on the spindle & some good reel oil on the ball bearings before use.
I've also learned that some manufacturers have eliminated the reverse switch on some of their reels. This is mostly true of Shimano & Abu on their higher-end models which means in effect, you get less for more. I really don't get this.
And one more thing. Somwhere along the way I acquired an Abu CD 2000 - the Korean made version of the Suveran. Interesting reel that shows some radical thinking on the part of Abu engineers. I bought it used on eBay. Unfortunately testing on the DPR showed that the gears were trashed so I returned it. I'd consider buying a Suveran if I could find one at a 'reasonable' price. Unfortunately collectors love them so if I bought one I'd lose my AACB membership.
So it goes.
My motivations (in addition to my AACB membership) were: A) indentify a good match for my backup UL rod - a 6'6" Berkley Lightening Rod - and B) identify a good match for my 30+ year-old 7' Daiwa Samurai. For the record, when I bought this rod in the late 80s-early 90s it wasn't a low end rod like Samurais are now - nor was it their top-of-the-line but it was and still is a really nice rod. I'd put it aside for a few years & decided to get it out & use it again.
The 1st reel I tried with the Daiwa was an old Abu Garcia (pre Pure Fishing) Cardinal 853. This was in its day an almost revolutionary reel although not as much so as the Abu Suveran - both were ahead of their time. It had dual rear drag knobs, a fast cast trigger & the spool spun backwards in order to deliver the line right to your finger. Very cool. Unfortunately it lacked (as did most spinning reels of the time) an instant anti-reverse. I tried it on the Samurai & while the feel & balance were as good as I remembered the reel was a disappointment.
So next I tried (on both rods) Shimano Siennas. I put a 2500 on the Samurai & a 500 on the Berkley. Both reels were incredibly smooth for cheapos but also felt incredibly unsubstantial. When I took them apart I was not at all surprised to find them full of plastic parts including some gears. Clearly a way to cut cost but not so good for longevity. They also cut costs by making the knobs out of cheap plastic that gets really slippery when wet. Oops.
My next acquisition was a Daiwa QR750 for the Berkley. WAY better than the Shimano. Smooth and much more substantial feeling. This is what I still have on it.
As for the Samurai, my next move was to an Abu Black Max 3000. Bad move. Not very smooth and heavy. Also 5.1:1 is just a bit too slow for retrieving buzzbaits and other lures requiring speed. Sure, I could crank faster but I'm an old man so give me a break.
Next up was a Lew's Speed Spin. Better than the Abu but again, too slow. My most recent acquisition was another Lew's - a Custom XP. Very smooth (I've always liked Lew's) and with a 6.2:1 gear ratio it's plenty fast & the 2000 size (yeah, I know it's small) is a good match for the rod. I caught 4 bass (almost 5 but the last one was a dink - when I set the hook it flew over my canoe & kept going) at Busse on Thursday. I've spooled it with 8lb Spiderwire - all-in-all I'm extremely satisfied with it.
I found that all of these reels came lacking sufficient lubrication. Maybe that's one way the manufacturers control cost. Shame on them. If you're in the market for an inexpensive spinning reel (to be safe let's say under $75) be sure to put some good grease on the spindle & some good reel oil on the ball bearings before use.
I've also learned that some manufacturers have eliminated the reverse switch on some of their reels. This is mostly true of Shimano & Abu on their higher-end models which means in effect, you get less for more. I really don't get this.
And one more thing. Somwhere along the way I acquired an Abu CD 2000 - the Korean made version of the Suveran. Interesting reel that shows some radical thinking on the part of Abu engineers. I bought it used on eBay. Unfortunately testing on the DPR showed that the gears were trashed so I returned it. I'd consider buying a Suveran if I could find one at a 'reasonable' price. Unfortunately collectors love them so if I bought one I'd lose my AACB membership.
So it goes.
