So many choices….

[fish4942]

Hello everyone. I’m a noobie. No please, hold your applause.

I recently started fishing again this past spring and summer. I hadn’t really fished consistently since I was probably 9, 10, 11 years old. But once I started fishing again I immediately got addicted. I wanted to go every second I got. In fact, my brother texted me at work one day saying he was out fishing at a lake we had been going to lately. When I realized how close the lake was to my job, I started going fishing over my lunch hour every day…and on my way home from work every day. So now I keep at least 2 reels/rods in my trunk just in case I run across a pond or get the urge to drop a worm in the water real quick.

So anyway, along with my addiction to want to fish every minute of every day, I’ve develop this strange desire to check out fishing reels. I grew up on spincast, bobbers, nightcrawlers, corn, minnows, hotdogs, etc. So as luck would have it Cabela’s is right next door to my job. So I’d wonder in there once or twice a week eying the latest spincast combos. I started with the ultra cheapos, Cabela brand for like $16, then maybe a Zebco 202, just entry level stuff. I never did get real high on spincase level. My last spincase was a Daiwa from Bass Pro Shop. Nice solid piece. But one day I decided to purchase one of those $15 Shakespeare spinning reel combos from Wal-Mart just to try it out. After getting control of the unraveling line when first trying to tie on a lure while sitting in my car over lunch, and after retrieving the line several times from trees, power lines, and my neighbors gutter from practicing casting, I fell in love with the spinning reel.

Now my search is for the best baitcasting reel combo without paying Bill Dance / Jimmy Houston/ Roland Marting type of money for it began. So I’ve been to Cabelas (of course), Bass Pro Shop, sporting goods stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, anywhere reels are sold. So in doing so I’ve ran across more options than my brain can handle…at fairly reasonable prices. I’m talking in the $35-$50 range.

So I thought I’d get some opinions and suggestions. I have to add this disclaimer: I love fishing, but I’m not too serious when it comes to equipment. I’m not going to go out and spend more than $70-$80 at the most for a rod & reel combo. And I probably won’t spend that much until my birthday comes and my wife gets a nice combo for me. Trust, if I spend $70-$80 it’ll be like my prized possession even though some reels cost hundreds of dollars.

The combos I’m looking at are in that $35-$50 range. So I’d like to throw out some name brands and have you guys give your opinion on which one you’d get. I’m not going to go into a whole lot of detail as I’m sure you know what type of combo you can get for that amount of money. So I won’t go into the whole “it has 8 sterling silver ball bearing with 7.469 coefficient drag ratio at 4.21 PSI per crank with double clutch brake system…” mumble jumbo. Based on your experience or gut feeling what brand would you go with at the said price range:

Shimano
Quantum
Shakespeare
Daiwa
Cabelas series
Bass Pro Shop series
Pflueger
Abu Garcia