I have never fished saltwater, but plan to make several trips a year now that I have a suitable boat for it. I would like to get some dedicated saltwater reels so that I don't destroy my good reels in the saltwater. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I would like something dependable. I have no preference on spinning or baitcasting. What would you recommend?

Do you have an 'educated thumb', or would you need a levelwind?

I've been doing the same for a few years now...bought two Penn battles and they both locked up, I was shocked just a few waves in the surf and it was over. The next year I bought a couple of Shimano Sedonas on sale, we abused the heck out of them, they went under the water alot and all I've done is rinse them with fresh water.for bait casters I've been picking up old Shimano curados and Calcuttas. The salt has been calling me for years, I just can't go as much as I want. It's been a huge learning curve for me.

http://alanhawk.com/ has excellent reel reviews. Check that first.

I would prefer a levelwind.

And if any reel goes under the water, it needs to be completely taken down and cleaned. those penn battles will last a long time, but all the saltwater reels, if dunked, will still succumb to the corrosive effects of the salt. If all you get on a reel is a little salt spray, then you're ok to just rinse with fresh water.

for bait casters, Lews reels have been putting a lot of effort into making better components, They have a specific inshore model, and the higher end ones like the BB1 pro also have help up well. Shimano Chronarchs before the current version held up for a long time, 13 fishing Concept C is a good reel, and Abu's Revo STX held up well for me as well. The old green Currodo 100 / 200 b is the long standing standard. have one rebuilt and it will last you decades. I still have one as a back up.

If you are coming from bass fishing you'll probably want to through a bait caster for specs, reds, and flounder. If you want to fish the beach for bigger game - Bull reds, sharks, etc. then a long rod with a suitable sized egg beater is a good choice for that. You CAN catch bull reds in the boat with casting reel inshore gear.

Hi guys, I have the same question and have been doing some research on my own but I wanted to get the groups input on what I've decided for my budget. I prefer spinning reels and I would be targeting red and trouts in the bay or jetty/surf just depending on my options at the time.

I've read that St Croix makes good rods and I was going to match the following with an Okuma Trio High Speed. I haven't heard many people in this group talk much about Okuma but the web seems to think there are some good reels being made. Let me know what your thoughts are.

MODEL LGTH. PWR. ACTION PCS. LINE WT. LURE WT. ROD WT. (OZ.) HANDLE PRICE
MIS70MF 7' M Fast 1 8 - 17 3/8 - 3/4 4.9 1 $ 130



Reel Model Line Capacity (yds./ lb. test) Gear Ratio Bearings Weight (oz.) Max. Drag (lbs.) Line Recovery Inches/ Turn
TRIO40S 190/10 6.0:1 9+1 10.8 20 34
1
Regular Price: $84.99
In Stock

If all you plan to fish for is trout, reds and flounder (or whiting, etc) then any basic casting reel or spinning reel will work (unless you target bull reds). Heck, my cousin using spincast, lol. Anyway, as mentioned above, a reel taking a complete dunking will need thorough cleaning, it doesn't matter which reel you use. Otherwise, a good rinsing in fresh water each day is fine. Don't forget to rinse off the rod as well. I do have a Penn Fierce that I've used offshore, worked great, just rinse at the end of the day. I use my old Curado 200's and Shimano spinning reels inshore, bays, surf. I will ramp up to an Ambassadeur 5500 or Shimano Corsair if I need longer casts on the jetties, those 2 work well for bull reds due to higher line capacity.

I've been living on the Texas Gulf Coast since 1982, and have fished the Galveston bay area's for a very long time. My favorite reels are Abu's, and Penn's. I use Abu 5500's, 6500's, 7000's, and a 10000CL. The 5500's, and 6500's get used a lot. I use them mostly for throwing lures, live shrimp under popping corks, and live bait or dead bait on the bottom from a boat or wading. The 7000's are on surf rods, and get used in the surf or from piers fishing dead bait mostly. The big 10000 is my go to for large bull reds, and big uglies. These Abu's are all Swedish made. I take care of them after each trip by rinsing, and wiping. They get cleaned and oiled usually twice a year, and I do the work myself. They're very easy to work on. I got all of them off of Ebay, or from pawn shops. I've upgraded a few with additional bearings, ceramic pawls, carbontex drags. You won't find tougher reels than Abu's in their price range.

My Penns are all USA made. I won't use any china made ones. My favorites are Penn 704Z's. I converted them to bailess, and use braid on them. They are tough as nails, easy to take apart and work on, and are SIMPLE. They will NOT fail you. With the carbon drags in them and braid they'll haul in some impressive fish. I've got one on a 7' Ugly Stick Tiger rod, and have caught some really large bull reds and huge drum with that rig. I've got one on a surf rod, and have done well with it. They cast well, and will take a little bit of a dunking. You just have to pop the side plate off, take the spool off, clean them, lube, and put them back together. They are super simple to work on. And, they LAST. You can buy new 704Z's, as Penn brought them back by popular demand. I don't though. I got mine all off of Ebay, and found them like new and cheap. I also run some Penn 710's, the greenies. I use them for lures or free shrimping. They are bullet proof as well. While I don't currently have one, I'd also recommend a Penn 706. The 706 is a bailess model and holds a large amount of line. They are great for the surf. In my Penn line up I also have a USA made 320GTI, 345GTI, and a 113H. Those three are on heavy duty Ugly Stick Tiger Rods or Heavy action Ugly stick boat rods. They're fill with heavy line, and get used mostly for soaking bait after small to medium sharks. They too are easy to work on, and bullet proof. I have most of my 5500's, and 6500's, on Ugly Stick lite inshore models at 7'. The bigger ones are usually on Ugly Stick tigers or Ugly Stick surf rods. As you can probably tell, I'm a fan of Ugly Sticks. They too are pretty much bullet proof. I've destroyed many Castaways, Allstars, and other expensive light weight rods. I can't stand spending money, and watching the equipment fail. So, I buy simple, tough, easy to work on equipment that lasts.

I've used several of the low profile reels that Abu puts out, and nearly destroyed several. They didn't last for me. The ones that were still good, got sold off. I won't use any china made reels save for one, and that would be the H2O Mettle from Academy. I've had a few of those, and they all did well for me. I never had any issues with them. They cast great with light baits. And, I've reeled in some pretty good fish with them. I've never been much of a Shimano fan, although my fishing partners love them. And, you can't go wrong with Shimano Curado's, or Calcuta's.

That's pretty much my line up. I'v

After reviewing Alanhawk.com, I corresponded with him, this guy knows his stuff and I got a recommendation for the Fin Nor 60 or 80. These are quality spinning reels at an awesome price. Cabelas has a promotion at the moment:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/FIN-NOR-L...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

Sounds like I'll be using my catfish reels. I have over 20 Abu 6000 or 6500 that will suffice. I can break them down completely very easily so I guess I will be sticking with them. Thank you everyone for your input.

Your Abu's will do great. I really like 6500's. I have several in different forms. Most get upgraded with good bearings, carbontex drag washers. I use a few with braid, and some with Berkley big game line. I like 15lb Berkley Big Game, but I do use 20lb sometimes for the bigger fish if that's what I'm going after. My bigger 10000 has 30lb BBG on it, and it casts a good long ways too.

Swedish made Abu's are good solid reels. They are simple to work on, and they'll get the job done for you. They've stood the test of time for me on the coast.

If you rinse and lube after every trip, any reel will last a long time, if you don't any reel won't. If you're just fishing for reds/trout/flounder in the bay 4600 sized baitcaster and 2500 sized spinning reels work just fine, lugging around a big heavy reel after a three hour wade is unnecessary.

I'm a confessed craigslist slut, I've got a lot of brands in the rack, shimanos are hit and miss, some are old and work great, some not so much, lews aren't really made for saltwater, keep them maintained the quantams have been good, abu baitcasters are solid, spinning not so much, and okuma spinning reels have worked well.

We use spinning rods for jigs/plastics and baitcasters for topwaters and spoons, braid on spinning rods, mono on baitcasters. But the secret is wash a lube every day you use them, get lazy and any of them will die on you pretty quick.

Fished the salt for many years from kayak, surf launches, dunkings, multi day trips with limited access to fresh water. The guy that cleaned my reels said they were by far the most abused reels he had seen from a regular customer. Any of the more popular brands will work fine if you do your best to keep them cleaned as soon as possible, all will fail if you don't. The most annoying problem was salt buildup during the day. Salt Away is your friend.

http://www.saltaway.xyz/4ozPage.htm