Hey guys. Im looking for a new spinning reel. The one i currently have is a mitchell avocet 2000. Its been a great reel but seems to only take 8lb test line. Anything over that and it spools out fast and gets a rats nest. I don't want to go to braid because i like the stretch of mono. I use a texas rigged worm 90% of the time and have a lot of success with it so i want to stick with it. In doing so i need a reel capable of holding 12-15 lb mono line. The reason i want to go higher than 8Lb line is because of the line breaks I'm having on bigger fish. Also my current reel might just be getting old too. When i was reeling in my last big one it seemed like the handle didn't want to crank and when it did it made a cracking sound and seemed like something slipped.. everything worked fine after that but i just want a rod and reel that i can muscle 5lb-8lb bass up to the surface with. I prefer a spinning reel. Not a big fan of Bait casters. Im looking for one under $100. Hopefully closer to $60-75. Should i pair it with a 6'6'' or 7' rod?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Also do the bearings make a big difference? I have a 4 bearing system currently. If i went a 10 bearing system would i notice a difference?

Anyone have an opinion on a mitchell avocett gold IV 4000? it has 8 bearings and can hold 180 yds of 12lb line. I did like the 2000 version with 4 bearings they made and this one seems to be a lot better.

Take a look at the lews speed spin reels. Also the rod depends on what type of fishing u do. I only have one spinning combo, and its a 6'10'' rod for wacky worms and shaky heads. To me, bearing count is not as important as the quality of the bearings. Ive used shimano and lews reels, both spinning and baitcasting since I started fishing, just go check them out and find what reel works for u.

Check out Shimano Symetre and Shimano Spirex. You should also use your drag wisely, don't muscle a big fish and break your mono line. If you want to muscle the fish right out of the water, use braid.

Alright ill check them out. Thank you. I do need to work on my drag. after reading a lot it seems that was the problem not the 8lb line.

shimano sedona ($50 new on ebay) or shimano symetre. awesome reels for the price 2500 series for the sedona and 3000 series for the symetre

6'6" rod is good if you're not too tall

Thank Y'all for the response! Shimano seems to be the way to go huh?

After looking at almost all the reels available I went with the Lew's Team Gold Carbon reels. I've got both the 3000 and 4000 size.

They are some of the best spinning reels I've ever used.

Ardent has some on sale darn good reels and a 3 year warranty check their website www.ardentreels.com.

Shimano Spirex.

okuma 10 bearing , pflueger 10 bearing great reels worth the money! great spinning reels! Good luck !

I'll also recommend the Pflueger President spinning reels. I have two now, and am very happy. A 6925 with 6 lb. line for crappie fishing, and a 6935 with 12 lb. fluoro (and sometimes braid) for bass fishing. Great reels!

Since you are using your spinning combo in lieu of a baitcaster and for multiple applications I would consider a 7'medium heavy rod over a 6'6" unless you just prefer a smaller rod but since you are using it to catch lurkers you may have more problems than breaking your line. Most of us that use spinning combos are using them for finesse presentation's and need a lighter setup but thats not the case for you. I use a Quantum Smoke as my finesse rig and I like it a lot. I think it has 11 bearings but it is a tad on the heavy side even with some carbon fiber but it is a strong reel. I have also used an abu garcia sx that was SMOOTH. And bearing counts do matter for the most part, because where there isn't a bearing that other reels have its going to wear and as far as quality of bearings from a stock real you might get good bearings but only a few companies out there actually use rated bearings so most of them are not thay quality, in fact I only know of one company that uses ABEC-7 bearings and you would guess 50 different companies and not name them. Thats not to say there isn't others I just don't know of any.

*lunkers not lurkers