# Favorite Reel?



## steelyeyed (Dec 2, 2013)

What is everyones favorite spinning reel for steelhead? Any price range, but I am particularly looking at around 100 dollars myself. I have a hard time spending that money especially when I have tried my buddies President and thought it was an amazing reel. Just wondering if you guys knew of a reel that you feel is better than the Pfleuger President.


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## Chrome Crazy (Nov 29, 2010)

steelyeyed said:


> What is everyones favorite spinning reel for steelhead? Any price range, but I am particularly looking at around 100 dollars myself. I have a hard time spending that money especially when I have tried my buddies President and thought it was an amazing reel. Just wondering if you guys knew of a reel that you feel is better than the Pfleuger President.


I have had many different reels, but the President XT is bullet proof.. I currently have 4 and they have never let me down. They have a great drag system and they preform great in cold weather.


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## Jimbos (Nov 21, 2000)

Pfleugers is all I've been buying the past 3 years. A few Presidents and 2 of their next reel up the food chain, the name eludes me at the moment.

All of my stuff needed replacing, everything just wore out pretty much at once. So the first reel I bought was a President and I really liked it and stayed with the brand.


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## redneckman (Dec 7, 2005)

I have a couple of the older model of the presidents. Great reel for steel and kings. I have caught a lot of fish on the reels and they are holding up great. Just had to apply new oil to one of the reels.


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## steelyeyed (Dec 2, 2013)

okay here is a second question then. I think in the short number of replies I have already decided to go with the President. My question is how often do you guys disassemble and fully clean your reals? Once a season, whenever you decide its needed, when your bored?


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## cordesr1 (Jan 17, 2014)

I've been using a Daiwa Lexa and love it. Very smooth drag and almost bulletproof. Great line capacity and pickup. What i like most is the small frame size and light weight after a long day. after 3 years my only complaint is, they don't come with a spare spool.


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

A buddy of mine and I must have bought our Pfluegers at the wrong time. All 4 of them seize with any kind of dirt in them. The drags take some pressure at the fish's first lunge to start working. I am either really spoiled with Quantum and Shimano drags or Pflueger has improved them since I bought. I will say they crank smooth for a reel of there price point. That is when they are not seizing up from a dirt particle.


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## Jimbos (Nov 21, 2000)

Ranger Ray said:


> A buddy of mine and I must have bought our Pfluegers at the wrong time. All 4 of them seize with any kind of dirt in them. The drags take some pressure at the fish's first lunge to start working. I am either really spoiled with Quantum and Shimano drags or Pflueger has improved them since I bought. I will say they crank smooth for a reel of there price point. That is when they are not seizing up from a dirt particle.


They have pizzed me off since now they don't come with an extra spool as they used to. But as far a doing any seizing up, that hasn't happened.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Save yourself some money, and put it toward your next of the same reel. :lol: The Zebco Cardinal 4's are good for Salmon, but I prefer the 3's for Steelhead. They balance my lighter rods better. 

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABU-Zebco-Cardinal-3-Spinning-Reel-Made-in-Sweden-/221532802555?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3394624dfb"]Abu Zebco Cardinal 3 Spinning Reel Made in Sweden | eBay[/ame]


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## Lake Erie Monster (Nov 7, 2012)

I own two of the presidents and previously they came with extra spools but no longer. The Pflueger Supreme is the step up (a little lighter and comes with an extra spool). The Phlueger Arbor and Purist are also $80 and add sealed drag (President and regular supreme dont). The Arbor has improved casting distance (wouldnt exactly be helpful for float fishing) and the bigger models have much larger drags but the gear ratio is lower.

American company but made in china.


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

I run the patriarch. Mine gets strapped to super light imx and glx walleye and steelhead rods. It weighs about half of what a normal reel weighs. Drag is awesome. Only other reels I run are older daiwa Capricorns. They are bullet proof and spin smooth forever. 

Sent from my S5


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## steelyeyed (Dec 2, 2013)

I don't know that Zebco Arbor seems kinda small. Does the line coil tight and get lots of memory? I use mono then a flouro leader. I like the sound of the sealed drag though on the arbor and Purist.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

My favorite is a shimano stradic fi, 2500.


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## cdoj (Mar 14, 2013)

I use an old Fin Nor Ahab (my father's salmon reel) or a Shimano Symetre 3000 size.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

Jimbos said:


> They have pizzed me off since now they don't come with an extra spool as they used to. But as far a doing any seizing up, that hasn't happened.


The newer shimano's don't come with a spare either.


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## jacks300ultra (Mar 24, 2011)

I run a Shimano Stradic 2500. Which is perfect in my opinion. But if you want a solid real for 100$ go with a Penn Battle. The 2500 is perfect. It is way smoother then any Phluger you will ever buy. And the drag is amazing. The real is completely sealed. I've had it for 2 years now and have yet to clean it. 

Or just save your self the troubles of a spinning real and buy a Center Pin. You won't be disappointed.


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## salmonsteel97 (Nov 18, 2012)

Shimano sienna, has a very good drag on it.


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## Mr Burgundy (Nov 19, 2009)

Shaman Stella fa and the fe. All in the 2500 series. Also have the newer sustain 2500 xship. Pretty nice reels just pricey


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Ranger Ray said:


> A buddy of mine and I must have bought our Pfluegers at the wrong time. All 4 of them seize with any kind of dirt in them. The drags take some pressure at the fish's first lunge to start working. I am either really spoiled with Quantum and Shimano drags or Pflueger has improved them since I bought. I will say they crank smooth for a reel of there price point. That is when they are not seizing up from a dirt particle.


Hmmm, I must have bought one too at the wrong time.

First couple of Pfluegers I bought were good, when they were being made by Shakespeare. Then I bought a more recent model Supreme XT, great looking reel, works fine until you actually use it.


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## iceassasin (Jan 27, 2009)

Chrome Crazy said:


> I have had many different reels, but the President XT is bullet proof.. I currently have 4 and they have never let me down. They have a great drag system and they preform great in cold weather.


I have 4 of them as well, different sizes for salmon, steelies, and walleye. They have a lot of use and haven't disappointed yet.


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## X19 Indy (Aug 5, 2014)

I have owned most of the reels mentioned and the Stratic is the way to go in my opinion. I have 6 of them that I have owned for going on 5 years and have never cleaned or lubed them and they work flawlessly.


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## cornmeal (Dec 31, 2010)

I own a president also before I bought that reel I was using a shimano sodona 6000 fb both are good reels


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

steelyeyed said:


> I don't know that Zebco Arbor seems kinda small. Does the line coil tight and get lots of memory? I use mono then a flouro leader. I like the sound of the sealed drag though on the arbor and Purist.


The Zebco Cardinal reels weren't made after 1977, and the longer-casting spools didn't really get popular until a few years later. I've purchased aluminum spools for my 3's and 4's, and the arbors are a bit larger. My C-3's will take about 115 yards of 10 lb Maxima. Maybe 135 yards of 8 lb. I have never needed 100 yards of line to land a Steelhead, although I've lost a few that took a lot of my line before breaking me off. 

The real deal with these reels is the drag. Everyone can laud their Shimano reel's drags, but they suck out loud compared to a Zebco Cardinal's drag. It drives me crazy to watch guys fighting a fish with a new looking reel, and while they are reeling, the drag is letting line out. Or when they pull on a fish, and the reel lets line out, then they recover that line by reeling down. Nothing is gained. And I see that all the time with Shimanos. My reels will let a hot Steelhead run so that I can handle it by manipulating my rod; and when I turn the fish I can immediately get on it, and recover line without adjusting my drag a bit. I've fished plenty of other reels. I have a few Shimanos, and nice models. They cast great. They work okay. They can't touch my Cardinals for the drag. I had quite a pile of the old Mitchell 300s - the ones with the metal tab for the anti-reverse; and a couple 308s. Nice reels, but nothing like my Cardinals. If you really like to slug it out with Steelhead, these reels are the best. If you want to play around with Steelhead, and see how long you can fight them before you land them, Shimanos rock. 

And for $55, I might just buy that reel. Darned good price, clean looking reel, and it's got a Gator Grip handle. Can you actually have too many good fishing reels? :lol:


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## weatherby (Mar 26, 2001)

Right now I use a diawa tournament 1300 but I may have to check out them pluegers


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## METTLEFISH (Jan 31, 2009)

The Zebco Cardinals can't be touched. To this day they are still the best over all, and the drag is far and beyond. Slipping drags as discussed above should not happen on today's reels, yet does. Stella, Stradic = JUNK.
3's are too small. line intake per crank compromises the time your bait is in the water, and keeping up with a charging Steelhead is tough as well. Great Crappie, Gill, small Trout reel though


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

METTLEFISH said:


> The Zebco Cardinals can't be touched. To this day they are still the best over all, and the drag is far and beyond. Slipping drags as discussed above should not happen on today's reels, yet does. Stella, Stradic = JUNK.
> 3's are too small. line intake per crank compromises the time your bait is in the water, and keeping up with a charging Steelhead is tough as well. Great Crappie, Gill, small Trout reel though


Crappies, Gills, and small Trout don't take drag. :lol: I use my 4's for Salmon, and the 3's for Steelhead. They have the same retrieve ratios, I think. The 4's are just larger, with slightly larger spools and parts. They both work the same. And I've caught plenty of Steelhead on C4's, and some Salmon using my C3's. 

Just the fact that these reels haven't been made in 37 years, and that people pay good money for them on Ebay every day, says a lot about their quality, and desirability. I do not own a single Cardinal reel that I have just to "collect" it. And I have a decent sized pile of Cardinal reels. 

For the Original Poster: Take a $55 chance on that Zebco Cardinal 3 reel. I know guys who love their Shimanos and Diawas so much that they keep boxes of old junked Shimano and Diawa reels. None of my Cardinals have become junk yet. And they work better - lots better. And I use them hard. And I know people who can maintain/repair them. And I know a guy in Canada who always has all the parts for them, in case someone needs them - he sells on Ebay.


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

What is a slipping drag? Drags are meant to slip. All depends on the poundage you set it to slip at. I can tighten my Shimano's drag so that it pulls in logs let alone steelhead. The Cardinals do have a nice drag, especially for price point. Stella and Stradic junk? :lol:


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## X19 Indy (Aug 5, 2014)

Fishndude said:


> Everyone can laud their Shimano reel's drags, but they suck out loud compared to a Zebco Cardinal's drag. It drives me crazy to watch guys fighting a fish with a new looking reel, and while they are reeling, the drag is letting line out. Or when they pull on a fish, and the reel lets line out, then they recover that line by reeling down. Nothing is gained. And I see that all the time with Shimanos.


This is not a problem with the reel, rather a problem with the person using it who doesn't know how to set it up properly.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

I guess everyone should should own a zebco cardianal. Mine made one hell of a paperweight.


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

I've got 2 stradics sitting in a box of junk. Right were they belong. Fluid drive. Lmao. First dunk in the water and its more like slushy hard to turn drive. Every shimano I've ever owned had a horrible anti reverse. Couple hours in the teens and finally get a bite and the junk handle spins back catches and bam fish off. Same for quantums. Junk bass fishing crap not made for hard core conditions. The drags on my old daiwa Capricorns put them stradics to shame. Ting--ting-----ting--------ting. Always flawless no matter how cold. Extremely smooth initial drag startup. Which is crucial in landing big fish with light line.
I've been stuck on these pfluger patriarchs for the past 3 seasons. Still have an effortless, super smooth crank. Drag is almost as good as my daiwas. The extremely light weight makes it a great matchup for super light, fast responsive rods. I've cleaned it once. And as far as that goes. Easiest reel I've ever took apart.


Sent from my S5


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

X19 Indy said:


> This is not a problem with the reel, rather a problem with the person using it who doesn't know how to set it up properly.


The problem is that you can't set the drag to allow a hot Steelhead to run, and still recover line when the fish quits running with newer reels. With every newer spinning reel I have ever used, I always have to re-adjust the drag for those situations. With the Cardinal reels, I can set the drag and conduct an entire fight without adjusting it further. When the reels work properly, it allows us to use the super-nice rods we fish with properly.


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## Howie Ketchdem (Sep 16, 2012)

Buy a shimano stratic more than a hundred bucks but there is no other reel made as far as I'm concerned.


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## steelyeyed (Dec 2, 2013)

Ok so this is what I am grasping from this thread. Just like everything else in fishing it's all preference. Certain characteristics are prized by different sorts of people. Not to mention one other large thing I am noticing. If you notice, people praise certain things while others said theirs was complete junk. I think quality control standards at these large companies has fallen off the cliff. I think maybe the trick I will try when I go to purchase my reel whether it is a president, stratic, patriarch, or whatever else is have the bring me out 2 or three new examples of each reel and put them through the test. Looking at each piece thoroughly. This post has been an awesome one to follow though. So many great opinions, and not a lot of rudeness. lol


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

FishKilla419 said:


> I've got 2 stradics sitting in a box of junk. Right were they belong. Fluid drive. Lmao. First dunk in the water and its more like slushy hard to turn drive. Every shimano I've ever owned had a horrible anti reverse. Couple hours in the teens and finally get a bite and the junk handle spins back catches and bam fish off. Same for quantums. Junk bass fishing crap not made for hard core conditions. The drags on my old daiwa Capricorns put them stradics to shame. Ting--ting-----ting--------ting. Always flawless no matter how cold. Extremely smooth initial drag startup. Which is crucial in landing big fish with light line.
> I've been stuck on these pfluger patriarchs for the past 3 seasons. Still have an effortless, super smooth crank. Drag is almost as good as my daiwas. The extremely light weight makes it a great matchup for super light, fast responsive rods. I've cleaned it once. And as far as that goes. Easiest reel I've ever took apart.
> 
> 
> Sent from my S5


I have had the anti reverse issue with Quantums (5+ years old), but not any of my Shimano's. I only use the Symetre and Sahara in the winter though. The Quantums I have had issues with, temperature wasn't the only factor as it would intermittently happen during the summer also. Nothing worse then setting the hook to have the reel free spool in reverse.

Initial drag startup is the most important thing to me, and mostly what I base my buying on. The Presidents I own suck when it comes to it. They are older though. Maybe I will pick up one of these patriarchs in the future and give Pflueger another chance. I hate having $200.00 reels sitting around because they suck though. I am sure we all do.


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## WMUAlum10 (Jun 13, 2010)

Ive had plenty of pfleuger's, quantum's and abu's. Nothing major with any of the others, but the drag on my stradic ci4 and symetre are second to none. Unless you can find one of these magical reels previous posters have described, I can assure you won't be disappointed with any mid-level reels in the shimano line. 

It kills me when someone on this site says "Brand X = JUNK!" without providing any of their 1st hand experience or any factual data to support their claim. 

Really, you will probably be impressed with any name brand in the $100 range, but I will tell you from my 1st hand experience, shimano builds a quality reel.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

WMUAlum10 said:


> Ive had plenty of pfleuger's, quantum's and abu's. Nothing major with any of the others, but the drag on my stradic ci4 and symetre are second to none. Unless you can find one of these magical reels previous posters have described, I can assure you won't be disappointed with any mid-level reels in the shimano line.
> 
> It kills me when someone on this site says "Brand X = JUNK!" without providing any of their 1st hand experience or any factual data to support their claim.
> 
> Really, you will probably be impressed with any name brand in the $100 range, but I will tell you from my 1st hand experience, shimano builds a quality reel.


Agreed. Best bet, take your rod to the store with you, mount a few reels on it. Make your decision because YOU like the way it feels. Sure, it will cost you more than buying it online, but it's worth the money if your still on the fence.


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

My buddy has a newer black stradic from a couple years ago. Hasn't had any of the problems I had with mine. He loves the thing. I'm just still stuck with a horrible taste in my mouth from my first experience with the white stradics from yesteryear.
I currently use a Garcia soron on my back up spin outfits. Great reel just super heavy. 

Sent from my S5


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## B.Jarvinen (Jul 12, 2014)

I landed a lot of salmon, etc., with a 1980s Daiwa that is still a solid reel today. Over time one simple, small part failed - the main bail spring. I have had it replaced twice many years ago now and it has never worked the same, or for very long. I would like to find somewhere that has this one simple part and get a great reel back in action. I don't think I have had the correct part from the small shops I have hoped could help with that, in the pre-internet age.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

My go to reel right now is a Daiwa Sol 3000. I like the larger spool size to minimize line twist. Only complaint is a catchy bail, but just close it by hand. Built like a tank and very smooth drag. Have to say that most Daiwas I have used had great drags, especially the old Tournament SS series.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Fishndude said:


> Save yourself some money, and put it toward your next of the same reel. :lol: The Zebco Cardinal 4's are good for Salmon, but I prefer the 3's for Steelhead. They balance my lighter rods better.
> 
> Abu Zebco Cardinal 3 Spinning Reel Made in Sweden | eBay


I have some Cardinal 4's you should buy from me since they just sit in a box.


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