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Educate me on spinning reels

TRIGGER

TRIGGER

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I do not like fishing with spinning rods but feel like I need to learn it. One reason I don't like them is that I break off too frequently. I believe one of the reasons is that I'm using cheep reels that don't have a smooth drag. I'm targeting bass and hopefully big ones. What do you guys go to?
 
I don't use one that often for bass either.
the Pflueger is my go to on bream & trout.
When I bass fish with one it is a Pflueger President, awesome reel.
 
I am more into spinning reels for everything from the the big reds to bluegill. I have a bout a half dozen bait casters that I will fish with, but I have this thing for them that I developed when I was about 5 years old. I hated them then because I spent too much time trying to get the birds nest out , instead of fishing. Of course that was about 60 years ago and they have improved greatly.

I am into the Plfueger President now after going through ,Garcia's, shakespeare,shimano etc. it is a pretty good reel and you have all sizes for different species. I do use some Penns for the saltwater. The president is a good reel for the money.
 
piss poor drag and too light of line with a heavier powered fast action rod are a couple of reasons that can cause break offs. the power rating of the rod dictates what size line you should be using and the drag should be set to 1/3 of line break strength. too much power and not enough tip shock absorption will snap most light flouro leaders.

pfleuger makes some good reels, the spool size is a half size smaller than other size reels. my 30 size pfleuger is the same size as my 2500 shimano. the drags on the 25 series and below are a little too light for bass. the 35 series fits pretty good for bass. i use size 30 on my pfleugers for all my panfish rods. you also need to match the retrieve rate to the style of fishing for that setup. i use superlines on most with flouro or mono leaders and some with straight mono. that covers me for all conditions and presentations. my bass rod is a 7' medium power fast action whereas all of my panfish is either light or medium light power with moderate to fast actions.
 
I am not a huge fan of spinning gear either, but some presentations and situations require it. You must have a quality reel with silky smooth drag. IMO that is MOST important. I use 10 pound InvisX on my spinning rods for bass. I check my line often and re tie pretty frequently.

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I use a Shimano Nasci and really like it a lot. 2500 size. You can tell it is well built sitting in your hand even though its on the cheaper side of what Shimano makes. Id buy the ShimanoStradic if you were getting serious about spinning gear. With that said I think matching the right rod and line is just as important as a good drag.

I normally use 15-20 braid to a 10 pound flouro leader on a Medium fast 7'0 rod. 10 pound is plenty heavy on this setup. 8 pound would be very doable on this setup. If you are wanting to go lighter than 8 pound test you might want to go a medium light power.

I don't use any presentations on Kentucky where I would need anything lighter than 8 pound. I am also not a finesse guru either but it is fun catching them on spinning gear. Drop shotting is a good way to catch them on ledges even though people like to give you a hard time about using a spinning rod :mrgreen:
 
NumberOne":1vci1a9o said:
I use a Shimano Nasci and really like it a lot. 2500 size. You can tell it is well built sitting in your hand even though its on the cheaper side of what Shimano makes. Id buy the ShimanoStradic if you were getting serious about spinning gear. With that said I think matching the right rod and line is just as important as a good drag.

I normally use 15-20 braid to a 10 pound flouro leader on a Medium fast 7'0 rod. 10 pound is plenty heavy on this setup. 8 pound would be very doable on this setup. If you are wanting to go lighter than 8 pound test you might want to go a medium light power.

I don't use any presentations on Kentucky where I would need anything lighter than 8 pound. I am also not a finesse guru either but it is fun catching them on spinning gear. Drop shotting is a good way to catch them on ledges even though people like to give you a hard time about using a spinning rod :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

spinning tackle can be used for more than just finesse techniques. jerkbaits and smaller cranks are effective on spinning tackle especially in the wind, longer distance and trying to get a little deeper when the fish are relating to bottom. BUT, for this you will need a 3000-4000 size for the faster retrieve and line crank rates. FYI, the only difference in a 2500 series and a 3000 is the 3000 has a deeper spool for more line.
 
My whole crew prefer spinning set ups, I only use baitcasters while throwing crankbaits,Spinnerbaits, and big spoons...I use carrot stix, Ike series, and Skeet Reese rods. I normally line mine with 12 lb test, break offs have never been an issue.
 
Whichever spinning reel you use, please operate with the reel down and handle spinning forward. I saw some Alaska show the other day where the dude was holding the reel up and turning the handle backward. I couldn't believe anybody who had to catch fish to live could be so uninformed.
 
I would rather use spinning reels than anything else. I am not an expensive reel guy and my favorite hands down is the Pflueger President. They are about $50. You can get upgraded versions of it I but I own 4 of these and love them! I use 10 lb sunline fluorocarbon (seaguar is my 2nd choice). Have caught numerous fish over 5 on that setup.

I have bait casters for the throw them out and reel them in baits as they cast farther. But if is a feel thing or under 1/2 oz bait, Im on my spinning reels!
 
I avoided spinning reels for a long time after I started using baitcasters, but I started getting back in to spinning reels last year for senkos and other lighter tackle.

I'm no expert, but I can't ever recall breaking off a bass just because I had a spinning reel on. Avoid cheap reels with poor drag. Use a decent line, and you'll be fine. I prefer braid with a fluoro leader (fg knot).

The Pflueger President is a great reel for the price. I could fish those and be happy with them.
 
Pflueger makes really good spinning gear.

For a cheaper alternative, I have taken a liking to the Lew's products. All my baitcasting reels are Lew's but none of those are cheap. BUT...for spinning gear, I now have two Lew's spinning rod/reel combos and neither one were over $70. They are pretty darn good.

Spooling the line on can be tricky if you are used to spooling bait caster reels. If you don't put it on correctly, it will loop and tangle up on you. I like using 6 lb test P Line in green or clear for crappie and 8 lb clear for trout. Lite action rods for crappie and trout, and about the only thing I use a spinning rod for in bass fishing is jerkbaits and drop shot rigs, in which I will go to a 6' medium.
 
TRIGGER":35ldyo8u said:
I do not like fishing with spinning rods but feel like I need to learn it. One reason I don't like them is that I break off too frequently. I believe one of the reasons is that I'm using cheep reels that don't have a smooth drag. I'm targeting bass and hopefully big ones. What do you guys go to?
Click to expand...

A quality spinning reel and drag is certainly a benefit. But I've caught TONS of monster fish on light spinning tackle (see below, caught on 10 lb. test mono).

If I hook a big fish on a spinning rod I never depend on the drag, at least not totally. I almost always immediately switch off the anti-reverse so I can backreel and give the fish line when I choose to give it line, rather than depending 100% on the drag. Drags still need to work for those hard runs where you simply can't backreel fast enough, but more than anything I depend on backreeling as needed.

I also prefer light or at least medium action rods that have lots of "give" in the tip.
 

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I second what Richard Simms says."A quality spinning reel and drag is certainly a benefit. But I've caught TONS of monster fish on light spinning tackle (see below, caught on 10 lb. test mono).

If I hook a big fish on a spinning rod I never depend on the drag, at least not totally. I almost always immediately switch off the anti-reverse so I can backreel and give the fish line when I choose to give it line, rather than depending 100% on the drag. Drags still need to work for those hard runs where you simply can't backreel fast enough, but more than anything I depend on backreeling as needed.

I also prefer light or at least medium action rods that have lots of "give" in the tip ."

I have caught several bass (largemouth and smallmouth) over 5lbs. Last spring I put a 42 pound carp in the boat with a President on Celio ultralight rod spooled with 4 lb test. Too 45 minutes and a lot of back spooling but it can be done.
 

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