lucid

It's strange how things work out sometimes. I was at an old friends house today in his garage. I see a rod sitting in a corner and check it out. What do I see?... a Penn 4500ss reel on it. I asked him if he used the rod, and to my disappointment he said yes. When I told him I was going to ask to buy it off of him he was like "yeah right man". I asked him his opinion on them and he said he loved it, 10 years old and still working great. So I come home intent on trying to get one of these, telling myself I'll spend a bit more if I can find one. I get on EBay and see a 5500ss for $75 (in my price range) that looks in great shape, with the box and papers with it. It was like god wanted me to get it. So I did.

Thanks. I was actually talking about the Penn 6500ss here: http://www.scottsbt.com/pennparts/reelspecs/penn6500ss.htm That Abu sounds decent but somebody I know has had bad experiences with Baitcasting rods. I think spinning would be best for my needs. I was thinking about working backwards, like you say, and getting a decent Penn, but people are just asking too much for them. Right now I'm leaning towards the TICA Scepter GX5000 & Pflueger President 6750. Again, thanks for the help.

Thanks. I'm all about good ol'school companies that have been doing it for a long time. The problem is these days many of these companies are sourcing their work overseas where cheaper parts and labor are used, and naturally they aren't too eager to make that fact known to the consumer. I thought Penn was one of these companies, for example. Now it seems they made it a point to discontinue their good products to replace them with inferior ones. I'd love to be able to get my hands on a 6500ss for a decent price, but now you can only find those old ones on online auctions and people want too much for them. On another forum somebody recommended the Tica Scepter's. As I look the GX5000 fits my criteria and price range. Can anybody concur that these are decent? Disagree? Another one I'm looking at is the Mitchell ALU Power Surf reels. I have a friend that uses this brand and recommends it. At least I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. I now have some good recommendations and have eliminated much from contention as well. Thanks a bunch for the help.

Oh yeah, and the size of the fish I'll be catching for the most part... decent sized striped bass and catfish. My friend pulled in a 36" Musky (I forget the weight) with a similar rod and 10 lb. test, so I think this setup will be sufficient for anything I catch around here.

Funny... I was in a Bass Pro shop just last night because I'd heard I could find "anything" there. I was not impressed. If I had $300+ to spend on a reel then I would have been in business, but they had virtually no selection in my price range. The selection at Walmart (and Dicks) was actually better. On top of that the help was less than, well... "helpful". They didn't have a good selection at Gander Mountain either, which was a surprise. It's to the point where I'm just going to order one online where I KNOW I can find what I want. The only problem now is that I don't know what brands are reputable. I guess that's really what I'm trying to discern in this thread. What brands can I trust? And furthermore, can anybody recommend any specific reels made by these brands that fit in my price range ($60-80)? That would be immensely helpful and appreciated. I understand I will get conflicting opinions in here as well, but at least they will be opinions of people who are more knowledgeable about the subject matter.

I'm trying to put together a rod. I have an Ugly Stick Catfish rod and I need advice on a spinning reel to go with it. The more research I do the more conflicting information I see (The Catch 22 of The Information Age). I find myself just as confused as when I begun. I would like something that holds up to 14 lb. test at least, if not more. As I'm looking around I don't see freshwater reels that go past 12, so I guess I should be looking at saltwater reels? They are okay to use with a freshwater rod like I have right? If so, what brands are reputable? At first I was hearing that these "Penn" reels were good and made in the USA and all that, but then after looking around heard that they're now made in China and junk. Is this true? That stinks because I was looking at the Captiva & Silverado and they looked like good deals. Another friend says Mitchell is good but I see none that go above 12 lb. There was this Abu Garcia that was 10/12/14 for $35 at Walmart, but I don't know if they're any good or not. I don't have a bunch of money to spend on a reel, and I've seen expensive ones have the same problems anyway. I'm not looking to spend much more than $60, but will go as high as the $80 range if it is worth it. I just really have no idea what brands to trust and don't want to end up with junk. Is there anything decent I can get in that range? There are Catfish, Stripers, Pike and Musky where I fish and I'd like to be able to hang onto one if they're on my line. Do you think I should be looking for one that goes to 20 lb.? Recommendations are appreciated, as I'm a noob.

I'm from southern PA near Harrisburg. I never fished much as a kid and just recently got into it. I've got much to learn and this seems like a place I could get some good advice at. Thanks for having me.