Favorite Fishing Reels?

Any fishermen out there? I happen to be in search of a solid fishing reel. I am building my own rod. Would like to hear any suggestions.

To me, it depends on the environment, and the species of fish I am wanting to fool.  The two main types are baitcasters and spincasters.  Spincasters can be broken down in terms of open faced and closed faced.  I learned on a closed face, as I think many do.  Most salt water fishermen use the baitcaster.  Baitcasters are also great for freshwater fish, especially when there are a lot of obstacles like downed trees, structure in the water.  You will learn to hit your target in a straight line and not a lob type throw like spincasters do.  Better for accuracy, but takes more time to learn.  I use them all, but mostly a spincaster, since they are more versatile.

As far as brands go, Shakespeare (sp?) Shimano, Penn, Abu Garcia are all decent reels on the market today.  They all have low end models and higher end models, depending on how much you're willing to invest.   They say the more ball bearings the better, but they all seem to catch fish for me.  As a kid, I had a Mitchell 300.  These were great spinning reels, and I always keep my eyes peeled for them at yard sales.

Lately,  I have been enjoying Tenkara fishing,  a Japanese style of fly fishing with no reel. Think Huck Finn.  It is loada of fun and less mechanics to worry about.

Some reel-less techniques that I have seen have the inherent advantage of not twisting the line. If you're winding the line about a reel repeatedly, the line will twist and kink, forming weak points and spots that want to tangle. I am sometimes alerted by my rod that I need to change the line when it starts forming tangles in midair as I cast.

I also used one of those push-button Mitchell 300s. Great for kids. I got so much practice with that thing, I could lose every lure I had in the same tree, casting from different locations. Probably still can. I'm talented.

Making your own rod is pretty cool. The rod tips were always the most-replaced part for us. They'd get slammed in doors or accidentally tripped over. Once, I whipped my rod in the cast a little too much and the tip snapped off and went sailing with the line.

When it comes time for me to fish with children, or hell, just with my own clumsy self, I think I will buy one of those rod keepers that mount to the roof rack.

Jack, I hope you find a good reel or two for not too much money, and that you have fun fishing.

-CK

Fishing reels and rods are like golf clubs, you generally need more than one to do either effectively.  Although you don't need as many rod combos as you do golf clubs, each rod and reel combination have specific uses that will make fishing more successful.  So, it's no surprise that you are set on chosing a fishing reel. A spinning reel can be used with many applications from small fish like bluegill to giant tuna weighing over 100 pounds.  Setting up your spinning reel with the right line and rod are crucial to making sure you have a successful trip.  The line size is critical for the spinning reel you choose and the type of fish you plan on targeting. Spinning rods and conventional or bait casting rods are different so make sure you have the right rod for your reel.  In general, the spinning rod has a larger first guide, which is the guide closest to the reel.

Michael Fillen wrote:Fishing reels and rods are like golf clubs, you generally need more than one to do either effectively.  Although you don't need as many rod combos as you do golf clubs, each rod and reel combination have specific uses that will make fishing more successful.  So, it's no surprise that you are set on chosing a fishing reel. A spinning reel can be used with many applications from small fish like bluegill to giant tuna weighing over 100 pounds.  Setting up your spinning reel with the right line and rod are crucial to making sure you have a successful trip.  The line size is critical for the spinning reel you choose and the type of fish you plan on targeting. Spinning rods and conventional or bait casting rods are different so make sure you have the right rod for your reel.  In general, the spinning rod has a larger first guide, which is the guide closest to the reel.

Any specific place where you get to know all of this? Or just general expirience? Thanks for the advice guys. I personally like places like Amazon reviews and such. You get a good idea of what people like and what they find to be bad. Many pros and cons.

For the most part, I just tend to find reviews on Amazon. Sometimes if I am really interested I can head over to Youtube. For specific gear and I tend to visit hunting forums now and again. I look at the top list of the gear I want and check out the pros and cons, at the end I make my decision.
Currently, I have my attention on the Concept A3 Casting Reel. I like the "Profound drag and exceptionally smooth operation;" part. Something that I find most important in a fishing reel.

What type of rod are you building?  Bait casting, spinning, fly ? salt water or fresh? The type of rod usually influences which type of reel you will need for the rod to perform at its best.

I have 12 bait casting rods, all have bait casting reels, I have 4 fly rods and each is for a different weight line so I have 4 fly reels, I have 3 spinning rods with matching open face reels for bass and 3 spinning rods and open face reels for trout fishing.
Each type of fishing I do has at least one tackle box (bass fishing has 5 and trout flies are in separated boxes by type of fly (nymph, dry, emerger)) I also have tackle boxes for crappie/bream fishing and one for spinner trout fishing.

When I fish a bass tournament I know it will be a 3-4 day affair and that I'll be changing line on all the used reels each night, so I stock up accordingly.

Bait reels come in several flavors too, the big thing is amount of line it will hold and is it a gear reduction or standard.
Fly reels come in small arbor or large arbor and they are sized to the weight of the fly line so the heavier the line, the bigger the reel.
Spinner reels are also sized by line weight so the heavier the line, the larger the reel will be. (larger = heavier too)

I forgot about cat fishing, that is heavy down to medium heavy gear and 60 lb. test line for the norm.
Salt water is a whole gamut unto itself, big, stiff rods with rollers down to surf casters that are 12 feet long with large capacity reels and pretty heavy line with wire leaders.

It depends on your target species, but I can say that Shimano makes some great reels.

I fish!  A lot.  I bought a bait caster that I love but I am most inclined to use old Mitchell reels.  I have my dads and an old friends and have bought several sizes refurbished from trout to catfish.  Love em.  I can take them apart, clean them and put them back like new. Parts are around.  

They aren’t fancy and pricey but it makes me feel great to have one in my hands with all that luck...good and bad.

ive always liked spinning reels. use to fish all the time when lived in Florida ,
the eyelet on a rod will be larger for spinning reels than bait caster or fly rod.
these days almost all reels are made in china and are in my opinion inferior to what was made in use and available 20+ yrs ago. I was very fond of penn ss reels, I still have collection of almost all of them
these days if buying a quality new spinning reel it would be an Daiwa tournament series SS or a penn slammer III or spin fisher VI

I rely on my old Garcia-Mitchell 300.

I'm new to assembling my own rods.

(source)

Shimano Sahara Fishing Reel

I've been eyeing a Shimano Sahara 2500 for a first time reel.

There are so many different types of reels on the market, as well as reel makers, that I'm a little overwhelmed looking at them. I'm sure with time that it will be easier to understand what I am looking at.