best reel

[crmarlinfisher]

what is the best reel in the 80 an 130 class
penn
shimano
everlo
fin nor
ect
ect
ect

[flyerphan13]

what is the best reel in the 80 an 130 class
penn
shimano
everlo
fin nor
ect
ect
ect

USE WHAT THE PROS USE

http://www.badcoteam.com/articles/19...sor/Page1.html

[alantani]

the one that you can service yourself........

[gradyfish265]

Everyone has their own opinion, and in reality none of it is really junk. It all depends on your needs and what is comfortable to you. Most tournament boats use Penn or Shimano, but that does not mean they are the best, this is typically because they are easier to get parts for quickly which makes them versitile for their use. An Accurate, Fin Nor, Alcutunus, Duel and so fourth might be better, but if you fish in an area where it would take days to ship it out to be fixed maybe this is not best for you. If it was my choice, I'g go with Shimano, they build a great reel, parts are fairly easy to get a hold of and they have a great rep with tournament fishermen. I'd put a vote in for Avet, but they do not have a 130 and IMHO the 80 has not been out long enough to prove its longevity, but I run their 50's and 30's and love them and they have been trouble free and work horses on tuna over 200lbs. If I were to buy a new spread it would either be Avet's again or Shimano, nothing else. Not a fan of Penn, I've had way too many problems with them, especially the newer series, the TW's and SW's were great reels though. Penn's are the easiest to repair since parts are the easiest to find throughout the world. I know plenty who love their penn's and swear by them, but personally I've had mine repaired and repaired again and have never been happy with them or their service, especially lately. Maybe I just had a bad batch of reels and was unlucky.

[Hallnass282]

Penn, shimano, avet are my 3 choices. On our rig we own all Penn offshore equipment and have never had a problem with them. I agree the newer penn reels do bother me but the TW series are true work horses.

[dunn6253]

I first bought my tiagra 50w because I got it for about $200 off of retail. Stores mistake that I took advantage off. Before hand, I had no opinion on Penn, Shimano, Avet, or any of the other reels out there. Now that I have actually fished a little bit, I am glad that I went with Shimano. Since then I have added an 80w, along with giggyfish's four 50w's, we have a full spread of tiagra's on the back of the boat. Since my purchase I have heard of a couple Penn horror stories, from low gear on 80vsw's not working out of the box to a couple 50w's locking up on a guy trying to make a living with them. Just my experience, good luck with whatever you choose.

Now, who is going to be the first reel company to step up and sponsor something on this site? Have a rep on this board, advertise a little, help out with any problems some members come across, and I would bet the bank it would be worth more then any paper magazine ad out there. Shimano, Avet, Peen, Fin-nor, Alutecnos, Accurate, are you guys listening????

[backman]

what Alan said ^2.

I've seen Penn's, Shimano's, Avets and Accurates all fail. The common denominator was poor or total lack of maintenance. I'm willing to bet a lot of money that a Penn, Shimano or anyone's pet peeve has less than a 1/1000 out of the box failure mode. Don't wash it; don't take it apart and clean it 1 annually and I'll bet that failure rate multiply's by an exponent (times 10 for dummy's). Have a couple big fish on it and still don't maintain it and multiple by another exponent.

I've had my Penn's which I maintain lose 2 speed; have a handle come loose, start to have a side plate come off, all from lousy or careless work on my part. However, in each instance I was able to use simple tools - leatherman or screwdriver to get it back together and land the fish.

I will also state that the one Penn Vsw I have seen "lock up" was due to operator error; ie me, not being careful on the initial drag setting. The "lock up" was because I had locked it up. I wonder how many other cases like that exist where people are unwilling to admit they fucked up.

[Jiggin Junkie]

backman: How about a Torium blowing up 3 times and only 7 months old, sent to Shimano Calif for warranty repair?