Spinning Reel suggestion

[Risky Business]

There is a ton of great information on this site regarding Shimano's Baitrunner. I am looking for a reel (mainly for stripers) for casting, live lining, jigging, etc. (It would never be used from the surf) Should I be looking at anything else or is the baitrunner the way to go? I have always been a fan of Shimano. Any suggestions / advice would be really helpful.

Thanks!

[Randy Stinchcomb]

Baitrunners, hands down
I've got 4 Shimano Baitrunners, 2 3500's for inshore/nearshore and 1 each 4500 & 6500 which I use for surf fishing.... 1 of my 3500's is 10+ years old and I have Never had any problems out of any them.....
I have friends that have "other" brands of "baitrunner" reels (Okuma, Dawia, Shakesphere) and they Do Not work like a Shimano Baitrunner
I would recommend the 3500's for what you're doing......

check wth some of SFC tackle shop sponsers, if your going to buy more than one as the may make you a package deal

[Risky Business]

Thanks for the reply R S. I was also doing some research on Fin-Nor. Would a Fin-Nor reel stack up against the Shimano for these appplications? If it does, which model?

Thanks again!

[Avenger]

If you're a Shimano fan you'll probably like the Baitrunner. I'll be the only person here who will say otherwise (My first post on SFC was about this, and I re-copied it in another thread. This will be the third time I've said this, and I'm sure I'll be the only one) A friend and I bought 6500B's and we're both disappointed with them. Our experience is that they are really bad line twisters, the drags are difficult to adjust (no problems with smoothness, just very touchy to set) and the operation of the baitrunner lever is bassackwards.

Unfortunately this is my only "live-bait" type reel so I can't give you input on a better alternative. If I buy another it will be a Penn Live-Liner. If and when I do I'll post a report. Good luck reel shopping.

[paul708]

the baitrunner would be good for livelining, or chunking..if you are looking for a reel for jigging, casting..you may want to look for a 'lighter" reel

[Deep C]

I believe my sets of bait runners total 26 in number with eight being added this year. I go about four or five years of sailfishing charters and tournaments between major servicing. I did run with the TSS series for a couple years but their gear boxes were not tough enough to play hard ball.
Line spin is a result of reeling aginst the drag or just a fish running against the drag several times. Thats a trait inherrant to all spin reels... as its not the spool revolving that loads it. Rather its a bail going round and round a stationary spool. It can be alleviated some by a good quality ball bearing swivel in the terminal end.

[Avenger]

Thanks for the input Deep. I don't disagree with your points. But...........

I know better than to reel against the drag. I use ball bearing swivels, and these things will twist up line within about three retrieves. Doesn't matter if it's cast or just dropped back in the current. And no, the bait isn't spinning. The roller turns freely, I've tried closing the bail by hand.... yadda...yadda...yadda. We've tried several different brands of line and different lb. tests. Some are better than others, but they all do it. I've owned a fair number of spinning reels. Apparently not as many as you, but enough to know how they work. I haven't tried braid yet, it may be the solution, but I should be able to use mono since that's what the reel is designed for.

It's possible I'm doing something wrong, but I've discussed it with tackle shops and other knowledgeable people and we all keep coming up with the same "have you tried?"s And if it's just me, how come none of my other spinning reels do this?

It's pretty clear that I'm in the minority here, plenty of others have them and think they're made of gold. My experience was not as good.