PENN 360, I've had my 3 for three years with no problems after fishing them with deadly dudley. They are easy to repair and I have caught countless big fish on them.

Do we still make reels in USA??? If we do, I'd like to buy one myself to remind me of times gone by. I wish I had an answer for your question, but I use bait casting. Good Luck!!

$150-$200 alot $$$ to burn one u!How big Bull Red we talkin Bout, My brother uses Penn 360, I've never caught one over 30' so I've never had one burn up, Mine are Shakespear Special xcept for one Daiwa i have No use to use ABU Garcia 5500-6000 But the older models don't hold up to the Saltwater

You burnt up a Stradic 2500s drag?? Call Shimano and see if they will repair it for you. I've used my Stradic 2500s for everything from reds, and specks to the occasional Jack and haven't had a problem with drag.

Lordbud,

What model Stradic 2500 do you have? The reds caught weighed 35 - 40 pounds each. While working the third one, he ran hard the second time and my Stradics drag gave way. Spool started spinning like hell. Was dunking my hand in the water and 'hand-dragging' the spool. Landed him, but the drag was shot. Maybe the newer Stradics have a better drag? I'm partial to aluminum as I've found graphite bodies catch hell in the hot sun. Had both Shimanos and Penns warp.

About 3 years ago i purchased a shimano stradic 2500 and an okuma inspira 30 at about the same time. I put both on 7ft med. heavy castaway rods. I have used them both equally and to be honest they both work equally just as goodas the day i got them. The only real differrence was price, the okuma was about $100 less than the shimano. As far as bait casters id go with shimano all the way but not spinning tackle.

Penn Battle 2000. Great light weight reel specifically for salt water.

The American Made or made in the USA has peaked my interest. I found only one reel that claims to be 100% made in the USA. Ardent reels, does anyone know anything about these??? Looks like the only have one model in the spinning reel catagory. I have attached a pic.

Sorry, but I couldn't attach the picture but you can go to their website at ardentreels.com.

I've had MGFA and FH models that were stolen some years ago. Now I have FI and FJ models. Shimano will repair their reels for $25 ifout of warranty. If you call and talk to them most of the time they will waive the $25 fee and just charge you shipping. They stand behind their products!

a few points i have learned over the years is just about some general points, nothing brand specific.

look for a reel with the drag on the front not the back end because ones in the back get banged up too much and can break or be knocked out of the setting you want.

look for thicker necks on the reel, it doesnt sound like much but the accidental being stepped on or dropped i have seen some of the more sleek looking reel break there.

look for ease of maint, i would watch for the screws, the locations and how they are made. you have to assume you will take it apart at least a few times for cleaning and regreasing so you dont want screws with shallow grooves that will be hard to remove or strip out, i look for screws with well defined grooves.

last point is look for how the anti reverse catch is located and how its made, if it breaks it can be a real PITA to use the reel without it and sometimes those things arent fixable

I have a couple of stradics and had 2 inspires which were great for 2 years but just broke apart after that. My stradics are like 8-9 years old and still strong. I replaced all my okumas and Penn with shimanos. Amazon has the Sahara for like47 dollars which is a great price for the reel.

I don't spin fish often enough to warrant buying a new reel, but if I had to buy one right now I'd get the Stradic Ci4. That thing is serious.

If you're not set on spin fishing check out the Chronarch. Same thing as the older Curados, but they upgraded the bearings and the spool. I love them.

I had a CI4 and sold it to my neighbor. I was going to replace the handle (I don't like the round handle) on it but the more I used it the more I didn't care for the carbon fiber. It is lighter but it just feels flimsy to me. I prefer metal to CF.

Pey

Bayou Blue Red taken on Daiwa Spin Cast from Walmart

I have 4 Shakespears 3 Spincast 1 Bait cast that i just Bought so for the Bait cast has sold me, I'n caught 4-5 Nice Bass on it since i have it Can't wait to catch Big Red on it, For my $$$$ the $25-$40 combo Shakespears from Walmart service a Good Purpose the Secret is Drag setting that everything right there in Nut Shell

Thanks, I'll check out Ardent! As far as light casting reels go, I've found the Abu Garcia Revo Premiere to perform wonderfully. It's smoother than the Shimano Chronarch IMHO, but time will tell how well it lasts. It casts a mile!

I know the carbon reels are less corrosion sensitive, but they seem flimsy and I've heard they break in the neck. I've never had that happen on an aluminum-bodied reel.

I just prefer spinning reels for SW as casting accuracy is rarely needed and wind typically plays a factor. I love my casting reels, but they struggle against the wind and they have trouble with light lines. It's just a damn shame that here in the USA we can't manufacture the finest spinning reel in the world. It shouldn't be that difficult! With all the sportsmen in this country, why are we sending our money to Japan and China???

OK, here I go, gonna get bashed for selling but, I can't stand it!!

I have always used Shimano and still love them! I have been using the US Reel 240SX sense we found out about them about 2 years ago. The best thing about them is the smooth drag, caught many Bull Reds and way too many huge Gaff Tops. Never had a single problem and never even had them apart for cleaning and lube. We use Fins Braid on them and all our reels, the only thing we learned when using braid on spinning reels is it's better to manually close the bail instead of just turning the crank.

For a $60 reel you would be impressed! OH, they are called US Reel, designed in the US but, not made here.
http://www.usreel.com/Home.aspx

http://store.catchdat.com/reels/us-reel-spinning.html

Capt E
CATCHDAT.com

^5 Capt Elton welcome back so that braided work on spin cast?

I mainly fish Stradics, but on a whim I picked up a Pfleuger Patriarch last summer and I love it. As far as lightweight, I don't think you can find one lighter. It's made of carbon fiber and titanium. The drag seems to hold up very well also. Weight on the reel is around 6 oz I think.

I use all okuma 30 on my boat and never had any problems with them and for 39 dollars you realy cant go wrong . I had a cpl i took out a cpl weekends ago pull bulls in all day and never had a lick of trouble with them

Berkley lightning rod shock 7ft med. with a pflugar president 6940 total price 120$ I have used one for 3 years no maintenance other than a freshwater bath after each use!