Spinning reel help

[greybald]

Having been a fisherman of every other type I have decided to buy myself a multipiece spinning rod for holidays and some spur of the moment spinning sessions. I have never been spinning (ever) before so am unsure of the best reel to suit my rod, I have bought a shimano exage stc weight casting 15 - 40g, should i be looking at a fixed spool and if so how big, or a small yankie styly multiplier baitcaster...I would like to be using the rod in sea and freshwater?

Any advice greatly appreciated?

[steve w]

Go for a Shimano fixed spool 4000 or 5000 size depending on the breaking strain of line you want to use.I use the 4000 size with 8 to 10lb line on my lure rod that I keep in the boot of the car for any sneaky fishing opportunities that arise!

[archiewil]

abu cardinals are my fave reels.. heres a link...http://www.anglingcentre.net/acatalog/s_abcard100.html

[Pugs]

Just a thought, are the latest spinning reels from the likes of Shimano designed for braid or not?

I read this on an American bass forum about reels (and rods) designed for braid however no makes\models were mentioned!

[greybald]

Thanks for the replies will look at either the exage or one of the abu caridnals me thinks.....

[lewis888]

Is your rod the stc270mh? If so I use the same and it's a beautiful little rod, it was my main rod all summer accounting for hundreds of fish including pollack to about 2 1/2lb, wrasse to almost 3lb and loads of other fish on it and it coped excellently! I use mines wth a 2500ra shimano stradic, this set up balances nicely so have a look at a small 2500 before sticking a big 4-5000 on it, load the reel up with 14lb fireline or similar and you will have some awesome fun!! :D

[greybald]

Is your rod the stc270mh? If so I use the same and it's a beautiful little rod, it was my main rod all summer accounting for hundreds of fish including pollack to about 2 1/2lb, wrasse to almost 3lb and loads of other fish on it and it coped excellently! I use mines wth a 2500ra shimano stradic, this set up balances nicely so have a look at a small 2500 before sticking a big 4-5000 on it, load the reel up with 14lb fireline or similar and you will have some awesome fun!! :D


Yep thats the one the 15-40g, havent decided for def about the reel yet, the stradic does look lovely tho a bit pricey.. Will have to have a think about how much i wanna fork out... What type of lures do you tend to use around the coast, have just ordered a dexter wedge and an abu toby from veals to start me off, have you any reccomendations?

[lewis888]

Yep thats the one the 15-40g, havent decided for def about the reel yet, the stradic does look lovely tho a bit pricey.. Will have to have a think about how much i wanna fork out... What type of lures do you tend to use around the coast, have just ordered a dexter wedge and an abu toby from veals to start me off, have you any reccomendations?

Yea the stradic ain't cheap but it an absolutely beautiful little reel. If possible, have a play about with one before buying and you will know what I mean! It is so smooth and balanced but with reel power when you need it, if I had the cash I would get a 4000ra stradic for my heavier spinning set up, but thats not gonna happen any time soon!

As for lures, dexter wedges (actually a cheap copy of a dexter wedge!) took more fish for me in summer than any other method, abu tobys are great too, I used to use them all the time salmon fishing. Long slimline tobys are worth a look when fish are hitting sandeels. IMO wedges are by a long way the most effective, they cast a long way and catch lots of fish. Whatever reel you get, I would definitely consider using braid, it is so much better than mono especially on that rod you will feel every little bump! Roll on summer so I can get the spinning stuff out again!! :fish:

[steve w]

Just a thought, are the latest spinning reels from the likes of Shimano designed for braid or not?

I read this on an American bass forum about reels (and rods) designed for braid however no makes\models were mentioned!

I use braid on all my shimano reels from the smallest(Aero Match to the biggest 8000RE) with no problems,in fact all my shimanos have spare spools so I have braid on one and mono or flourocarbon on the other.I'm finding I use braid mainline for almost all my fishing apart from float fishing and beachfishing.

[Steinbeisser]

I use braid on all my shimano reels from the smallest(Aero Match to the biggest 8000RE) with no problems,in fact all my shimanos have spare spools so I have braid on one and mono or flourocarbon on the other.I'm finding I use braid mainline for almost all my fishing apart from float fishing and beachfishing.

I use a Shimano Stradic 2500 RA with a Shimano 3.3m 10-30g rod for spinning and that is a nicely balanced set-up. Also tend to use braid most of the time, although it can tangle if you do not keep enough tension on the retrieve.

Steinbeisser

[sharkster]

Balance means exactly what it says, take the rod to your tackle shop set it up and try different sized reels until you can balance the rod on your index finger roughly where the tip of your thumb would be if you were holding it when fishing, the 'science' is a bit like holding a housebrick by your side as opposed to holding it with your arm outstretched, a heavier reel is more comfortable as it works as a counterbalance so you don't get the 'lever effect'. Hope this makes sense!
As for purchasing a reel buy any fixed spool with reasonable line holding capacity, ideally 2 spare spools and has just been superceded by a new model thereby being reduced from £69.99 to £30.00- This is unlikely to include Shimano!
30-40lb braid will see you hanging on to your lures longer, as a rule of thumb with braid I try to match the BS in pounds of the braid with the top end of the casting weight of the rod in grammes unless we're getting towards the proper heavy rods. i.e 40 in your case.
Adjust drag accordingly!