New Reel Advice Needed

[Caviman2201]

I'm looking to buy an new reel in the $60-$80 range and am currently looking at Daiwa Emcasts... I'm wondering if anyone knows the difference between the Emcast Sport and the Emcast Plus or if anyone has any suggestions for a better reel in that price range.

I'm looking for something to handle up to 220-250 yards of 20-25lb line and is a good caster. This will be primarily for pier and some surf use.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[hokieboy]

I have 5 penn ss and they are great reels. There are plenty of guys on this site who will sell you a used one in that price range. The penn 7500ss would fit that range and deff a used one in that price range will be easy to find. They are great reels, very easy to clean, and if something goes wrong u can send it back to penn and they will fix it for you. JMO...

[Caviman2201]

I have 5 penn ss and they are great reels. There are plenty of guys on this site who will sell you a used one in that price range. The penn 7500ss would fit that range and deff a used one in that price range will be easy to find. They are great reels, very easy to clean, and if something goes wrong u can send it back to penn and they will fix it for you. JMO...

you suggest Penn over the Daiwa? I have heard lots of good things about the Daiwa but I've heard the Penn's quality has gone downhill the last few years.

All of this is hearsay so I have no idea whether its true or not...

if you ck the daiwa site, it lists all the specs of the two reels & also an Emcast Pro which has a higher retrieve ratio -- prolly a little more $$ tho than $ 80.
the daiwa B & G reels are also very good performers, and easy to maintain, durable.
have heard very good things about the emcast reels -- think the "pro" model is the new kid on the block.

sorry my mistake -- it is an emblem pro not an emcast pro

Actually, Basspro.com has the Emcast Pro's for $79.99... They don't seem to carry the Emblem Pro's...

[hokieboy]

I have not seen this happen. I have had no trouble with my penn and if you do have trouble there customer service is good. The reels are very simple to take apart and clean which i really like. I landed a 38" drum on a 6500 last year so they have treated me well...

[Caviman2201]

do they cast as well as the Emcast? The spool looks very short and deep as opposed to the daiwa which has a very tall, shallow spool...

http://image.basspro.com/images/images2/76500/76967.jpg

http://image.basspro.com/images/images2/90500/90878.jpg

[hokieboy]

I dont know about casting distance, but i do know that the penn will last you 30 years compared to 5 or so out of the diawa. I dont have any problems with distance with my penn. Alot of the distance is in casting style and rod...

[Caviman2201]

I will admit, that Penn looks tough-as-nails sturdy...

[hokieboy]

It is. It all depends on what u want. Like a said before the penn will last you alot longer than the daiwa. Right out of the box the daiwa will be smoother but as soon as it gets a little salt and sand in there it will start to shut down. The penn wont do this...

[hamlet]

Im not recommending these above all the other suggestiions here, but Penn also made a Silver series reel... sort of the spinfisher style for people who didnt have the coin for top shelf stuff. I have been fishing with a Penn 105c for years... maybe decades, Im not sure when I actually bought it. I have it on a 10' surf rod and it is an all-metal champ. Smooth and silky? No. Bullet proof? yes.

You can buy these Penn silvers on ebay for anywhere from $15 used to $35 brand new in clam pack. 103cs, 104cs, 105cs are the model numbers when they were discontinued.

[ffemtreed]

Look at the TICA reels. They can be had right in that price range.

[HellRhaY]

penn's have an abysmal quality. nothing will last you 3 years ever since they moved production to china with poor qualtiy control. i have friends who complained abouot the new penn's. YES, the old penn's, the made in USA penn's will alst you forever, but the new ones have bad rep and low ratings. Don't get the captiva either a.k.a craptiva, it's called that because of a reason.

the penn's can't outcast the emcast on any given day, given the same casting techinique by the same person with the same rod.

the daiwa reel you are looking at is built for distance casting. it has a long, shallow, tapered spool. it's design prevents line friction from rubbing the spool lip.

[The Crew]

And the Emcast has a tapered spool as well to help with distance.
If you are going primarily from the pier it doesn't matter what you use.
True the Penns are starting to get a bad rep.

I vote for the Emcast.
Also consider, Tica Sportera (baitrunner) $65 and Tica Scepter GX $65.

Can't give you a link to the Sportera because they sell it on another forum.

The Scepter is here:
http://www.all-americanoutdoors.com/inc/sdetail/3007

Good luck!

[Caviman2201]

Well, I went out on my lunch break to my local tackle shop and picked up an Emcast Plus 5000... I've got a 12' Ugly Stick (w/ the Fuji guides) waiting to be mated with it... then I'll see how far i can cast...

Any of you that frequent Annapolis and like to spend your money at local tackle shops like I do, check out alltackle.com... they, obviously, have a website but they also open their doors to walk-ins. They have a pretty decent selection and usually have the same prices as BPS. They're 5 seconds from Annapolis Mall.

[marstang50]

Caviman,
a breakaway cannon will help your cast using heavy leads. I had the emcast plus 5500 on a 12'tica.