dezza
Well-known member
First of all I am not sponsored by any tackle company. Secondly I have fished for nearly 60 years of my life so I just might be qualified to comment on this matter. I have also used fixed spool reels from ancient Intrepids, Felton Crosswinds and Omnias to the the very latest and best available today.
My choice of the best two makers is simple. Number One, without any shadow of doubt, is Shimano. I have used over 20 Shimano made reels in my life and have had no cause to complain about any of them. My Stradics for example have been used to catch several salt water species as well as wind in huge feeders and barbel in the Trent and Severn. They still run as smoothly as the day I bought them.
Number Two is Diawa. They don't have the same range of reels as does Shimano but what they do have are very well made indeed, even some of the budget priced models. I do have a TDR 250B which is probably the best small fixed spool reel ever made, even though it has a front drag. This reel, though expensive, will outlive me by 50 years at least. The gears are like silk and I have used it to catch everything from roach on the Idle to barbel on the Trent.
I often smile when I read of people who stick religiously to their old Mitchells, Altexes, Feltons - ad nauseum. Many of these people are extremely talented anglers, yet my feeling is that they succeed in spite of their reels, not because of them. Were they to chuck their ancient bits of decreptitude in the skip and make the paradigm shift to to 21st century, I think they would be astonished at just how much the fixed spool reel has advanced.
But what do you think?
My choice of the best two makers is simple. Number One, without any shadow of doubt, is Shimano. I have used over 20 Shimano made reels in my life and have had no cause to complain about any of them. My Stradics for example have been used to catch several salt water species as well as wind in huge feeders and barbel in the Trent and Severn. They still run as smoothly as the day I bought them.
Number Two is Diawa. They don't have the same range of reels as does Shimano but what they do have are very well made indeed, even some of the budget priced models. I do have a TDR 250B which is probably the best small fixed spool reel ever made, even though it has a front drag. This reel, though expensive, will outlive me by 50 years at least. The gears are like silk and I have used it to catch everything from roach on the Idle to barbel on the Trent.
I often smile when I read of people who stick religiously to their old Mitchells, Altexes, Feltons - ad nauseum. Many of these people are extremely talented anglers, yet my feeling is that they succeed in spite of their reels, not because of them. Were they to chuck their ancient bits of decreptitude in the skip and make the paradigm shift to to 21st century, I think they would be astonished at just how much the fixed spool reel has advanced.
But what do you think?
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