"What makes a reel a good reel?"

What do you look for when buying a good reel and I?m not talking about makes here! What do you check for to see that the reel does precisely what it says it does on the box?

First has got to be the smoothness (quality) of the clutch, then line lay and then it has to just look sexy!

Well thats just my opinion....

first thing I do is put a reel on a butt and make sure I can reach the spool lip comfortably with my finger, its amazing how many reels have too long a stem.

Im not a big fish man so the clutch/drag doesnt come into my assesment.

I like a nice solid compact reel with no silly little levers or switches to get in the way. And the plainer looking the better, why do some reels look like something you would hang on a christmas tree ?

I want a true continuous anti reverse, some reels claim this but have a little bit of give, no good for setting a fine quiver tip properly.

The bail arm must go over in every position, some reels have a resistance spot where it wont go over.

nice shallow WIDE spools, although this quality is a bit rare these days for some strange reason.

Above all it just has to 'feel' right, i would say that most of us, once we have established the type of reel we like can quickly judge if one is any good or not in a few turns of the handle

I don't buy new fixed-spool reels because no-one makes one with the correct flyer direction for left-handers. "Ambidextrous" implies equal facility with either hand. If an open-faced FSR is labelled "Ambidextrous", they're LYING and ought to be hauled in front of the courts in re Trade Descriptions.

It's going to cost a fortune to set up the gears the opposite way around for left handers Alan, although I do sympathise.

A good fixed spool reel should be well made and designed to last. The design should be such as to enable your fingers to reach the spool easily. The drag should be smooth and the roller in the bail arm should be on ball bearings so that it does roll.

Shallow spools don't worry me as it's easy to build up the spool with a bit of old line.

A anti-reverse without backlash should be standard in this day and age.

Front drags? Dont' like them. You have to take off the front drag screw to change spools and I have lost them before today.

But most of all the reel must be BLACK!!!

The daft thing is, they tool up to make right-handed reels to squeeze a tiny percentage out of a saturated market but about a tenth of us are southpaws - with no reels at all!
It must be the biggest open goal in the business.

Going off topic a bit here, why are a lot of sea reels made to wind with the right hand?? It's something I've ofter wondered about.

Alan i am left handed but cast/strike with mu right hand and use the reel with my left hand ,is this your way or do i swing both ways ?

Sit back and wait for the little gems of wisdom !

Right Hand Winding for saltwater multiplyers?

Good question.

Most people are right handed and because of this your right hand is the strongest. Much of saltwater fishing requires heavy cranking and your right hand is better for this. 90% of my beachcasting, as well as rock and surf fishing was done with the right hand drive. The biggest disadvantage of fishing right hand drive if you are a right hander is that you have to change hands after casting out or winding in.

For lighter sea fishing and baitcasting in freshwater I prefer the left hand drive as your best hand is on the rod all the time.

I have never used a fixed spool reel right handed in my life. But it must be understood that fixed spool reels are useless for really heavy cranking, eg: bringing a heavy fish up from 10 fathoms.

The first time i handled a rifle i went to put the butt into my left shoulder and was told to put it into my right ,i did protest but in the end had to do as i was told and it worked fine ,later i tried it in my left shoulder and there is no way that would work ,not for me anyway .

I would look for a positive bail arm action. A line roller that actually works (a lot don't). and a good clutch mechanism.

Appart from that, what should the internal gears be made of on a top of the range reel?

If the rifle has a bolt action, how are you going to use it left handed?

The bolt is on the right hand side.

No bolt action Ron apart from the one cocking for single shot or rapid shot ,36 rounds if i remember but that aside it just didn`t work in the left shoulder .

Les, I hold the rod in my left hand, and use my right for winding and netting. Not that I can remember much about netting...but nothing looks clumsier than people casting with one hand, then changing over to retrieve. Especially if they try to change once they've hooked a fish.
Odd thing is, though I write and fish left-handed, I do everything else either right-handed or ambi ... and usually clumsily!
Shooting is complicated by the fact that I'm strongly left-eyed. Other things aren't helped by being right footed. Sabotaged at birf, I wuz!

Pet hates in reels: over-long stems, small spools, and clips that don't. Or clip in the sense that nail-clippers do.
Please can we have line clips that just hold the line, and let go of it at the flip of a lever/ push of a button, even (especially) under tension?

I prefer front drags, partly because I use spare spools a lot, and the drag setting stays with the spool, and also because they are more direct and seem smoother and more precise. If I need to change the drag with a fish on, I can see what I'm doing better. Last time that mattered was probably in the eighties, but still...

Isn't steel on bronze supposed to be the best combination for gears? I know I'm filled with fear when I look inside a reel and see the dull grey of cast aluminium teeth!

Alan , it look`s like that being left handed is more of a curse than first thought , I fish the other way around but it seems natural to me .
I also prefer front drag ,maybe becouse i don`t use baitrunners and never have and i can see what i am doing and can "feel" how far i need to go .
As for line clips i use line clips on the rod ,while haveing the bailarm open .

Shimano's are one of the better reels.
So looking through the manual on this reel, might give a better idea on what to look out for.

How much maintainance does it need?

Stainless steel sealed ball races.

Powerfull, smooth, and precise rear drag.

Built of non corrosive materials.

XT-7 construction.
More resistant to torque and stress than ordinary graphite so has a greater resistance to wear, and operates even better in wet conditions over normal graphite.
In tests XT-7 shows up to 50% more strength.

These are just a few of the specs on the Shimano, what we really need now is another reel to compare it with.

It might be a good idea to start with what materials various reels are made from and take it from there.

The reel may well do what it says on the box (as a lot of things do). But I think it is more important to have an idea on how long it will do it for before it falls to pieces.

Yes, and a reel might look sexy on the outside, it's whats inside that counts.

Shimano is my first choice with Daiwa second.

Guys I ask not for makes
Here's what I said in case you forgot

"What do you look for when buying a good reel and I?m not talking about makes here! What do you check for to see that the reel does precisely what it says it does on the box?"

Well for me it must be reliable, it will be used in all weathers so it must be strong but not big. the bail arm should operate positively and the switch for the anti reverse must be easily found and user friendly. The clutch whether it is at the front or rear of the reel must give line smoothly when required, and adjustment simple but positive. If not walk away many people have lost fish due to incorrectly set or poor quality clutches. Rotate the handle the reel should feel smooth and balanced (no wobble or strange noises). Also just because it says it has 6 million ball bearings does not mean it is the best reel, (there are good bearings and bad ones). Many reels from years ago are still in use today and they dont have many bearings, just good quality materials and excelent workmanship! Infinate anti reverse is nice but not essential (its up to you). I dont like bright plated reels they look nice in the shop but catch the sunlight on the river bank. Spare spools are a bonus most reels should have at least one, if not find out how much they are before you buy the reel, you may be shocked at the price. I try to avoid deep spools as they use up to much line I dont need 200 m of 6lb line most of my fishing is fairly close in. It may sound silly but the less gagetry you have on your reel the less there is to go wrong.(just get what you need). Picture this the reel will get bashed in your bag, on your rod climbing over a stile pulled off rod rests, covered in dirt and still it must work. the last thing you want is for any item of tackle to let you down when it is cold getting dark and your 2 or 3 miles from the car! Like I said earlier I look for reliability. A good reel does not have to cost a fortune.........