The reel is an important tool for spin fishing. You shouldn't try to save too
much money on the reel or you'll repent. If you're on a tight budget it's better
to chose a cheaper rod. I'm talking with fixed spool reels on my mind here, but
most of it will go for multipliers as well. Of
course the reel should be as light as possible and that also means small,
because you'll be holding it in your hand together with the rod the whole time
when your fishing. But there are limits to the size of the reel. Smaller reels
are not as tough and won't stand to lines of high breaking strength and heavy
rods. The reel which holds just 100m of the line you intend to use will probably
be to weak. You should also be aware, that the reel helps balance the rod, if
you don't do that with additional weights added to the butt of your rod.
The reel should feel smooth and easy when you turn the handle.
That does not mean you need a lot of ball bearings, 2-3 ball bearings and a
roller bearing are enough. Nowadays good reels have a roller bearing which also
serves as one-way clutch for the instant anti reverse. This is a feature which I
think is very important for spin fishing, together with the low stretch super
lines it means your hookset is practically instantaneous and a lot of fish
really hook themselves.
A very important part of the reel is the (fighting) drag. It has start up easily
and apply a smooth and steady drag. Front drags are really the better
construction principle, but for the most freshwater fish a good rear drag is
good enough and gives you some advantages over a front drag: it's easier to
adjust drag pressure while fighting a fish, especially if the reel is fitted
with a "fighting lever" ( or what ever the manufacturer calls it). The fighting
lever enables you to quickly adjust the drag pressure without loosing your
original setting.
You might want a tight drag for setting the hook, play the fish on a medium
setting and have it real loose during the landing phase to reduce risks of a
sudden a panicky "last run".
The winding contour should be as regular possible. When you look sideways at the
spool the silhouette of the line should form a straight line between the top and
the bottom rim of the spool parallel to the axe of the spool. It shouldn't be
wavy and not thicker at either end. When you're using super lines this is even
more important or you'll be threatened by birds nests. It's a pity you can't
normally control the winding contour a reel makes in the store, unless your
tackle dealer has filled his reels with line without using the spooling station.
I've had three Shimanos, I'm was really happy with: a Stradic GTM, a Sahara GTE
and a Super GT, the cheaper models are just not good enough for serious lure
fishing, especially because oft the bad winding. There are other good companies
for fishing reels of course, I hear a lot of good things about Daiwa, but
haven't tried one yet. Now that I've written all this I've checked the winding
on my reels and have to say: even the models I've praised do not wind up the
line perfectly, but it seems to be good enough in practice.
