Freshwater Fishing Gear Buyer's Guide - The Spinner Reel

Welcome back to our ongoing series of articles on Freshwater Fishing Gear. With this series we are hoping to take out the fright of buying fishing tackle from the novice angler.

We will address a wide range of fishing gear from reels, rods, lures, baits, jigs, lines, and hooks. It is hoped by the finish of the series your can go online and purchase the right gear and within budget.

We started our discussion on freshwater fishing reels with the spincast reel, the easiest reel for novices and the casual fisherman. This article will cover the spinner reel, and will continue with the baitcast reel and lastly an article on the fly fishing reel.

Spinning reels come in numerous varieties and are utilized by children, occasional hobbyist and enthusiastic fisherman alike. When it comes to fishing reels, the spinning reel is the most well-known and best-selling. It is principally used for light-line applications and rules in terms of performance and simplicity of use.

The spinner reel is ideal for catching just about any fish out there; whether it is ponds, creeks, lakes, or rivers. You can catch big mouth bass, channel catfish, rainbow trout or small bluegills or sun fish it doesn't matter, if you have strong enough line your spinning reel will land the fish.

The spinning reel has a very distinctive look with the large wire bale around the open-faced line spool and a line roller to help hold the line as you retrieve it. The reel handle or "crank" can have either one or two knobs, both work equally well at reducing line friction as you retrieve it, with little or no snarling. This type of reel is mounted on the underside of the rod.

There are few drawbacks to the spinning reel. It is only limited by the size of your fishing line, when compared to the baitcast reel it holds less line. This means you will need to use a thinner, lighter line to guarantee you have enough line to get to the position you want. The lighter the line the smaller fish you can catch. The spinning reel is also not as accurate at casting as the baitcast reel

A good example of spinner reel is the "Pflueger Trion GX-7 Spinning Reel," priced at under $40 it is an affordable choice for general-duty fishing, featuring lightweight graphite body and rotor; anodized aluminum spool with titanium spool lip.

The next review in our series will feature the baitcast reel, a serious reel for master anglers.

About the author: Bill Keller writes about outdoor activities in North Texas from his blog at TowersOverTexas.com. To purchase Spinning Fishing Reels or to see more articles about Freshwater Fishing Tackle just click on a link.

Freshwater Fishing Reels - An Important Piece Of Equipment

Freshwater Fishing Reels - An Important Piece Of Equipment

Freshwater fishing reels are an equally important piece of fishing tackle as fishing rods. As there are different types of rods for different sorts of fishing, there are also different sorts of freshwater fishing reels oo. It isn't essential to spend a lot of money on a freshwater fishing reel, although you can do. You will probably find that a basic freshwater fishing reel will be more than suitable for your needs. If you buy the right freshwater fishing reel, toy might not need to replace it or upgrade it for several years.

Most people who fish for trout prefer to strip the fly fishing line manually, rather than by using the handle. This is because it is quicker to strip the line by hand, rather than using the fishing reel handle. In addition, you can also get a better feel by holding the line in your hand.

In some situations when trout fishing, you will want to wind the line in using the handle. This could be when you are following a big fish, and want to be able to control the line better, or when you are fishing in somewhere where there are overhanging branches, or there is a risk of your line snagging on something. If you are moving around in the water a lot, you might also prefer to use the handle.

If you're fishing for salmon, then you are likely to wind your line in. This is because you are much more likely to be in the water. Dedicated salmon fly freshwater fishing are bigger than trout fishing reels, and are more efficient at winding the line back in.

Fishing technology has come on in leaps and bounds, and today, fishing rods and other bits of fishing tackle are getting lighter than ever. Not all anglers prefer a very light reel though, as they feel as the freshwater fishing reel helps to balance the rod, a very lightweight reel upsets the balance.

If you are purchasing a new fly freshwater fishing reel, you might want to purchase additional fishing reels, so that you know they will fit your reel. By marking the line weight on the reel, you will always be able to identify your reels. This can save precious time whilst you are setting up.

To protect your investment, you should consider getting a bag for your freshwater fishing reel. Reels spend a lot of time at the bottom of tackle bags, and so can easily get damaged. You might not discover that your freshwater fishing reel has been damaged until it's too late.

Helpful Tips For Buying a New Freshwater Fishing Reel

Helpful Tips For Buying a New Freshwater Fishing Reel


Tips on buying freshwater fishing reels would consist of quite a few points to consider. The sport of fishing has evolved greatly and finding the most suitable equipment for your venture may be tougher than it was in the past. Are you buying a freshwater fishing reel for an expert fisherman or a novice? What type of fish are you fishing for taking size and weight into consideration? Will your fishing trip take you to a lake or stream? These are some general questions to consider but let's focus on some specific key tips on buying a freshwater fishing reel.

There are different types of freshwater fishing reels on the market today. The spinning freshwater fishing reel is the most common of freshwater fishing reels and is great for general use. The design of the freshwater fishing reel was made for the comfort of the fisherman but it does take some skill to master the use. Fishing line has the tendency to become tangled if you do not have the experience with this type of freshwater fishing reel. This is not a freshwater fishing reel for a beginner.

The spin casting freshwater fishing reel is a good beginner's reel. Reason being is that the design has been improved upon to eliminate most line issues. One major difference between the spinning freshwater fishing reel and the spin casting freshwater fishing reel is the casting distance. A spinning freshwater fishing reel can be cast a longer distance than the spin casting freshwater fishing reel which would be an advantage for most anglers. A beginner would not need the distance as much as they would need the confidence of casting a line successfully.

Other tips for buying a freshwater fishing reel to consider would be the gear ratio and the amount of bearings the freshwater fishing reels are designed with. The amount of bearings will determine the smoothness of the reel. In general the more bearings, the smoother the freshwater fishing reel. The gear ratio is the number of rotations of the freshwater fishing reel after a full crank. If you need to bring your lure back in quickly, a reel with a higher ratio will be necessary. Bottom fishing may not require a higher gear ratio.

The size of the freshwater fishing reel being another important point. Depending on the type of fish you are fishing for should determine the size of test line you will be using. Different size freshwater fishing reels will accommodate different size test line. If you are going to use six to ten pound test line choose a medium size freshwater fishing reel.

Spinning Freshwater Fishing Reel Tips

Spinning Freshwater Fishing Reel Tips


I'm going to discuss three spinning freshwater fishing reel tips that will help the average angler be much more successful.

1. Make Sure Your freshwater fishing reel Matches Your Rod - Whenever a spinning freshwater fishing reel is purchased, on the packaging it says what weight it is: ultra light, light, medium, or heavy. You want the weight of the reel to match the weight of the rod, and you want the weight to match the type and size of fish that your fishing for. For example, if you're fishing for trout in small rivers and streams, you want to use an ultra light spinning freshwater fishing reel and rod. Light action would be the heaviest in trout fishing situations such as these. This is also a great reason to not buy combination sets with the rod and spinning freshwater fishing reel sold together. In most cases these combination sets arte made with very cheap rods and spinning freshwater fishing reels. It's better to purchase the two separately, so that you can get the feel and balance that you desire.
2. Maintain Your Spinning freshwater fishing reel Properly - I personally make it a habit of cleaning my spinning freshwater fishing reels before the start of every fishing season. This is a great idea, especially if your freshwater fishing reels get a lot of wear and tear. Cleaning and greasing your spinning freshwater fishing reels is a lot easier than you might think, and can help them last for years and years. Just do a search on Google for "cleaning your spinning freshwater fishing reel" or something to that effect, and you should be able to find instructions on how to do it.
3. Pay Attention To The Number Of Ball Bearings - The more ball bearings a spinning freshwater fishing reel has, the less play it will have in the crank. This makes a big difference to those of us who like to fish with live bait in the flowing waters of both rivers and streams. I like to have no "play" in my handle. In other words, when I turn the handle, I want the bail to immediately turn. I like to have no "play" at all. This normally means that I want at least 6 ball bearings in my spinning freshwater fishing reels. Pflueger makes some great spinning freshwater fishing reels, for anyone who happens to be in the market?