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want to know which reel is best for saltwater fishing.

I thought we solved this on the other forum, but, ok, Penn

The Gizmonic 3000. It also makes cappuccino and changes tires.


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I’m very fond of my penn spinfisher V. It gets submerged in saltwater and doesn’t miss a beat or show any corrosion.


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charleswilbourn wrote:want to know which reel is best for saltwater fishing.

There's no best. It's what works for you. Also, are you looking for spinning or baitcasting reels? Is it safe to assume you are a beginner? Lower end reels will tend to be lower end performers, but as a beginner, you wouldn't throw down for a $250 reel right off the bat.

I am a Shimano guy. I can afford them and know how to service most of the ones that I have. But there are others that I have used and about which I have heard good things:
Baitcasters - Shimano, Lew's, Concept 13 & some of higher end Diawas and Abus
Spinning - Shimano, Penn, Diawa

There are plenty of others. As with most things, you get what you pay for. If you are just getting started, get a lower end model and do some internet searches as to how to keep them clean and well maintained (mainly, keep them out of saltwater and don't splash them with saltwater).

This is a difficult topic. If you are new to bait casting, then getting a cheap one may not be the best bet. The better quality reels cost more, but they are also easier to use. But then again, a cheap one is easier on the wallet if you decide against bait casters. I have used a Concept A from 13 Fishing and their Inception for about a year. The Inception's side plate keeps coming off for no direct reason. I will simply pick up the rod and the cap falls off. I have had to search for it in the water on two occasions. I guess you can get the hint that I would not buy an Inception again.

While I have enjoyed the Concept A, I have recently purchased the Shimano Curado K (similar price point). The Curado has been time tested I guess you can say over the years on the salt water. I like it as well. The added benefit is that my local tackle shop is a Shimano dealer, so they can fix, adjust, etc. the reel.

For spinning reels, I have only used the Shimano Sahara. It is reasonably priced and have done well when I used it.

As on the other thread, in addition to my Penn spinfishers, still using my Lew's baitcasters, and have an XUL Tica Cetus and medium salt Tica Libra.
I'm pretty sure Tica is building most of the other new reels, as well.

for Casting reels i'm super happy with Lews. They have been listening to coastal fisherman and putting better materials and higher quality into them and they're casting great and holding up. Shimano Chrornarch is also a good one some of my long time friends have them and they are still going. I'd stick with those.

Super happy with my Diawa Ballistic spinner as well for light tackle red and trout action.

Another vote for Lews. Handles the occasional dunk very well, performs just as well as the $3-400 reels out there.

Lews for me. Used to be a Shimano guy but now the ones I have left are now stand bys.

I use the cheap Shimano Syncopate spinning reel with minimal maintenance. Most of my fishing is for smaller fish like slot reds and trout, spanish mackerel and others caught from piers and shore. But a two inch over slot red last year did give it a workout before the red was landed and released. 20# braid is the line. Artificials is the bait. Usually get at least 15 years of hard service from the reel. Then buy another one. As you can see I am a bottom dollar guy for whatever works well.

KastKing and H2O reels for me!

I fish with both Lews and Shimano casting reels. Love them both, but if I had to pick one it'd be the Lews. For 99.00 bucks it's a tough reel to beat. Had it for 4 years now, and very little maintenance has been done. Now on my spinning set up I have a cheaper reel, and knock on wood that rascal has held up for 5 plus years. Go get a few different reels in your hand and see what you like. Just remember you don't have to break the bank to get a great reel.


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Before i was SHIMANO fan,but when one STRADIC 4000(made in Japan) after one season in salt water start to don't work o.k.,i sold the reel after cleaning at FTU.
This happening in 2003,so i change,and now for over 10 years i was fishing with DAIWA WHISKER SS TOURNAMENT 1300(and some times with SS 7000 ) like this https://under-the-open-sky.com/best-baitcasting-reels/ just in salt water,catching a lot of nice fish without problem and with minimum maintainance.
I never fish again with SHIMANO,just with this old very good reel .The fish don't care because this reel was made the same for 30 years ,having just 3 stainless steel ball bearing,and never was in sale like SHIMANO.
With minimum maintenance the reel can serve you for over 20 years.

I am fishing just from the bank with artificial

TroutSupport.com wrote:for Casting reels i'm super happy with Lews. They have been listening to coastal fisherman and putting better materials and higher quality into them and they're casting great and holding up. Shimano Chrornarch is also a good one some of my long time friends have them and they are still going. I'd stick with those.

Super happy with my Diawa Ballistic spinner as well for light tackle red and trout action.

Like my old Penns, which are relegated to backup/borrow, I'm still fishing Lew's from the 90s - even BB-1LNG that wasn't made for the salt. That one I totally retired from the salt, but it was my workhorse all through the 90s when I was working contract and fishing a Lot.
My BB-25SW is a workhorse, though its collector's value seems to be going through the roof.
I just broke in a new Super Duty, and was very happy with its performance. It has the first mag casting brake tune that actually does something.

On the spinning side, my $100 Tica Libra SX3000 continues to impress with its smoothness and endurance, and good response from Tica US service (all I needed was a spare spool). Also, Amazon price on the SX3000 has dropped to $75.