You know winter won’t last forever and you are cleaning the gear and prepping for the first fishing trip of the year. But are your spinning reels really up to another year’s punishment? Are you just craving the hottest and newest spinning reel to put on that new rod you got for Christmas?
Sure it was a present to yourself, but they never would have given you the right one anyway. I mean just look how mad your wife was when she opened up her present from you and found what was apparently the WRONG kind of vacuum cleaner.
But what are the hottest spinning reels for 2016 you may be wondering. Here are a few items culled from the ICAST fishing convention and a few other secret sources.
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Abu Garcia Revo Inshore Spinning Reel
A sweet inshore spinning reel, this thing is meant to take the salt water like it was nothing and is geared towards fishing for braid. It
makes use of their X- craftic™ material to increase corrosion resistance, as well as having 6 stainless steel HPCR™ bearings + 1
roller bearing. The smallest in the line will hold 180yd of 10# braid and the biggest will hold 200yd of 20#.
MSRP on these bad boys is $199-219 but I’m finding them for slightly less on amazon.
CHECK AMAZON’S PRICE
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Abu Garcia Revo SX Spinning Reel
Time to chase some trout? But does your arm get tired from throwing metal at them all day? Then check out the Revo SX spinning reels. The line in fact is touted as being lighter because of their IMC6 body designs and X-Cräftic™ gearbox design. The Revo SX also has a C6 carbon body. Want to feel like you are fishing with a high end sports car? Here you go.
9 bearings for a smooth ride and a line capacity that ranges from 110yds of 6# with the REVO2SX10 model, all the way up to a sizable 230yds of 10# mono on the REVO2SX40 model. To me, this would be a great trout fishing reel.
MSRP is $159.95 but as usual check Amazon’s price. I am seeing them a little cheaper there.
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Abu Garcia Revo MGX Spinning Reel
Want to fish 2016 in style and make your friends drool? Then cash in those cans, and drop a bit more money for the Revo MGX. This this in
slick!
Lets be honest here, no one needs 11 ball bearings to reel in a fish. But if you are going to fish, you might as well do
it in style and the Revo MGX delivers on that. The parts list is basically all of the best Abu Garcia can deliver in a spinning reel.
Carbon body, spool and handle shaft, aircraft grade aluminum shaft, massively detailed gearing, and the list goes on.
You could go out with a $6 spinning reel, but why? So it can break in six months, or worse, fail when you hook into that once in a lifetime fish? Dude, life is too short for cheap reels!
MSRP is $299.95 and Amazon isn’t much cheaper but it will save you a few dollars.
CHECK AMAZON’S PRICE
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Pflueger® President® Limited Edition
Spinning Reel
I haven’t gotten a chance to put my hands on one of these yet, but by the specs, this might be a good line of spinning reels if you are looking to not break the bank.
The bodies are graphite with aluminum gearing, so they are relatively light, running from just over 6 ounces to just over 10. For the price point, 10 ball bearings is excellent and they even classied it up a little with a carbon fiber shaft on the handle. It may not be the race car of a spinning reel that the Abu Garcia Revo line is, but it is a solid reel that will perform well.
This limited edition reel is only available in 2016 BTW!
MSRP is a reasonable $80
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Quantum Throttle Spinning Reel
Quantum is a sister brand to Zebco, and lets be honest, that isn’t a
brand that screams quality and high end reels. That isn’t what we expect from these guys, we expect spinning reel and rod combos the function for $25 and that is what they deliver.
The Quantum line is a definite step or two up from the Zebco brand. Honestly these reels are generally sufficient for any casual angler.
They are definitely stepping up the quality game, especially in the new reels like the Quantum Throttle. What impresses me with this reel is the solid aluminum uni-body construction and 11 ball bearings. For the price this is a hard reel to beat.
MSRP for the Quantum Throttle is $59.99 and that is about what I’m seeing them for online.
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Shimano Stradic FK
Shimano has rolled out a new creature with the Stradic FK.
The big deal with this spinning reel is the X-ship and the HAGANE body. The result they say is a smoother reel that has a stiff body that won’t flex. Both things are important to anyone that has ever fought a pissed off fish. Feeling your reel bunch up under stress is no fun. Personally it seems that 7 bearings is a bit thin for a spinning reel in this price point.
Whether it is worth the hype or not is still up for debate. The online community is split on if this is hype or not. People that have these spinning reels seem to love them though.
MSRP isn’t listed on the manufacturer’s website which is annoying as hell. The pricing online is running between $160 and $230 depending on the model
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Mitchell® Mag-Pro R Reel
Mitchell isn’t a name I see a lot here in the northwest, but it is an old company and has been making fishing reels for a long time. I would consider them as making reels for casual fishing. Their price point on their classic reel the Mitchell 300 is only $50.
The Mag-Pro R is a step up from the Mitchell 300 with 10 ball bearings instead of 8 and an aluminum body instead of polymer. If you are looking for a decently made, solid spinning reels at a budget price, the Mitchell Mag-Pro R might be the spinning reel you are looking for.
MSRP for this reel is a budget friendly $89.95
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Daiwa Exist Spinning Reels
Forget it! Don’t look at it, you can’t have it! The Diama Exist is so advanced, so cutting edge that you don’t get to have one! So far I can see that these are only available in Japan and I’m thinking they transform into motorcycles when they aren’t being used as fishing reels.
All joking aside, the big piece of technology in these reels is that it has a 13 Bearing System (2 MBB + 10 CRBB + 1RB). Of these, the Magsealed ball bearings are the pimp shit. In them, magnetic oil bridges the gap between the inner and outer bearing races, keeping the elements out. The nanotech fluid in them changes properties when under the influence of a magnet. Net result is a massively smooth reel with insane corrosion resistance.
MSRP of this piece of high technology isn’t listed but I’m betting it is $699 from what I’m seeing online. YES! $700 for a spinning reel. How was your tax return?
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Team Lew’s® Pro Speed Spin® Series
Another name I’m not personally familiar with, The Team Lew’s brand has been around for a while and has been making reels since 1973. A middle of the road brand by price point, Lew’s has reels ranging from about $30 on up to $129 for their top of the line, the Pro Speed Spin reels.
There isn’t a ton about these reels that is exceptional, but they do have carbon rotors and for me, I like seeing 12 ball bearings on this model, and it does have a carbon drag. All in all this should be a decent reel. The price point is reasonable too for this model and its features.
MSRP isn’t listed
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There Are The New Spinning Reels For 2016
OK, not really, there are tons more and this page could go on forever. If there is a new one I missed and you think I should add, leave a comment, send an email or so on. Likewise if you have one of these reels, let us know what you think of it!
