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I had a cheap rod and reel combo that has served me very well for about 4 years for the little money I spent. Today after hauling in a humongous Bowfin (lost him just before I could grab him and pull him to the dock – Possibly even bigger than my life list Bowfin ) and then I got a hit so hard, violent and strong that before I could hardly do anything but grab the rod, the rod instantly bent so hard it snapped in half (drag was on high but I couldn’t even remotely loosen it in time).
I have an extremely limited budget but after some searching the web for some a reasonable but decent quality replacement I found some really solid looking reels on ebay for very reasonable prices for what they appear to be. They are of course made in Hong Kong (hate that but hell everything is made there these days) I couldn’t find a true brand name on all of them but I believe that are possibly made under the name BANDO. Like I said they appear very solid with great gear ratios with many ball bearings systems, great looking cranks ect…but looks can be deceiving and I wanted to know if anyone has tried one out and their impressions. SOME EXAMPLE LINKS BELOW:
http://www.eposeidon.com/luxurious-high-speed-8000-spinning-reel-9-1-ball-bearings-saltwater-freshwater/
http://www.eposeidon.com/high-speed-sw6000-spinning-reel-9-1-bb-saltwater-freshwater/
http://www.eposeidon.com/luxurious-high-speed-k7000-spinning-fishing-reel/
I'm not familiar with these. Maybe you'll catch lightning in a bottle and they'll be good, but I don't really trust no-name stuff out of China.
Let there be fire!
They look good and I was hoping that they possibly manufacture some other familiar name brands but market their own to make a bit extra profit. There is not much info on the net regarding them that I could find and that alarms me. I read that the Abu Garcia brand parts fit at least some of the models. Who knows I may take a chance but it depends on shipping and handling also. Thanks for the guidance.
If Abu parts fit them, then they're probably manufacturing for PureFishing. A lot of the Chinese fishing manufacturers sell knockoffs of patented US & Japanese products out the back door of the factory under the cover of darkness at lower prices. This might be one of those.
Let there be fire!
A $40 reel with a 'made in China' stamp.
You're not getting a quality product and will end up paying more in the long run from having to replace it over and over again...
I'm relatively sure they're Daiwa knockoffs. At least, that is what the folding handle says to me.
Eli
For those dollars, there's way much more decent (used) stuff out there on a certain auction site. With a little looking and a little patience.
I (but who is I?) would advise against nameless chinese garbaazj.
Shit, they're probably toxic...
Fishn sure is neat
First one is a Daiwa knock off me thinks, second is a Penn knock off (had that reel once), not sure on the third.
Honestly almost every single reel I currently own is second hand. I'd rather pay $30 for a second hand reel that sells for $70 new than buying a new $30 reel. Seems like you often get what you pay for. I'd look into second hand reels or maybe an Okuma model or another. Okuma has some stuff that is pretty decent for the price, but don't pay full MSRP on an Okuma. Fleabay, Sprawlmart, somebody will have whatever model you are looking at on sale a couple times a year almost certainly.
I think that you all are right, in most cases you get what you pay for and the chances for being disappointed is rather high. I try to be an informed consumer so I have already started looking at the used Okuma, Penn and Abu Garcia ect... reels and looking up solid reviews on the different models. I am looking for a fairly inexpensive light saltwater or fairly stout freshwater spinning reel and a good rod to continue to pursue more big Bowfin, Gar and Catfish. Now I need to get another better spincast rod and reel for my young son after our fishing trip this afternoon. We had both caught 2 nice Sunshine Bass when he hooked himself another small live bream on his hook and bobber and flung it out. He propped up his rod on the 4 foot high dock rail and come over to ask me a question as I was setting up my rig and all of a sudden we heard the rod skin the rail and we began running toward it as the rod flew up in the air and shot out over the water where it skimmed for about two seconds until it disappeared under the dark water. We are unsure what may have ripped it off the dock like that but it was really fast and powerful so I suspect a huge fish (Bowfin or Big Bass but possibly a good size Catfish or maybe even a sizable Gar). It may have been what broke my rod in half a couple days ago. I don’t like losing our meager but hard earned equipment but I would have given two rods just to land that massive fish-lol
I'd definitely agree with Hengelaar & Tony about going to Evilbay, that's where I get a lot of my gear. You can really make out like a bandit there. As for Sprawl-Mart (warms my heart to hear somebody other than me call it that), they've been known to occasionally have some good stuff.
Let there be fire!
Back in 2006 I bought 3- Shakespeare 7' Light action Micro Graphite rods from Schmalzmart for walleye fishing, and still use them today. About 4-5 years ago I replaced the generic reels wiith Quantum Optix 10 reels. I have since bought several other Quantum Optix in 10 and 30 size. I think they are good reels for the price and have held up to lots of use. Around here, my favorite tackle shop is 'the mans mall' Fleet Farm. Not to be confused with Farm &Fleet.
Any fish species is worth catching.
I have only had one other rod get jerked fully into the water and I literally dove from the shore after it (hey it was my only rod at the time-I was a broke private in the Army way back then stationed in DC and fished Maryland and Virginia waters every chance I got and it was a reflex move I guess) before it went to the bottom and with God’s help I managed to get a hand on it. I was surprised to land a relatively small Striped Bass for the species but I saved my rod, landed the fish and made a memory.
I have been blessed to catch some fairly nice size freshwater fish this summer so far but now I know where two huge Bowfin call home and plan to let them get a bit bigger and see if I can possibly break the Official Florida state record of 17 pounds (yeah I know it’s a long shot but that has rarely stopped me before). The big Longnose Gar I caught a little while back has lit a fire in me to pursue an even larger specimen in the future.
I appreciate all the guidance everyone is providing.