what would u pick

[IANG]

what would you pick

Have used all of the reels mentioned and if your fishing clean beaches then the 7ht mag is a pleasure to use,brilliant distance with ease.

[TerryC]

i dont have that many reels i have a penn 515 mag2 but was looking to upgrade it to a better one and was wondering what people would chose out the 4

I guess it depend on how you are getting on with the Penn that you have and why you want to upgrade.

The 515 has a, relatively, narrow spool so cast timing is more important so in order to prevent over runs a lot of people have to run the reel with the mag turned up. So even though they are very fast reels distance can suffer.

The line capacity is rather limited on the 515 so if you are looking for a lot of line capacity then the ABU is at the bottom of the list for that reason alone.

I haven't had a try of an Akios reel so I can't really comment but of the other two 7HT and the Penn 525 the Penn is more suited to me and the build quality is very good.

Good luck with the new reel

[Persues]

After recent extremely positive experience with Akios reels I'd swing in that direction, but that's purely because I've had such a great Akios experience and I hear such good things from folks who actually know how to cast

A couple of points:

1. the Penn fans will always big up Penn reels (same goes for fans of Abu, Akios, Daiwa et al) so you won't necessarily get impartial advice

2. casting does not equal beach fishing !!!

Too many folks think the further they can cast the better, and loads of people grossly overestimate their casting distance as well. Still others will categorically deny that distance X is not attainable by you with your kit on the basis that they themselves don't think they could manage it with the same outfit

There are a few marks around our coast where a huge cast is better but on most of them it isn't.

3. a good caster should be able to do very well regardless of the kit used (although he/she will obviously do better with certain rod/reel combinations)

Another forum member (kayos) was telling me that he had some casting lessons a while ago. To paraphrase his words, his casting instructor picked his rod and reel up, and proceeded to empty the reel on his first cast with it. Case in point.

Do a simple comparison:

Cost

Warranty cover (an important consideration when buying new)

Spool capacity in relation to appropriate breaking strain line

How it performs out of the box

Search for comparative reviews from a less sales oriented source than most sea fishing magazines (lots of useful information on various forums and YouTube, for example)

If you can manage it, pester your mates, their mates, and their mate's mates to try each reel yourself a few times to get a feel for it prior to purchase.

My experience of Akios reels means I'll look for products from them above other manufacturers first. If I'd had a bad experience they wouldn't even make my shortlist. The same could be said if I'd gone with Penn and had a great experience with one of their reels.

Hence all advice is very, very subjective.

SL30SH is highly recommended by many. I hate mine with a passion, and I know of quite a few instances of product failure due to a common design flaw. One of mine blew up spectacularly mid-cast recently when it was only a couple of months old. As a result, I won't recommend SL30SH reels.

Is my bad experience the norm ?

No, probably not.

But it altered my perspective of a product and manufacturer, so I'm the exact opposite of the SL30SH fans as a result.

This isn't a right or wrong exercise.

It all comes down to what you find suits you and, in that regard, advice can become a dangerous thing, since one man's meat is another man's poison.

One final thought - the kit does not make the caster or the fisherman. You can learn to cast well with almost any equipment if you take the time to do so, and the fish don't give a fig which rod, reel, line or rig you're using...

Best of luck whichever product you choose

[david.northeast]

After recent extremely positive experience with Akios reels I'd swing in that direction, but that's purely because I've had such a great Akios experience and I hear such good things from folks who actually know how to cast

A couple of points:

1. the Penn fans will always big up Penn reels (same goes for fans of Abu, Akios, Daiwa et al) so you won't necessarily get impartial advice

2. casting does not equal beach fishing !!!

Too many folks think the further they can cast the better, and loads of people grossly overestimate their casting distance as well. Still others will categorically deny that distance X is not attainable by you with your kit on the basis that they themselves don't think they could manage it with the same outfit

There are a few marks around our coast where a huge cast is better but on most of them it isn't.

3. a good caster should be able to do very well regardless of the kit used (although he/she will obviously do better with certain rod/reel combinations)

Another forum member (kayos) was telling me that he had some casting lessons a while ago. To paraphrase his words, his casting instructor picked his rod and reel up, and proceeded to empty the reel on his first cast with it. Case in point.

Do a simple comparison:

Cost

Warranty cover (an important consideration when buying new)

Spool capacity in relation to appropriate breaking strain line

How it performs out of the box

Search for comparative reviews from a less sales oriented source than most sea fishing magazines (lots of useful information on various forums and YouTube, for example)

If you can manage it, pester your mates, their mates, and their mate's mates to try each reel yourself a few times to get a feel for it prior to purchase.

My experience of Akios reels means I'll look for products from them above other manufacturers first. If I'd had a bad experience they wouldn't even make my shortlist. The same could be said if I'd gone with Penn and had a great experience with one of their reels.

Hence all advice is very, very subjective.

SL30SH is highly recommended by many. I hate mine with a passion, and I know of quite a few instances of product failure due to a common design flaw. One of mine blew up spectacularly mid-cast recently when it was only a couple of months old. As a result, I won't recommend SL30SH reels.

Is my bad experience the norm ?

No, probably not.

But it altered my perspective of a product and manufacturer, so I'm the exact opposite of the SL30SH fans as a result.

This isn't a right or wrong exercise.

It all comes down to what you find suits you and, in that regard, advice can become a dangerous thing, since one man's meat is another man's poison.

One final thought - the kit does not make the caster or the fisherman. You can learn to cast well with almost any equipment if you take the time to do so, and the fish don't give a fig which rod, reel, line or rig you're using...

Best of luck whichever product you choose

WOW he asked which reel to go for not a verse of the bible

Personally mate i would go with the penn

[white water]

thanks for all the replys everyone but i think everyone is diffrent after reading all the replys depening on which i buy if i dont like it il flog it untill i find a real that suits me

much appreciated

[white water]

7ht mag first on the list lol if i like it i may stick with it

[Mogthemackem]

Should be pretty irrelevant tbh. If you are looking for a reel that casts great distances you might aswel fish a different coastline. When fishing the right state of tides, most of our beaches require extremely small casts which is a discipline in itself. Old 525 mag is best all rounder I would say if you're looking to upgrade your mag 2. I honestly think that the new models are inferior to the older ones

[harry barker]

9 times out of 10 the people that say distance in unimportant are the ones that can't cast anyway.
and to say you dont need distance on the northeast beaches is wrong.

Has these people stood on a beach and the lad next to them pulling in fish at distance when they have just had nowt.If they did started catching close in then the distance caster can drop short....but the short caster can't cast long when the fish are feeding at range.

I suppose thats why lots of anglers want to improve there distance by taking lessons and buying the best distance reels n rods,poor bob( nesa caster) could have a full time job instructing anglers if he wanted.

[white water]

9 times out of 10 the people that say distance in unimportant are the ones that can't cast anyway.
and to say you dont need distance on the northeast beaches is wrong.

Has these people stood on a beach and the lad next to them pulling in fish at distance when they have just had nowt.If they did started catching close in then the distance caster can drop short....but the short caster can't cast long when the fish are feeding at range.

I suppose thats why lots of anglers want to improve there distance by taking lessons and buying the best distance reels n rods,poor bob( nesa caster) could have a full time job instructing anglers if he wanted.

took the words out my mouth mate, its always nice to have the option on far or close

[harry barker]

beach reels

Of all the reels you have listed I would say they all good but I would pick the 7ht or 7htmag.
The 7ht has stood te test of time and are quailty reels.
The Penn 515 have good a good mag control and are very strong, but there's just something about them as I don't think they as good as the USA made ones.
But coup[le any of these reels to a good beach rod and in the hands of someone that can cast and there wouldn't be a lot in it.

[Mogthemackem]

I certainly can put a lead out far enough but I would say 9 times out of 10 you don't need to be able to cast far to get the fish from our beaches. I'm mainly talking summer fishing here though as this is the season we're coming in to and fishing clean beaches is mostly bass/flatties you're talking with the odd exception. Obviously in winter with a roll on you may want to get that bit further for some codling but also may want to move on from clean beaches (again with the odd exception). Maybe understanding what you're wanting to target and when would help decisions

[Cod,cod,cod!]

Abu 6500 for distance or akios but doesn't have the balls of a 525.

525 will cast just as well/better than a 7ht mag.

7ht mag better fishing reel than the abus. Easy to use, fool proof and his you fishing constantly. Good retrieve and stronger.

Personally, don't waste your money on a 515. The 525 will cast just as far and with benefits. So I'd just get one of them.

I haven't used the new 525's but the originals are the dogs bollox as far as im concerned.

[white water]

had a couple of cast with my mate abu 6500 high speed and i have to say i liked it silent,smooth and cast quite well how does the abu 6500i tsr relate to this

[big sid]

I'd go for a really fit yakker who could paddle out taking my big baited hook and dropping it on top of the fish . Why waste all that energy chucking it out there , You Know It Makes Sense.

[butts]

which ever real u buy u wont be dissapointed as there all good reels but if i was to buy one id buy either the abu 6500i or 7ht mag but u also have to remeber white water u r only young and have 10s of years left fishing and by then u will be urning ur own money and will be able to buy the biggest costing reel out there and as many as u want untill u find the wright reel for u