# Saltwater reels



## Helveticus (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm looking for a good reel to chase anything from Bream to Snapper on 4lb -10lb braid. Somehow I haven't managed the art of keeping my reels out of the salty drink, so I need something that stands up to the elements. The reel I'm looking at is the Daiwa Heartland 2500. It has more CRBB bearings than the Daiwa Sol and comes with a second spool. Then there is the Daiwa freams with the new Oil Seal System or maybe the Shimano Ci4 which is a nice reel but it's marketed overseas as a fresh water reel. Any thoughts?


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## Murdoch (Aug 25, 2010)

If you have the dosh then Van Staal reels get a good online rap as the toughest 'salt dunkable' reel.
One of the online tackle stores has the 'slightly less durable' reels for $350, but the line of unbreakable reels are all closer to the $1000 mark.

I agree that any reel needs frequent servicing especially if dunking in the salt, and the easier to service reels are much more likely to be stripped down by the avaerage fisho and serviced than a difficult finicky job.

I have a few cheapo spin reels and baitcasters sitting around, and have decided to use them all till they completely break down (even with regular servicing), then try a Van Staal if money allows it at the time.

Murdoch


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Alvey.


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## SharkNett (Feb 20, 2006)

I have Daiwa SOL 2000 & 2500 (same reel/different spool size) and Daiwa Caldia Kix 4000. All submerged a few times and appart from being washed on return home have never been serviced. After a year of sitting in the garage I picked them up and none show any signs of corosion. Finally got around to using them few times in the last few weeks without issue. All handles and drags are as smooth as they were a year ago.
Rob


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## Stevie (Jan 16, 2011)

Murdoch,
I have two Van Staal for Offshore kayak fishing (also great for surf fishing) for that very reason. I found mine on special in the states but still even so, not cheap. Reels cop a pounding from the elements offshore in a kayak...I see it as an investment. 
Totally bullet proof, dunkable, drop in sand, surf launching, hose down, etc, and Super drag. Youll pass em down to your grandkids


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

I'm still using the test VS150 that I got about 10 months ago from the disty to bash about through surf. Gears and handle are as smooth as day 1. Full saltwater immersion nearly every trip and a quick rinse afterwards. I prefer a smoother running drag but it does lock up pretty tight. Odd hourglass ribbed line lay on my 50lb Tuffline XP too but it still seems to fall off pretty well. Like Stevie said, virtually bulletproof and a reel that's a long term proposition. So far, this is the only yak reel I've never needed to open, strip and relube. This reel is probably overkill for squire type snapper but it's a gun on kings, cobes, big nobbies and tuna.

Okuma Salina II 5000 is a tough mid price setup with a kick ass drag and nice powerful crank handle action although I'm not really sold on the 4000 model because it's too similar in size to the 5000 (again I got given the Okuma's to test out and have had the 5000 for over 18 months) On the extreme budget end the $30 Penn Magpower 3000 (store purchased) kicks serious butt as a shallow water snapper reel. The Okuma and Penn are both very easy to pull apart and self maintain.


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## FishNfun (Jun 28, 2008)

Fishing shops just love idiots like me. I am a tragic and have just purchased (OR DID THEY SELL ME) a Diawa Saltiga 6500H 5.7:1 spin reel matched with a HOTS Kingfish SOS-56H One Pitch Slider with a jerk max of 280g.

All I went into the shop for was to buy a singer. I think tacle shop owners are by far the best fishermen, cause they sure catch my money every time.

To make myself feel not so pinched :? I convince myself into thinking "Oh well your a LONG TIME DEAD so why not" :twisted: :lol:


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## Helveticus (Jun 15, 2011)

FishNfun said:


> Fishing shops just love idiots like me.


Not sure if you follow the landangler blog, but I love his write up about tackle shops: 
http://landangler.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/landanglers-view-tackle-shops/

I've got a day off today, so I may hit a few fishing stores and check out all those reels. I was just talking to one of the regular forum members before and he is using only lower priced gear. It's just not worth dunking a lot of money into salt water he reckons. I might look into that option as well, but then I'm a sucker for nice gear. Tackle shops take my money!

Martin


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Also worth a look is a Daiwa Coastal.
I've got a 2500 which I quite like & it's pretty much built as a salt reel
Hard to find locally tho, I got mine on ebay


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## Stevie (Jan 16, 2011)

> I was just talking to one of the regular forum members before and he is using only lower priced gear. It's just not worth dunking a lot of money into salt water he reckons.


Thats my opinion too. I figured fully sealed (long term) or super cheap I dont give a sh1t if its falls apart (replace when needed). Mid range reels offshore getting dunked, splashed, and bashed around...?

I have a few cheapies...a 7000 Rovex Bigboss for bottom bashing (which is still working great after a few years) , and one cheap Abu on telescopic for catching yakka/squid (stays in hatch)

The beauty of the cheap ones is I dont have to tether them to the yak and wouldnt loose (much) sleep if i dropped them over... I think the Braid is worth more on them than the reels. ;-)


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## Helveticus (Jun 15, 2011)

thanks for all those suggestions. I checked out most of those recommended reels. The Quantum's would have been in my price range and looked good. However I found some posts about poor quality on them. So eventually I went back to the Daiwa Heartland 2000, which got delivered yesterday. I will only use it for land based fishing as it is a bit to precious to take out on the yak. I've already got a Shakespear Synergy II 5430 on the yak and until I dunked it a few times it was working pretty well. So I'm just adopting the "throw away a cheapy" strategy and ordered a new one for under $30. I can't go wrong with that.


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