Cabelas Reel Review

[basswipe]

If you guys remember from my "I love surprises" thread in the Scuppers about two weeks ago I posted I got an email from Cabelas telling me I had a $50 credit.I was also able to apply a $20 coupon to the order.I was gonna go for the Penn 650SSm but being as they STILL haven't been shipped by Penn I ordered Cabelas new Saltstriker Metal reel(SSM60).So I basically got this reel for under $10.I AM going to beat on this reel like an old Mopar Slant six.

First impressions are its a good solid reel.9 bearing drive makes it very smooth for sure.The line laid on the spool very evenly after filling it.Holds 200yds of 20lb mono and weighs in at 20oz.

I put it on my 10' Quarrow rod and walked down to the beach and cast a 2.5oz pencil about 1/2 dozen times.Cast fine and got great distance. Line came in nice and even on the spool everytime.It will more than likely end up on a Batson Rainshadow 1088.

Cabelas claims that the 9 bearing drive is fully sealed.Its not sealed in the sense that there's a gasket.The inside of the sideplate has flanges that sit against the inside body of the reel and the body itself has a small ridge just under the rotor for the sideplate to sit on.The sideplate overlaps slightly onto the body of the reel and the sideplate screws have gaskets. The actual bearings themselves are of course fully sealed as well as the drag.

I filled the kitchen sink with water and dunked it several times with out any ill effects.When I just let sit in the sink for awhile moisture eventually found its way inside.Under normal surf fishing conditions it would be very hard for water and salt to get inside and impossible for sand.

So the initial review would be that the Saltstriker Metal reel is a good solid smooth reel that would suit the average surfcaster very well.For hardcore guys that fish all night up to their chins in water or like to swim out to rocks this reel probably shouldn't be your first choice.

The true test will be time.I will post again in late spring and report on actual performance under fishing conditions and again at the end of the season for a final review.