Light spinning reel with great drag - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

crash · 03-03-2008, 10:52 PM

I have a pretty well rounded reel arsenal with the exception of a light spinning reel. I'm looking for someting that will balance well on a 7' rod, will mostly be used for schoolies, and topwater popping etc. I would like a reel that would work great for albies as well, since I just moved to new bedford, and I want to give them a shot off my skiff this year. I'm leaning towards a cabo 30, but honestly, I'm in unfamilliar territory with smaller spinning reels. I plan on using light braid and fishing the reel 2 or 3 times a week during the season, so I'd like domething decent, in the $150 range if thats realistic. Any of you have experience with the cabo 30, or anybody have any alternatives they prefer for a similar application??

I'll be honest, I will rinse the reel after every trip, but thats pretty much it for mainenence.

Thanks!

RIJIMMY · 03-03-2008, 10:59 PM

i like the spheros, got a ton of schoolies and blues and it held up very well.

BigBo · 03-03-2008, 11:24 PM

Old Tech, but take a look at the Daiwa Whisker Tournament SS series reels.

plankton · 03-04-2008, 06:46 AM

I've got a Penn Slammer 260 that I love, holds 300yds. of 10# Fireline, has a good line roller, plus that great Penn drag.

OffTheHook13 · 03-04-2008, 06:51 AM

Cabo is a pretty good reel.

kickin'bass ass · 03-04-2008, 06:57 AM

ive got a penn 710 on my 7' rod for the same application,i use 30# suffix and has been a great setup.

2na · 03-04-2008, 07:35 AM

I'm a big fan of the Fin Nor megadrag series for my light rods for schoolies (I have 7-8 of the old models). Great drag, solid reel, and a feature for quick change of spools. The company went under a few years ago and finally got back on its feet with Zebco, the company that owns Van Staal. The new reel just came out, and it is quite different than the old, but is definitely much better built. Just picked up a 2000 on Ebay for $120+, broke it down and compared to the old, and I'm impressed. It spools about 100 yards of 10 pp (with backing). Thinking of getting a 3000 (the next size up), the same place is selling them for about $125+. Good luck!

Chefskeez6 · 03-04-2008, 09:47 AM

The cabo 40 is probably a better bet. I have two of them that I spool up with 20lb braid and use it for all kinds of applications including Albies.

If you are worried about size I think you will be very suprised at how close the cabo 40 is to the 30. The differrence is basically in the spool. They don't get significantly bigger until you jump to the size 50.