Would someone explain "bearings" to me please?

[Moby Dick]

I am going to get a light spinning rig and a also a heavier (medium) set up, BUT was stumped by the way manufacturers label the reels - often refering to the number of bearings in it. I mostly cast and retrieve, over and over, so want a smooth reel. One where the bail flips easily mostly. What should I be looking for?

Thanks in advance, Marie L. Martin

 

[troutdude]

Welcome to the forum MD, nice to have ya.

In general, I prefer reels w/ the most number of bearings that my wallet will allow. But, if you'd like the technical details; I think you'll find all that you need here:

Fishing reel bearings 101 upgrade replace modify baitcast spinning round reels ABEC

I like Pflueger and Fin-Nor (made on the east coast). But, there are other brands that are decent too. BTW, you won't need anything too terribly fancy for Ultra light or light rig fishing. The number and type of bearings, in general, become much more important when targeting larger fish.

 

[colbypearson]

I am going to get a light spinning rig and a also a heavier (medium) set up, BUT was stumped by the way manufacturers label the reels - often refering to the number of bearings in it. I mostly cast and retrieve, over and over, so want a smooth reel. One where the bail flips easily mostly. What should I be looking for?

Thanks in advance, Marie L. Martin

*** dont go out and buy a reel with the msot bearings you will see these bearings are less quality, in this case more is not better...
reels like pflueger for example almost always beef up theyre reels with ungodly amount of bearins say over 10 or even 12 in a reel priced fairly low, then we take a company such as shimano and they rarely go over 6 or 7 bearings and these bearings are much more quality bearings will last longs, and a Shimano will OWN a plfueger in a side to side comparison (IN MY OPINION) take into consideration what kind and type of bearings are used.

hope that helped some

 

[metalmania]

*** dont go out and buy a reel with the msot bearings you will see these bearings are less quality, in this case more is not better...
reels like pflueger for example almost always beef up theyre reels with ungodly amount of bearins say over 10 or even 12 in a reel priced fairly low, then we take a company such as shimano and they rarely go over 6 or 7 bearings and these bearings are much more quality bearings will last longs, and a Shimano will OWN a plfueger in a side to side comparison (IN MY OPINION) take into consideration what kind and type of bearings are used.

hope that helped some

Yep Shimano's rock, I don't think i'd ever buy another spinning reel that wasn't shimano.

 

[troutdude]

Hey Colby, did you really read my reply to Moby?

I said that I "prefer" more bearings...a personal preference. I also told her, "that the number AND type" are important.

Plus, I also posted a web link, so she could learn all about bearings, the various types and how they work. And I mentioned, that there are other "decent" reels out there.

Incidentally, at one time Pflueger sold MILLIONS more reels than any other manufacturer. Today, I don't see the lower end models as one's that I would buy/own. However, they do make some pretty good mid to upper range models.

I don't own any current Shimano's. But, I do have about a dozen or so older models that are pretty good. I also forgot to mention some other lines worth considering:

Cardinal
Abu
Garcia

There is also: Abu Garcia (one bought out the other most likely)...

and...Abu Garcia Cardinal (figure that one out...guess they couldn't decide on one name, since all were once leaders in the industry).

P.S. If none of you own a Fin-Nor reel, I encourage you to check them out. Most are LARGE and for SALTWATER purposes. But, there are some smaller reels for trout, steel, salmon, etc.

 

[ehm]

I have caught many salmon, stelhead, pike, and bass on my 25.00 dollar bi mart shimano. been trying for about 6 years of abuse to wear them out so i can justify an upgrade. but they just wont stop no matter how i abuse them

 

[imfishing]

Shimano Saros 3000

The only other substitute could be the Team Daiwa® Advantage™-A in a 2500 or 3000 flavor.

Just thinking out load.

 

[colbypearson]

Hey Colby, did you really read my reply to Moby?

i read it......... i just said my opinion, and said the most amount of bearings isn't always better.

i have bought my fare share of pfluegers and i learned my lesson end story. we all got our own opinion mine is to never buy a pfleuger again , i have bought every pflueger from the trion spinning reel up to the supreme casting reels and even used the patriarch series. i am at a point where i can state my opinion with backed tests time after time, amount of bearings depend they will just find stupider places to put them once you top a certain amount, more quality bearings in reels such as shimano it leaves no room for errors the warranty serivce is good from my findidngs also... im not sayin 1 bearing is better than 5 but theres a point were extra bearings become pointless, look for quality not quantity. we agreed on things we posted as well, its just a second opinion wether i agree or not and with some things i do and some things i dont.

 

[halibuthitman]

I will agree with colby, more bearings isn't better... but I would disagree with the pflueger statement... you simply have not fished a high end pflueger reel if you think shimano will own them... Im currently fishing a pflueger supreme xt, and it is by far my favorite spin reel of all time, and will go on to have a very brite future in the reel competitions... that being said, the shimano spirex ( I am partial to the rear drag for steelhead ) is simply the best reel for under $75 bucks on the market. now I also have a pflueger president that I estimate I have landed over 4500 lbs of salmonoids with and the only thing wrong with it is the finish came off the body... which I kinda like, makes it look like it knows a days work- abu garcia gear is outdated garbage... might as well buy south bend-.... just sayin- oh, and to answer your question, the more bearings, the more sand it will take to make your reel start sounding like a mossberg model 500.. just take care of your stuff, don't lay a spin reel in mud or on a sandbar... oil with remlube frequently, don't tighten the drag and try to reel in trees.. don't think becouse you spend $150 that a tool is indestructable.... or that becouse you only spent $50 its a piece of junk...

 

[colbypearson]

I will agree with colby, more bearings isn't better... but I would disagree with the pflueger statement... you simply have not fished a high end pflueger reel if you think shimano will own them... Im currently fishing a pflueger supreme xt, and it is by far my favorite spin reel of all time, and will go on to have a very brite future in the reel competitions... that being said, the shimano spirex ( I am partial to the rear drag for steelhead ) is simply the best reel for under $75 bucks on the market. now I also have a pflueger president that I estimate I have landed over 4500 lbs of salmonoids with and the only thing wrong with it is the finish came off the body... which I kinda like, makes it look like it knows a days work- abu garcia gear is outdated garbage... might as well buy south bend-.... just sayin- oh, and to answer your question, the more bearings, the more sand it will take to make your reel start sounding like a mossberg model 500.. just take care of your stuff, don't lay a spin reel in mud or on a sandbar... oil with remlube frequently, don't tighten the drag and try to reel in trees.. don't think becouse you spend $150 that a tool is indestructable.... or that becouse you only spent $50 its a piece of junk...

i havent fished the high end pfluegers............... apparently not, quote from above- "i have bought or used every pflueger from the trion spinning reel up to the supreme casting reels and even used the patriarch series"

pflueger reels i have fished,trion spinning reel,president spinning reel,supreme spinning reel.....casting reels- criterion,trion old and new versions,asaro,president,supreme,patriarch and the summits i have been around the block with pflueger reels between me and my buddies we have dang near the whole market covered atleast to an extent, im not saying all pfluegers are garbage or saying any are garbage at all they just have theyre faults ****in my opinion****....... shimano makes the most solid reel spinning or casting if you ask me from the symetre-to the stradic-to the castaic- to the curado and the citica all great machines.

the abu garcia revo series is also solidly built, as well as most daiwa reels

point is put in the money and get a quality piece of equiptment and with some background research you will get what you pay for and even more sometimes, all i can say is i have been through many reels covering the board or atleast know people with valuable opinions..... and 100% i can say that as a whole in a company from warranty to performance Shimano bar non is IT for the reel game bar none, i will stand by my opinion.

 

[troutdude]

i read it......... i just said my opinion, and said the most amount of bearings isn't always better.

i have bought my fare share of pfluegers and i learned my lesson end story. we all got our own opinion mine is to never buy a pfleuger again , i have bought every pflueger from the trion spinning reel up to the supreme casting reels and even used the patriarch series. i am at a point where i can state my opinion with backed tests time after time, amount of bearings depend they will just find stupider places to put them once you top a certain amount, more quality bearings in reels such as shimano it leaves no room for errors the warranty serivce is good from my findidngs also... im not sayin 1 bearing is better than 5 but theres a point were extra bearings become pointless, look for quality not quantity. we agreed on things we posted as well, its just a second opinion wether i agree or not and with some things i do and some things i dont.

My apologies Colby. Perhaps I read too much "into" what you shared. Thanks for clarifying, and for your experienced opinions and suggestiongs. Have a good one.

 

[rippin fish lips]

my shakes spear real has 8 bearing in it, ive owned it for 2 years, put it to some abuse and fought hundreds of trout on it, quite a bit of steelhead/salmon on it, it's been dropped accidentel a few times and is still working great!!

 

[brandon4455]

i don't think the mos bearings or the quality matters, i have the cheapest shimao you can buy, it's all black appears to be made of plastic with metal screws and bail paid 10$, ive had it for 3 and a haf years used it on trout,bass and salmon and it still works like it did the first time i used it. it's been dropped hundreds of times. froze from being dropped in cold water, dropped in sand.. YIKES!! and it still works great. now i'm not going to tell you shimano reels are the best but it's kinda what i grew up with, their reels ranging from 10-30 bucks you can find at bi mart are awesome and don't burn a hole in your wallet they usually have around 4-7 bearings im pretty sure abu garcia performs well also you can find em in the same place. my dad paid 20$ for his abu garcia buriser combo,. big bulky thing looks better for sturgeon but he has used it for salmon the past 6 years and it still in great shape hope this helps remember bi-mart is the way to go ,



brandon

 

[colbypearson]

"i don't think the mos bearings or the quality matters,"




brandon

whatever floats your boat.......... thats "not necissarily true" *EDIT*t, i can assure you that quality and quantity both matter a very significant amount in a reel

 

[Moby Dick]

OK ok, your bearing comments are generally what I suspected, but what about the ease in which the bail flips back over when you start your retrieve? That is not directly related to bearing quality, but to me is the single most important thing in a cast and retrieve situation. One wants the flip to be effortless and smooth. How does one look for that - other than actually handling and working each reel?

much thanks, marie

 

[Moby Dick]

whatever floats your boat.......... thats a pretty uneducated comment, i can assure you that quality and quantity both matter a very significant amount in a reel

OH MY ! I just saw this comment by colbypearson and I am a tad concerned. I did not mean to start a testy conversation, just wanted ideas. Brandon, I think that that person was impolite and out of line for calling your comments "uneducated". I am sorry that happened because you were trying to give me your opinion. As long as I fished with hubby, before he died, we always had very economical reels too - lol, usually Bi Mart too !! I just spend a lot of time spinning, casting and retrieving and re-casting, and wanted to try to find one that doesn't have that sticky feel to it when you go to begin your retrieve. That gets tiring. I wanted to "treat" myself you might say. thanks again, m

 

[colbypearson]

OH MY ! I just saw this comment by colbypearson and I am a tad concerned. I did not mean to start a testy conversation, just wanted ideas. Brandon, I think that that person was impolite and out of line for calling your comments "uneducated". I am sorry that happened because you were trying to give me your opinion. As long as I fished with hubby, before he died, we always had very economical reels too - lol, usually Bi Mart too !! I just spend a lot of time spinning, casting and retrieving and re-casting, and wanted to try to find one that doesn't have that sticky feel to it when you go to begin your retrieve. That gets tiring. I wanted to "treat" myself you might say. thanks again, m

listen me and brandon are pretty good freinds if it offended him im sorry, but to say "i don't think the mos bearings or the quality matters"-EDIT- is not a true statement- happy? good now shut up ........ its not the bearings that catch the fish and im not saying it is but to say that bearings are of no difference in a reel is what i would call an uneducated comment in my book, i stand by my reply... were still freinds its just my opinion on the topic of bearing #'s and quality bieng called pretty much pointless.

 

[RunWithSasquatch]

OK ok, your bearing comments are generally what I suspected, but what about the ease in which the bail flips back over when you start your retrieve? That is not directly related to bearing quality, but to me is the single most important thing in a cast and retrieve situation. One wants the flip to be effortless and smooth. How does one look for that - other than actually handling and working each reel?

much thanks, marie

Its not a terrible idea to teach your self to flip the bail closed with your hand, instead of my cranking the reel to slap the bail over, my experience is that by doing that you will greatly extend the life of the reel.

 

[brandon4455]

colby!!! your inbox is full bruh, and your comment didn't offend me

 

[colbypearson]

colby!!! your inbox is full bruh, and your comment didn't offend me

i knew it was gonna do that soon haha i thought it would happen last night when we were talking so-umpqua i will get right on it