# Bottom fishing reel



## The Pitt (Apr 7, 2012)

I want to purchase a reel to target snapper, grouper and amberjack while bottom fishing. Im looking to spend around $200 on the reel. Do you guys have any personal favorites?


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## MissKristy (Dec 1, 2007)

pen senator 6/0 is a good reel for bottom fishing and what you are wanting to spend


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## jeff912 (Nov 1, 2011)

i have 2 shimano toriums a 16 and a 30. Best 2 bottom reels ever in my books.


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## billfishhead (Jan 15, 2008)

for a lil over 200 you can get a penn red 6/0 and a nice rod with a block and roller tip


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

You do not want or need a 6/0 for Snapper and a jigging combo handles Aj's better than broom stick bottom rods which wear you out as bad as the fish.


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## MissKristy (Dec 1, 2007)

No u don't need it but your not going to get a good jigging combo for 200 bucks either I was trying to stay in his price range


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## jplvr (Mar 7, 2011)

I like Shimano and was looking just today for a new reel. I'm 90% certain I'm getting a Daiwa Saltist, but thought I'd price out some others. My friend's dad has a Torium, which is nice and under your price point, but I'm still spending the extra cash on the hyperspeed and not on Shimano.

You could go with a spinning reel instead and grab a Penn Battle 8000. I bought one for a friend's birthday for a little over $100 and he loves it.


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## lcruiser (Sep 15, 2010)

Started buying Shimano Tekotas a while back. They've been excellent. Plan on rebuilding the Penn's often. Never once a Shimano. Good luck.


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

I am loving the Shimano Speedmaster IV combos for about 125 TOTAL.
I have whipped big AJ's and grouper, more snapper than I can count, and various other critters. Have 3 combos.

All have 80 Powerpro. They are light, tough, and easy to maintain. The only issue I've had is that the nut cover that keeps the handle on tends to crack and break. I ordered 10 of them from seaisletackle.com and problem solved.

These are not for newbies. It takes some skill to bring up a big fish as the max drag is only 11 lbs. But if you know how to use your thumbs to stop a run, they are great!

I got mine at Sams in Orange Beach.


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## The Pitt (Apr 7, 2012)

Ive had two bad experiences with Penns, so I refuse to buy any more of their products. I ended up going reel shopping tonight with a friend. He has smoked two of the Toriums and has been using a Diawa Saltist. The Black and Gold Star Drag Saltist was in my price range so thats what I ended up with. Its got 300 yards of 80lb braid on it. 6.4:1 ratio and 20lbs of drag. Cant wait to take it out on Friday.


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## Chawk (Aug 20, 2011)

Hopefully we can burn both of the saltists up with massive groupers :thumbup:


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## FishGolfDrink (Apr 19, 2011)

check out this site before you buy... some of the posters there are some of the most experienced reel service/maintenance guys around. 

www.alantani.com

My personal choice is a shimano tld star 15/30... upgrade the drag to carbontex, and upgrade to an oversized handle... all for ~150. 

lot's of threads about Torium anti rev failures and reels going knucklebuster. If you do go for a torium, check out the anti rev upgrades.


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## Island24 (May 12, 2008)

I have used the Penn 6/0 for years but I have to say that at this point they are slow and heavy compared to other options now available. I had to put locktite on them to keep them together. I like the faster reels these days and I like the Avet reels. Smooth smooth, light and a bit faster than the 6/0. I also like to pair it with the newer parabolic rods which seem to take more fight to the fish (and wear me out a lot less). I have used the saltist and like them as well.


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## Yaksquatch (Mar 23, 2009)

Avets are good and you can sometimes find good deals on them used. However, since getting a decent job and deciding I want quality gear, I've decided to upgrade to Trinidads. Got 2 so far and one more Avet left to go, it's a JX single speed. Not sure I want to get rid of it yet cause it's a great reel!

I also agree with the above comments about lightweight jigging combos. They're a bit pricier but worth every penny! The original trevalas from shimano are only $120-150 each.

Good luck,
Alex


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

The Saltist is a fantastic reel I have two of them myself. The difference is the Torium is upgreadeable and the Saltist is not. If you do a bearing, drag and spring loaded pawl upgrade on the Torium you will have essentially a Trinidad for far less money and a bullet proof reel in the process.


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## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

FishGolfDrink said:


> check out this site before you buy... some of the posters there are some of the most experienced reel service/maintenance guys around.
> 
> www.alantani.com
> 
> ...



or the brother to this reel the star 20/40
I love these reels.......around $100 bucks

go read the link posted
http://alantani.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=g5pocpvp9v5eqk73icnr3ckf73&topic=17.0

you can get 2 for $200.00

a toruim 30 with the upgrades is a fun reel to fish with.......

the penn 4/0 and 6/0 are old clunkers
I don't like fishing with them at all


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## fivestar (Mar 6, 2012)

Akuma all the way! all of their products have a no questions asked life time warranty. If they break you get a new one and mine function as well as my penn internationals and my shimano tyrnos.


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