So I’m wanting to throw medium to small swim baits and A rigs, and I think I’m going to get a rod rated for 1-4 ounces. I want to get a reel for it and I’m not sure what to get. I’m wanting to get a shimano reel cause I like them. Should I go get a tranx 300 or can I just get a 200 size reel. I’m not fishing saltwater. Mainly lakes and rivers. Suggestions? 

   I have the TranX 300A, and it's a beast. I love it, and I recommend it.

   However ..... Shimano has introduced a Curado in the 300 size, the 300K. One of the gear ratios is 4.7:1, which is considerably lower than the TranX's 5.8:1. Kinda like a granny gear in a pickup. It should do well and save you $100 compared to the TranX.

   I doubt you can go wrong with either one.

 

   Good luck!     jj

I throw Arigs a lot.  For me the slower the gear ratio the smoother they fish.  I was using faster reels and not liking the retrieve.  I went to Shimano buy sell trade on Facebook and picked up a couple of Curado G5s.  They work great.  

Tranx 300 5:2:1 Gear Ratio,look no farther, Thats the best, I am using same and very satisfy with it.

I don't throw A-Rigs a lot, but I wanted a dedicated "slower" reel that would do the job. I also didn't want to spend a ton on the reel. I ended up with the Cardiff 200A. Pretty decent reel if you don't mind the size. If I had it to do over again, I might have went with the Tranx, I just couldn't justify the cost difference since I got the Cardiff for less than a hundred dollars. 

What is the best gear to use? Is slower better? Or can I get away with a faster reel? 

   That's highly personal, but I would use only a low gear ratio. Some people believe in slowing down a higher-gear-ratio reel, but to me that's very tiring.   YMMV.     jj

I guess on the lower gear on the tranx 300 I still get like 30 inches per turn which is still quite a bit in my opinion 

I was going to ask this very question. I have used my swimbait rod which has a Curado 200E5 and that worked well for slow rolling but when I tried to fish it shallow a few times it was too much work so I think I want a hear ratio in the 6's so I can do both.

 

I've find I prefer straight 20lb+ floro or mono instead if braid so l know line capacity is going to be important.  Weight is also very important to me so I think I'm leaning towards 200 size. It should still have enough line capacity I think? Probably will end up with a Curado 200 of some sort but I'm open to other options.  Need to study the line capacity and weights of a bunch of reels.

Daiwa Tatula 200

What brand of floro do you like? 

42 minutes ago, 21qdodge said:

What brand of floro do you like? 

Seagar.  Red label is most economic.  Going to be trying  Berkeley Big Game mono this year due to much praise on this forum and it's cheap.

If you are fishing with rocky banks and/or timber you may want to rethink your line choice.  Those things get hung up a lot and traditional ways of unhanging them don’t always work.  I’ve had to wrap my line around a boat cleat and use the trolling motor to rip them loose.  A couple of years ago my neighbor went with me. He was using mono and lost 5 Arigs that day to my none.

1 hour ago, Jig Man said:

If you are fishing with rocky banks and/or timber you may want to rethink your line choice.  Those things get hung up a lot and traditional ways of unhanging them don’t always work.  I’ve had to wrap my line around a boat cleat and use the trolling motor to rip them loose.  A couple of years ago my neighbor went with me. He was using mono and lost 5 Arigs that day to my none.

You just need the right retriever.  I've only lost a single rig in three years after picking one of these up:

https://www.another site.com/Tiptons/Tiptons-Golden-Retriever

 

I use 20 lb. Big Game mono on either a Tatula 200 or a Lew's Super Duty 300.

I got an A rig because I saw a man on TV using it. It was a big thing and altogether it was like 25-30 bucks to put together. I was a total noob so I just tied it to my 10 pound mono on my Zebco 33.  Pitched back and went for a huge cast and it went flying so far I could barely see where it hit the water. My line had snapped off right in the reel. I was so mad I almost died. 

I think I’m going to go with the shimano 300 tranx in the lower gear. Should I put braid or floro?