I was needing another reel and was kinda just looking around. I saw a pinnacle platnium plus reel at wal-mart, and for forty bucks looks like a pretty nice reel. I dont have alot of money to spend on fishing stuff so budget is a problem. I was wondering what yall think about em and any other suggestions for a reel in the forty to sixty dollar range.

 

                                                             joebass

Ive handled a few of them in the "box" stores, and they are what they are.  Inexpensive baitcasting reels.  As I recall, Silstar now makes the reels for Pfueger, Bass Pro, Shakespear and a couple of other companies.  The quality will vary with the price of the reel regardless of the badge the reels wear.  The more you spend the better the reel will be.  That being said, there are a couple of reel manufactureres that have been around for a long time and have a good reputatioin...Shimano and Daiwa.  It's my opinion that you would be wise to wait a while and purchase a more expensive reel made by either Shimano or Daiwa.  The price point is right around $100 for a quality product.  With proper care your $100 reel will last you for many years or decades.  (I have Shimano's and Daiwa's I purchased 25 years ago and they still work flawlessly) .  A $40 or $50 reel may not last you one season.

Hope this helps

Cheers

I agree with USA-Ret, right on the money most of my reels are the old Shimano Curado's at 119.99 a piece and never had a problem with them.

May I recomend a Shimano Callisto? It costs 40 bucks, and the one I have has worked well enough for over a year. It ain't no high-end reel, but it will catch fish.

I picked up a pinnacle extant brand new from Wal-Mart for $25 and for $25 it was an average buy. I would not spend more money on that brand of reel. You can look at ebay and find some good deals. I just picked an accurist PT (the newer model) for $65 in really good shape.

I like the pinnacle reels. I have several. The platum plus is the low end so you will get what you pay for. their upper end reels are nice. They are good reels for the money. I have several and they have lasted me for years. i do like the models with the metal body over the plastic bodied ones. I will take my Team daiwa's and shimano over them. On ebay you can pick one of their better reels up for about the same price. If you do buy the reel, remember one thing. your local reel shop can clean them, but not repair them. Pinnacle doesn't send out parts. so if they need fixed you have to send them into pinnacle. that being said. the 2 that I need fix. I send to them and they replaced one with newer upgraded one& fixed the other one good. The turn around was about 2 weeks.

My two main fishing buddies have both gone almost exclusively to Pinnacle reels.  One of them has all Matrix II which I believe may be their top reel.  He has them all mounted on Loomis rods.  My other buddy has an assortment of Vision, Solene, and Inertias and he swears by them.  The biggest problem they have is trying to find someone to service those reels.  The best they have come up with is a guy in Georgia, and that's about the only service person they have found.  If you don't plan on sending the reel in to be cleaned, lubed, etc on a regular basis then I would say that you should buy the reel, and I think you will be satisfied with it.

Ah just a note here Pflueger has been around almost as long as Shimano and Daiwa put together and THEY ARE A RELIABLE REEL as are the other 2 companies  GEEEZZZ DID  YOU EVER USE A PFLUEGER REEL USA-RET, do you know the history and tradition of Pflueger ?

I also looked at pinnacle reels recently when searching for a reel for one of my spare rods.  They seemed nice but I just didn't buy one because of a lack of information.  In the range you are looking for I would recomend an Abu Garcia 4600 if you like round reels.  I have two and love them almost as much as my Curado D's.

Search ebay or the flea market here. I just bought an Abu 4600C4 off ebay for 42.00 shipped.

Also I have an older Cabelas Prodigy that like their TX Bait CVaster are made by Pinnacle Tis is my first year bait casting and the first Prodigy i owned I will post my experience with it after I have used it for a while

Hey Muddy Man,

As a matter of fact,  I have an old Pflueger reel that was my Dad's, bought back in the 1920's and it's still working.  That reel has Jeweled oil cups on the spool and there was no such thing as a free spool button.   That's the reel I learned to bait cast with.   It was made in the good old US of A.  The Pflueger company your refer to, is long gone.    Silstar was doing all the Pflueger warranty work during the transistion.    The product carries the same name but is not made by the same people.  Another example is Sharp LCD televisions......32" and below, not made in Japan anymore.   Shimano Citica 200...made in Malasyia however Shimano still manufacturers it's own reels too.   Many of the electronics that carry a Japanese brand name and now are made by Funai in China but are badged as Japanese brands.   Is your RCA or Zenith TV made in the USA by the same comapny 25 years ago?  Is Magnavox American made?  Companies and brand names are bought and sold everyday.  Reel companies are no different.  As I mentioned in my original post, reels made by Silstar can be good regardless of the bedge they wear, it comes down to the price you pay for them.  Daiwa and Shimano are still the same companies making the reels that we bought 35 years ago.   The others are not.  Hope that clears things up.

Cheers  

Thank You USA RET finally some experience!!!!!!! I really still like the current Pflueger products I use and a lot of bashing goes on, not that it puts any money in my pocket but a lot of talk without experience and knoweldge goes on its good to hear from an ol timer with experience

Wow thanks for all the advice. I am still going through college and dont get to fish as much as id like to, maybe 3 times a month. Right now im looking for something that will get me by for a couple of years. I still need to save up for a nice depth finder for my boat. So i think i may just try this pinnacle reel. For as much as i fish this may last me till i finish school at least.

Thanks.  

Check out the Garcia 1003LP at Wal Mart.  I would put a little more faith in the Garcia name than the Pinnacle name.  $40 for a Garcia ain't bad at all.

No Probelm Muddy Man,

I've never gotten into bashing one reel brand over another. Never made much sense to disparage products I don't personally use. I've had great experience with both Daiwa and Shimano, and now fish Shimano almost exclusively. I have to say I'm more than a little impressed with the smoothness and precsison of all the higher end reels being manufactured by Silstar. But being a creature of habit, I stick with what has worked and performed well for me and pass my personal experiences on, as I'm sure you do. Plenty of market share out there for everyone

Regards and Cheers

I have several Pfluegers. A Pinnacle. An All Star. A Quantum. Even a BPS special. None of these were very expensive and all work great. Alot of times you get a better deal by buying the combo. I like my Pinnacle. It casts good, has a good drag, and seems to be a good all around reel. Most of the time we buy reels for the name stamped on em. There is nothing wrong with a low budget reel. I have 9 of them and havent had any problems with any of them.