I am looking for a spinning reel that can be used in saltwater but will be used primarily on freshwater fish. I go redfishing several times a year and usually use my bass gear BUT i really don't want to keep exposing my reels to saltwater.

Do any of you have personal experience with a reel rated for saltwater. It will be on a 7' M rod with 30lb braid. I know many don't like quantum but several guides have recommended the Quantum Catalyst. It seems like a lot of saltwater folks use quantum. That surprised me.

Anyway, i want to spend less than $250 on the reel and any info would be appreciated.

HC

The Abu Garcia Cardinal 800 series would be perfect.

The reels are practically all aluminum - body, sideplate, rotor, bail arms. No "graphite" here. In fact, there is a conspicuous lack of plastic on these reels - except the little cap that fits over the rear end. The reels have nicely forged spools, and unlike lesser Cardinals, the spare spool is as nice as the one that comes on the reel. The mainshaft is stainless steel and is coated with Abu's "Everslick" coating that feels like teflon. The spool is supported by two stacked ball bearings that eliminates a wobbly spool. The bail is oversized and the line roller is big and fat - very nice. The finish is a nice, super durable, matte crinkle finish. No bling here. The reels are very smooth and I cannot detect any unbalance anywhere.

Abu has done a fantastic job on their newest Cardinals. Smooth, balanced, and extremely robust. My 800s have gotten some hard use - including stripers in saltwater. In fact, my brother-in-law has switched over to Cardinal 800s and uses them on his big boat for saltwater stripers. These reels get very hard use and look and perform as well today as they did when he got them.

Cardinal 800 Series

Cardinal 800 on You Tube

Shimano Stradic.  I have one that is about 12 years old and it still works great. It has been used primarily in salt water for snook, spanish mackerel, jacks, redfish, black drum  and trout.  It handles all of these species with ease. Now I live 3+ hours from the ocean so I use it for bass and it works great for that too. I like it so much I would be reluctant to buy any other spinning reel.

Thanks for the info, a buddy of mine does a lot of redfishing and said he likes the Cardinal better than any other reel he has used. I think I am going to give it a try!

Woo HOO!!! Thanks to captain Chaos, I just got 2 Cardinal 700s for $49 a piece!!! I was going to get one 800 but at that price, I had to get the 2 700s.  It was at the Bass Pro in Concord NC and they are shipping out this afternoon. It also happened to be the last 2. I am pretty pumped. i love a good deal.

Now I HAVE to buy a new rod for the xtra reel.

Get a Quantum Boca PT. These reels are awesome. Try one out.

I looked at those as well but they are WWAAAAAYYYY too heavy for what i am looking for. I just bought 2 Cardinal 700lx's. I have never used an Abu spinning reel but I have called some folks that fish with them a lot and they say the new ones are top notch. Hopefully i won't regrett it!

Daiwa Tierra. Daiwa SOl.