I have one fishing rod and reel: abu garcia ambassaduer one with the rod it came with at walmart. All together cost me i think 50 dollars two years ago.  I have learned a lot about fishing since i got it and am ready to start an arsenal of nicer combos. I dont know what to do about brand though.  I see most people on here favor shimano. My question is which brand should i go with since i am just now starting

I recommend just going to your local tackle store and looking at reels in your price range.  Once you have a few in mind you like, post up and get the concensus.  I like Daiwas and Shimanos, but in today's age any of the well known manufacturers will last you a while with proper maintenance.  

I am sure that you have read enough to know that just about every brand mentioned has some great reels.  It might feel overwhelming, but honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with what ever you chose.  Every reel I've seen here @ the $100-120 mark seems to be a good choice.  There are others that come in at the $75-100 range that alot of the guys here swear by.  Honestly go to your local shop and handle a few that you have become familiar with here on the forum, buy the one you like, and move along from there.  Buy the combo if it feels right, but in my opinion your going to be happier buying the rod and reel individually.  Not much help, but good luck.

What's your price range, and how many are you buying?

well at the moment im only going to be buying one reel at a time... i would like to keep the reel under 300

well at the moment im only going to be buying one reel at a time... i would like to keep the reel under 300

I've always been willing to spend more money on rods than reels. Until this year I've used Abu Ambassaduers....C3 or C4 depending on what I was fishing with...

For some reason the LP after years of not feeling just right in my hand, really feel great....I swapped out 3 of my Abu's for BPS reels. An Extreme, a ProLite Finesse, and a David Fritts Crankin' reel. I can honestly say that you will be VERY happy with all three of those reels. And I bought all of them on sale and saved a total of $80 on the three of them....

Given money no object I'd opt for a slew of Daiwa Zillions, probably with some upgrades

ive decided im going to drop abu garcia due to the lack of options on lps... so its between daiwa and quantum ... shimano just a little out of my league and i kinda like going with the non-universal favorites

A "best value" is the Shimano CH50MG:

http://www.***.com/descpageRLCSHIMANO-SHCSF50.html

8-)

ive decided im going to drop abu garcia due to the lack of options on lps... so its between daiwa and quantum ... shimano just a little out of my league and i kinda like going with the non-universal favorites

 You miss the Revo's.  You can get a Revo S in a combo At Dick's for I think about $120.  

I just got a Curado E.  You need to look at it too.

Don't go Cheap.

Ern

Why is shamino out of your league ?

First of all, don't drop Shimano as a choice. They are the favored brand on this site for a reason, and very user friendly.

Second of all, don't drop Abu Garcia as a choice. The Revo series of reels has a little bit of everything, and is also extremely favored in the fishing community.

From my personal experiences, The higher end Shimano reels from the Citica E's on up, and the higher end Abu Garcia reels from the Revo S on up, seem to dominate the fishing world. The two brands you dropped are, in my opinion, the most popular and both live up to their title.

With that said, every major company has reels that are worth buying, you just need to figure out what you want in a reel. I recommend going to the nearest BPS or Cabelas and fiddling around with as many reels as you can find in your price range, then make your decision.

I would agree that any quality reel will last you a very long time as long as you maintain them.  As someone suggested, go to a store and check them out and see what feels good to YOU.  Shimano are good for some guys, but they might not be what you're looking for.  As with everything in fishing, keep an open mind and check out ALL your options.  But remember, it's your money and your the one using it, so go with what feels good to you, not what with what feels good to us!

Same as everyone else, Ive had luck with all reels.   My best is a shimano Calais... note that I did NOT buy this reel, too rich for my blood.  But I have an older rich friend that bought several shimanos and never used them since he's always supplied with them on his guided trips..... so he just GAVE it to me.  That reel is amazing, casts forever and reels good, anything youd want.  But I also have a few of the BPS extreme baitcasting reels that were like $50 on sale... and honestly they perform almost as well, and alot better for the money in my opinion.  BPS makes several other nice choices like the rick clunn and johnny morris series which are a few steps above the extreme but not too crazy high (especially right now with the classic deals going on).   I also have two revo's, a S and winch and have liked both so far.  I have had a quantum in the past and its the only one I have been dissatisfied with, mostly because it reels rough, but I used it hard.  Id recommend going to a store and holding and reeling them, cause many feel different to the hand and there may be one you would prefer.

Wow!

$50 Extreme comparable to a Calais?

:

You can always google bass pro and cabelas and read the reviews associated with each product (0-5 star reviews).  This might help.  On any forum you may get 100 different opinions.  Like they said above....go check them out.  See what works for you and what is best for your budget.  Narrow it down to a couple reels and come back here and do a search.  Send a PM to the guys that have had both reels and see what their opinions are.  I just did the above regarding the revo stx and the daiwa advantage hsta supertuned reel and got good feedback from a fellow bassresource subscriber.  Also, check out tackletour.com .  The have all kinds of reviews on there with prices, pros/cons etc.  Just remember though, ultimately it is your decision and there are a ton of great reels out there.

Wow!

$50 Extreme comparable to a Calais?

:

Well Kent, he did say almost  ;D.

well im leaning towards the quantums because i like the idea of the centerfugal brake adjusted externally.  I had always planed on going with revos but with all the talk on here with how finiky they are im just not sure.  Im going to stop at the store and look at the quantums in a little while

I have a couple of quantums, and all are so-so reels. I bought the Energy PT last year and was pretty impressed. Its a little heavy, and sometimes squeals on the cast, but overall its good. I can't say anything about the new Energy PT and Tour Edition though other than they look awesome.

Wow!

$50 Extreme comparable to a Calais?

:

Well Kent, he did say almost ;D.

Uh...no.  I owned a couple of extreme lite's when they first came out, and I thought they were good for the price, but the Calais is in a different league.  Like a Honda Civic versus a Acura NSX.  

well i went to academy and messed around with the quantum pt VI and all i have to say is wow... didnt know a reel could be that smooth... so i belive thats what im going to go with