Salty H20 Fishing 2025 !!

[DUKFVR]

Congrats! Never a bad time to fish when you are as close as you are!!!!!

[osochuck]

Ya are killing me, and i am out of fish, gotta squeeze in a quick wade soon

[Mexico]

I'm not a fan of those Bates.

[justletmein]

Flounder look so mean when they come up with all those teeth lol.

[JES]

Made a quick trip this morning. 30 mph S S/W wind. Should have stayed home and mowed the yard but I was itching.

Strong incoming tide, wind blowing line the opposite direction. Clean water coming in, muddy water in the bay, lots of bait. No clue how many I missed, felt at least 8-10. Only landed 2. About a 17” flounder and a dink trout.

It’s happened twice now with this reel, I engage the thumb bar to cast, mid cast the reel tries to engage. Well that’s never a good thing.

Now there is a slight grinding when reeling in. 🤦♂️ need to take this reel apart and see if I screwed up the drive gear. Hopefully it’s just some grit in there but I doubt it.

You need to take those Bates reels apart every other trip and clean them, if not every trip…

Nice reels, but they get dirty quick.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Flounder look so mean when they come up with all those teeth lol.

Sapsuckers ARE mean if they put that mouth on ya!!

[justletmein]

Sapsuckers ARE mean if they put that mouth on ya!!

Oh I know... I got torn to shreds by a dead one. LOL... I didn't even try to lip him, was just tossing flounder from one cooler to the next and a tooth dug in and stripped through my skin like a plow.

[fish4food]

I'm not a fan of those Bates.

What’s your flavor?
I can’t seem to find a solid dependable reel.

Lews Custom Coastal- Anti Reverse bearing gave out in both of the ones I had within first few months.

Lews Custom Lite- both of mine have the Brakes, broken.

Hundo- within the first 3 trips, the line guide broke off. Apparently it was a flaw in their design. (Never mind the stupid drag clicker)

Salty Hundo- twice now, the gear has engaged mid cast. Gritty feeling when reeling in.

Wife has a Diawa Coastal 80 that I’m liking, but she changes reels every time we fish and doesn’t put near as much time on them as I do.

[DUKFVR]

At this point I am liking my Diawa Coastals. Holding up the best so far.

[Mexico]

I've had almost all of them at this point. Like someone likes to acknowledge here I'm in my 50s, and I've seen a lot of reels... and that Tranx is a beast. My Curados have served me well also, but after about 3 years of abuse they need a rebuild.

I've recently bought a couple of Coastal's and Tatula's and really like them, but have never put them through a summer of dunks. So that jury is out, but I've heard amazing things about them and will be putting a couple through hail this summer.

I have several friends that have the Bates and they experienced trouble from almost day one. And I'm not a fan of their grips, they look cheap as hail for a 400 dollar reel.

[Wolfpack0311]

I like the 13 fishing A2 OR A3 and my Abu Revo Sx casting, for spinning I use Penn Battle 3 . But everyone has different preference of what brands they like.

[BangBang]

I can't get on board with the newer reels, they just seem like cheap junk to me. The reels in my arsenal are mainly older shimanos. Core 100mg, Chronarch 100d7, Curado 100d, Chronarch 50mg and Curado 50e's. Its a PITA to find parts for them, but they are workhorses. I do have a pile of calcuttas, from 50's to 700's, a lot of them have never even been dug into and are still silky smooth. I guess since being brought up on abus, I have a soft spot for round reels. And forget about the weight, if an oz or 2 is a deal breaker for casting all day, you need to turn in your man card.

[justletmein]

What’s your flavor?
I can’t seem to find a solid dependable reel.

Lews Custom Coastal- Anti Reverse bearing gave out in both of the ones I had within first few months.

Lews Custom Lite- both of mine have the Brakes, broken.

Hundo- within the first 3 trips, the line guide broke off. Apparently it was a flaw in their design. (Never mind the stupid drag clicker)

Salty Hundo- twice now, the gear has engaged mid cast. Gritty feeling when reeling in.

Wife has a Diawa Coastal 80 that I’m liking, but she changes reels every time we fish anddoesn’t put near as much time on them as I do.

We're absolutely terrible on our gear, rarely gets cleaned and I leave all the reels in storage on the coast... sometimes I'll rinse them while rinsing the boat... lots of sandy/surf/beach action. So far my Lew's Tournament Pro's have been great and only needed pawl replacement. I've been through a bunch of other brands, 13's for example and can't get parts for those now it seems. I will say I have a probably 20+ year old cheap Daiwa Exceler that may have been my first ever baitcaster purchase that's been my backup and loaner reel for a long time, it's been the most reliable thing I've ever seen so I'd be inclined to try another Daiwa of some flavor if one of my TP's ever fails me.

[BRust]

BIL and I have been fishing with the Concept 13 orange and white for about 3 years maybe longer. We finally had them cleaned and replaced a few bearings. All we did was rinse while washing the boat. Had the work done by a guy in Sargent but like what has been stated to each there own.

[BBBGP]

I'm not a fan of those Bates.

Nor am I.