Sub-$50 reel for crappie and panfish

[forrest r]

Forrest,,,great read by the way and some great fishing you got there,,,those steelhead need to be in their own category knowing how crazy strong they are….I definitely be tempted to try to catch one someday with my reels, but I hardly believe a crappie pole would hang that tough,,,,,,I’d be replacing poles on a regular basis with fish like those,,,,lol,,,,

Gosh, I hope I didn't mis-lead anyone. I use a 8' ul "dough" rod that is specifically designed for steelhead. The steelhead specific rod is paired with a diawa regal lt 1000d.

Those steelhead hit hard, do hard runs with line snapping switch back. Couple that with fishing from land in rivers along with standing on docks. When you're in a kayak or boat drifting in the river or in a boat trolling out in the lake. You have all day to bring the fish in. On land with things like dock poles and other anglers stacked up on each other. You need to be able to muscle the fish/control the runs & that diawa is up to the task.
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Applewood and a light smoke.
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I have broke ul/crappie rods trying to bring in the big cat's, 2 of them in the last 3 years.

After reading this thread I ordered 1 of those kast king centron 500 reels. Plan on doing head to head testing with it vs the diawa regal lt 1000d. Should not only be fun, I hope the kast king holds it's own.

[TWFairweather]

I used a riversider ul 8' steelhead rod for a few years and was great, used it for pan fish, was great for drifting for trout and caught many dozen shad on it. I ran my small trion reel, the next size up properly would have been better. My mother killed the rod one day and they don't make them anymore from what I've seen. I think a small sporting goods shop by my dads had one on the rack I should snag

[Slab]

BnM Pro100 hands down,
only $39, can't beat it.
Found them here for $35 on Russ Bailey's site. B’n’M Pro Staff 100 Spinning Reel • BrushPile Fishing
Smooth, great drag, Stainless steel, Handle folds and sturdy. Lov'em.

[hdhntr]

looks like there are a lot of options for really good reels in a similar price range that will get the job done. Would appreciate a heads up when you see any of these go on sale! that would be awesome guys. all of these will getrdone and depends on what each of us finds important.

[deathb4disco]

Would appreciate a heads up when you see any of these go on sale!

I try to regularly check the Bargain Cave at Cabela’s. They frequently have good deals. Pfleuger Supremes are currently marked down $20, for example.

[MNCrappieHunter]

I try to regularly check the Bargain Cave at Cabela’s. They frequently have good deals. Pfleuger Supremes are currently marked down $20, for example.

That's the previous model - new model just out doesn't have an AR switch. Pflueger is removing the AR switch from all their models over time.

Old model Supreme XT's are also marked down at Cabelas/BPS.