Reel Review III, by Bill Schultz Options

[RS Staff]

Reel Review III (Guest Review)
by Bill Schultz


This is my third Reel Review article, as well as having included reels in a number of my other product review articles. I enjoy the testing process and hope you’ve enjoyed the articles and my opinions on the reels. I’ve been fortunate to have reviewed a number of outstanding reels and the five I’m including in this article are as good as any I’ve fished.

Since early May I’ve fished almost exclusively with these five reels and put more hours on them at the point of writing the review than past reels. However, additional hours were put on reels from past reviews with no change what I wrote about them. I’ve been on the water in one of my boats or walking a stream on all or part of 35 days from May through mid-July and have fished a total of over 150 hours. These reels have been used, but not abused. I tend to be careful with my equipment. I’ve fished on a couple of rainy days, but none of these reels has been “dunked”.

Like many of you I am very picky about the equipment I use and with that in mind I will tell you that I am very impressed with these five reels. They all performed perfectly with no problems. Here’s some information on each one individually.

Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 4007 Low Profile Baitcast Reel

As I’ve noted in the past, I’m more of a spinning reel guy than baitcast guy, but I absolutely love using this new Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 4007 Low Profile. I’ve always felt the Abu Garcia baitcasters have been engineered with quality and long reel life in mind. Last year I reviewed the, then new, D5 and commented on how tremendous the new Smart Mag brake system was. The 4007LP also has the Smart Mag system and for me this feature continues to make baitcasting a pleasure and not a headache filled with backlashes. This system has just one dial to adjust both the magnetic and mechanical brakes. It’s so easy and works great. The drag system is very smooth and works great.

This reel has an aluminum frame, only weighs 8.5 ounces, fits comfortably in my hand, has 7 ball bearings and something I do like, it has a 6.2:1 gear ratio. I’ve been fishing it on either a St. Croix Legend Tournament 6’6” or 7’ medium action baitcast rod with 12-pound line. What a great combo.

A couple of other features that you will be interested in are the new waffle design spool which helps make this a lighter reel and increases casting distance. I’ve had a few casts with the wind at my back where I didn’t think the lure would ever hit the water. The 4007LP also has a flipping switch included with easy access on the reel’s frame. The reel holds 140 yards of 12-pound test monofilament line and has a suggested retail price of $124.95. In my opinion this is another winner from Abu Garcia.

Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series Spinning Reel – JMX1500

I have never used a Bass Pro Shops reel before and I guess if they are going to put Johnny Morris’ name on a reel they must think it’s pretty darn good. I didn’t know what to expect with this reel, but have been very impressed. The JMX1500 is nice and light at 9.7 ounces, is super smooth, has an attractive design and comes in dark gray finish.

Let me list the many features of this reel:

Die-cast aluminum frame and side-plates.
Double-anodized, cold forged aluminum spool that is double perforated for extreme light weight.
Spool lip, line roller and bail wire are coated with titanium nitride for friction free line flow in both directions.
Stainless steel mainshaft.
Hardened brass pinion gear.
10 machined stainless steel bearings.
PowerLock instant anti-reverse.
High efficiency anodized aluminum drag washers.
Strong machine-cut handle.

I’ve already used this reel many hours this year, matched with a St. Croix 6’6” and 7’ Legend Tournament medium-light rod. I’ve fished it with six-pound test line and have been extremely pleased with the performance. I fished it primarily with the Rebel Teeny Wee-Crawfish, YUM Dingers and nose-hooked Zoom Super Fluke Juniors. As is typical where I fish, I caught many smaller fish with this reel, but I also a number of larger fish, including the 18 ¾”, 5 lb., 3 ounce Menominee River beauty in the photo. The reel worked perfectly, in fact there was no thought about the reel during the fight. This is always a criteria I pay attention to when I’m testing equipment. It should just do the job letting the angler worry about other things. I wish I would have done a better job of holding this beauty for the photo and wouldn’t have been pushing up on its huge belly. Oh well, I’ll remember next time.

I hear and read where fishermen say they are not concerned with the weight of a reel. I respectfully disagree with those anglers. Reel weight may not be a factor fishing tubes off the bottom, but when I’m on a small river casting the Teeny Wee-Crawfish for four or five hours, weight is important. This reel, and all the reels I tested, is what I would consider light.

Another feature that I’m very sensitive about is the size of the bail wire. If the bail wire is too big I find it awkward grabbing the line with my finger to cast. This is something I’ve really liked with the Shimano reels and is the right size the Johnny Morris reel. I also prefer the anti-reverse switch to be located on the back of the reel housing to make it as convenient as possible to reach while fighting a big fish. It’s located on the back of the Johnny Morris reel and is large enough to make the switch very easily.

Bottom-line, this reel has met my picky standards. It’s smooth, light and seems to be very tough. Suggested retail is $119.95 and comes with a spare aluminum spool. It also comes in a JMX2500 and JMX4000. For smallies, I prefer the 1500 size because it adequately handles four, six and eight pound test line, but some of you might also like the 2500. The Johnny Morris reel comes with a spare aluminum spool.


Daiwa Theory Spinning Reel – TH1500

The only Daiwa reels I’ve fished over the years have been those that Daiwa has produced for other companies. Except for a little slower gear ratio than I prefer, I’ve been very impressed. That’s why I was excited to spend time with the Daiwa Theory. I haven’t been disappointed.

Before I tell you more, here are this reel’s features:

All metal construction.
ABS Aluminum spool and spare.
Air Bail tubular stainless steel bail with Bailsafe bail lock.
Twist Buster line twist reduction system.
4-bearing system includes a Super Corrosion Resistant ball bearing, plus an infinite Anti-reverse roller bearing.
Machined-aluminum handle for extra strength and leverage.

This light, 9.7 ounce reel, is very comfortable to fish and like the Johnny Morris reel, I fished it mostly with six-pound test line on St. Croix medium light 6’6” and 7’ Legend Tournament rods. It performed flawlessly during many hours of use in a variety of fishing situations on rivers and lakes, both on foot and in one of my boats.

The gear ratio is 4.7:1, which as I mentioned is slower than I prefer, but many of you like this speed. One feature of this reel that I especially like is the Air Bail. The bigger diameter of the bail feels great and is very light. Unlike the Johnny Morris reel which has an understated appearance, this reel really jumps out at you with its bright silver and gold colored finish. I’m happy the Theory has the anti-reverse switch on the back and like the Johnny Morris reel is a good size that’s easy to locate when needed quickly.

I think this is a reel many of you will truly like and at a price of $84.99 with an aluminum spare spool, I think it’s a very nice reel for the price. It comes in a TH2500, TH3500 and TH4000. For smallies the TH1500 and TH2500 would be my choices.

Quantum Energy PTi Front Drag Spinning Reel – E20PTi

Of all the reels in this review, the Quatum Energy PTi is the one I was looking forward to fishing the most. This is primarily because of what I’ve heard and read about this reel, and how it looks. Let me start by saying, I wasn’t disappointed and this is one of the best reels I have every fished.

Let’s start by taking a look at the list of features:

Polymer-stainless hybrid 10-bearing system.
ThinLine aluminum body.
TiMag II titanium bail with magnetic bail trip.
Super-low-friction Continuous Anti-Reverse II.
Ceramic drag system.
Quantum Hot Sauce lubrication.
Scratch-resistant vacuum deposition coating.
Spare aluminum spool.
5.17:1 gear ratio.

I fished this reel on a St. Croix Legend Tournament 6’8” medium-extra fast and a 6’6” medium action Avid, with eight-pound test line. Most of my fishing was done with nose-hooked Super Flukes, Super Fluke Juniors, various YUM Dingers and a variety of top-water lures. This is a great reel for smallie enthusiasts who like using four, six and eight-pound test line. The E20PTi is quite light at 10.4 ounces. The E30 PTi which would also work fine for smallies is heavier than I prefer at 12.7 ounces.

I’ve used this reel many hours and it performed flawlessly on fish of all sizes. I wish the gear ratio was a little faster, but the 5.17:1 was fine. I was very impressed with the nickel-titanium bail that has a very light feel and will never bend out of shape, something “gorilla squad” members will appreciate. Something else the demanding angler will appreciate is the unique finish, which at first glance looks like holographic film or paint. The finish is a titanium deposition coating that is bonded to the frame, resulting in a finish that is extremely hard and much more scratch resistant than the finish on other reels.

Bottom-line is that this reel is designed to look great and perform great. I found the casting and retrieve to be effortless. I tend to back reel more than rely on a drag system, but when I did use the ceramic drag system, it worked perfectly. A very minor complaint is that, as I’ve noted earlier, I like the anti-reverse switch on the back of the reel and on this reel is it underneath the body.

The Quantum PTi 20 has an MSRP of $129.95, met all of my expectations and is a truly outstanding reel.

Shimano Symetre Rear Drag – SY1500RI

Shimano reels have been my favorites forever and I fish more Symetres than any other Shimano. All of my reels are front drag, but when I saw that Shimano had reintroduced the rear-drag Symetre I wanted to give it a try.

As with all Shimanos, this is loaded with features:

Aluminum frame with graphite sideplate.
Cold Forged aluminum spool and spare.
Slow oscillation – lays line in a parallel pattern for excellent castability and control.
S-Arm Cam –
Maintenance Port for easy lubrication.
Fightin’ Drag – during the fight, the angler can quickly increase or decrease the amount of drag by using the Fightin’Drag Lever.
A-RB (Anti-Rust Bearings)
Fluidrive II
Super Stopper II instant anti-reverse.
Dyna-Balance which eliminates wobble during the retrieve.
Power Roller II which is an oversized line roller that eliminates twists when casting and retrieving.
Floating Shaft, which, by using a bearing or bushing, friction is reduced between the pinion gear and spool shaft for increased smoothness and durability.

Back in 1992 when I rekindled my love of fishing, my wife bought me a 2000 series Shimano rear-drag reel. I loved it and really enjoyed the fightin’ drag. This reel rekindled the enjoyment of the rear-drag and fightin’ drag. I probably prefer front drag, but the rear drag is extremely convenient and for those who do not back-reel and want an easy quick way to adjust the drag while fighting a nice fish, this reel is for you.

Like the Theory and Johnny Morris, I mostly fished this with 6 pound test line on the same medium-light rods. As with my other Symetres, it performed flawlessly and in my opinion the 1500 series, that Shimano introduced last year, is perfect for smallies. Like the other spinning reels in the review it handles four, six and eight-pound test line with ease. At 10.1 ounces the rear-drag Symetre is a little heavier than the front-drag, but still nice and light.

The new Symetres, like the Stradic, have easy to use maintenance port for direct drive train lubrication. As noted earlier, I am a fan of small bail wires and the bail wire on this Symetre is perfect and never gets in the way when I grab the line with my finger. The anti-reverse switch is on the underside of the reel, but is still easy to access quickly and at times when I needed the drag it worked flawlessly.

This is one sweet reel. It’s loaded with features and I think it’s a bargain at an MSRP of just $79.99.

I hope you enjoyed the article and my thoughts on these five reels. If any of you have additional questions about any of these reels feel free to email me.

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Copyright © 2005 Bill Schultz
Published on River Smallies.com with permission.


Bill Schultz lives in Wisconsin and is a member of the St. Croix Pro staff. He's a popular sports show speaker and is a contributing writer for Waters and Woods magazine. A number of his articles and a variety of product reviews have appeared on this site. He can be reached at wschultz@mcw.edu.