Oh so often on LRF and lure forums I see the same question coming up.
Which budget reel to buy?
Well many will tell you to splash out just over £50 (and occasionally just under) and get the tried and tested Daiwa Ninja (At the time of writing the 2021 model with a sleek black and gold trim is £59.99 with free delivery).
In all honesty, even having not owned one I am not going to argue at all with the most popular opinion. I’ve played with so many of these reels out on the bank or shore that others have to know its a workhorse! In fact I’ve sent links to several people close to me already and said if you have the cash, go with the known entity! There is a reason they are so damn popular and sell like hot cakes. They do the job well and are a very good price for a modern Japanese spinning reel.
But if you want something different and want to save yourself enough for a spool of braid or a few packs of lures…. there are these reels which I own, have put through their paces in both fresh and saltwater with no servicing at all other than perhaps a little accidental rinse by the rain and are ridiculously cheap considering they haven’t died on me.
Spro Urban 510
I’ve used this reel now for nearly 5 years in saltwater and freshwater with 4lb fluorocarbon. It is everything I wanted from my first LRF reel and more. It’s smaller than most other reels as comes in a 500 size (labelled as 510). It’s comfortably the lightest reel I have owned and yet is as strong as it could possibly be needed to be with light lines. The drag is very smooth and I have tested it regularly with bigger perch, pike and even a catfish taking line.
It looks great in black with some red and feels really good in your hand unlike some other cheap reels which often feel a little cheapy-plasticky if you know what I mean.
A few times last year the reel started to feel a little glitchy which wasn’t surprising after 4 years of fishing 2 to 3 times a week at least. But with a little bit of rainwater and continued use it has returned to its original smoothness and with no other maintenance at all its is going strong into year 5.
No doubt about it this is still my go to reel. All of my other reels feel too heavy on an LRF setup after having used it.
It’s in use in the vast majority of my Youtube videos if you want to check them out here.
I have the 2500 size with two spools. One spool is setup with 4lb fluorcarbon and the other with 20lb braid (for heavier fishing for the likes of bass and wrasse on a medium heavy rod).
I’ll get the faults out of the way. Even though I’ve seen so many owners of this reel swear by it. I feel like the one I got felt glitchy out of the box. However, ig got better and better as I used it and perhaps maybe was a little dry and should have been oiled. But of course I didn’t do that and instead just used it fishing for perch for a few weeks and allowed the fresh water to loosed in up a little and it has been fine ever since. I am pretty sure I picked this reel up at The Big one fishing show in March 2018 and its seen a lot of use since both as an LRF reel and on occasions set up heavier for pike and bass.
The other negative is personal preference, and that is that for 2500 is far too big for my lightest rods and I wish I had waited and got the 1000 size.
The Catana used to come in a signature red which is very sexy and looks great on any rod with red in the paintwork but did look kinda cheap maybe? and the newer models come in a really nice silvery grey and black finish which definitely looks a lot more at home on an expensive stick.
Shimano is a trusted brand and probably the most popular reel maker in the world with their awesome Stella and Vanford models flying off the shelves for those who can afford them but for those that can’t, the Catana is definitely worth the low cost it will set you back.
Nomura Kuro – (Link if for setup with Rod)
Where did this come from!!! I got this reel on offer at a ridiculous price of around £25 in a sale and left in in my garage with no line on it completely unloved for over a year. I’m an idiot! I’ve since spooled it up with a spool full of 6lb braid and another spool of 4lb fluorocarbon and instantly fell in love. I have the 1000 fd version which is just perfect for my lighter rods but I’ll admit I still miss the lightness of the Spro Urban 510 when using it.
Kuro means simply ‘Black’ and I absolutely love the look of this reel which is metalic black and silver, looks like it belongs on a samarai sword!
The handle is lovely with a soft finish and indentations for thumb/fingers and the reel is super smooth. I haven’t really tested the drag with a decent sized fish yet to be able to review it but having a pull on the line it seems smooth and I have confidence it will do the job and it makes that lovely slightly metallic ringing sound if that your thing.
There is a newer version I have found available from fishing megastore which has a different coloured graphite body. I am assuming the reels performance remains the same.
Okuma Zn 25a – Can a reel be too smooth? And less than £30 NUTS!
Now this reel belongs to my 14 year old son Owen. It’s been used primarily as a saltwater LRF rod for about 3 years. Never been washed, oiled etc as with everything else we own, its been through everything an 11 to 14 year old might put it through including dunkings, rockpools, sand etc. Yet it is still the smoothest reel I have ever felt to the point where I personally don’t like it. I know, how can a reel be too smooth!
However, almost everyone I fish with have felt it and love it, so so far it seems to only be me who has the issue. Personal preference again. The reel is so smooth that no matter what’s on the other end of it I feel like the reel somehow counteracts the vibration or resistance almost like a decent cars suspension takes out the small indentations in the road. Its just too bloody smooth!
It’s a solid reel, handles decent fish which I’ve witnessed on 2 occasions with Owen fighting decent bass as they run hard taking loads of line on the drag which operated smoothly also.
All in all its a quality reel if you like smoothness, but if you are like me and want to feel every vibration of a lures movement then you might actually want a reel which is less smooth, I cant believe I am even writing it.
I find the overall look of the reel kind of cheapy-plasticky looking, buts its less than £30 and made with a lot of plasic…… so no real shock! Reel can be seen in my youtube video here.
I found it on ebay today in the same size for £26.99 here.
How To Trick A Fish 