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I've fixed my broken rod as much as I can, I'll post up what I did in the howto area later, but it looks quite usable still with not too much obvious change in action (yet). This means I might as well get a new reel for the 7'3 Infeet. I'm fairly happy so far with the Penn Pursuit III 2500 on it but since the rod weighs in under 90g and that reel is 278g it's kinda wasting the weight saving of the rod.

So I'm thinking of getting a reel under 200g for a really light weight rig. I'd like to keep it under $150 if I can, possibly Xmas specials might help so we can look at perhaps up to $200 reels, but the Stradics are out though a 160g reel sounds sexy lol.

Not many come in that light, contenders so far;

Legalis 2000, 185g - $109 atm, really good reviews on this reel

Exceler 2000, 185g - $129 atm, not sure what's better than the Legalis though other than screw in handle

Anything else I should consider? The Shimano 1000s seem to be over 200g in the sub-$200 reels - seems Shimano 1000 = Daiwa 2000 mostly (Daiwa do not make a 1000 under $500 reel) though spool sizes are all over the place even within brands anyway.

 

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I have a  Daiwa Revros 1003 &  Revros 2004H spinning reels that I use for trout fishing and they've been great, a nice  light well balanced reel.

I been using them for three years without any hassles,

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DAIWA-REVROS-LT-Spinning-Fishing-Reel-LT-Light-and-Tough-Concept-Fishing-Reel/333763469106?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4db5da5f32:g:sdQAAOSwDwNfwNxp&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACkBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkCrLl8erj3ATP5raQxjc%2F%2B3iH5YnjmTH6nmoLvkS5L6T4%2F6cdrm8Hvxmarc2XK1XQTlF9V1%2BaDYQwj4kh5LF1rvRhGKHdOw4K6OPCllRRW4vEovdjfD6jy3mqW6Fc9HmV%2FKri37vIaOGmfOfVddysiqM8hIhP8Wk6nm11p5TwLwEm3udQnrekq0Ldh9RQpTRJ3m5GXV%2FK5AmQC95ID8MqMl47pp3o5yibB8XUv383K2I9Uro2UtUVpMERitDBXgs61XZzQr%2FoZ%2BshuwfcDHcirTHzNMLXzGO9smjk4WelHB9Nsvaoqr0YfTbLxM6%2BgMNpzgE8aeLn9NzfhPgza8QZPBnuc1ow75cU0HoObSXxTRXnhxvJOsMF6%2F%2Fnz5MhPx21shml79v6d76%2FPmYjv%2Fdil4Z%2FbcKXYYaVU7irwpAm6Vzi8K5q0F3uQLPPq6fBDgtRwyG83yT1w3f7LwW9ulUxwioyOUO%2Fjr%2FBHgHBpYzCX%2BnOd5x6RFWtEWXexjSZzPeP2mezwRHSwICr6wEqx27%2Fjqmd6yDu41TpBStwBspE4g32nIVddX9DRF%2FofYPhARgEwXaTu3uvrtqgEaAGZjrbkhVaxcHFDzsdqz5BaMTyylqtg6hSyK3xa0cMKSdk%2BGFbebarcQglGcny7JolLiYVqSsYLNHRaVTD4BS%2BNdsh6mo8WwgYs6%2F0BJ7HSwA7da8FDkbZhSgcvpSBvdjtDBEEmXu4h7LFZKB6RnCY6nppIlf%2FDYgyggsJ0%2FZ7Hh7t%2BV8ENhKgNg3Ap30qFrk7QDOdbux68l5c3cXTOu0zqgfPNms5L3DkT6Bd85l%2BFfVRWrQm|cksum%3A333763469106b159e4664e264ce7ba89af45c0a161c6|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524&frcectupt=true&autorefresh=true

 

** Also the Okuma Inspira ISX-20B (retail $1140-00) & Epixor EPXT-20 ($100-00) are also nice small light weight spinning reels..

cheers

Adrian..

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I can highly recommend the excelor 2000 LT,  got one for my youngest lad matched to a green gomoku 6ft ultralight, running 6kg braid (in green). If you hadn't picked it yet I mainly chose it because his favorite colour is green but also because it should be able to handle tiddlers up to whoppers. 

When the heavy metal snapper I mentioned in a different thread were biting their heads off this was the rig I cracked out and it handled it great, fishing it harder than it was designed for I caught fish up to 50cm, the drag stayed smooth throughout even though I probably had it tightened more than it should have been and smaller fish I just skull dragged, easy caught 50 fish on it and afterwards it was still as tight as it was out of the box, it has been used a lot more than this obviously but this was a proper workout.

The only negative was under the heavy pressure there was a little reel flex but if you don't plan on redlining it like this constantly on 6kg you'll be fine, overall it has so far massively exceeded expectations and I will continue to pinch it while my young fella is not looking, my goal is to get a rat king or salmon around 60cm on it this summer.

I hope this is useful but at the end of the day the most important thing is that you like the gear you use.

 

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All of my trout rods are ULS 1-3kg Daiwa Presso, Impri & Okuma Celilo 6' & 6'6" which are all well suited to the reels I mentioned earlier.

Beautifully light weight balanced set ups with those reels. That Inspira reel retail is $140-00 too not $1140-00, sorry must have hit the 1 twice..☺️

cheers

Adrian.

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I used to have a 1000 and 1500 Fuego which were the American equivilant of our legendary 'Bluvias'. Great reels and very light. Only mentioned once here and a 'big' call but if the newer Fuego is even 1/2 as good as the older models I would be getting the Fuego. Unfortunately they dont come with a spare spool like the older models did. 😪  Good luck with your choice. Regards, HBt.

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4 minutes ago, SurfcaztR said:

All 3 are the same reel ,Fuego has mag seal the other two there is only a bearing difference between them

Kinda, the Fuego and Exceler have a screw in handle, the Legalis hasn't had that update yet and has the older hex shaft style. The Fuego has a screw on knob rather than a riveted knob and possibly a bearing there, but the biggest point is you can change the handle easily. Fuego supposedly has 1kg more drag, which is interesting since it has exactly the same drag stack as the Exceler. The annoying thing is Fuego is TW exclusive in Aust and they are out of stock on all Exceler and Legalis, so no comparing. The magseal on the Fuego is meh because there is no protection for the body, so at best you might save the anti reverse but not the gears in a dunk.

Yeah @Mickyj I don't even mind the Pursuit, I'm probably chasing small gains but why not.

@Wert thanks, yeah I plan for this setup to have probably 6lb braid so I don't see flex being an issue.

@Meppstas the Okumas look interesting but no local stock to have a look at here it seems.

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4 minutes ago, Territory Lad said:

Have you looked at either the Shimano Ultegra or Nasci? Never used them personally but they seem to fall in the price / weight range your looking at. Might be worth a look.

Yeah, I did, the Nasci 1000 is 210g and looks to be smaller than the Daiwa 2000s that are lighter, the Ultegra 1000 is $200 on special but looks well sealed.

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1 hour ago, Soobz said:

Yeah, I did, the Nasci 1000 is 210g and looks to be smaller than the Daiwa 2000s that are lighter, the Ultegra 1000 is $200 on special but looks well sealed.

Shimano range in those cheaper prices in Nasci,Ultegra and others have terrible line lay,best to get the shop to spool the line on.

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Crap, I let the shop show me a 2020 Vanford - replaces the Ci4+ - it should be the same weight as the Legalis/Exceller/Fuego but it feels much lighter. In terms of smoothness and response it's night and day. It's double I was planning to spend though Sportsfishing Scene's prices are well under RRP unlike Anaconda/BCF. I didn't buy it. Yet.

The Fuego feels not as nice as the Legalis/Exceler, not sure if that's an effect of magseal but it's just not smooth and the handle was really clunky on top of that (sloppy knob and sloppy connection to gear).

The Vanford 3000 has the body of the 2500 but a different spool and a nice longer handle and yet is still 180g (but feels like 150g), has 9kg of drag, long cast/stroke spool, well sealed including IPX8 line roller and clutch. It's small, light and extremely effortless to crank. Bastard should not have showed me it!

Since he tempted me to spend more I decided to look at other options. Daiwa Kix was ok but not remotely in the same class and had that same clunky handle as the Fuego. Sol III was very nice, awesome knob, very smooth but felt heavier than the Vanford yet should have been the same, and also more expensive. I also played with a Stella, didn't feel like a jump up over the Sol III or Vanford but that's without any load of course. I played with a Okuma Epixor 20 and 30, the 20 is a tad small for my intended use and the 30 feels heavy, sadly no Inspira to play with.

I need someone to talk me out of the Vanford (other than my wife). Likely to wait until day after Xmas anyway to see what specials may or may not happen.

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3 minutes ago, HB tragic said:

My(its actually our)purchasing philosophy at home is: 'something out before something in' ... so get rid of something and get the Vanford. 😉 Good luck. Regards, HBt.

I like this philosophy. 

Drink an entire bottle of wine, so you can then discard the empty bottle. Thats the "out" taken care of. Then go buy the Vanford.

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14 minutes ago, Territory Lad said:

@Soobz this new reel is to match with the Diawa rod yes? If so, what are you going to do with 9kg of drag on a bream rod?

Yes, it's crazy, it's a dinky reel really, it does not need 9kg of drag, I don't really understand why they would put that much on it. I did check that you can still set it super light but I'd want to double check that. Perhaps it's in answer to the problems some people had with the Stradic Ci4+ with drag burning out that I read about. Or maybe it's to make a point that the reel is 'tough' for it's size?

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Haha, just remember you started out looking for a small budget but quality reel to match your light rod, now you're looking at a much bigger reel almost 3 times the price...... For what it's worth I love my 2500 sol and the vanford looks to be at a similar level of quality. Sooooo, why not get a little sol for the infeet AND a vanford 3000 for heavier work, now to work out what rod to match it with!

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I’ve looked at the vanford 1000 a few times now, I’m so tempted, even a bit more now since a found an issue with my stradic on the weekend, has a bloody wobble. Grrrr now I need to strip it down
You"ve got the 1000 stradic? That size scares me in that it feels so tiny in shop and worried I'd not enjoy it.
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Haha, just remember you started out looking for a small budget but quality reel to match your light rod, now you're looking at a much bigger reel almost 3 times the price...... For what it's worth I love my 2500 sol


Thing is the 3000 vanford is probably a little smaller than the 2500 Sol, its certainly a fair bit smaller than the pursuit 2500 and even exceler 2000 as I had those 3 side by side. I wish they'd publish dimensions.
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26 minutes ago, Soobz said:

You"ve got the 1000 stradic? That size scares me in that it feels so tiny in shop and worried I'd not enjoy it.

If it helps, I have 2 x 1000 Stradics mate and I run them side-by-side with a 2500 stradic when on the flats. 

When I 1st used the 1000 I was worried I would break it. I now favour it over the larger 2000 and 2500 size reels.

Effortless casting.

Like everything though, it's a personal choice. 

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1 hour ago, Soobz said:
3 hours ago, keenfisho said:
I’ve looked at the vanford 1000 a few times now, I’m so tempted, even a bit more now since a found an issue with my stradic on the weekend, has a bloody wobble. Grrrr now I need to strip it down

You"ve got the 1000 stradic? That size scares me in that it feels so tiny in shop and worried I'd not enjoy it.

Love 1000 size reels, I run two different model stradics and they are my favourite

 

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Oh, this shows what I mean about the 3000 being the same size as the 2500, it's only the spool capacity that changes and the handle length. (All the reading I've done suggests the Vanford is just the renamed Stradic Ci4+ as a 2020 version because they didn't want 2 Stradics in the lineup.)

Shimano_ STRADIC CI4+ Spinning Fishing Reel 1000 2500 C3000 4000 Gear Ratio  5.0:1/4.8:1 Max Drag 9kg Low Profile Fishing Reels | Lazada

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2 hours ago, Soobz said:

For you guys that favour the 1000s, I'm still unclear what is it about them that you like? Just the light weight? Do you prefer the smaller handle?

It's interesting that Dawia mostly do not sell 1000 size in Aus anymore.

It's the overall weight and balance of the outfit mate. That and I like to use 6lb braid, so the 3kg of drag is ample.

It's one of those things you have to try for yourself. There is no right/wrong answer, it's just what ever suits you best. 

Maybe start with the rod you going to pair it with, the species you intend on targeting with it, how you intend on targeting them, then the size braid you are going to use. That should narrow it down.

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4 hours ago, Soobz said:

Based on where he puts his finger the Pursuit 2500 is a perfect balance :) , but clearly to me it's a bit heavy for this rod. I think it's a lot more complex to work out balance than a single pivot point as rod angle / lure type and preferred hand position and grip will have a big effect on comfort.

By going as light as possible the rod tip will be heavier and 200 cast later your wrist will start feeling it.Going to a heavier reel it won't get noticed during casting.Some rod manufacturers allow weights to be added at the butt end so it's balanced.Take the rod to the tackle shop and ask them to set you up with a balanced outfit.

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6 hours ago, Soobz said:

For you guys that favour the 1000s, I'm still unclear what is it about them that you like? Just the light weight? Do you prefer the smaller handle?

1. Intrigue as to what a reel of this size could manage casting hbs for bream

2: Compatability with my rod  > enhancing casting comfort. 

My first was an older 1000 Fuego that I purchased secondhand so there was no great financial outlay. What I found was this size matched my rod for my style of fishing very nicely, it was comfortable to use for extended amounts of time and it could deal with any fish that I came across. When the opportunity came to upgrade to a better 1000, this time a Shimano which was slightly smaller again I jumped at it and would not hesitate to do it again. Regards, HBt.

As an aside ^^^ What TL says as well. 😉

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