I am not a huge fisherman but delight in fishing for bass, pike, and walleye. I just found out that my reel only holds 6 lb. test line. I can’t catch the size of fish that i want to with 6 lb. test line and i would like a new reel. What should i consider before buying a new reel? also i want to have a spiraling reel.
How do I decide which fishing reel to buy?
June 30th, 2010 
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Oh contraire! oh heavy tackle one! You can use 6 lb. test line to catch just about any fish. In fact, most people overdo the line test thing. Your best friend is your reel’s drag. Set properly, you will be able to land much larger fish than you realize.
Ok, for reels, I’d recommend an open face Shimano. They are reasonably priced, are my very favorite and I own several. Resist the urge to get the largest you can find. You will have way more fun with smaller gear and lighter action rods. Visit Cabela’s website to check on the rod/reel combos or just reels if that’s what you want. And check out the ratings from additional anglers. I have found this to be a very valuable tool when deciding what I want to buy. Excellent luck and have fun!
P.S. (go light).
No offense to the answer above me, but a decent sized Pike or even Walleye would bite 6-pound test so quick you wouldn’t know what hit you. In my opinion, for those two toothy critters, I would go with a Braid.
Why? Braids are EXTREMELY abrasion strong, and are incredibly thin but have the strength to pull out even the meanest, toughest fish out of any body of fill up. Anywhere from 15- to 30-pound Braid will do. Although it is 30-pound it has the width of about 10-pound depending on what brand you buy. If it’s a SpinCast reel, but, I wouldn’t use a Braid. It ruins your reel.
For a second choice for a spiraling or baitcasting reel, or the best choice for a spincaster, I would go with about 15-pound Berkley Huge Game.
Sorry that I got carried away about line and whatnot ….
To choose what kind of reel you want to buy, I would start out by telltale us how much you are willing to spend for your reel, second of all, you want to have a reel that has a BIG but not TOO huge line capacity. Gear ratio is sometimes a factor but normally not for Pike or Walleye.
I reckon I helped you some?
There are a lot of spiraling reels out there to choose from, just depends on how much you are willing to spend. Which ever brand you choose, with the type of fishing you’ll be doing, I would go with the standard size reels (4000 models) which holds 10-14 pound test line. One of the reels that I would recommend is the Daiwa Exceler 4000 at $72 (GEAR RATIO=4.9:1) (LINE CAP=10/300,12/260,14/210). This reel should be perfect for you or some thing similar if you are looking for a cheaper one. Check out this link http://www.ultimatefishingtackle.com/store-categories-SPINNING_3479300.html