Ok, I've just worn out my 5 th reel in about 10-12 yrs. I admittt I do a lot of spin fishing for about 8 mos. every year and I have allways bought the inexpensive reel but -------------even so. In each and every case after I took em apart I found that I have worn out the worm gear!!!!!! I think they were all made from brass. It doesn't seem that it has had anything to do with bearings. They've always had plent of grease. Of course the bail spring goes early but that I can deal with. When a worm gear goes the reel is shot! I've always bought what I thought were good brands, Diawa, Shimano, Qantum, etc.
I've allways written this off to (cheaper reels) but 2 yrs.??? What realy got me to post this was that some very experienced fishermen have said they never had a reel go bad from a worm gear????? If I'm right, worm gear material, then what reel has solve this problem? If I'm wrong, what's my problem?
[url "javascript: addTag(':/')"][unsure][/url]Leaky
Heres the thing. Not many guys fish as much as you do. There are a few who fish 3 or 4 times a week, but not many.
Your reels see lots of water, and lots of turns of the handle.
A guy who does a lot of powerbait fishing where he only casts once every so often is not putting so much wear on a guy who fishes your style, plus the fact that you fish so often just compounds your problem.
I have never been able to get a spinning reel to last more than two years myself. Lots of guys I see have the same issue. Its normal.
There isnt much you can do about it. Obviously grease will cut down on metal to metal wear, but just constant use loosens up parts, and wears on pieces.
Some guys are going to tell you they get 50 years out of thier spinning reels, but they arent you. You know you get 2 years per reel. Its been proven over the last ten years.
I proved it to myself, I know lots of guys who also have found the same results.
Heres the thing, a group of friends and I have played around with the spinnign reel dilema. Skeeter2 was so tired of reels only lasting 2 seasons that he went out and bought a shimano stradic for $100.00 with the hope that it would last longer. The idea was more money, higher quality, thus longer life.
Nope. 2 years is about it. In fact, I believe it was that reel that blew up on us at fish lake.
So, the test switched to the cheaper reels. 2 years. Just the same.
I currently own 2 diawas in the $65.00 range, 2 quantums in the $70.00 range, 1 $40.00 shimano, 1 $60.00 shimano, and 1 shakespeare that I cant remember how much I paid for, plus a ton of old busted down broken reels from a host of manufacturers just laying around in a pile.
I dont use any of them anymore. I gave up spending money on spinning reels ans switched over to bait casting reels that retain thier quality performance year after year even for guys like you and me who fish many many times each week.
My personal recomendation if you want to stick to spinning reels is just plan on buying a new one every couple of years. Quantum just came out with a new line of inexpensive spinning reels that we dont have in the store yet, but I have seen them, and played around with them a bit. They will be an exceptional reel for the price. They still wont last more than a couple years for a guy like you, but the $20.00 price tag will not break the bank, and you will get a reel that rivals most of the reels in the $50.00 range.
Abu garcia also has a couple new reels out that are very nice for the price you pay.
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i have had the same problem with spinning reels wearing out in a couple years i also fish spinners and jigs alot i found a reel that is lasting along time 5 years so far it is made in salt lake city and it is called an american classic 4 it is a copy of an old cardinal but it has better bushings and bearings and its all metal the only drawback is that itis a little big for me if the made one a little smaller it would be perfect for me but it really well built and i use it even though its kinda big for what i use it for you should check it out i got mine at anglers inn in sugarhouse i dont know if they still have them or not but you can get them from the factory i think their web site is [url "http://www.americanclassicsales.com/"]www.americanclassicsales.com[/url] i will find the paper work with thier phone number and post it later today if i can i am verry happy with the ones i own maybe we can go fishing some time and you can use one
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Hey Leaky,
I gotta go with Predator on this one. Spinning gear just tends to wear out no matter what you pay for it. I do think however that the reason the worm gear fails is because the bearings get sloppy and let the gears crash together. So unless you can find one with titanium gears, they will wear out. Buying reels with more bearings doesn't seem to help much either.
I just bought two Okuma baitrunner reels. The EB30.They have a slow gear ratio and lots of bearings. Needed a baitrunner for Redmond Pike this winter.Might try them on winter cats too. Maybe the slower retrieve will make them last, who knows. I probably won't use them enough to worry about it.
Good luck.
walleyebob
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the correct web site is americanclassic.net the phone # is 801-977-3935 or 888-733-5763
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