Best Sub $300 Ultralight Spinning Reel

[Firstoutfisher]

Just ordered a 5'1 megabass great hunting Ultralight rod to use for small creeks and stream trout. Looking for a good reel to pair with it. Have been considering the shimano cardiff c14+ and the daiwa ballistic FW in either a 500 or 1000s size. I am open to other suggestions though. My budget is around $300 but that can be stretched a bit if there is a good reason to.

[ftl1951]

Check out the “Shimano Cardiff Ci4 or Soare” post on this thread. I talked about both the Daiwa Ballistic FW and the Shimano Cardiff. Either of those reels are really excellent spinning reels. The Cardiff has more bearings out of the factory than the Daiwa, but I’m not sure it makes a difference in how it feels. There are some really good prices on the Ballistic (around $210) versus $240 for the Shimano on eBay. These reels are extremely smooth and drag systems superb. I think you would enjoy using either of them.

[Aquaftm45]

Just ordered a 5'1 megabass great hunting Ultralight rod to use for small creeks and stream trout. Looking for a good reel to pair with it. Have been considering the shimano cardiff c14+ and the daiwa ballistic FW in either a 500 or 1000s size. I am open to other suggestions though. My budget is around $300 but that can be stretched a bit if there is a good reason to.

If you can find one...a Daiwa Daysprout/SLP DSLT 1000S would be a good reason to stretch you budget slightly. I know a member had one for sale/trade on here a while back.

[Alphahawk]

You have been given some good suggestions here. I have the Ballistic FW 1000 and have tuned them the same as the inner workings of the Daiwa DaySprout...it is the same except for the color. As a matter of fact I have 4 of them that are all tuned....great reels no doubt. If you can find the FW at a good price you can tune it with the extra bearings for another 30 bucks...and get the Zaion knob for 25 bucks. Of course the problem with any of this now is sourcing. One reel you may want to look at in your price range is the Abu Garcia Theta 1000 series. I have really put mine through the paces and I really like it. At $270 delivers it is a great reel.



Regards

[Matavase83]

I use a Shimano 17 Soare Ci4+ 500s on my Tenryu Rayz 5.3 rod and it matches perfectly my needs, a great, light reel. Eventually the new Shimano Vanford could be an option as they make it in both, 500 and 1000 size (at least in Europe).

The Soare would be my personal choice though.
Chris

[ultralight]

My impression is that the Shimano Vanford 500F is cheaper but potentially improved over the Soare 500? Not sure but that's my impression. I had the Soare 500 a long time ago but did not keep it because I prefer 1000 reels but I was curious about the reel. I have a Vanford 500 coming in a couple of weeks just so I can check it out though it is smaller than what I normally use.

[Hulkster]

I have used either a Stradic or Sustain 1000 reel to go with my high end UL rods.

They are perfect. a Stradic 1000 would be amazing.

I think the 1000 sized is preferred over the 500 size, you will get better casting with the 1000 size spool.

[ultralight]

As to 500 or 1000, I think it may depend on the line used as the 500 is lighter and may balance the rod better. If one is using UL braid, the spool size makes no difference in casting distance. Just my opinion...

[Matavase83]

As to 500 or 1000, I think it may depend on the line used as the 500 is lighter and may balance the rod better. If one is using UL braid, the spool size makes no difference in casting distance. Just my opinion...

Totally agreed on this, I am using a 5 lb Sunline Area Troutist PE 0.2 and I guarantee that I can cast wherever I need to get my lure to (distance), the short 5' rood is better balanced with this compared to a Vanquish C2000S (which basically is a 1000 size with bigger spool) and I never noticed longer casts with the vanquish.