Inshore reel recommendations…

[MikeStaten]

Looking for a conventional or bait caster for ocean inshore fishing (fluke, tog, sea bass, bass etc..).  I will be using the reel on a rod that is light in weight so want to keep the reel under 15 ounces or so.  I was leaning towards an Avet SXJ or SX but some of the newer reels caught my eye, including some of the bait casters like the Daiwa Lexa HD and Shimano Tranx.  Will spool it up with 30-40 pound braid. I’d like to keep the price at $300 or less.  

Edited January 2 by MikeStaten

[MGHunter66]

I fish a couple Daiwa Lexa’s and love them. The Coastal is nice if you want smaller. I hate Avets, like turning the handle on a coffee grinder. If you want conventional round reels the Saltiga’s are reel nice. I still fish a bunch of Abu Garcia 5500’s also, great reels and simple to breakdown and clean. 

[MikeStaten]

6 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

I fish a couple Daiwa Lexa’s and love them. The Coastal is nice if you want smaller. I hate Avets, like turning the handle on a coffee grinder. If you want conventional round reels the Saltiga’s are reel nice. I still fish a bunch of Abu Garcia 5500’s also, great reels and simple to breakdown and clean. 

Thanks.  Have you ever compared the Lexa to the Tranx?   Seems like those two are really popular.  

[hammer4reel]

This reel does everything that the higher end low profiles do for a lot less coin 

in the 40 size is a great all around inshore reel .

has 24 pounds of drag which allows it to stay intact after breaking snags .

I use quite a few of those and the beast low profile in 40 series .

i change all the handles to power handles 

 

wish they hadn’t discontinued the NACL50 as they were by far the best inshore reel made 

 

Edited January 2 by hammer4reel

[MGHunter66]

Just now, MikeStaten said:

Thanks.  Have you ever compared the Lexa to the Tranx?   Seems like those two are really popular.  

Actually no, I do not like Shimano. Just a personal thing, they seem to cut some corners where Diawa doesn’t. 

[hammer4reel]

Just now, MikeStaten said:

Thanks.  Have you ever compared the Lexa to the Tranx?   Seems like those two are really popular.  

Tranx is a better reel .

Lexa were popular and are a decent reel , but they corrode way faster than most other reels out there .especially their handles

[MGHunter66]

2 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

This reel does everything that the higher end low profiles do for a lot less coin 

in the 40 size is a great all around inshore reel .

has 24 pounds of drag which allows it to stay intact after breaking snags .

I use quite a few of those and the beast low profile in 40 series .

 

wish they hadn’t discontinued the NACL50 as they were by far the best inshore reel made 

 

These are great to, my son has been using a Revo series for a couple years now and loves it

[nmc02]

Shimano!

I buy shimano 90 % of the time. I like a few daiwa reels. I also love the alutecnos reels. 

Edited January 2 by nmc02

[NJNewbie]

I use a tranx for jigging. I know alot of guys use them to throw big striper plugs, but id grabbing a spinning reel for that. 

[Booner]

On a budget? Okuma Citrix

25lb drag. Pays out like the nacl. Low profile but on the big size 

[nmc02]

https://www.alutecnos.com/en/p/gorilla-6v/

[hammer4reel]

2 hours ago, nmc02 said:

https://www.alutecnos.com/en/p/gorilla-6v/

Can tell you really don’t inshore fish .

there isn’t a single round reel that fishes as comfortably in one hand as a LOW PROFILE  reel does .

jigging with a rod all day the last thing you want is a reel that’s a pound heavier than everything else out there .

That alutecnos is RIDICULOUSLY heavy , and has a very limited drag for that type reel . Most reels in that format are now pushing over 30 pounds of drag 
 

and putting that reel on a light rod it def isn’t goung to balance well 

Edited January 3 by hammer4reel

[MikeStaten]

Thanks. I’m going to checkout the Tranx 300 and 400.   I don’t need the line capacity of the 400 but it’s only a half ounce heavier than the 300.  Probably go with the slower gear ratio too as my son will be using it so may be easier for him to fight fish as he’s only 9. 

[nmc02]

20 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Can tell you really don’t inshore fish .

there isn’t a single round reel that fishes as comfortably in one hand as a LOW PROFILE  reel does .

jigging with a rod all day the last thing you want is a reel that’s a pound heavier than everything else out there .

That alutecnos is RIDICULOUSLY heavy , and has a very limited drag for that type reel . Most reels in that format are now pushing over 30 pounds of drag 
 

and putting that reel on a light rod it def isn’t goung to balance well 

It is good for stripers. Bit heavy for sea bass and the other pan fish you like to fish for.

There is no nice reel than the alutecnos. The drag is 20 lb. There is no fish listed that needs more. 

Though it is heavier than he said.

[hammer4reel]

11 minutes ago, nmc02 said:

It is good for stripers. Bit heavy for sea bass and the other pan fish you like to fish for.

There is no nice reel than the alutecnos. The drag is 20 lb. There is no fish listed that needs more. 

Though it is heavier than he said.

Most don’t buy a high drag reel because they expect to use a high drag reel.

it means the internals can handle more strain .

In all forms of bottom fishing breaking off a snag is where reels take the most strain , and it’s where light drag reels get damaged .

the reel you listed is  between 7-10 ounces more than everything else that would be used for those applications listed .

and when using a rod all day you want a rod and reel combo that balances ..