Reel advise

I want to get a new Fixed spool beachcasting reel,not too keen on multipliers,do ABU do any good one's?,I'm looking for something decent,any advise appreciated,cost etc thanks.
R.

penn surfmaster for me best out there used one and there great. all goes on what you want to pay

surfmaster is highly rated. might get one myself!

Roughly whats the price of the Penn Surfmaster?,was gonna spend about 250/300 Euro,well,in and around that region and how much, of say, 25lb line could the spool hold?.

250/350 will buy you a top of the range reel. I'd suggest you buy mail order if you want to spend that much, it will work out a lot cheaper.

You would do well to look at some of the pricier Shimano reels, like the Ultegra range for instance. They are superbly engineered, and like most shimano reels, are built to last.

Whatever you buy, try to get a well balanced, compact reel.

The question is, do you really need to spend that much money? I use fixed spools for most of my fishing, and find that they generally have a short enough life. I would only expect to get 3 years out of a reel, simply because they are not as hardy as multipliers when it comes to sea angling (I'm sure others may not agree!). Even if you maintain it well, the gears will eventually wear out after a couple of seasons of dogfish hauling. You mention that you want to use 25lb line, so I'm assuming you intend to be fishing in rough stuff. In which case, spending 300 euro may not be the way to go.

I'd suggest that you buy something along the lines of the:

Surfmaster - £75 plus p&p
Daiwa Emcast Plus £80 plus P&P
Diawa Emblem Pro - £125 plus P&P
Shimano Biomaster GTX (not GT - it's the silver one) - about £80 plus P&P
Shimano Ultegra - shop around for this, price depends on size of reel etc.

I have used Emcasts for a couple of years, they are lovely reels to use, but they don't last, especially if you are tough on your reels. Spare spools are also ridiculously priced at between 50 and 60 euro. I bought a couple of shakespeare powerplay reels and found that although cheaper, they are just as good, and have lasted a lot longer. The line lay on them is superior too.

Personally, if I was getting a new reel (and if Santa is good to me), I'd go for the Biomaster GTX . Shimano quality, 3 spools in total (of varying capacity which is handy), and very reasonably priced. Would suit my fishing down to the ground.

I'm sure I've left out a few good brands/makes, anyone else got any suggestions?

I bought a Shimano fixed spool based on my experience of Shimano bicycle components. I've ridden in excess of 15,000 miles (on one groupset) over some seriously hilly roads (extreme stress) and NEVER ONCE did I suffer component failure. Bearing in mind you don't need equipment failures at 70MPH :D Absolute cracking piece of engineering and my next move will be a Shimano Multiplier to replace a Ryobi Masterline piece of junk. I think Steve has made some excellent points but do consider Shimano alongside ABU. I'm not excluding Penn but I have not experienced one to comment on.

Thanks for your help lads,much appreciated.

if you look around check out if you can get your hands on a shimano biomaster 14000 fixed spool, they may now be discontinued but to me they are the daddy of them all!