Good solid reliable beach fixed spool reel

I have surfmaster 850 reels for last year or so and to be honest dont really rate them. I enjoy the rods up on the tripod at mixed distance in general on clean ground. Ive gone through a few reels now in general cheap ones and now a little more expensive surfmasters. I have nice reels for finer fishing baitrunner, ultegra 5500 and small shimanos for spinning but cant decide or make out what would be best reel for flaking a bait out with 4/5 oz of lead and not going to worry too much that each retrieve will damage it interms of gears etc . Any recommendations from fixed spool users? I think I want agood strong one that will last a while pat

shimano biomaster xsa 8000 are a great reel my father bought it 6 years ago and it is still going like new i use it for flatties but they are expensive when my dad bought it was around 300 euro which is why i robbed it out of his box when he wasn t lookin and it comes with 3 spools

I have a biomaster xsa 8000 as well and its a year and a half old and no problems yet. I had enough of buying cheap reels and getting less than 12 months out of them.I went through two surfmaster 850 in 15 months and would never buy a cheap reel again, its cheaper in the long run to buy a good reel especially if you can replace parts in them. I paid 150 euro for mine and I've seen them now in the same shop for 135 euro.

if you can get one of the older model surfmasters you wont go too far wrong. the 60 or 70 which were replaced by the750 and 850. i have the 60 and its a crackin reel, but maybe a little small.
i recently dropped it off rocks, down about 10 foot and it bounced into a big pool of sea water. i brought it home, rinsed it and gave it a little oil and its working fine again
i also have the shakespeare k2 70, happy enough with that but only have it a a couple of months so cant say what its like in the long term.
also, i know you have the powertex Bass rod, if your looking for the reel to fit that, then the bigger reel doesnt work too well with it, the 60 size is much better.

hi pat if that reel is for the profile i always found the shimano baitrunner 4500b ideal with it , also good fun with the baitrunner set and a large bass snaffling up the beach

Iv never used shimano reels iv a daiwa emblem pro and its the best reel iv bought any of the daiwa range would be a great buy

Hi lads thanks for the replies. I like the look of the biomaster can be bought for 86 sterling at fosters birminghamseems a good deal. I also like the look of the emblempro which model do you use tony fella? Seanie i have a shimano 800 xtea baitrunner which ive used with the profile and it just seems like too small a handle for it with a big lead or maybe it needs a bit of getting used to? Red i dont have a powertex i have a zziplex 11'8 bass and a greys bze 12'6 which are great with small reels and i have some nice ones im happy with i think i like the description of the "crank" handle of the biomaster think ill go for that when funds allow pat

Right lads there is always a lot of talk about fixed spool reels.

How good they are, price etc

Lots of people recommend a reel when they may not have had experience with other reels. This is fine when they have had no problem with there reels but it is not a comprehensive guide.

I use exclusivly fixed spools and am very hard on them, blowing up 4/5 of supposidly the top of the range reels every year. I have tried most of them and to be honest there is not one model that I wouldn`t improve in some way.

Here is some of the reels I have gone through recently and what i think of them.

Shimano ultegra XSA, XSB & XTA
The most impressive part of this reel is the gears. i have so far been unable to blow up any of the ones I have. However the biggest problem with the reel is the line twist.

Biomaster Lasted about 6 months

Arelex
Not a good reel.

Grauvell Zeus & Zenith

These are nice reels with a very good casting spool and line lay system however the gears cannot deal with constant horsing of heavy weight and have all blown up on me.

Dawia Emblem, Emcast, tournement etc,etc etc
None of them have lasted too long. (Although I do fancy a basia, but I would probably wreck that too.)

Okuma Axeon
They anti - reverse has gone in all of these and the gears are not up to much either

Penn surfmaster
New 850 I managed to explode this one in less than 3 hours however I have one of the previous models and it is still working fine although they are not the nicest reels in the world. They dont have a great spool or line lay.

Next in the firing line will be the Fox range of reels, however I dont hold out much hope of them coping with what I have in mind for them.

I have gone through a lot of other reels too but the ones above are the most commonly used at the moment.

If I had to recommend one reel it would be the Shimano ultegra XSB 10000. Keep the line roller on the bail arm oiled and clean and you will never have a problem.

JP

I also like the look of the emblempro which model do you use tony fella?

Its the 5500 mate. the retrieve on it is the dogs i know of a shop that has one 2nd had its were i got mine it looks brand new if it was in a box you could pass it as new

wheres that? tony? Would have alook at it or price it.Pat

Rampent i will have a look at the ultegra you mention i have one 5500 and its a beautiful reel but feels too light for heavier stuff thanks for great poast pat

Its in southside angling you will get there phone number on there site it was still there yesterday its going for 150 euro and iv looked at them both they dont have a mark on them

Rampent i will have a look at the ultegra you mention i have one 5500 and its a beautiful reel but feels too light for heavier stuff thanks for great poast pat

The bigger models is what you are looking for 14000,10000.
To be honest I would stay well away from the daiwa reels. Although cheaper than the shimano they are still over priced for what they are. I will never use them again except maybe the basia for small fish.
Remember too that the common daiwas are pretty much all made as carp reels. No salt to worry about there.

Right lads there is always a lot of talk about fixed spool reels.

How good they are, price etc

Lots of people recommend a reel when they may not have had experience with other reels. This is fine when they have had no problem with there reels but it is not a comprehensive guide.

I use exclusivly fixed spools and am very hard on them, blowing up 4/5 of supposidly the top of the range reels every year. I have tried most of them and to be honest there is not one model that I wouldn`t improve in some way.

Here is some of the reels I have gone through recently and what i think of them.

Shimano ultegra XSA, XSB & XTA
The most impressive part of this reel is the gears. i have so far been unable to blow up any of the ones I have. However the biggest problem with the reel is the line twist.

Biomaster Lasted about 6 months

Arelex
Not a good reel.

Grauvell Zeus & Zenith

These are nice reels with a very good casting spool and line lay system however the gears cannot deal with constant horsing of heavy weight and have all blown up on me.

Dawia Emblem, Emcast, tournement etc,etc etc
None of them have lasted too long. (Although I do fancy a basia, but I would probably wreck that too.)

Okuma Axeon
They anti - reverse has gone in all of these and the gears are not up to much either

Penn surfmaster
New 850 I managed to explode this one in less than 3 hours however I have one of the previous models and it is still working fine although they are not the nicest reels in the world. They dont have a great spool or line lay.

Next in the firing line will be the Fox range of reels, however I dont hold out much hope of them coping with what I have in mind for them.

I have gone through a lot of other reels too but the ones above are the most commonly used at the moment.

If I had to recommend one reel it would be the Shimano ultegra XSB 10000. Keep the line roller on the bail arm oiled and clean and you will never have a problem.

JP

Je**s jp your a horse of a man what are you doing with your reels, i too use fixed spool exclusively but have very seldom encountered major problems but then i use mine gingerly and pump in the heavy weights. i agree with you on most of the comments but have never encountered problem with the gears. I too at some time or other have used most of these reels with varying degrees of problems. i am now using the diawa basia which is very expensive but very good and robust i have it about a year now and had no problems but then i am very kind to my reels.
Stephen uses Ian golds reels and finds them a good reel for value and quality ( they will be hitting the shops with in the next year or so). A reel i used years ago the mitchel 498 was bomb proof they just dont make like that anymore you could reel in dogs all day and not a bother.
as you said jp you are very hard on your reels and you fish a lot and i agree with you most of them don't last the distance.

[quote="paul mason"]
Stephen uses Ian golds reels and finds them a good reel for value and quality ( they will be hitting the shops with in the next year or so). quote]

great reel for light fishing. has stood up to heavier stuff too. good to hear they will be out in nthe shops! made my day

Right lads there is always a lot of talk about fixed spool reels.

How good they are, price etc

Lots of people recommend a reel when they may not have had experience with other reels. This is fine when they have had no problem with there reels but it is not a comprehensive guide.

I use exclusivly fixed spools and am very hard on them, blowing up 4/5 of supposidly the top of the range reels every year. I have tried most of them and to be honest there is not one model that I wouldn`t improve in some way.

Here is some of the reels I have gone through recently and what i think of them.

Shimano ultegra XSA, XSB & XTA
The most impressive part of this reel is the gears. i have so far been unable to blow up any of the ones I have. However the biggest problem with the reel is the line twist.

Biomaster Lasted about 6 months

Arelex
Not a good reel.

Grauvell Zeus & Zenith

These are nice reels with a very good casting spool and line lay system however the gears cannot deal with constant horsing of heavy weight and have all blown up on me.

Dawia Emblem, Emcast, tournement etc,etc etc
None of them have lasted too long. (Although I do fancy a basia, but I would probably wreck that too.)

Okuma Axeon
They anti - reverse has gone in all of these and the gears are not up to much either

Penn surfmaster
New 850 I managed to explode this one in less than 3 hours however I have one of the previous models and it is still working fine although they are not the nicest reels in the world. They dont have a great spool or line lay.

Next in the firing line will be the Fox range of reels, however I dont hold out much hope of them coping with what I have in mind for them.

I have gone through a lot of other reels too but the ones above are the most commonly used at the moment.

If I had to recommend one reel it would be the Shimano ultegra XSB 10000. Keep the line roller on the bail arm oiled and clean and you will never have a problem.

JP

Je**s jp your a horse of a man what are you doing with your reels, i too use fixed spool exclusively but have very seldom encountered major problems but then i use mine gingerly and pump in the heavy weights. i agree with you on most of the comments but have never encountered problem with the gears. I too at some time or other have used most of these reels with varying degrees of problems. i am now using the diawa basia which is very expensive but very good and robust i have it about a year now and had no problems but then i am very kind to my reels.
Stephen uses Ian golds reels and finds them a good reel for value and quality ( they will be hitting the shops with in the next year or so). A reel i used years ago the mitchel 498 was bomb proof they just dont make like that anymore you could reel in dogs all day and not a bother.
as you said jp you are very hard on your reels and you fish a lot and i agree with you most of them don't last the distance.

Hi Paul

Thanks for reply
I am most certainly hard on my reels and only ever pump in extreme circumstances.
The joys of horsing 3 dogs/ray in every cast.
For me it is better to buy 3/4 new reels every year than loose a fish or two to pumping.

JP

hi pat
before i moved over to multi's the reel i used was a very old surfmaster, i got it well over 20 years ago and it was second hand, only been retired cos' the handle is missing, recond it was the best f/s reel i have ever used for the sea, and i have tryed out a few of the newer surfmasters, and they dont hold a candle to the older ones. but to get your hands on one of the older ones is near imposable ( i still cant get a handle for mine )
i got the son a daiwa opus 6000 about 6 years ago, its only a cheep reel of £30, but its big and holds plenty of line. it has coped with doubles of dogies and rays and congers with no problem, and for a cheep reel it seems to have a good line lay and drag system. and its still going strong.

Thanks to all for there advise/help I just got 2 biomaster xsa 8000 in the post today paid 78.32 sterling for each and they seem the job looking forward to trying them pat

Grauvell Zeus 5000
had it for about 1 year now no problems with it it needs a little oil now but thats about it .
only down fall is the clasp gear some time,s springs shut when casting and in turn you lose your rig and a lot of line

but would recommend

Grauvell Zeus 5000
had it for about 1 year now no problems with it it needs a little oil now but thats about it .
only down fall is the clasp gear some time,s springs shut when casting and in turn you lose your rig and a lot of line

but would recommend

Had that reel myself but the anti reverse went after about 4 months..i was very hard on the reel though and had been known to bring in up to three whiting a cast
I know some other lads had problems with the anti reverse going on them too, pain in the ar*e to take apart but i think thats the same with most fs. I also had the same problem with the bail arm closing during some casts too. Bought a daiwa emcast sport for about 50 quid and haven't had any problems yet though! It'll be put to the test soon no doubt with the winter whiting plagues