Top 7 Best Spinning Reels Under 100 Dollar |Review & Buying Guide|2018
Fishing is a fun activity and Challenging Sport. But sitting on the bay of river without perfect tools for fishing is not a good idea. Fishes are hard to catch but with technology, it is very easy and helps in saving your time and energy.
Whether you are a hobbyist or Professional, Angler Spinning reel is the most important equipment to increase the chance of catching fish.
Searching for a high-quality spinning reel at an affordable price is pretty tough. So, here is a Well researched and acknowledged buying guide for the Spinning reel and Top 7 Best Spinning Reels Under 100 dollar just waiting for you!
Picture | Name | Bearing | Gear Ratio | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Okuma Avenger Baitfeeder Reel | 6BB+1RB | 5.0:1 |  |
 | Pisfun Metal Spinning Fishing Reels | 11SSB | 5.2: 1 | |
 | KastKing Sharky II Spinning Reel | 10+1SSSB | 5.2:1 | |
 | Piscifun Steel Feeling Spinning Fishing Reel | 9+1BB | 5.1:1 | |
 | Shimano IX1000R IX Rear Drag Spin Reel | NA | 4.1:1 | |
What is a Spinning Reel:
Fishing is an activity of Catching fish. Numerous techniques are used in the process of fishing. A perfect fishing process needs a high-quality fishing rod with a combination of the Spinning reel.
A Spinning reel is a cylindrical device or machine that is attached to the fishing rod for purpose of fishing. Spinning reels are invented in the year of 1948 by the Mitchell Company. Owning a high quality, well-designed spinning reels in the best budget range is always advisable for Anglers.
So if you are looking for the best spinning reels which help you to fill your fishing basket very fast and be your champion in fishing, here is a buying guide which explains the features of the Ideal Spinning reel.
Why Spinning Reels Are So Popular?
Best Spinning Reels Under 100 | You Should Read This Before Hit Exit
Tired of Costly Spinning reels that work like toys? Based on all ideal qualities in buying the guide, We selected these top seven best spinning reels. Here are top Seven best spinning reels that are excellent for fishing and you can get it for a price that is just under 100 dollar.
If you have minimum knowledge about the fishing reel, there is a very rare possibility that you didn’t hear the name “Okuma”.
It has been one of the most prominent reel producers for a long time. The Okuma Avenger ABF Graphite Bait Feeder Reel is the top production of the company.
It comes on the top position of our list because of versatile and reliable design.
The material used in the manufacturing of this product is Graphite and designed as a strong body. Product dimensions are 12 x 12 x 6 inches and weigh 3 pounds.
It’s well-known for the quality construction, brilliant features, excellent performance, and affordable value. The breastfeeding mechanism permits for spool disengagement and free-running line not even by opening the bail.
Top of the list, this reel is designed as user-friendly and best one for Angulars. You can get it in six different models. They are equipped with low rigging proportion feature which is vital for this type of bait runner reels.
Highlighted Features:
Are you getting bored? Watch how 6 Year Old Catches Huge Fish!
The KastKing has become one of the most successful company within 5 years of its establishment what produces best category fishing tools.
The NEW Sharky II Spinning Reel is a brilliant outcome of the brand KastKing. This Spinning reel comes in the second position of this list because of its best value and strong design.
It consists of carbon fiber drag power, designed as lighter weight, has more line capacity and makes a perfect portable reel for an Angular.
The best thing about the Sharky II we found is the effectiveness. You can consider it as one of the most versatile spinning reels for every fishery. Maximum drag rating is 41.5 lbs.
With the superb metal outfit, have made the unit a symbol of toughness. Fortified body, grounded exactness of metal, corrosion-free stainless steel structure (principal shaft) give it the necessary smoothness, reliability and calm-quiet execution.
And, it has become a user choice.
Highlighted Features:
Piscifun Spinning reel comes in the fourth position of our list. The manufacturer designed this spinning reel with precision engineering and have a sleek design.
This spinning reel was also awarded as the best product in the 24th CHINA FISH.
The Piscifun Steel Feeling Spinning Fishing Reel is one of the most significant spinning reels we have come across at the time of our research.
We have been surprised many times concerning the versatility of it.
It has an all-metal body built out of the top-notch materials. Besides, the spool is CNC-machined aluminum made. All of the bearings integrated into it are made of stainless steel and their durability, as well as efficiency, is beyond question.
What’s more, all the bearings that you might find in this reel when trying to clean and maintain it are made of stainless steel, which definitely says something about the durability and efficiency of these components.
It features a pinion gear supported by a double bearing, slow oscillation, and drag material made of carbon fiber. We consider it to be one of the best freshwater spinning reels. Overall, it’s more than a worthy choice.
Highlighted Features:
Who doesn’t know about the giant brand “Shimano”? It has its step in many sectors like fishing tools, games & outdoor sports materials.
Shimano IX1000R IX Rear Drag Spin Reel is a popular production in fishing tool sector. It comes in the fourth position of our list. It’s lightweight and has rear drag system feature.
Graphite body enables usage in both saltwater and freshwater. Shimano designed this spinning reel as versatile and compatible design.
That means you can include it in both lists either ‘best spinning reel for saltwater’ or even for another top list made for freshwater.
It’s a corrosion free and highly durable unit that enables maximum fish collection/production. A bulk of practical and unique features have made this unit a unique one.
It won’t be a mistake if you call it the best Shimano spinning reel under 100 dollars. The lightweight and versatile spinning reel are totally capable of fulfilling nearly all of your fishing requirements.
Highlighted Features:
Pflueger is another great fishing gear production brand. The President Limited Edition Spinning Reel is a class product come out of this manufacturer. It’s the best in its category so far we reviewed.
Pflueger Spinning reel takes the fifth position on our list. This is a limited edition reel and has most unique features which are very helpful for all type of fishing.
Here are few more interesting features about this unique design. Product dimensions are 4 x 3.8 x 2.5 inches and weigh 8 ounces.
The President is made of pure graphite what makes the reel one of the toughest, lightest, long-lasting and efficient reels available out there.
The reel has a very smooth operational record with the 7 stainless steel ball bearing. Due to the metal, the ball bearings are corrosion or rusting free too.
With the braid ready spool, you can fasten the line directly easily. The lighter aluminum made bail wire maintains the integrity perfectly. So, the purchasing the Pflueger President will be a brilliant investment for its price.
Highlighted Features:
The Penn Fierce Spinning Reel is one of the Fierce Series reels produced by the well-known brand Penn. It’s one of the cheapest yet high-quality reels in its line.
Records show, all the Penn products are literally magnificent. Our inspection has made that record more firm.
There are two models in this series of Pen. Both of them have a great line aptitude. Although statistics might show quite a bit difference between them they roughly provide the same service with the same functional attitude.
The work identically but for catching differently sized fishes.
The 2000 model is great for lighter fishing in the freshwater while the 7000 will let you move to the deep water for big deals. You can use the 7000 version for saltwater fishing.
But for that, you need to clean and maintain other maintenance procedure because none of them are equipped with anti-corrosion feature.
Both of them have high speed and ensure great drag pressure to do their varied tasks. Due to the lack of bearing might not result in the smoothest possible action, but that will be sufficient for you.
You can pick anyone you like from the red and mild black aesthetic.
Highlighted Features:
Last but not the least in our listed spinning reel is the Goture New GT4000 Saltwater Spinning Fishing Reel.
Double anodized rust free material has made this reel totally corrosion free. Bearings made of stainless steel in the wheel makes the unit smoother and more operational.
The anti-reverse bearing is so perfect and acts brilliantly.
The reel has an easily swappable design.
That’s why it’s very convenient to use by anybody- no matter if you are a left-hander or right-hander.
Top grade ingredient built Goture GT4000 Reel is sturdy and long-lasting. That’s why it’s been considered as one of the best saltwater reels under 100 dollars.
Highlighted Features:
How I select 7 Best Spinning Reel? – What You Should Follow
A spinning reel is a kind of fishing reel designed to make the task easier and smarter. But, you need one of the best spinning fishing reels to do that perfectly. Finding out a quality one is not as easier as to say.
Being a purchaser, you need to do an extended amount of research and to follow some guidelines that have been clear deeply later/earlier here is this article.
You might ask what actually we did! Yes, as you are relying on us, you have right to know our stuffs. We followed the following steps to analyze a reel-
→ There are several brands producing spinning reels available on the market currently. Some of them have been ruling the market over decades; and, some are comparatively new. We initially gave priority to the best brands and took few of the best-sold reels from every brand.
→ Not necessarily we always select the branded products. Sometimes, we consider a good number of new or rising brands and take their best-claimed reels available on the market. In case of making this best fishing reels under 100, we followed this and took probably 6 reels from the rising brands at the initial level.
→ We took totally 34 spinning reels initially, 28 of them were from the renowned brands.
→ Our team of experts gave more than 3 days and inspected each of the notifying facts about every product. We considered everything mentioned in our spinning reels buying guide while analyzing the reels.
→ We also gave trial and tried to justify the real performance and capacity of taking the fishing load.
→ We considered the user critics about the reels given on different online retailer sites.
Soon after that, we gathered the analytics of every product and made a conclusive comparison. Finally, we made this list of the top spinning reels.
Things To Consider Before Buying
So if you are looking for the best spinning reels which help you to fill your fishing basket very fast and be your champion in fishing, here is a buying guide which explains the features of the Ideal Spinning reel.
Brand:
What other people say we don’t care. We always emphasize to get a reel from any reliable brand. It doesn’t matter whether they are spinning reels for bass fishing, or spinning reels for saltwater, or made for any other fishing purposes.
However, we don’t mean that you should never purchase a product from a new or a rising manufacturer. Actually, it’s true that sometimes a newbie even can be better than an established product.
But, it’s tough for a purchaser to find out whether they are really worthy or not. Only because of this reason we suggest them to select a quality reel from an established brand. Because a brand is a brand because it has already been a brand.
Budget - Cost-Effectiveness:
Suppose, you know a lot about the spinning reels, but you are not sure about the cost-effectiveness of them. What are you going to get the result if you purchase? The result might be negative as you are at risk of being swindled.
So, you need to make a balance between your budget and the quality of the possible reel(s) you want to purchase. Being cost effective is a great thing. You should never spend much unnecessarily.
Buy For a Long Time:
Usually, this issue gets less importance when people decide to buy a reel. But, we think it should be considered important. When people go shopping a reel they have a common tendency to purchase quite a less expensive option that might last one or two season maximum.
But, a high-quality spinning reel surely costs a bit more than and they last longer. You shouldn’t compromise the quality for a little sum of money.
Handle Knob Rivets:
Check the rivets’ size of the knobs inside the spinning reel. Try to compare them and check out the lighter or thinner and avoid them. Beefier is a better option. A tin or light rivet tends to loosen over time or break under extra pressure.
Corrosion Protection:
Is your spinning reel corrosion protected? This is a vital question unless you have purchased your unit. Some of the reels have better sealing than others.
On the other hand, some of them are protected by a coating, some have better internal gaskets, few have sealed bearing, and few have nothing. Check the features and purchase accordingly.
Anti-Reverse Handle:
An anti-reverse handle is an important feature to consider while choosing a top spinning reel. It plays a noteworthy role to guard the unit against unwanted handle unwinding.
For the safety of the user, this is a key point. Get a spinning reel which has a switch or a lever located at the reel’s end. This will control the anti-reverse easily.
Each Spinning reel is designed with few specifications and not all spinning reels are useful. Investing in wrong one often occur in the case of Spinning reel because many people have less knowledge about the features of the Spinning reel. Here are the tips for you to go through before getting the best Spinning reel:
Reel Size: Reel size is an important feature in the selection of Spinning reels. Reel size depends upon the size of the line. Dimensions of reel control the capacity of the line. If the line is small, go for smaller reel size and bigger line select bigger reel size.
It also affects the size of fish you are going to catch. So preplan your requirements and select the size of the reel based on that. Modern spinning reels are designed with line capacity noted on the reel.
Type of Water: The type of water you are planning to go fishing is a point that needs to check because some spinning reels are made for saltwater and some spinning reels are made for fresh water. Saltwater has more corrosion effects on the metal of Spinning reel. It affects the outer surface of the spinning reel.
So Saltwater fishing needs a spinning reel that is made of the material which is resistant to corrosion effect. Freshwater fishing needs a simple spinning reel and water may not damage the body of the spinning reel.
Line Capacity: Line Capacity is the term which defines the length of the fishing line connected to the spinning reel. The fishing line must be designed with the quality material because it determines strength and capacity. The structure of line gives it more strength.
There are two types of Lines. One is Braided and one is a mono-filament. Experts advise choosing braided lines because they are strong than mono-filament because of the double structure. Cheap quality lines often break due to low strength.
Type of Species: All fishes are not same. Few fishes are very light in weight and some fishes weight very heavy. Freshwater fishes are less in weight and are not wild. Ocean species weigh a lot and need more strength and time to get them. Based on the type of fishes you are looking for, select a spinning reel. If you need to catch big fishes, select a bigger spinning reel.
Bearings: Bearings are the part of the spinning reel which helps in the movement of handle and spool together. Average Spinning reels may have 4 to 5 bearings which work on main handle shaft, main gear, anti-reverse and roller bearing.
Many spinning reels come with more than five bearings which you can select if you need more bearings. Materials used in the making of bearings needs to be stainless and high-quality material. It helps in the smooth and easy movement of handle and spool.
Gear Ratio: The gear ratio is the term that counts the number of times the bail moves around the spool in one turn. Spinning reels are designed with different gear ratios. Depending on the type of fishing, select that spinning reel with a gear ratio that matches your fishing.
Normal spinning reels have 5:1 ratio. There are three times of gear ratios available low, medium and high gear ratios. It defines the speed of the spool. If you need more speed, get the one with more Gear ratio.
If you don't know How to Spool a Spinning Reel then check this awesome article from wikihow.
Reel body: The body of the spinning reel must be constructed with high-quality material and be strong enough to hold forces from fishes and pressure from the user's hand. If the spinning reel is low in quality it may simply break due to fish force.
It is a crucial point when buying a spinning reel because all the strength and forces need to be handled by the body of the reel. Never settle for the one that is thin in structure and looks worthless. Latest models of Spinning reels are constructed with heavy duty materials, corrosion resistance, and easy to handle.
Main components used in the designing of Reel body can be graphite, aluminum or composite.Spinning reels made of Graphite are light in weight and more flexible. Aluminum reel body are stronger and weigh more.
Drag Capacity: Drag system is the system inside the spinning reel which releases more fishing line in the increase of pressure. When the fish gets on the hook and starts giving pressure, Drag system releases the fishing line to face the force.
Two types of drag systems are designed. Front and rear drag are two types of drag systems. Front drag is durable and must be used for longer fish. Rear drag is designed for small fish and has less strength compared to front drag.
Differences in Spinning Reels
There are several types of spinning reels available out there. All are different in structure, purposes, quality, performances, and prices etc. You can easily find the differences among them if you observe pretty closely. For your convenience, we present very briefly yet precise difference table among them.
Saltwater vs. Freshwater Spinning Reels
Saltwater reels are made of corrosion free materials like stainless steel | Freshwater spinning reels can either be made of corrosion free materials or other materials |
They are made to catch bigger fish in ocean | They are made to catch small or medium size fish in fresh water |
They are expensive | They are cheaper |
Fit for professional fishing | Good for beginner |
Penn vs. Shimano Spinning Reels
Pen spinning reels are easy to open, heavy duty, and low maintenance | Shimano spinning reels are lightweight, sophisticated, innovative, and high maintenance |
Solid and best for carter boats | Efficient and comfortable |
Ideal for natural bait | Great in braid and lure casting |
A bit more pricey than Shimano | Affordable pricing |
Daiwa vs. Shimano Spinning Reels
Better than Shimano in twist prevention in the line | Shimano reels are more likely feature packed |
Have bigger spool diameter | Have regular spool diameter |
Average efficiency in casting | More efficient than Daiwa in casting |
Brilliant performance report concerning the line flow | Great in longevity |
Benefits of the Best Spinning Reel Under $100
You will find different models and types of spinning reels all around the market. They also have a different price tag ranging from low to high. $100 is an average budget to purchase a quality reel if you can find out the better option. There are certainly some benefits of the best spinning reels under $100. Let’s check out them-
→ Affordable for the beginners
→ Satisfy the users at a marginal price range
→ Easy access to fishing sport
→ This type of reels will provide best fishing outcome
→ Best spinning reels under this price are better than baitcasters
→ You can use them as a standard gift for anybody
A Brief History of The Spinning Reel
Catching fish has been all around the world for thousands of years in different forms and for different purposes like survival, earn a livelihood, recreation etc. Till the seventeenth century, the key ways of fishing were net and pole.
These two is being used even today. Although technological touch has made them advanced as regards mechanism, quality, and performance.
Use of Fishing Reel has been a result of that technological advancement. The first modern fishing reel was made around the 1870s in America. Although in France, a far advanced version was introduced in 1948 by Mitchell Reel Company.
Since then, it has been advancing rapidly and a common way to catch fish in any place around the world.
Best Spinning Reel Brands
Among the numerous numbers of well-known, known, rising, and unknown new brand, some are more than worthy in quality control. These are-
● Shimano
● Penn
● Daiwa
● Okuma
● Mitchell
● Pflueger
● Abu Garcia
● Zebco
● KastKing
● Tact-Pro
● Rose Kuli
Among the well-renowned brands here pick top 5 to discuss about. We are giving a brief idea about them, so that people can get the basic about them and their works-
Shimano:
Shimano is a giant company founded by Shozaburo Shimano that has numerous numbers of production wings. It’s a Japanese multinational production industry (Kabushiki-gaisha Shimano) established in February 1921, at Sakai, in Osaka Prefecture of Japan.
It has around extended its activities over 32 countries as per 2012 reporting. Since its beginning, it has been successfully manufacturing different types of products. Among them, key production sectors are-
● Cycling
● Fishing
● Rowing
Each of the sectors has so many sub-production sections. As per example, in fishing area, it produces varieties of products like fishing reels, fishing rods, fishing lures, fishing lines, and various accessories, electronics, and clothing related to fishing.
In every product category, it produces huge numbers of different models. Like in fishing reel, it has a wide range of models that you can purchase and use according to your necessity. Overall, this is giant and symbol of reliability.
Mitchell:
In 1968 a small company was inaugurated by Louis Carpano to manufacture and sell milling machines, watch-gears, and watchmakers’ tools. But, later in the 1930 when it was under control of Charles Pons, the main spirit of producing fishing related products was introduced.
And, as a result they started to work to refine the round reel designs. The first open-faced prototype spinning reel was created by them in the last part of 1930s. They got the patent right for this fresh reel design in 1950.
Since then, they have been considering a pioneer to the journey of fishing reel production. They have given so many landmark types versions of reels throughout their journey. As for example-
→ The ‘Mitchell’ or ‘Mitchell 300’
→ The ‘Salt Water’
→ The ‘Mitchell Cap’
→ The ‘Otomatic’,
→ The ‘Rapid’
It was purchased by Pure Fishing owned by Jarden Corporation in 2000. It was and still is one of the most reliable fishing reel production industries.
Penn:
Otto Henze established the Penn in 1932. It started its journey with two initial reel designs- Models F and Models K. The F model was a surf reel which was designed with a view to doing distant casting and surf fishing. Model K was made with an extra lever actuated free spool and metal reinforced durable plates. It was equipped with & without drag both.
Maybe you don’t know about the K and F model. Did you hear about the Sea Hawk, Bayside, and Long Beach? Yes, they are the changed name (from 1933) of F, basic K, and star drag K models gradually.
Later in the 1936, a revolutionary reel was introduced to the market named ‘Senator’ that sets so many new fishing records. This one remains popular till today from then due to the production quality, high standard material, catching capacity, and dependability. The ‘Squidder’ is another top manufacture from them produced in 1938.
Today, the Penn Reels is the most reliable fishing component in in saltwater fishing. It has set over 1,400 International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world records. Users have a great satisfaction over it.
Okuma:
Okuma is another top brand in spinning reel production market. It was established in 1898 at Oguchi-cho in Aichi Prefecture of Japan. The company is locally known as Okuma Kabushiki-Gaisha.
It’s mainly famous for producing the CNC machine tools like CNC lathes, turn-mill machining centers, and machining centers.
It has produces different types of fishing components and accessories, which have a wide range of popularity all over the world. Variety of spinning reels produced from Okuma are sold around the world. Like the Shimano, it has a world-wide movement with manufactured products.
The reels made by Okuma are well-recognized because of their better design and use of advanced technology in their materials and constructions procedures. These provide the anglers with a fantastic fishing experience.
Till now, Okuma has brought over 50 products in the spinning reel market, and all of them have been appreciated by the users more or less. They cover reels ranges from pond fishing to offshore big game.
KastKing:
There is very few start-up that can boost up like the KastKing within such a short lifespan! It was just a dream of few grad level USA students in 2011 which come into reality after two years in 2013.
Only after 5 years from the beginning of their journey, the KastKing has become one of the most successful company what produces best category fishing tools.
From the day one KastKing has been trying to make the fishing reels technologically advanced, efficient, full of fun yet lower priced. And, they have been immensely successful. They are producing fishing reels, fishing lines, and fishing rods and selling them around 60 countries.
Spinning Reel Fishing Techniques
Understanding the spinning reel fishing techniques is pretty simple. While working it uses a fixed line spool backed up by a safeguard and a roller wheel. The wheel moves around the fixed spool to take up & discharge the line.
The user becomes enabled to cast the rod, in turn, at different distances so that it can catch small or medium fishes. This is pretty techniques how the spinning reel follows to catch fishes.
Once you can set up a spinning reel and understand the basic explained here, it won’t be a matter for you to use a spinning reel anymore.
Tips: How to Care for a Spinning Reel
To use a spinning reel for a long period, you need to take care of it effectively. For better care we suggest you to follow the steps-
Tools assembly: Proper tools (like screwdriver) need to be assembled before you start to fishing. It will keep your stuffs safe and organized.
Cleaning supply assembly: Appropriate cleaning supplies need to be assembled too. You can’t ignore the importance of cleaning at the mid or end of the fishing. When they are well-assembled, you will do the rest accordingly and immediately.
Correct positioning: Always place the reel, spool, and other spinning accessories at the right position. Because, wrong positioning will create extra pressure or imbalance to your reel, which may damage the unit seriously. And, you might fail to catch the fish perfectly or/and sufficiently. So, hold your spinning reel accurately and follow the right way at the time of assembling or dissembling.
Take apart the reel: When cleaning or repairing the unit, take the spinning reel apart perfectly. Don’t try to clean it as a whole. That won’t give you good result.
Secure fishing line: This is another point you should give importance. Before spool removal, secure the fishing line.
Beside the above mentioned facts, you must comply with few other following vital points-
→ To wire clips and handle springs, use tweezers.
→ Clean the parts of your reel with Simple Green.
→ Grease the reel’s gears properly and regularly.
→ Never forget to oil the bearings.
Final Recommendation:
There are many available spinning reels available in the market. It depends on you and your needs to settle suitable spinning reels. All these top seven best spinning reels got approved with all tips in buying a guide and have a perfect feature with best ratings.
You can get the one based on your requirements. Happy Fishing and enjoy a profitable fishing with quality Spinning reels.
