Spinning Reel To Use For Pan Fish

[LeannevMadden]

I am looking for a  good Spinning reels to use for pan fish. What spinning reel to use for pan fish to saltwater speckeled trout?

[BassmanRudy]

Hi. By panfish do you mean "bream size" or more "bass size"? I saw you mentioned speckled trout and they can get pretty big. I'd say go with a 300 size reel(some companies say 30 or 3000) and for under $80 you can get a Pflueger Trion, quantum throttle, or bass pro formula reel. All of those have worked well for me and if you do use it in saltwater just rinse it off in freshwater after you're done!

Good luck!

[BassmanRudy]

Welcome to UB as well!! 

[bigjim5589]

Yes, Welcome to Ultimate Bass! Glad to have you here! 

I use some different reels, and for freshwater panfish, I use a 1000 or 1500 size usually with 4 or 6 lb mono line, but jump up to 3000 size for saltwater with either 12 lb mono or 30 lb braid. That's not to say that a smaller reel won't handle some saltwater fish, but the line capacity for a larger size reel, allows me to use a stronger line and still have plenty of capacity for casting light lures. 

I would look at the Daiwa BG series spinning reels for a reel that works well in both environments. They're a bit more money than what Rudy mentioned, but have a very good reputation among saltwater anglers as a great value for both quality & dependability. They make that series in the 1000 size, but that's ultralight and probably not a reel you would want to use in saltwater anyway.  The 2500 might be a good compromise size.

https://daiwa.us/collections/reels/products/bg-sw-spinning

[Pferox]

I prefer Penn reels myself.
I use 2000 Penn Fierce reels with 8lb mono or 20lb 832 braid for panfish like whiting, croakers, and sand trout, freshwater panfish and even bass can be controlled well with this reel.
3000 to 5000 reels work well on the larger species you are targeting, like slot speckled trout, and redfish, both of which are in the drum family.  12 to 20lb mono or 20 to 40 lb braid are usually the line weights found, although some go up as high at 80lb braid.
I personally own Fierce, Pursuit and Spinfishers, which I find to be affordable to me, and they have lasted me many years, up to 25 in my  fishing arsenal.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I am looking for a  good spinning reel to use for pan fish. What spinning reel to use for pan fish to saltwater speckeled trout?

Welcome to UB. Since you threw in Sea Trout, I would say a 2500 reel size will be ideal.

[bigjim5589]

This is not a reply for a reel suggestion, but for fishing saltwater, I found a product years ago called Salt-X that removes the salt completely.

When I've fished saltwater, even rinsing in freshwater didn't always remove all the salt. The Salt-X is a concentrate, and you mix it with freshwater and spray it on, then rinse. It's not inexpensive, but it goes a long ways and it will do what it advertises.  I have a ruined fly rod, that all the guides rusted from saltwater use, even after cleaning it with soap, water & a soft brush.  Since I started using that salt remover, I've not had any corrosion issues.

I have no affiliation with that company either, just am a very satisfied customer because it works and passing this information along. To me, the product is still cheaper than buying new gear. 

[njpaulc]

It really depends on the rod and line you use.  I use 20 year old size 2 Cardinals, which are a "panfish size" reel.  They are heavy and they have  small spools.  However, they balance nicely with a 7 foot Dobyns Fury, and since I am now using braid and a leader, the spool size isn't that important.  More importantly, they came with spare spools, which are getting harder and harder to come by.  I think, the most important thing is to balance you rod and reel, properly balanced equipment feels weightless, and is very comfortable to fish with as well as being more sensitive than unbalanced gear.