OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

They are on sale at Sportsman’s Guide for $35 ($49 at Cabela’s). If you are a Club member they are $32. Now…I don’t NEED any, but my GAS is kicking in and tempts me to upgrade a few of my old Garcia Cardinals…
I put my hands on one last weekend and it felt pretty smooth for the money.
Any opinions?

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Sorry, I can't help you, John. I have some old Pflueger reels that I have collected, but I can't say that I have used any of them. I did have an old Pflueger fly reel that I used to use and it was a good one.

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

I have half a dozen of their President spinning reels (which I am very happy with), but for half price of those, they seem reasonable. A big catfish or a big Muskie may tear them up, but only time will tell.

Slimshady Loc: Central Pennsylvania

I too have several of the president spinning reels and am very happy with them

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

I am a fan of Pflueger and own 1 President and 3 sizes of the Trion model. I've had 2 of the small Trions on my UL trout rods with 6-8lb line for at least 10-15(20?) years, never a problem. A couple more of the medium sized ones are on trolling rods for the boat, no probs. The larger sized Trion is on a steelhead rod, love it. The President is new last season (was on sale for $39.99 at the local tackle shop and I too have G.A.S. !) and I was curious as to how much difference there was between the models, so I bought one in the 2500 size. Have it on an 8' trout/steelhead rod, and have only used it a couple of times, so not overly familiar with it yet (as in... have not landed a fish with it, yet), but I spooled it with 12lb NANOFIL with a flouro leader, and during the two hook-ups I have had, it performed just fine.
To be forthright, I don't really see much difference in the two models. The President "seems" a bit more "solid", but who knows ?, might just be that "new to me" feeling. I'm sure that I can expound further, when I have made a thousand or two more cast/retrieves with it.

In other words, I find them to be quite a good value, as adequate as any of my Okuma, Daiwa, and Shimano spinning reels that I have.

I should probably add that I don't believe in spending a bundle of money (like even $100-150+) on ANY reel (though I have several, that I bought used, that were in excess of that, at retail) simply because I am of the school of thought, that the rod and the line choice, along with skills of the user, are far more important. As long as the drag works sufficiently, and the retrieval is smooth....I am happy.
Especially happy..... when I out-fish, out-catch, a buddy using a combo that cost more than 3 of my combos combined !
(I particularly love it when I am fly-fishing with my less than $250 set-up, and out-fish the guy with the Sage and Abel, Rio line, etc. $1500+ set-up !)

All in all, good price point for what you get, go for it and good luck !

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

Thanks FoF, nice report. I admire those that can/do drop that kind of cash, but I am not one of them. I fish with Newbies, fools and Grandkids so I fear that an expensive combo in my boat (with my back turned) may end up as fishing structure after it falls overboard…

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

You are most welcome.
I'm not sure if I would use the word "admire", to describe those that spend extravagantly on "things", unless those things actually involve safety or at the very least, do a MUCH, MUCH better job at what they do than a similar article at a lower price.

To wit: I have Japanese pull saws (dozuki) that came from Harbor Freight and I have a couple that were given to me as a 50th birthday present from my friend Takashi. Both the "cheap" (HF...~$15) and the "fine"($80-$100+? each) perform well, both are capable of making precision cuts on most any species of wood. Do I notice a difference ? A bit, but very little and certainly not 6-8 times better.
The HF one is 2-sided (fine tooth, coarse tooth), rubberized handle, and 2 easily lost or damaged slide-on plastic "blade guards". The 2 that Takashi gave me, seem to be a bit better steel, natural wicker wrapped handles and an actual scabbard with cloth wrap to protect.
Different ? Yes.
Better quality ? Most likely.
"Perform the task better" ?..... hehehe.... I'm pretty sure that is ENTIRELY up to ME and my skill set exerted on any given day..... same as when using a fishing reel, huh ?


Of course, in my analogy comparing pricing/features, I totally ignored one factor that means much to some......"damn... ain't it just 'purty' as all get out ?".... hehehe.

"Smoke 'em (spend it) if you got 'em !

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

I bit the bullet and ordered a 25 and a 30, the 20 just seemed too small, but would probably make an excellent panfish and trout reel on an UL rod.

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

👍

Billycrap2 Loc: Mason county,W(BY GOD) Virginia, 🇺🇸🦅

👍🏽👍🏽

jepolt Loc: North East Ohio

I have always used the Pflueger reels. I have one from my dad that he used over 60 years ago. It was back when the company was called Akron Pflueger. Great quality on the ones I have had for over 20 years. I do disassemble complete and clean and grease every other year. I am a big fan of their reels. I am not sure however if the new ones are a product of China. If so I would reconsider a purchase and that’s just my personal feeling. Good luck with whatever decision you make. 🎣😀

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

I have no doubt they are from China for that price. Unfortunately, not much isn’t nowadays 🤦🏼‍♂️

Bushwacker

hey, oj, pfluegers are pretty good reels, but i would stick with garcia, much better reels, just my opinion. tight lines.

Jeffchow88 Loc: San Francisco

I started with Mitchell 308/408. Still have them still used them for everything from trout to bass to saltwater perch and jacksmelt. Still work great.
I then went to ABU Cardinal 752. Great reels, but sold them or gave them to friends just starting out fishing.
Tried Shimano Sidestab 1000. Started using them for trout, but found them on the heavy side and now use them bass. Love the fighting rear drag.
Bought a pair of Mitchell 310x. Absolutely love them. Had a total of four. Two broke down and I still have one that works.
What to replace them with? The Pflueger President was my first choice, however I couldn’t get what I wanted. My second choice was the Shimano Sienna. I’ve only used it once, I am pleased with its performance.
My point is that no matter how many reels I’ve owned, and no matter what recommendations are here, you need to choose what works best for you.
Good luck and tight lines.

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

Thanks Bushwacker, but the Garcias are Cardinals that I bought in the early ‘80s. They are in great shape, but those will be used as starter reels for the Grandkids. If I am not thrilled with the Trions, those go to the kids, too.