Spinning reel opinions

[jjhack]

I need to buy another reel and want one with the live bait feature. My considerations are these.

Penn Live liner
Shimano bait runner
Okuma epixor
Shimano thunnus

I know these vary in price a fair bit. I will be using 15-20 Lb test line much of the time. My primary targets are cat fishing and my regular visits to the Florida Keys fishing for whatever I can catch. If you have experience with any of these reels please share your feelings.

[swampfox]

I like Penn reels becuase parts are normally available at most tackle shops. You should try the Penn 706z with the manual bail. Once you get used to it,you wont want another bail on a reel.

[Lan-Lord]

I dont know much about the other reels that you listed, but I love the quality that I get from my Penn reels. I have a Penn 4500SS with 14lb and a Penn 5500SS with 20lb on it and they both work like a champ. Handles the salt very well. I dare say better than most other reels in my opinion.

[gonehunting]

I am VERY hard on my fishing gear, I have broke many expensive reels and poles. Without getting into the boring details on how, I will just say what I use now. I'm not saying these are the best, because I have not tried every single reel out there, just that these are what I have stopped with. I used to break a reel or two a year. But I have not broke one of these in the ten years I have been using them, And that would be Shimano, hands down the best spinning reels that I have used. Match them up with an Ugly stick and it's going to last a long time