With Christmas around the corner some of you may be looking at buying a new reel. I found a reel that anyone doing so should take a look at. Diawa has remodeled it’s old black gold series that developed an excellent reputation for being reliable, durable, and a great value. The old version is still being sold, so if your interested, make sure your buying the new one that came out I believe in 2016. I have heard several people talk about this new reel so I did some research on it and found the reviews to be excellent. If you look on Alan Hawks website he has a in depth review of the reel under “reviews”. Long story short he said it’s " the new best value spinning reel available any where". The reels are around a hundred bucks give or take depending on size. His review said that the new black/gold reels have many of the same components that the ultra expensive top of the line Diawa Saltigas and Shimano Stellas have, that can run over a thousand dollars. I’m not saying a hundred dollar reel is as good as a thousand dollar one, but that fact that they share allot of the same exact components inside is notable. The reels look like an excellent value and have made it to his number one spot on the budget spinning reel list. For surf fishing the 5000 or 6500 looks good. The 6500 has a 33lb. drag, weighs 29 ounces, holds 260 yds of 30lb. mono or 550 yds of 30lb. braid. The big boy 8000 holds 730 yds of 50 lb braid. Unreal line capacity. For the quality and money if your in the market for a new reel, these deserve a look. Good day folks.
Good info Pete. I need to replace one of my old Penn 650SS reels.
I think I’ll give on of these a try.
Jack Taylor
Thank you Jack, you saved me from the goose egg on this post [:I] I am thinking about taking a look at these myself. Either the 5000 or 6500. I trust the reviews from Allan Hawk. He hasn’t steered me wrong yet. I got a couple of Cabo’s last year per his recommendation and like them allot. They are pretty expensive though. The new Diawa’s are a little more than half the cost of the Cabo’s. I just wish they were fully sealed. The surf and sand are brutal. The shimano spheros reels are fully sealed and have been proven, but really lack line capacity. They cost about the same as the Cabo’s. Take care Sir.
Thanks for the info, we need to see more post on equipment. There’s just so much out there.
Can’t trust the reviews on the web. If it’s your first rod & reel it’s the best R&R.
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Good morning David. Check out the review that Mr. Hawk wrote and tell me what you think. I love the cabo’s thus far but I need to replace 2 reels on my smaller rod set ups for my 8 ft ugly sticks. Two more Cabo’s would run me 400-440 vs about 240 for the Diawa’s. I’ve had 0 problems from the Cabo’s thus far, with heavy use. Good reels, but pricy.
Couldn’t help myself Pete. I don’t think I have ever owned a Diawa reel? They do make some very nice gear…so I’ve read. Unfortunately Quantum changed the Boca line of spinners,(not what they used to be)which are less expensive then the Cabo. All my Boca reels are the old style with ZERO trouble. Give the Diawa a shot, maybe you can convert us all, even the PENN folks…well…maybe not them…
I think I’m going to give um a shot Mr. Parker. Do you want the old 760 slammers that I’m replacing. One is still up in running, and the other is locked up. Both have a fresh spool of 20lb test. I bet you could get them purring again 
quote:
Originally posted by runbabyrunDo you want the old 760 slammers that I’m replacing…?
Better not, I would need rods to put them on. Lori said, “NO MORE FRIGGIN FISHING STUFF!”
I think I have enough Surf Set-Ups anyway…for now 
My wife say’s the same thing. When she does I walk her into the closet and we count how many pairs of shoes she has.
I have one of the new BGs in a smaller size as I fish for Trout more so than bigger species.
Alan Hawk’s review was mentioned, playing devils advocate he said good things about the FinNor Lethal Series too, I sold a few at the shop and we had them come back with issues. a few of them broke at the reel seat. That being said FinNor did provide them with new reels BUT I am not so sure the new BG will be amazing yet. The old Black and Golds were very unbalanced with very few ball bearings thats why they were so flawless. The new Black and Golds are smooth but provide little room for tolerance.
My choice for most durable reel for the money would be the Spinfisher series by Penn for larger reels. It isn’t a finesse reel though, if you want a finesse reel check out the Shimano Nasci OR Penn Conflict.
HADDRELL’S POINT TACKLE & SUPPLY
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Thank you Hurricane. I will come see you after Christmas. I always get a few gift certificates from relatives for Haddrels. I’m easy to shop for, just give me the little blue paper:smiley:
Jack,
Out of curiosity what went wrong with the 650ss? Those reels are very serviceable unless you trash a main or pinion gear (hard to do). Have you tried to service it or are you just looking to add another reel???
Shimano Saragossa in any size is absolutely amazing. I’d listen to simons advice though, i mean he does it for a living guys!
“mr keys”
And he is “value” oriented!!!
Anyone ever tried the Kastking Sharker series? Has heavy drag at a good price and had good reviews the last time I checked.
First, Most, Biggest
Mr. White for some reason Alan Hawk wrote in his reviews to not buy Kast King reels. I don’t know why. He didn’t state his reason, just said stay perfectly clear of them. I went by Haddrel’s and talked to them about what they recommended for the surf. The Mt. pleasant store told me the same as Hurricane did, to buy the spinfisher. I also looked into the Saragosa as mentioned by the gentleman above. Boy do they feel great, have great power and are fully sealed, but ain’t cheep. Three hundred for one, plus the cost of braid. That would end up running close to 700.00 for two reels and line. I’m leaning towards the spinfisher or the spheres. Both of those are sealed pretty good and cost allot less.
Pete,
Thanks for coming by the shop, I didn’t meet you because I work at the West Ashley location, but I am sure the guys over there took care of ya.
Give me a shout if you have any questions.
Simon O
HADDRELL’S POINT TACKLE & SUPPLY
Your Complete Sportfishing Center
www.haddrellspoint.com
www.facebook.com/Haddrells.Point
Simon they took great care in showing me options and lended valuable advice. My mom loves the place and speaks about how the boy’s look after her so well. She has bought so many of the yeti ramblers and koozies that she has given me several of the same kind and has forgotten. She hands them out to all the boy’s at Christmas . Honestly I have never understood the koozie. Why does someone need to keep a beer cold for 10 hours, if they are going to drink it in 15 minutes. I’m hoping for a rambler this year, have plenty of the koozies already:smiley: Thank you for your help Sir.
Surfwrangler, All of my Penn reels still work well. The 650 and 6500 are just really old and I was thinking of buying a couple of new reels to give those a rest. 
Jack Taylor