Newbie Looking For Advice on Reels

[kid4rock]

Hi all,
Just found this forum and joined. I fished saltwater in FL as a kid, now my kids are old enough to take saltwater fishing off the NC coast. Starting almost from scratch on gear, want to get set up for kingfish or offshore by springtime without spending a fortune.
Been looking for a basic pair of trolling reels to start. I remember the Penn Senator 4/0 being a pretty reliable reel. Have also been looking at Okuma Catalina 55 reels. These look to be heavy-duty, but I have no experience with Okuma brand. If anyone has experience one way or the other, would very much appreciate hearing from you.
Joe

[Nonong]

Hi Joe. You want to buy something reasonable yet basic for the kids. Try selecting conventional level-winds as starters for them. Unlike other conventionals, a level-wind has no hassles in the evenly distributed loading of line to the spool. Best for a beginner. You might want 30 lbs. test as the standard for saltwater light tackle.

May i suggest a Tica Seaspirit SS-558C. This conventional level-wind can load 17, 20, 25 and 30 lbs. test monofilament lines. It has 5 ball bearings with a quick removable sideplate. A line counter is attached to the frame.

I have used this model out to the Rapu-Rapu Island Channel in the Bicol Region. It performed well without glitches under sunny skies, rain squalls and spray. I purchased mine in 2006 and have so far, had no problems in its operation.

A plus factor is the proximity of the service center which is located at Charlotte, NC. The complete address is Tica USA, Inc., 1450-Q West Pointe Drive, West Pointe Business Park, Charlotte, NC 28214.

The price? Very reasonable. Check it out yourself.

[Capt Rick]

Joe,,,,,Stick with Penn! The Penn Senator 4/0 is still a work horse.

[Seth]

Depending on the age of you children, the level wind feature will save you a tremendous amount of work. A child will not be happy with having to guide the line back and forth all while fighting what may to them appear to be a monster at the other end. I know when I started out fishing is the Mississippi Delta my father gave me a level wind Garcia and a spinning reel. Shimano, Garcia and Penn all make very fine level wind reels. Keep it as simple as possible for them and the enjoyment will be all the more. Best of luck. :thumb: