I'm kinda late to comment on a older video , but I will on Pflueger. I got back into fishing about 10 years ago. I started trout fishing with ultralight gear. After a couple of good setups that I combined myself , I decided to go a little lighter. I bought a couple of Ugly Stik lites that were on clearance . Very good ultralight rods that are not made anymore and I actually found a Plufger Trion size 20 on clearance for only $15. It was perfectly balanced on the 5 ' ugly stik. I took it trout fishing just outside Gatlinburg, TN in the Smoky Mountains. I was using a Trout Magnet setup and a decent size Rainbow trout took it. It felt like a monster and it should with that light setup. I fought it long and hard. I've never had a reel in my life that just locked up except for the Plufger Trion. The trout after jumping out of the water a couple of times spit the hook out. After that I haven't used a Plufger since. I looked into the President but there's not much drag or bearings. In fact I'mnotimpressed with the low drag at all. There are many other options out there with many more bearings and much more drag for the same price and even cheaper. Diawa , Shimano and even high quality Chinese made reels. You can get a Japanese made Diawa Legalis for about $60 or a Regal for $50. The older model President is $50 now , but there's much better options for higher quality with higher gear ratios if that's what you want. You can get higher quality Chinese reels than the President.....oh it's made in China also. 😮 In fact all Plufger products are.
thank you finally a watch worthy in depth video about different pflueger reels just bought the president size 20 for stocked rainbow trout hoping itll do the job cant wait to try it this weekend
*Bought a 500 for an ultralight rod. It's very smooth **enjoyable.fishing** recommend casts great. One odd thing- the bale wire is a bit heavy diameter in my opinion for a reel of this size. But a great purchase.*
I caught my pb largemouth on a president 35 size from around 1999-2000 it is still smooth cranking and the drag is still smooth. I think it was around 5 years old when it helped me land that 10# big mouth on 6lb mono. Obviously 6lb was not ideal so it took probably 30 minutes and he made about 6 big runs on me because I was afraid of breaking off. It is a little heavy for the line capacity compared to my modern reels but given our history I can't bare to retire it, besides it is dead solid reliable as long you clean oil and grease it once a year.
I own three pflueger reels. Used to have a trion but it broke. The trion was beat up very badly, and survived years of heavy use. I caught so many big salmon and steelhead on that reel, it was silly. Actually the handle snapped, and the drag worked fine and all. I currently own two presidents and a president xt, and I plan on getting another one. They make great reels and I love them.
I use the president size 30 and the monarch for all my finesse fishing and I actually really love them, haven't had any problem out of them and the monarch reel held up great with a 6lb largemouth and multiple 3-4lber through out the time I owned them
The PFlueger Trion 2019 and newer is my favorite PFlueger. It has features that $60 plus competitors reels don’t have and I got mine for $30. Beat budget reel.
I ran into minor quibble when choosing reels. I have small hands and I do not like the modern trend toward very fat knobs on reel cranks, which on some reels have become positively gigantic. I think the most comfortable crank knob ever made was on the ancient Mitchell 300, having that "twisted contour" that perfectly matched the diagonal alignment of your thumb and forefinger, but Mitchell 300s are ancient technology these days, and not particularly light in weight. For me, the crank knob on the Pflueger President is fine, but the fake cork knob on the President XT is thicker by enough of a margin that it just doesn't feel right between my thumb and forefinger. I now have seven Pflueger Presidents in three sizes, and am quite happy with them. If I fished almost every day and was constantly casting all day long, the lighter weight of one of the higher-end reels (from Pflueger or from some other company) would make sense, but for more average fishing like most of us do, I think the Pflueger President gives a pretty good combination of features, especially for the price. Bang for the buck on that version is really good.
I have both the president and the Supreme xt, and I love the president. Have used it the last three years for winter steelhead in the rivers and fall Chinook in the ocean and not one issue. The Supreme xt on the other hand I consider junk. The drag isn't at all smooth and it started reeling really hard after only a couple of times using it in the ocean. ( both reels get thoroughly rinsed after every saltwater use)
I've owned a few Pflueger reels and in my opinion their product quality has tanked over the past few years, espcially with the lower-end models (Monarch, Trion, President, for example). Their higher-end reels perform well but their price points are well above what their competitors are charging for nearly the same reel. A $50 Kastking or Piscifun reel is likely going to out-perform, out-last, and out-feature a $50 Pfleuger reel. A $100 Pflueger reel is likely to be on-par with many of the $50-$60 Kastking/Piscifun reels. The lower-end Pfleuger reels bind up and have problems if they get wet or end up dunked in water.
Kastking reels will definitely out preform a Plufger President. I have a few. They have more bearings , much more drag and higher gear ratios if you want it. I've had no problems with Kastking or Sougayilang reels or rods.
I love Pflueger Reels. I have been looking to buy the XT and can honestly say I have never seen it on sale anywhere- and I have checked. I will get it for next season.
Cool video...I’m thinking about getting the President but just needing something that’ll last me 2-3 years ya know....sometimes I get my reel under the water etc.....Do you think that the President will pass the 2-3 year test even if it gets wet quite a few time? Thank you!
I recently purchased a pfluger president reel and tourney trail 7 ft rod combo. Plan on using 12lb braid. Curious if the tourney trail rods are any good or not.
You missed the best bang for your $ Pflueger Summit Xt $49.99 Cabelas/Bass Pro 10bb Braid ready super lightweight 4 sizes available I have 3 Summit Xt25's bawt in 2018 an only reel I use since. I've cawt thousands of fish made thousands of casts put hundreds of hours on thies 3 reels. I've been angling 34yrs thies reels paired with Okuma Celilo 5'6 ul 2pc rods are hands down without a doubt the best combos I've used by far my fav gear ever. I've owned,used reels sitting here with line rollers cut completely in 1/2. I use mostly inexpensive gear and Summit Xt reels stretch my $ out the most. Keep in mind my reels are cleaned,inspected,lubed,maintained every yr using synthetic lubricants I have reels costing 3x as much and yr after yr they sit collecting dust in the original boxes lol. Summit Xt FTW.
After the last few years of Biden, I'm not putting my faith into anything with the word president on it. That reel would probably only function for catch and release ... and even then, you'd probably have to turn the crank backwards to get it to work. I went with the Supreme and couldn't be happier. The one I bought (size 35) has a 10-bearing system.
Bought the pflueger echelon and i must have got one that was made in perfect conditions because it destroys my president and other mitchell and shimano reels.
If I were to upgrade a combo set up reel I would look at Diawa or Shimano. Lots of people love pfluger but the two that I purchased were both lemons. Just my two cents.
hey i appreciate the comment. When you really boil it down, you can find lemons from any company out there. Diawa and Shimano are great reel choices as well. I have over 15 pflueger reels for ice fishing and open water and never had a problem. sorry to hear about the 2 you had.
I go to Cabelas/Bass Pro find a rod just like the 1 I'm pairing the reel with put combo together to check fit,balance.feel.make sure reel functions correctly then buy reel or reels.
For something like that with size, the Pflueger spinning reels mentioned go up to a size 40. You'll probably want something with a bigger spool if you plan on using heavier lines. A big bait caster reel would probably be a better option, but for spinning reels look for a 40 or 50 size reel.
Pflueger President 40 with a 9 foot Shakespeare GX2 medium power rod. This on is a blast to catch fish with. Or a 7 foot Shakespeare GX2 Medium heavy rod. I also have a 40 on a Fenwick Medium heavy 6 foot 6 inch rod. I have 6 Presidents all together 30 and 40. Pflueger doesn't make a 50 or anything bigger than a 40. So if you want a good 50 are bigger go to Penn and get a Fierce II, fantastic reels. www.pfluegerfishing.com/pflueger-reels/ www.shakespeare-fishing.com/shakespeare-rods-spinning-rods/ www.pennfishing.com/penn-reels-spinning-reels/ If you order from either one the basket will show up in the other companies basket as they are all from Pure fishing.
I was just wondering about the same thing, but I would say the last one is since it is sealed and corrosion resistant. What do you think? Btw, I have the Pflueger Solara that I am ready to replace after 10 years of heavy use.
Quick ive personally never used the monarch, only played with them in store. You do lose out on 2 less bearings than the trion, as well as you have a plastic handle, but still a useable reel. If it was me, id go trion but cant go wrong either way.
Well I am looking for a good reel to buy!! so far I have seeing very expense reels that the normal person's can't get, and as Far and away the worst list of “best saltwater spinning reels” I’ve ever seen in your video,, Are you guys get free reels just for trying to advertise them as the best saltwater reels???
The brand has been around since the 1880s. These days it's owned by Pure Fishing, which makes a lot of well known brand names like Berkley and Fenwick.
