Q: i am thinking about purchansing a shakespeare fishing reel but i have looked at the description and it raises a few questions: it says it comes with a clip on to to reel spool.what is this and what do you do with it are shakepeare a good brand for fishing gear.. p.s i have been fishing for just over a month now and in that time i have caught 2 yes count them 2 fish!!! 1 11lb carp and a half pound perch any tips
A: Shakespeare reels are acceptable. However, there're better choices and possibly at lower prices too. The least expensive Shimano reel is probably the IX series. They came in various sizes and they can handle many freshwater and saltwater species. A IX2000 or IX4000 only costs $9.95 at Wal Mart. The reel is quiet and fairly smooth (very smooth for the price). The drag on those reels will be much better than many reels that cost around 3 times as much (including some Abu Garcia models). It is not the best reel in the world but it definitely is one of the best deals out there. If you remember to loose the drag after each use, the reel will serve you very nicely for a long time. FYI, Shakespeare's makes acceptable fishing products but their quality control isn't that great. Go find a rack full of Ugly Stik combos. Work their reels. I'm pretty sure you'll find at least one reel that isn't as smooth. Grab the rod tip and bend those rods. You'll find almost every rod will bend at different lengths and many rods even have slightly different stiffness. All of them are acceptable as is but not all of them are as good as "they" claimed to be. PS: I am not too sure what a "clip on spool" is. But, I'm guessing that it is probably a button release spool. PPS: Good job on the carp.