If you ask me the single recommendations to save your time, I would suggest Piscifun Honor Spinning Reel for crappie.
Everyone has their own preferences and you should know the details of why something is best among the hundred others.
Crappies are to that easy to bait. You need gear up a little bit to catch them as they can easily turn into little demons. And so you need something that would work best for them. Spinning reels are usually considered best for crappie fishing but what is the best spinning reel for crappie?
Well, so I have listed some of the best spinning reels for crappie that worked really great. Here you will know the features of those best spinning reels for crappie and will also know what you should keep in mind while selecting reels for crappie.
Best Spinning Reel For Crappie
01. Piscifun Honor Spinning Reel – Lightweight Ultra Smooth Powerful Spinning Reels
This spinning reel will give you a butter-smooth experience with its 10+1 sealed bearings. You will feel its durability the exact moment when you first touch it and you will realize its outstanding gear feel through its performance.
Most fishers prefer a corrosion-resistant gear and Piscifun exactly provides that feature with its stainless steel shaft. Moreover, its carbon fibre rotor makes it lightweight without giving up your needed strength. It also increases your comfort through its Large EVA knobs.
I know you are thinking about the casting control, and guess what! Along with all those amazing features it provides great casting control and makes your fishing experience more exciting.
What We Like Most:
- Works both in saltwater and freshwater
- Provides smooth and operation with its 10+1 sealed bearings.
- Lightweight and durable
- Durable as its main shaft is made of stainless steel
- Increases comfort with its large EVA knobs.
What Could Be Better:
- Initially, the bail may seem difficult to close
- You may face wind knot
02. Piscifun Flame Spinning Reels
Apart from its sharp appearance, it works great for fishing crappie. You can enjoy its lightweight as its graphite body is relatively narrow. Its reel gears are also lightweight which adds comfort for sure.
You will also enjoy its super smooth performance as it has 9 excellent quality ball bearings with a roller bearing. These ball bearings’ performance amazingly pairs with the engagement of the gear to give you ultimate smoothness.
To enjoy its excellent company you use it in freshwater by choosing 2000 and 3000 series reels and in saltwater, you can either use 4000 or 5000 series reels. That means it is always handy wherever you need it.
What We Like Most:
- Great appearance with durability
- A narrower hollow body with lightweight gear ensures you to carry it comfortably
- Gives smooth performance
- Incredible drag power that helps you to catch giant fish easily.
- Braid ready spool makes it more comfortable for anglers
What Could Be Better:
- The bail may hit you rod finger
- May make a little noise
03. KastKing Megatron Spinning Reel
If you want great strength and durability, Megatron spinning reel is perfect for you. it is one of the best spinning reels for crappie that has a strong aluminium skeletal frame. It will help you win if you love hard fighting.
Megatron spinning reel also gives you maximum performance that you may not find in other spinning reels. It has quality gears that ensure you give a pro-level performance.
It can also give you an instant anti-reverse feature to enjoy a quick hookset. It also has a double-shielded stainless ball that can give you such a super performance that you will put it as your favourite one!
What We Like Most:
- Its modern geometric design reduces weight
- Super powerful that can make you impossible fights
- Amazing gears that ensure super performance on their own spot
- Balances rigidity and smoothness
- Flawless drag helps you fishing without start up hesitation
What Could Be Better:
- The handle may seem small
- Line capacity can be lower than expected
04. Okuma Ceymar Spinning Reel
Cemar is small-sized spinning reel that has a compact construction but shows its strength you need it the most. It will not let you down for its compact size rather will prove its durability by letting you catch your desired sized crappie effortlessly.
If you look at the material you will see how accurately the heavy-duty aluminium wire performs confidently with its oversized lines. Its line-up gives an advanced performance and its’ aluminium spool provides the strength for both monofilament and braided fishing lines.
You will notice how smoothly the Ceymar Spins with a high speed as its rotor system features Okuma RESII balancing and you won’t even face any annoying wobble.
What We Like Most:
- Ensures smooth performance
- Small but sturdy enough to catch bigger ones
- Heavy-duty aluminium ensures resistance with desirable performance
- The aluminum handle ensures desirable control while fishing
- The compact and refined shape allows fishers to concentrate on the fish
What Could Be Better:
- Not good for saltwater
- The drag can be a little bit stiff while fighting the fish
05. KastKing Sharky III Fishing Reel
If you prefer lightweight then Sharky III Fishing Reel is the best option for you. its graphite body and rotor are lightweight for high percentage fibre and you cannot just ignore this feature.
Its amazing gears make it more suitable for crappie. Is has a triple-disc carbon fibre drag to make your fishing experience more enjoyable. Its oversized main shaft is made of stainless steel that ensures durability.
It is designed with a water-resistant feature that keeps the water and any kind of dirt out of its body, spool and rotor. Sharky III Fishing Reel also makes smooth retrieve that you will love to fight harder with your prey.
What We Like Most:
- Buttery smooth performance would be good for the novice fishers
- Great versatility as you can fish either in river or ocean.
- Powerful drag ensures that you can fight the bigger ones
- No need to use baking line
- Water-resistant body makes it more durable
What Could Be Better:
- Might not be ideal for saltwater
- May have uneven line retrieval
06. Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 4000 XG FB Spinning Fishing Reel
Its stunning good looks are perfected with the added lightweight feature with an amazing solid feel. You will especially love the ultra-smooth reeling experience while fishing with this reel.
This is one of the best spinning reels for crappie as you will love to retrieve that little demon again and again for its light feature added by its new Magnumlite rotor. And you will feel that its light feature did not make it less durable, rather it can withstand lots of abrasions.
Its carbon material is strong enough to deal with loads of torque when really need it. Your fishing experience can bring you many surprises but this reel ensures you to be on your side when you fight with a frisky fish.
What We Like Most:
- Will give a smooth operation feel
- Its Magnumlite Rotor helps you to have a fast and really light reeling experience.
- Strong enough to face repeated wear and tear
- Stunning good look with amazing design
- Can withstand force when you need it
What Could Be Better:
- Doesn’t have any anti-reverse system
- Little bit expensive
07. KastKing Summer and Centron Spinning Reels
Among its various features, you will love its lightweight design. It narrow graphite frame along with its computer balancing system can give you the high performance you want. It has a superior drag system that can provide you with stunning stopping power.
It is powerful as it has a sturdy metal main shaft with the perfect mesh drive gear and so you will get the perfect power for fish fighting. You will also get ultra-smooth performance as it has nine quality balls with one instant stop. The anti-reverse bearing also enhances its performance.
What We Like Most:
- Various features within low price
- Narrow graphite frame makes with computer balancing system makes it lightweight
- Great for fish fighting
- Provides smooth performance
- Holds enough line at a low price
What Could Be Better:
- May not work well if you fish from the surf
- May seem less smooth than expected
Buying Guide:
As there are plenty of options available in the market, knowing what you are looking for is a must. So here are some aspects that you need to consider while buying a spinning reel for crappie.
Reel material:
When you want to choose the reel material, you will notice that aluminium and graphite are the main options you have. But still you need to decide between these two, right? You cannot have both features in a single reel.
At first, you need to think which one would be more durable? The answer is aluminium. It is more durable than graphite and if you want a cost-effective deal, you should go for the aluminium one.
But everything has both merits and demerits, right? Similarly, Graphite ones can also be chosen if you prefer flexibility over durability. If you usually fish in freshwater then aluminium ones would be good for you but if you prefer saltwater fishing I would recommend you to have the graphite one as it is more corrosion resistant.
Reel size:
Crappies are known as ‘papermouths’ as they can eat up larger lures and even hook! So to face these little devils you need to gear up with lighter gears. You need to use a lighter rod and so to match the ultralight rod you also need an ultralight reel.
Weight:
Lightweight reels are good for comfortable fishing experience and so don’t just neglect this feature. Even if aluminium and graphite reels are usually light, you will notice that there more features that make them lighter than each other.
So check the feature before buying a reel and see if it has an extra lightweight feature in it so that you do not have to add extra weight in your tackle.
Gear ratio for crappie oriented reel:
Crappie can turn into an energetic fish anytime. So you need a faster reel to be always prepared. To understand the gear ratio, you will notice that two numbers expresses the gear ratio. The first number shows the number of line rotation for each turn of the handle. The higher the number indicates a faster reel.
Usually, 5:1 ratio is considered as the ideal ratio for crappie. You can pick something higher if you want to, but don’t pick something lower than the ideal one.
Ball-bearing:
You need to notice the ball bearing while buying a spinning reel. Remember that crappie fishing requires to smother performance and it can only be attained with more ball bearings.
You also need to notice the quality of ball bearings. Sometimes the quality of ball bearings can exceed the performance of more ball bearings.
Balancing system:
While buying a spinning reel takes a look at the balancing system. Some of the reels will have a unique balancing system and that’s what you need to look for. This unique feature makes the casting line accurate and thus there wouldn’t be any wobble or noise.
Any type of noise can take your lure in a different spot and thus will create hamper in your operation.
Drag type:
There are both front drag and rear drag available in the market. But which one should you choose?
Usually, front drag is good for dealing with energetic fish. But if you are a beginner, rear drag would be perfect for you. it works great for crappie.
Conclusion:
When it is about finding the best one, it always depends on you. Yes, it is true that you need to find something the suits your catch, but still, you are player. So you must know the type of the game and gear yourself up according to it.
All the above-listed reels are really good for fishing crappie so don’t be so picky and choose one to catch those little fighters.