Most people give ultra light gear a bad reputation. They believe it’s only for kids. They think you can only catch small fish. They even think people will think poorly of them. Oddly enough, the this type of fishing is growing! I am going to help you pick out the best ultra light reels so you can start thinking about catching a World Record!
Let’s first talk about why you would work to start fishing with ultralight fishing gear. Basically, you are going to have a lot more fun. Have you ever had a 50lb+ Striped Bass bend over your rod and make a U shape before. Well, every fish is going to do that to you now and a good bit of that excitement is going to come out of you. Small fish are not that exciting when you can pull them out of the water with a rod that barely bends to their weight.
Another thing that you will notice is that you are able to “feel” the fish more. That tiny baby bluegill or sneaky crappie will not be getting away from you anymore. You will have to pair this with a great line that connects to a great ultralight reel, but the feeling just through the ultralight fishing rod is enough. The last thing I can currently think of is the fact you can fit all of this gear in a small bag that you can go Fishing At Work with.
What Is The Best Ultralight Spinning Reel?
The best ultra light reel that you are going to find will be an Abu Garcia! More specifically, The Abu Garcia REVO MGXTREME. Coming in at 5.6oz it is easy on the wrists and will allow fishing line as thin as a spider web. I have been an Abu Garcia user for decades and they have not done me wrong. I always look for an Abu Garcia when I am looking for freshwater fishing gear.
If you are a person who likes to look good Abu Garcia is going to make you happy as well. They are always looking for the best designs for their gear. They know that people buy with there eyes first. Later they will look into the quality. Thankfully, Abu Garcia doesn’t just talk the talk but walks the walk.
Top 10 Best Ultralight Spinning Reels
Let’s get the first and obvious choice out there so that you don’t have to waste any more time looking or reading blogs when you should be fishing.
Abu Garcia REVO MGXTREME SPINNING
Just like above the top choice is the Abu Garcia REV MGXTREME. Check out the reasons below.
- 11 Stainless Steel Bearings (Salt Resistant within the pinion gear and line roller)
- AAMGearing System
- Carbon Matrix Drag System
- C6 Carbon Body
- Cork Knob
- Integrated Drop Shop Keeper
Shimano Stella FJ
If you are looking for the best of the best when it comes to Shimano this is it. It’s a pure work of art, but like other high-quality brands you are going to pay for it. The gears have been honed to perfect smoothness while reeling. This has also affected the balance to make it seem like your doing nothing. This all means that it takes less effort to reel, which means you can fish longer without pain to your joints. This is highly recommended for older fishermen.
Also if you are looking for a reel that just keeps working like the day you got it, this is it. The body has been improved 5x for durability. The rotor is even tangle-proof! You can hand this to a young fisherman and just laugh as they try to learn their way around. However, you will know that your gear will not be worse for wear.
The lightest version of this reel is 6oz and the heaviest is 9.2oz. They all have 13 ball bearings and the same construction. You will just have some variance in the gear ratio and the amount and size of line you can use on the spool. Other than that this is a no brainer. Pick your pleasure and get fishing!
Penn Battle II 2000
When you think about quality in saltwater the first name that you think of is PENN. It is the standard and for good reason. Just like the marketing of Coca-Cola this reel just keep popping up. Just recently my uncle just handed me over almost 10 Penn reels and rods because he is over 80 years old and just doesn’t fish much anymore.
I am sure anybody would enjoy these spoils, but would most people truly appreciate the craftsmanship of a good reel. The ones I have now aren’t new and look like they should just fall apart. As soon as I started reeling I knew this was HIGH QUALITY. That is the same thing you will get when you buy the Penn Battle II. If you are looking for more reasons why check out the list below.
- Full Metal Body
- Carbon Fiber Drag Washers
- 6 Stainless Steel Ball Bearings
- High Capacity Spool
Pflueger Supreme XT 30X
Pflueger is a name that has become new to me as of late. The more I searched around for the next greatest thing the more it popped up. You will notice that a lot of people are starting new brands especially in the fly fishing market, but this industry has been a little slow with true innovation. Sometimes the change is to go back to the way things used to be. When things were made with quality and people cared about what they made.
So what is so cool about this spinning reel? Many things to be exact! One of the first things is the fact that the smallest model is only 6oz. That is less than half a pound. This will definitely help your arm joints and allow you to fish longer and more often. It also looks super cool and we know people like to buy cool looking things. This fishing reel isn’t cheap with the addition of carbon fiber, but it won’t send you to the poor house. Check out all the cool things that you will get below.
- 10 Ball Bearings
- Magnesium Body
- Spool Made For Braided Line
- Carbon Fiber Drag System
- Carbon Fiber Handle
- Slower Gear Ratio
Penn Conflict II
Once again we are looking at a Penn. I am sure you knew this would happen and for good reason. This fishing reel isn’t sexy by any means. It is meant to look mean and be stealth. I would suggest it for fishing at work just for that fact.
This is Penn’s lightest spinning reel EVER! It comes in a 6.3oz and still provides the quality that we expect from Penn. You will find that the whole thing isn’t carbon fiber similar to those cars in the movie Fast & Furious, but a little bit still helps!
The inner gears have been compacted to save in manufacturing space and weight. The gaskets have been upgraded to keep your casting at it’s best. If you want to see more details look below.
- 8 Stainless Steel Ball Bearings
- Carbon Fiber Drag Washers
- Penn Superline Spool
Okuma Helios SX
I personally have an Okuma reel that I use on my surf rod. It is a durable one that I bought for $75, but it has served me well for something I just bought at a local tackle store at the last second. Thankfully, I learned later that Okuma is a great fishing gear manufacturer.
The Okuma Helios SX is a much COOLER looking fishing reel than I have. One of the reasons for that is the fact that it is lightweight and they literally took pieces out of the reel to save weight and look cool. You will find plenty of carbon fiber on this ultra-light spinning reel.
You will find a wide selection of features within this spinning reel. This will make you happier to spend a little bit more change to get the weight and quality that you need to properly go ultra light fishing. You can check out the details below.
- Carbon Fiber Frame & Sideplates
- Cyclonic Flow Rotor
- Torsion Control Armor
- 9 Corrosion Resistant Ball Bearings
- Ultralight EVA handles
- Aluminum Centrifugal Disc Bail Wire
Pflueger President
The Pflueger brand is been growing in the fishing industry for a while now. People that want high-quality features, but don’t want to pay top dollar are moving toward this option. It is still Upper Middle Class, but it looks and acts top of the line. When you need one for lightweight fishing then you can depend on this spinning reel.
Coming in at 6.2oz is not an easy feat when you need to be the best of the best. Usually, you will find yourself putting out ridiculous amounts of money to achieve this, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. I do wish their website would better display their grandeur, but that conversation is for another day.
I do wish they would have made one upgrade, but that would have increased the price. However, I believe the payoff would have been HUGE! If you are looking for a high-quality spinning reel to go with your current fishing rod then check this out.
- 10 Ball Bearings
- Graphite Body & Rotor
- Spool Ready For Braided Fishing Line
- Reduced Gear Ratio
Daiwa D-Spin 500
The D-Spin 500 is one of the lightest spinning reels around. It weighs just 5.9 oz and that will definitely get you far when it comes to ultra light reels. A lot of people haven’t thought about Daiwa much when it comes to fishing. They don’t have an overwhelming amount of advertising to get in new people. No expensive actors or fancy and snappy tunes on a tv commercial. They simply have been creating high-quality fishing gear and letting their audience talk about them. This is the true sign of excellence.
If you are looking for a good company to follow for fishing reels you can trust with Daiwa. They are especially good with saltwater reels. They always have great fishing rods as well. If you want to learn more check out the features below.
- 5.9 oz
- 1 Ball Bearing
- Digigear System
Okuma Epixor XT
As I stated before, I use Okuma for surf fishing. They are very good when it comes to saltwater without breaking the bank. This is one of the lightweight OKUMA spinning reel series. The amount of features within Okuma fishing reels is long. Not many reels have this level of things within it.
Did I mention that Okuma reels look really cool as well? Yes, they are cool looking and there photography shows that on their webpages. Other reels do this too, but in real life they come through as well. Some people need to look cool while they fish and that is ok. I prefer being the guy with the big fish… that’s cool!
- Carbon Fiber Torsion Control Armor
- 8 Ball Bearings
- Brass Pinion Gear
- Reduced Speed Oscillation for fishing line placemen
- Cyclonic Flow Rotor Technology
- Computer Balanced Rotor Equalizing System
- Centrifugal Disc Bail
Daiwa BG 2000
This last reel is skirting the level of ultra-light when it comes to reels, but I wanted to add it anyway. So you heard what I said about Daiwa. How they have improved lately. You heard how they are good at saltwater fishing gear. However, you haven’t heard about the Daiwa BG series.
The BG series is actually not new. This is the improved version of it that has allowed people to do even more things than they thought possible. If you are interested in saltwater fishing and want to make the big game that much better then this is your deal. Let me list all the things you want to know below.
- Aluminum Body
- Digigear System
- Braided Fishing Line Ready Spool
- Carbon Fiber
- 7 Ball Bearings