Cheap reel for big fish: LT 100, BG 8000 or Offshore 8000?

I am thinking to get a big reel for occasional shark fishing from surf, or party boat out to deep once in a blue moon. Don't want to spend too much. Kinda narrowed down to Fin Nor Lethal LT 100, Daiwa BG 8000, or maybe Fin Nor offshore 8000. These are $100 or so and should get the job done. Read some story about LT100 broke at the stem, not sure if too much drag or bad batch. BG seems to have stellar reviews, but not as sealed as LT100, it seems.

What are your thoughts? Anybody had these and got story to tell?

Thanks,
Will

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Originally Posted by willfish

I am thinking to get a big reel for occasional shark fishing from surf, or party boat out to deep once in a blue moon. Don't want to spend too much. Kinda narrowed down to Fin Nor Lethal LT 100, Daiwa BG 8000, or maybe Fin Nor offshore 8000. These are $100 or so and should get the job done. Read some story about LT100 broke at the stem, not sure if too much drag or bad batch. BG seems to have stellar reviews, but not as sealed as LT100, it seems.

What are your thoughts? Anybody had these and got story to tell?

Thanks,
Will

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Throw me something guys!
Or BG it is. LT100 sounds too good to be true

Love my BG’s. I use my 5000 and 6500 with a penn battalion for bait and wait for big bulls and toothy critters and I’ll telll you that when the drag goes off for runs of a couple hundred yards it’s the smoothest well machined drag system I have ever ever heard. I don’t know much about FN but if you look at the older blacktiph YouTube videos for sharks from the sand he uses fin nor and by golly he has landed many. I believe he is now endorsed or sponsored by shimano. For the money and reliability I’d buy another BG. I’ve been a shimano guy for years and the BG drag systems are better than my saros $160 and Stradic $200+. Just my opinion but you can check out YouTube videos from tackle advisors and jandh tackle who review reels.

I have a Penn slammer 3 5500 I'm looking to get rid of, used a few times , caught couple kings and a jack on it if u interested , be at pier sat morning

Willfish,

Look at the OKUMA avenger baitfeeders... the new or the old models... I have the 3000, 5000, and 9000.. My 9000 is solid and holds about the same yardage as my penn 8500.
Its sturdy, drag is smooth... its under 75 bucks.. I've fished it for 6 years and had many good memories with it. Its plastic mostly, and isnt the prettiest, but it does the job. i have horsed in several spinner/blacktips/jacks/rays/drum with it.. I would buy it again..

If you're not targeting the big sharks, the 8000 penn pursuit lll is cheap and surprisingly not bad. Not waterproof but mostly composite, i picked one up for 50.00 for fishing stripers in heavy flow (15,000 cubic feet per second) when there are big spoonbills around (sometimes they get so thick near the dam that you'll snag half a dozen or more in the course of an hour or two). I needed a reel that i could load with 40 lb braid minimum, that would hold a lot of line and have enough drag to fight big fish through the current. I landed a 30 plus lb blue cat in the current yesterday morning. I know youre thinking "a blue cat isnt a shark" and you're correct, however the sharks you're dealing with aren't in current like that. So it's probably close to even if you have a 5-6' shark on the line in calm gulf water. It's cheap, and seems durable, also has the carbon fiber drag. At 50 its worth a look. Im guessing it can handle a good bit more than ive tested it against so far. I hooked something big yesterday that straightened the hooks on my spoon while swimming upstream. When it reached the wing on the side of the dam i cranked the drag all the way down and dropped the rod tip- felt like a really big cat, but ill never know for certain.

Wow! So many great advices! Thanks much for all the answers and suggestions.

I have slammer III 4500, 6500, and a smaller Okuma baitrunner as well (4k), BG 6500, spinfisher v 6500... but want something that can hold more lines, with greater stopping power, for shore based shark fishing, and occasional party boat open water. That's why I was looking at Fin Nor LT100 (or offshore 6500+), and BG8000. BG has 33 lb drag, which should be plenty if you have time to pump and reel. LT100 has huge drag, almost double BG's, but seems a bit iffy at high drag, since there had been several reports about LT100 broken at the stem under high drag setting. Basically they advise to use drag around 30 lb or so, which is basically BG 8000 range. The only difference is then their full metal body, and mechanical anti reverse of the Fin Nor, vs Daiwa's dual antireverse/instant. Both reels are cheap enough to be tossed around with. Not the same setting I'd use Slammer III for (for one, you can't leave the slammer in the rod holder).

I am not sure if I answered my question. I really like what I saw from online pictures about Fin Nor Lethal 100 and offshore reels, basically over engineered stuff. But BG got fantastic reviews, and I love what I have used (4k, 5k) thus far.

Crazy enough, I might just grab one each! LOL

Out of what you've listed and what you want it for.
Hands down the Fin Nor Lethal 100, the best bang for your Benjamin.

Thanks. Did you reach this conclusion from experience, or from other's reviews/on paper?

I hesitate to get lethal because it got some really bad reviews. I am not sure if it was production/batch issue, or design flaws, or inconsistent QC (quality control) which is like playing Russian roulette with your once-in-a-life-time big fish.

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Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

Out of what you've listed and what you want it for.
Hands down the Fin Nor Lethal 100, the best bang for your Benjamin.

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I base it on positive reviews from users at Alantani.com and in particular from Alanhawk.com.

The Daiwa BG would be next on the list from both of the above.
I say this even though I bought one and traded after having problems with it.

But honestly, I'm a Penn fanatic,
I use two Penn 9500SS reels and a 8500SS.
And I've been eyeing a big Slammer II.

The only Penn I've tested so far are Battle II 5k. Very reliable.

I went back to read Alan Hawk's review on Fin Nor Lethal 100 and Offshore 9500A. Looks like I got some numbers mixed up. LT100 drag is about 45 lb, although he said it's about 50 lb when he tested. Offshore is 60 lb and he's landed much larger fish with that compared to LT100.

The key features he liked for LT100 was gearing, backup antireverse, and drag. I guess he was somewhat surprised which might've made him praising so much. Offshores, he didn't say as enthusiastically, still liked the gear (similar to LT100), loved the drag, but so so on anti reverse backup. The weight is up there, tho.

He was really excited about BG however, closer to the Offshore review and used high praises much more generously.

I might just go ahead and get a Lethal 100 to play with, since I already have a BG 6500 (just a smaller size with everything same as 8000).

I have a lethal 10000 and have had no issues with it. For the price, it's great. I've not tried the BG but seen great reviews as well. Either option is great.

Thanks Matt. I just put in a purchase for Lethal 100. Will report back once I get it, and hopefully also chances to test it out soon (I am outside New Orleans and the lakes and nearby places all have algae issues).

If I can't find time to test it, like at gulfshore pier, I might just open it up and see myself, or try to lift up a bucket and see what happens LOL
That guy tried to life the bucket with a $20 big game rod was pretty scary to watch (youtube)