Shimano TranX 500 Baitcasting Reels Review

All around beast

Great casting. Great jigging. Great power. Light! I use this real for everything from cod to tuna. Awesome reel to travel with as well. Caught grouper, snapper, and jacks on it as well.

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Tranx 500

This really is great. Very smooth and casts a mile. Plenty of power for bigger fish.

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The BEST reel for your jig stick

This is the ULTIMATE reel for casting jigs! Once dialed in just let it fly, no thumbing the spool! Coupled with the stopping power of shimano drags, this is why Shimano is the brand you can TRUST!

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Unbeatable reel

I honestly don't think there's a better reel on the market. $500 might seem like a lot, but once you use its worth every penny.

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Awesome Reel

Awesome Reel, a great buy if you want to be able to cast far and hang some bigger grade fish.

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Great jig reel

i prefer levelwind for jigs and surface irons. best levelwind i’ve used.

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My wife's forvarite reel and I like it too!

Super vestal reel, and lots of power. My wife uses this reel for everything from bottom fish to pelagics. Spooled with 65lb PowerPro, which allows you to fish a wide range of topshots.

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TRX500HG

Outstanding reel! Casts great! Works great whether tossing to Mahi, burning jigs or wreck fishing! Great drag! Paired with Shimano Terez 70 mh! Great combo!

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The best IMO

Very strong, really dependable. I’ve used 80 pound for fishing the bluefin and held strong the whole time.

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Excellent powerful reel.

I am able to cast anything from an anchovy to a heavy iron on this reel and able to reel in big fish, the only downside is the line capacity.

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Awesome reel but...

I purchased the TranX 300A to replace a Torium 16 on a Shimano medium jigging rod because the reel clamp on the Torium interfered with the reel trigger. Used it only once and it easily landed numerous black sea bass and gag grouper up to 27" on a 90 gram butterfly jig. Early on, I put the reel in free spool with my thumb while fighting fish. Oops. I learned to use the contralateral… read more (opposite) thumb to apply additional drag to the top of the spool. This is an awesome combo paired with Berkley 50# professional braid and a 60# fluorocarbon leader. I refuse to lock down my drag to the max and break lines, loose fish at the surface or bend hooks. Too much fun giving the fish a fighting chance. My Torium 16 is a 5 star reel now on a trolling rod. If I were a freshwater fisherperson, I would give it 5 stars.

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HG and PG are both great

I purchased both, but fish the 500HG more, as I love to toss surface iron for yellowtail, and this reel just dominates! The PG is awesome if chasing tuna offshore. These reels are really easy to tune, and my wife loves the 500PG for live bait fishing since they rarely backlash.

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Power

This reel is great for small tuna it has just the right amount of power you'll need to reel in those fish and is all around a good reel for the price

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Shimano TranX

I have put this reel on 30+ fishing trips so far catching everything from Snapper / Grouper / Jack Cravelle / Baracuda / 5ft Nurse shark est weight 50+ lbs and this reel is top notch.

Everything about this reel is super smooth and I could not have asked for a better baitcaster... now im ready to take on deep water Dolphin / Tuna !

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TRANX - best of the best!

This reel is for the major fishing and tackle ENTHUSIEST. And yeah, I'm one! I love all my Curado 300 DSV's and all my Curado 300 EJ's.
But I can see when it comes to serious man-maker fish. Out comes the TRANX. This reel is like having a Cummins Diesel engine on top of your reel seat. Everything, it was supposed to be.
Now I need something to challenge it, and it needs… read more to be HUGE!

My video discussing these reels: http://youtu.be/JVQtgIp6mmQ
More, articles on my fishing reports blog at: http://www.captdaves.com

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