Personal preference:
Level Winders- 10ft rod I use
Saltiga 30 but a very good replacement a a bit cheaper price is
Shimano Speedmaster as well as the
Daiwa SL30. For my Bigger Rods I use the
Saltist 50, Daiwa Grandwave SHL50 as well as a couple of
Shimano Speedmasters with heavier line. I do however prefer "Light tackle" fishing, meaning you can still catch big fish but it'll only take longer to land the fish and also have a 50/50 chance......
I grew up using mostly "Coffee Grinders" and I can really say that few of our local shops in South Africa import descent reels as they import the cheaper versions for the "Majority" middle market.
Silstar have good reels but only for freshwater fishing,
Okuma has only recently "stepped" into the market with better reels. They first "flooded" the market with cheap, inferior reels to get the market and then brought in better reels- clever strategy (Have about 09 broken ones in a box in the garage)
Very good Multiplier/coffee grinders for saltwater fishing is definately the
Saltiga range that will last you a lifetime (Like the reels you inherited from your grandfather -the
Webco's,
Olympus,
Mitchells etc- that still works). But they come at a price, ranging from the smaller reels starting at about R2500.00 to the bigger ones for about R6500.00. Really good reels that WILL outlast you and your children . But again, excellent reels that will not let you down is the
Daiwa Exceller range- all in the 700.00 bucks range. They can take the hammering, saltwater and sand. Unfortunately my favourate brand-
Shimano- has too much plastic/teflon inside to last and they wear out, especially if you land a couple of bigger fish.
Other good reliable Coffee Grinders are the
Daiwa Bg Range, good reels
but, their drag systems are not the greatest, their spools are not designed for long distance casting, but they do last.
It is unfortunate that we do not see the "
VanStaal" (No funny things and not too much crap inside the "Engine" compartment) range in South Africa as well as the descent
Mitchell Coffee Grinders, as well as the real
Shimano's.
Here is a pic of the VanStaal- Eish, if only: