I am fond of the Abu Garcia Cardinal sx10 reels. I give them a beating and they last me 5 years or so. These cost me about $35. Think these will get the job done? RCC - you mention the 2500 series. What size line does that handle? I'm guessing that it is a medium sized reel, 8 pound line (mono)? I normally get the cardinal 10 for most of my spinning rods for creek fishing and I run 6 pound mono on it. Just not sure how big of a reel that I should get. Thanks.