Fishing Rods & Reels
Buy and sell fishing rods and reels in Panama.
On the beach at Veracruz, anglers cast long past the waves for weakfish and jacks, and the outfit doing the work is usually a long spinning rod with a reel that holds plenty of line. Rods and reels come up here new and pre-owned: a forgiving fiberglass combo bought for a nephew’s first trip, a baitcaster set up for working lures along a river bank, a star-drag reel for bottom fishing off a panga. On a used outfit, check that rod and reel are the same type before you look at condition, because the two kinds do not swap.
Fixed spool or revolving spool on the reel:
that one difference splits the reels people fish with in Panama. A spinning reel hangs under the rod, line peels off the front of the spool and a bail flips over to gather it again. It is the easiest to cast and handles light lures, which is why most shore anglers start on one. A baitcasting reel sits on top of the rod and its spool turns as line leaves, so your thumb controls the cast: more accurate, better with heavy lures, and a nest of tangled line for an untrained thumb. Its handle side is fixed, so left-handed models are a search of their own. Conventional reels are the big revolving-spool reels for bottom fishing and trolling, set with a star wheel beside the handle or with a lever that returns to the same drag every time.
Rod blanks from light graphite to near-unbreakable fiberglass:
graphite is light and sensitive enough to feel a weakfish take the bait, but brittle when knocked against a gunwale or stepped on in a panga. Fiberglass and composite rods, Shakespeare’s Ugly Stik the best known, are heavier and duller and very hard to break, which is why they go to children and onto the rocks. The label on the blank gives power, from light to heavy, and action, how far down the rod bends. A spinning reel needs a rod with large guides underneath, a baitcaster one with small guides on top and a trigger grip; they do not swap. A long rod reaches past the waves from the sand, a short one fights fish better from a small boat. Two-piece rods fit in a car, and a telescopic one packs small enough for the ferry to Taboga at the cost of a weak point at every joint. Lures and leaders are under fishing tackle, sun gloves and hooded shirts under fishing clothing and accessories.
What a mid-range spinning reel holds on to:
an entry spinning reel from Shimano or Penn costs around $30 to $50 new, so near what a used one fetches that most people buy new, and secondhand ones end up as spares. A mid-range reel with a smoother drag and more bearings is around $300 new, and a clean one with its box changes hands for about $150 to $200. The drop is not for visible wear: drag washers and bearings are service parts, and a buyer sets money aside for a strip-down because nobody can see inside without opening it.
The bail, the free spool and the reel seat on a secondhand outfit:
flip the bail of a spinning reel over and over; it should snap shut every time, and one that hangs halfway has a tired spring. With the drag tight, pull on the line: if the handle turns backwards, the anti-reverse is going. On a baitcaster, press the thumb bar and flick the spool. It should spin long and quietly, drop back into gear the moment you turn the handle, and the level-wind should track smoothly across. On the rod, screw a reel into the seat and shake it, since a wobble means worn threads. Check the joint of a two-piece for a snug fit with the guides in line, and the length against the one printed on the blank: a broken tip is sometimes cut back and re-tipped, leaving a shorter, stiffer rod than the label says. Extend a telescopic rod fully, because sand in the sections grinds and jams.
A rod that has to fit in someone’s car:
give the length, pieces, power and action, and photograph the label on the blank, which is how anglers search. For a baitcaster, put right- or left-hand retrieve in the title; left-handed anglers skip any ad that does not say. For a conventional reel, say star or lever drag. Show the rod assembled at full length, and if you sell it alone, say which reel it was fished with. A long one-piece rod rarely fits inside a taxi, so put the length near the top and expect the buyer to come in a pickup.