How should I go about picking a new saltwater fishing reel to buy? There are so many choices, and I’m confused.

Using a high quality reel is much more important when fishing saltwater than freshwater for a number of reasons. For starters most name brand reels are sealed better and are much better designed to handle the strain of saltwater fishing. When you fish saltwater you are angling for fish that are much bigger and fight much harder than their freshwater counterparts. Consider the Tarpon for example. You can hook a Tarpon in water as shallow as one foot deep, often when you least expect it. My son once hooked into a Tarpon while fishing for small Snappers with a piece of shrimp. Tarpon can be anywhere from twenty to two hundred pounds and can rip large amounts of line off a reel in a matter of seconds. For this and other reasons you need to look for the following when selecting a saltwater reel: 1) Choose a reel that holds at least three hundred yards of your selected line. 2) Look for a reel with as many ball bearings used in its construction as possible. It is important that you have as much power as possible. 3) A high gear ratio reel is preferred for saltwater fishing. In conclusion I would also recommend sticking to a name brand reel. There are many different companies that make excellent reels. My favorite spinning reels are the old Garcia Cardinals. I have had many of my reels for over twenty reels. Whatever reel you choose to use be sure that you take care of it. Daily cleaning of the surface after fishing in saltwater is a must.