Help Me Pick A Baitcaster Under $150 2025

38 Super Fan reply :

I bought my first BC a few weeks ago, a humble Pflueger Templar, and I've been pleased so far with it, but I'm wanting to step up to a more quality reel. I probably will use this reel mostly for throwing spinners, cranks, occasional swimbaits and maybe a few texas rigged worms as well. I'd like to stay under $150, someone has a Abu Revo SX on E-Bay for $130 shipped, I suppose that's my favorite at the moment, what else should I consider? Thanks in advance!

aavery2 reply :

On 10/2/2011 at 4:51 AM, 38 Super Fan said:

I bought my first BC a few weeks ago, a humble Pflueger Templar, and I've been pleased so far with it, but I'm wanting to step up to a more quality reel. I probably will use this reel mostly for throwing spinners, cranks, occasional swimbaits and maybe a few texas rigged worms as well. I'd like to stay under $150, someone has a Abu Revo SX on E-Bay for $130 shipped, I suppose that's my favorite at the moment, what else should I consider? Thanks in advance!

The Revo SX is a very good reel, and is certainly capable of casting the techniques you mentioned, but in my experience it can be a little tempermental with adjusting the magnetic brakes, more so on the older version of this reel. One of the reels that I would suggest you take a look at is the Bass Pro Pro Qualifier, they can be purchased for 99 dollars and are a very solid reliable reel, they come in a variety of gear ratio's and have dual braking, which if you are new to baitcasters , may be a great feature. Another solid choice if you can find them is either of the Shimano's, the Citica or the Curado E series reels. Another reel worth mentioning is the Lew's Speed Spool, they have a couple of reels in your price range with dual brakes, they cast and retrieve very nice. Anyway good luck with the search.

baluga reply :

cu50e

Hi Salenity reply :

I have a SX and a Curado.

The SX stayed home today & I took the Curado out with me.

new2BC4bass reply :

I like the suggestions made so far. I'd like to add one of my own. Cabela's Prodigy. I have the previous model. Enjoy it. The new model has more bearings and is a lot nicer looking reel, IMHO. Should be an even better reel.

I got the 51E when it was sold for $98 if you signed up for the seller's newsletter. Sadly it hasn't even been spooled with line yet. This weekend makes it 8 weeks since I was last out fishing. Life sucks sometimes. :(

If you don't mind buying used, I suggest keeping an eye open for one of the Shimano Chronarchs. I got one in the same time frame I bought the 51E. At least it came loaded with line! Haven't used it yet either. Need another couple rods. Need more hours in a day!

I have gotten to cast the Chronarch 101A I bought for my daughter. I like it. May have to get one of my own. The Chronarch I got for myself is the B model. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a B model for $150. Less for the A model.

Lew's new reels are getting excellent reviews. May be because they are the latest hot item. Regardless, I'd like one.

38 Super Fan reply :

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone, I looked more into them and all of them look good, I may have gotten into more than I expected. I've always thought of bearing count as an important factor, but I notice the Shimano Citica, which folks always speak highly of, actually has fewer bearings than my Pflueger. Is bearing count overrated? Maybe there are more important things to look at when comparing similar reels? I don't have any local stores that carry much in the way of good baitcasters, so I'm out of luck when it comes to handling any of them.

Bass_Fanatic reply :

Bearing count is overrated. Bearing quality is what matters. You cant go wrong with a Citica E or a Curado 50E, but TW has the Pflueger Patriarch on sale for $110 and its a heck of a reel.

BassHole5 reply :

On 10/2/2011 at 11:42 AM, Bass_Fanatic said:

Bearing count is overrated. Bearing quality is what matters. You cant go wrong with a Citica E or a Curado 50E, but TW has the Pflueger Patriarch on sale for $110 and its a heck of a reel.

X2!! (About the bearings)

Now about the reel, I own 4 SXs and I LOVE them, I've had the first one for about a year and the rest I have obtained since then (obviously). The only problem is that they are finicky unlike Shimanos but IMHO they feel stronger and they are definitely smoother.

I personally like the SX better but it's all in your opinion, I would go with whatever you can get cheaper (new if possible).

j.bruno reply :

Curado or Citica hands down

38 Super Fan reply :

While I'm at it, what kind of rods would you suggest for around $100? I'm probably even more clueless on rods than I am on reels.

j.bruno reply :

e21 Wild

Abu Garcia Vendetta

Bass_Fanatic reply :

On 10/3/2011 at 3:17 AM, 38 Super Fan said:

While I'm at it, what kind of rods would you suggest for around $100? I'm probably even more clueless on rods than I am on reels.

*** . com has Falcon Caras on sale for $100, they are regular $200. You wont find a better rod for $100.

38 Super Fan reply :

On 10/3/2011 at 4:46 AM, Bass_Fanatic said:

*** . com has Falcon Caras on sale for $100, they are regular $200. You wont find a better rod for $100.

I checked their site, but I didn't see any Caras on sale.

aavery2 reply :

On 10/3/2011 at 6:41 AM, 38 Super Fan said:

I checked their site, but I didn't see any Caras on sale.

Falcon Clark Wendlandt Casting Rods

OkobojiEagle reply :

Revo S

flippin and pitchin reply :

The Lews Tournament at 139.99 is an excellent reel. I have three Revo SX's and the Lews is by

far a better performing reel. The Patriarch at 110.00 is also a heck of buy.

zip pow reply :

Bps pro qualifier. Best reel for 99$ got a half dozen been using 150 or so days a year still performing great

Kevin Wilder reply :

on paper the new quantum smoke looks better than the curado and the revo... its significantly light than both.... more bearings than the curado one less than the revo but how many bearings do you need really? The question is bearing quality between these reels which I don't know and hope to find out from someone... At the moment I'm considering the smoke over these other reels and you can get one on ebay just over $150

38 Super Fan reply :

Thanks so much for all of the replies everyone! I think what I'll do is keep my eyes open for good deals on all the above mentioned reels. I'll probably end up buying two or three different ones before the month is over, and I'll see what I like best, you can never have too many reels anyway right? Thanks for giving me a good list to pick from.

set_the_hook reply :

On 10/3/2011 at 11:18 AM, flippin and pitchin said:

The Lews Tournament at 139.99 is an excellent reel. I have three Revo SX's and the Lews is by

far a better performing reel. The Patriarch at 110.00 is also a heck of buy.

x2 on the lews tournament. these will be the future purchases for me. i will be buying them when i purchase new setups.

Khong Y. reply :

On 10/2/2011 at 4:51 AM, 38 Super Fan said:

I bought my first BC a few weeks ago, a humble Pflueger Templar, and I've been pleased so far with it, but I'm wanting to step up to a more quality reel. I probably will use this reel mostly for throwing spinners, cranks, occasional swimbaits and maybe a few texas rigged worms as well. I'd like to stay under $150, someone has a Abu Revo SX on E-Bay for $130 shipped, I suppose that's my favorite at the moment, what else should I consider? Thanks in advance!

I have both Curado and Revo. The Shimano Curado is a better casting reel. It just cast smoother.

j.bruno reply :

I cant figure my SX out either. Its so finicky, My citica and curado though are another story.

John G reply :

On 10/4/2011 at 8:12 AM, Kevin Wilder said:

on paper the new quantum smoke looks better than the curado and the revo... its significantly light than both.... more bearings than the curado one less than the revo but how many bearings do you need really? The question is bearing quality between these reels which I don't know and hope to find out from someone... At the moment I'm considering the smoke over these other reels and you can get one on ebay just over $150

I have read this before about the Smoke. Post #19

38 Super Fan reply :

I had a Quantum spinning reel a few years back that was problematic as well, I don't think I'll try another Quantum anytime soon. Anyway, I went ahead and bought a Revo SX, and teamed it up with a Falcon Wendlandt rod, should be here pretty soon. I'm gonna buy a Pflueger Patriarch as well, found a pretty nice price on one, and all my Pfluegers have been good to me. I may look to add a Speed Spool and a Curado down the line somewhere. Thanks again everyone.

GrippinLips reply :

Smack a Shimano Citica 200e on a Abu Garcia Veritas, and you got yourself a great combo for about $200 !!!!!

The Guy reply :

On 10/2/2011 at 11:42 AM, Bass_Fanatic said:

Bearing count is overrated. Bearing quality is what matters. You cant go wrong with a Citica E or a Curado 50E, but TW has the Pflueger Patriarch on sale for $110 and its a heck of a reel.

I got the patriarch a couple of weeks ago and I am extremely impressed with it especially for $109. It is the wide spool version though so it is slightly wider than normal. It is very smooth and casts a mile. I can't comment on durability though.

NBR reply :

Bearing will make the reel seem a bit more solid since they eliminate a slight amount of play experienced with bushings. In regards to casting only 2 maybe 3 have any significant advantage. Every thing I have read, and that is considerable, all reel manufacturers use the same quality bearings. My memory says AFBMA class 2 but the number could be wrong. As the number gets higher the quality goes up. I think the reason for this is that the manufactuers use select fit for the higher quality bearings.

piscicidal reply :

On 10/10/2011 at 2:24 AM, John G said:

I have read this before about the Smoke. Post #19

John's #19 post was in response was to my #17 post. At the time I thought the Smoke was a better reel than my Curado. Since then I've bought two more Smokes (and one more Curado 200E7) and I still feel that way. Nothing I've fished with outcasts this reel. I have not experienced any of the quality issues John was talking about. Again, maybe I got lucky with my three reels and his friend had really bad luck with his two (no doubt, if a reel cannot free spool more than one turn then something is drastically wrong). If there is a chronic issue with the Smoke design, in general, I have not heard about it or experienced it.

Tackle Tour (held in high regard on this forum) rates the Smoke a 8.80 out of 10. Of the dozens of baitcast reels I researched, it was the second highest rated. The Revo STX was rated slightly higher (9.00) but being 2.5oz heavier than the Smoke was kind of a deal breaker for me on the moving bait setups. I say continue to do your homework....you could choose from any of Smoke/Curado/Revo STX/Lews Tournament reels and be happy with the purchase, IMO.

John G reply :

Post #19 was J Francho's....not mine. I have never fished with a Smoke but I have handled one at my local Dick's. My first impressions was that it was a sweet reel. Great looking and smooth.

piscicidal reply :

Sorry....when I said "John" I was referring to John Francho. I should have been more clear.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

You're at possibly the most stacked price point for baitcast reels. It's almost hard to go wrong. The current Shimano closeouts are almost too good to pass up. Revos are smooth and manageable if you read and follow the setup instructions (set spool tesion with mag brake off, then set mag for conditions). Quantum seems to have some QC issues but if you get a good one it will be real good.

4213

Help Me Pick A Baitcaster Under $150 2025

related Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic