Help me choose a baitcaster 2025
biggiesmalls reply :
I am in need of a new baitcaster. I need something in the 6.3:1-6.6:1 range, with a spool that can easily be removed and replaced. I on'y want to carry one setup with me, so I will be using it with 50 pound braid and 12 pound mono/copolymer. I have considered about a dozen reels or so, the ones I have considered (in no particular order) are:
Daiwa Tatula
Daiwa Exceler
Shimano Curado
Shimano Citica
Shimano Casitas
Abu Garcia Orra SX
Abu Garvia Revo SX
Lew's Speed Spool LFS
Lew's Tournament MB
Lew's Laser MG Speed Spool
*** ***
*** ***
I will either buy from Tackle Warehouse or a reel NIB from eBay, depending on price. I would not like to spend a lot more than $100, and less than that would be nice. It will be throwing everything from frogs to squarebills to wacky rigged worms to spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, texas rigs, and pretty much everything else.
Tight lines
Drew
kschultz76 reply :
Welcome to the community, there are a lot of experienced members here willing and ready to share advice. IMHO you've cast a pretty wide net right now and it's going to be difficult for folks to provide constructive feedback.
I'd suggest you consider searching forum on specific reels that interest you or look for old generic threads about best reels in a class, also look at reviews & articles elsewhere, and go look at the reels you're most interested in hands on. Then narrow your selection down to *** reels that you can ask some more specific questions about. I think you'll get better feedback and meaningful feedback that way.
new2BC4bass reply :
If price is paramount, TW has the Exceler for $50 right now. Never used that particular model, but a few on here have and like it. I believe it is "farmer" who has several.
I can help narrow the field. 
Of those listed my choices...in no particular order...would be the Tatula, Tournament MB and Curado. I haven't used any of the others, but don't think you could go wrong with any of the 4 I mentioned.
EDIT: I hadn't looked to see what ratios were available from TW. You probably can find the desired ratio and same price elsewhere. As much as I like my Curado and Tatula Type R, I'd be tempted to go for the Tournament MB because I not only like its looks and feel, but I also like the dual braking.
lmbfisherman reply :
I only have experience with the Shimanos, you can get after market or spare spools easily. But IMO why buy one if as new2BC4bass says is true. Buy two Excelers since it is on list and save money. You don't have to change spools this way.
jordanpolk09 reply :
I have 2 excelers, 1 tournament MB, 1 lews LFS, 3 pro qualifiers, 1 pro max, and 1 duckette reel that I use regularly.
Although they are decent reels I would not pay more than $50-$60 for an exceler and the TW sale only has the 4.xx gear ratios in right hand (not sure which you are).
The tournament MB is my favorite reel to fish with but it comes in at the top of the budget and I have had some small issues with it.
If you have a bass pro close by I would grab 2 pro qualifiers while they are on sale for 49.99 each. One in each gear ratio that way you can have setups (rods & reels) for specific techniques. I understand you only want to carry 1 setup but carrying 2 is always better and doesn't add much bulk. Just wait until the day the fish are biting and you bird's nest a reel or break a rod tip.
If no bass pro is close then find a deal on excelers for $50 or buy the tatula on ebay. The tatula will be my next reel after all the great things I've heard on this forum.
biggiesmalls reply :
I took the 14 reels I had chosen that could be purchased around the $100 mark (new or NIB), and ranked them on a point-based scale. This is something I have done before for fishing stuff, and what I tend to do whenever selecting something for a major purchase. I would consider this a somewhat major purpose, so with a little bit of free time I decided to do this with the reels. I ranked them based on weight, amount of bearings, and price - weights ranged between 6.7 and 8.1 ounces, bearings between 5 and 10, and price ranged from $80-$200. There were a maximum of 150 points available in each category. My results in order were:
- Lew's Speed Spool LFS - 380 points
- Lew's Tournament MB Speed Spool - 372 points
- Abu Garcia Revo SX - 348 points
- Lew's Laser MG Speed Spool - 340 points
- *** *** - 316 points
- Abu Garcia Orra SX - 300 points
- Shimano Casitas 150 - 271 points
- *** *** - 245 points
- Daiwa Tatula CT - 236 points
- Daiwa Tatula 100 - 180 points
- Shimano Citica - 180 points
- Daiwa Tatula Type R - 156 points
- Shimano Curado 200 - 144 points
- Daiwa Tatula HD - 116 points
One thing that I did do was base the prices off of the new prices - not necessarily what you could get one NIB or used for. So in this case, a Speed Spool will probably be my reel of choice - either a LFS or a Tournament MB, the bang-for-your-buck difference is very minimal between the two. Whichever I find on sale or NIB first will make the cut.
Ken Weaver reply :
They are all good reels; it's difficult to pick one.
bigturtle reply :
Your point system is partially flawed because you are basing it off of quantity, not quality for weight and bearings. Light weight and more bearing does not mean a better reel. For example, I would rank the Tatula CT above the Orra SX and Revo SX, near the top. The Curado 200 should also be in the top 3. Your topic is one that comes up on this fishing forum at least once a week. Google search them, and read the responses there.
jimf reply :
Of the reels mentioned I have the Lew's Speed Spool, and think it's a good choice in that price range although having said that my next reel purchase will probably be the MB or a Tournament Pro unless I can find a good sale. I own a TP and it's hands down my favorite reel. Speaking of sales though, I have to agree with the above poster in considering the BPQ for $49. I love Lew's, but I will say that at the Speed Spool price point I actually think the BPQ matches up well. For that price, you can't go wrong.
biggiesmalls reply :
I have fished a Pro Qualifier before, they seem like cheap reels to me for whatever reason - kinda like a toy almost.
I would agree about the quality of the bearings and the materials used that make the reel so light - it's important to take those into account, if I were doing a full-on review that i had a few hours to set aside for, I would take those into account as well. However, for something as simple as this, I came to a conclusion in about 30-40 minutes, and I'm happy with it. After all, I doubt that there is one reel in that list that somebody would say no to fishing with.
lmbfisherman reply :
On 2/23/2017 at 1:59 AM, biggiesmalls said:I have fished a Pro Qualifier before, they seem like cheap reels to me for whatever reason - kinda like a toy almost.
I would agree about the quality of the bearings and the materials used that make the reel so light - it's important to take those into account, if I were doing a full-on review that i had a few hours to set aside for, I would take those into account as well. However, for something as simple as this, I came to a conclusion in about 30-40 minutes, and I'm happy with it. After all, I doubt that there is one reel in that list that somebody would say no to fishing with.
That is the first I heard anyone saying this about the PQ. I would have to disagree, I still fish my 3 PQs regularly along side my Citicas, Curados, Chronarchs, Metaniums and Conquest. They will continue to be in my rotation! I never thought of once like they felt like a cheap toy. Are you sure you got a PQ? To me it sounds like an Extreme (1 versions ago) and other BPS lower end, they felt cheap.
biggiesmalls reply :
On 2/23/2017 at 2:12 AM, lmbfisherman said:That is the first I heard anyone saying this about the PQ. I would have to disagree, I still fish my 3 PQs regularly along side my Citicas, Curados, Chronarchs, Metaniums and Conquest. They will continue to be in my rotation! I never thought of once like they felt like a cheap toy. Are you sure you got a PQ? To me it sounds like an Extreme (1 versions ago) and other BPS lower end, they felt cheap.
My bad, I did fish with an Extreme - the green one, not the silver. Based on my scale - the Pro Qualifier would earn 120 points based on price, 80 points based on weight, and 75 points based on number of bearings - putting it at a total of 275 points, putting it slightly above (but pretty much on par with) the Shimano Casitas, and slightly below the Orra SX.
lmbfisherman reply :
Then I agree, that Extreme was horrible and it was so crappy feeling. When I actually caught something it felt like the reel was going to explode on 1 lb fish. I'm having a hard time getting rid of it. I tried and gave it a chance, it just didn't get any better. I picked one up only because the older Extreme did get better reviews.
The PQs are on sale you can easily get 2 for 100 bucks right now.
jordanpolk09 reply :
The engineer inside me likes the point scale. In reality after using many of the reels on the list I would say it is flawed though. Ignoring the PQ suggestion, I own a MB and have fished with a buddy's tatula. Sales price wise you can get them for almost the same money or even get the tatula cheaper. I would hands down buy the tatula between those two reels.
Like you said all the reels on your list are good reels. Just my 0.02 above. You're definitely doing the right thing by waiting for deals though. I wasted some nice coin buying stuff when I wanted it instead of waiting and looking at other sources for sales.
Sportman's outfitters has the tatula for $100 and the R for $120 I think still just fyi.
runt4561 reply :
Shimano citica or lews bb1. both have what you are looking for and are priced the same. I use both and have not worn them out yet and have several years on them now.
blckshirt98 reply :
I'd look for a well-maintained used Citica E off of the 'Bay and call it a day!
roadwarrior reply :
biggiesmalls reply :
Where is everyone seeing the PQ's on sale for $50? I am only seeing the Pro Qualifier 2's for $100.
I think I will get in and redo the point scale for this. I will be taking into account:
Weight (range from 6.7 to 8.1, 10 points for every value below 8.1 ounces)
Materials (not sure the point values on this one, will be full points for an aluminum body and half points for a graphite one, varying points for other materials)
Number of Bearings (5 to 10, 25 points for 5, 50 points for 6, etc)
Quality of Bearings (probably on a 1-10 scale, not positive on how I will do this yet)
Price (since this will fit my purposes, I will be basing this on an $80-? scale, with an unknown amount of points for every $5 under the maximum, price will be the minimum price plus shipping for a NIB reel on eBay)
I will post my findings here when I am done. I will also be factoring in the Pro Qualifiers, and I am not allowed to talk about the other two reels I am reviewing (I will still do them though since I am considering them for myself)
dwardmba reply :
BPS is running the old PQ on sale for $50 in their spring classic flyer.
biggiesmalls reply :
Maybe their site is just screwed up, I've got $75 worth of gift cards to BP that I have yet to spend so I will have to do the new point-scale some time tomorrow or Friday and see what reel places the highest.
Hulkster reply :
at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have a curado 200i (the PG version for crankbaits and big blade baits) and love it.
this review (from TT) is what made me decide to buy it in the first place: its a good read:
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocuradoibaitcaster.html
MassYak85 reply :
That's a pretty solid list of reels you have there, I don't see you being disappointed in any of them. I have the LFS Speed Spool and I really like it. I'll also second your idea of having multiple spools of extra line. I've done that on two reels now and it's very handy and cost effective.
SuckAtPhishing reply :
On 2/22/2017 at 9:39 PM, biggiesmalls said:I am in need of a new baitcaster. I need something in the 6.3:1-6.6:1 range, with a spool that can easily be removed and replaced. I on'y want to carry one setup with me, so I will be using it with 50 pound braid and 12 pound mono/copolymer. I have considered about a dozen reels or so, the ones I have considered (in no particular order) are:
Daiwa Tatula
Daiwa Exceler
Shimano Curado
Shimano Citica
Shimano Casitas
Abu Garcia Orra SX
Abu Garvia Revo SX
Lew's Speed Spool LFS
Lew's Tournament MB
Lew's Laser MG Speed Spool
*** ***
*** ***
I will either buy from Tackle Warehouse or a reel NIB from eBay, depending on price. I would not like to spend a lot more than $100, and less than that would be nice. It will be throwing everything from frogs to squarebills to wacky rigged worms to spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, texas rigs, and pretty much everything else.
Tight lines
Drew
I just picked up the tournament mg on amazon for a hundred and change, well worth it the thing is a hell of a reel at the price
BrianSnat reply :
Of the ones on your list I own the Curado, Speed Spool LFS, MB and Tatula. They are all good, but here is how I would rank them:
1. Shimano Curado
2. Lew's Tournament MB
3. Diawa Tatula
4. Lew's Speed Spool LFS
kschultz76 reply :
The PQ sale at BPS is in stores only, you won't find it online.
I don't think your point scale can properly work, there subjective as well as objective variables in this equation. And about the only people who can weigh in on qualitative analysis about bearing quality are the folks on this forum who make a living servicing reels or do it regularly.
You also have reels all over the price spectrum, there are some subtle but significant differences between $100 and a $150 reel.
From your list to stay close to $100 and get the most bang for your buck I'd start with a Tatula. But if you're just starting you should try a few brands and braking systems before investing too much in one brand or model.
GreenGhostMan reply :
sportsmansoutfitters.com has the Tournament MB for $104.99 which is a good deal. They also have the LFS for $79.99 which is a good deal as well.
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