I need help choosing a reel 2024

Michael rodriguez reply :

I am looking for my first baitcasting reel. I have been using a spinning forever and wanted to get into baitcasters.

what would be a good choice for around 70-80 dollars including used reels? I already have a gander mtn vortex 7 foot medium heavy rod. Also what's a good place for used reels other than eBay

Yudo1 reply :

If that was my budget, I'd look for a used, aluminum, left-hand reel. I prefer daiwa/shimano, but lews and abu also make great reels IMO.

Nor-Cal Basser reply :

You can find a brand new Lews LFS on EBay right in your budget. They're solid reels with an aluminum frame. I'm a little weird about buying used reels unless I know the person I'm buying from, though plenty of people buy used reels without having any issues.

SFL BassHunter reply :

Michael if you could step up to 100 you could find the Daiwa Tatula CT which is a phenomenal reel. Learning to cast on it should be much easier than what I learned on. Don't skimp on your first reel, make sure you get something with good brakes if you've never used a baitcaster. The CT is such an impressive reel, that I think can do anything you'll want it to do and has a great brake system.

I started with a 49 dollar BPS Megacast and I regret it to this day. I almost gave up on the baitcaster from the frustration. I was convinced to get something of better quality like the Pro Qualifier with Centrifugal brakes. The PQ is a 100 dollar reel that can be had for 50, or 75 when on sale at BPS. Gotta wait it out, but if I was going to pay 100 for the PQ I would MUCH rather pay 100 for a Tatula CT.

As far as reels in the 70-80 price range, if you just can't go any higher, I've heard the Daiwa Aird is a good reel and currently the Aird Coastal is on sale for 50 on TW.

A PQ on sale is a decent reel. Served me well for 2 years. But I've moved on from them.

Good luck finding a reel that fits your needs. I started off just like you wanting a budget reel under 100. Now those reels are sitting in a box collecting dust.

Edit:

Nor-Cal mentioned Lews and they make some good reels too and are budget friendly.

Michael rodriguez reply :

I totally agree SFL bass hunter, this would actually be my second baitcaster, my first was a Shakespeare alpha and it was terrible

new2BC4bass reply :

H2O Mettle at Sport's Academy also gets very good reviews. Has aluminum frame. One of the Moderator's uses several. Also look at the Daiwa Exceler. Fishnkamp says it is an excellent reel. On sale at TW for $59.99. Think I'd rather have the Exceler than the Aird.

SFL BassHunter reply :

On 12/30/2016 at 12:18 AM, Michael rodriguez said:

I totally agree SFL bass hunter, this would actually be my second baitcaster, my first was a Shakespeare alpha and it was terrible

Oh good so you've gotten past the learning how to cast one phase! That's good!

A Shakespeare Alpha combo is 40 bucks. My god that must have been atrocious. I wanted to throw my megacast in the water so many times, I can only imagine the Alpha...I don't want to imagine the Alpha lol.

Michael rodriguez reply :

I can afford a 100 dollar reel just wasn't sure if it was worth it

burrows reply :

Shimano caenan I had the older version and it was a great reel. The new one is even better. I have a casitas it's in your price range and i love the way that reel cast I recommend the casitas or caenan to get started on baitcasters. There is going to be many opinions on this thread, go shimano brother you won't regret it.

Michael rodriguez reply :

I've been looking at a Lews tournament Sk on amazon for 75 dollars, is that a good reel

BrianSnat reply :

I've picked up a Lews Speed Spool and a Diawa Tatula for slightly LT 100. Both are good reels for the money. For another $25 the Lews Tournament is a very nice reel.

Yudo1 brought up a good point. Like you, I was a life time spin fisherman. After over 40 years of only using spinning reels I decided to go with lefty bait casters. I was used to cranking with my left and working the rod with my right and didn't want to switch.

Once you get the hang of it you'll love baitcasters. In the three years since I started bait casting, I now have 5 baitcasting outfits and they all are always in my boat when I'm bassing. All but 2 or 3 of my spinning outfits stay home.

burrows reply :

Lews lol

Angry John reply :

I would look for a used daiwa advantage 153 supertuned htsl. It was the reel i learned on, they are cheap used and its a quality reel that i still use. right or left hand your choice.

CTBassin860 reply :

100 bucks id be looking at the PQ2,Abu Garcia orra sx,daiwa tatula ct,*** ***.

My first bc was an Abu Garcia silver max combo.Guy at Wal-Mart sold it to me for 15 bucks because it had no price tag and was in the wrong rod rack.Paid the man before he could change his mind.

Michael rodriguez reply :

I may be able to go to 150

burrows reply :

On 12/30/2016 at 2:57 AM, Michael rodriguez said:

I may be able to go to 150

Citica I

SFL BassHunter reply :

You're going to get so many different answers here that honestly it won't help. My recommendation is to go to a few big box stores like BPS and take your baitcaster rod. Try a bunch of reels on it and figure out which you feel suits you best.

Reason I say this is from experience. I have a Shimano DC7 which is a great reel, but it sits really high off the rod. Even though I have big hands I find it to be uncomfortable in the way I hold my rod and reel. I tried throwing a HB frog on it for a while and realized my hand was cramping up rather quickly.

I then got a Daiwa Tatula Tactical (about the same thing as a Type R) which is a BIG reel. It's bulky to the point where some people weren't happy and Dawia came out with the CT line which is basically the same reel, but more compact. Even though the DC7 bothers me the Tatula doesn't. It sits low on the rod and even with its bulky width I can manage it with no problem.

When you are fishing for 4-8 hours, you want to make sure comfort is an important factor in your decision.

Daiwa, Shimano, Lews you won't go wrong. But eventually you may find you prefer one over another as I have. If I was starting all over again, I would purchase 5 Tatulas, maybe even throw a Zillion TWS in there since they are on sale. It took me 2 years of fishing different reels to find the ones that fit best for me in comfort, budget, and performance.

burrows reply :

Conclusion of this matter Diawa or shimano it's your first high end baitcaster. Don't screw this up man! lol I'm just playing man no but really Diawa or shimano hahaha

Michael rodriguez reply :

Thanks sfl basshunter I will do that, I had the feeling that I had to feel the reel before I bought it.

CrustyMono reply :

good time to buy good reels cheap.

Jim72 reply :

I got into baitcasters last yr after using spinning reels my whole life.i got a Lews and I love it.i. Just picked Up a Daiwa tatula ct and I am very impressed with it both reels have aluminum frames very smooth .the Lews has magnetic and centrifical brakes the Daiwa has magnetic .i would recommend the ct you can get them for a 100 or less if you look around or wait for a sale.the tatula ct is effortless to cast and the brakes are very good in helping to eliminate backlashes (professional overrun).watch some vids on how to setup a baitcaster with the tension knob and brakes,that helped me quite a bit .i still use my spinning rod but I fish mainly with my baitcasters .

burrows reply :

Conclusion of this matter Diawa or shimano it's your first high end baitcaster. Don't screw this up man! lol I'm just playing man no but really Diawa or shimano hahaha.

I'm just joking really everyone has a brand that they are adamant about wether lews,abu,phluger whatever. I think the reason we are so passionate about a certain product is because of past mistakes and the learning process which could take more than just one high end reel to figure out what is ultimately best for you most of us are adamant with this topic because we went threw those problems with prior reels during the process of investing in a high end reel I guess what I'm trying to say is We don't want you to make the mistakes that we made.

lonnie g reply :

be careful on used reels might look good on outside but be wore out on inside get as much info as possible on used one a great new reel is revo stx 6.4 is most popular ther are deals out there I just gave $124.95 free shipping a little more than you suggested I love using it tho. been using my cousins when visiting him on lay lake in Alabama. is why I bought my own

Darren. reply :

Welcome aboard, Michael!

I'd hunt on ebay for Daiwa Exceler reels in your
price range. I used to have a Lexa and the Exceler
is almost identical, but less expensive.

webertime reply :

On 12/29/2016 at 2:15 PM, Michael rodriguez said:

I am looking for my first baitcasting reel. I have been using a spinning forever and wanted to get into baitcasters.

what would be a good choice for around 70-80 dollars including used reels? I already have a gander mtn vortex 7 foot medium heavy rod. Also what's a good place for used reels other than eBay

TW has Daiwa Exceller for $60

Amazon and EBay will get you Daiwa Tatulas for $75 and Daiwa Tatula CT for $100 both new.

Buy new for your first reel, at least you know it's 100% when you get your hands on it. You wear it out or break it, then fix it. Get comfortable with them then embark on used.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I suggest something with centrifugal brakes either stand alone or dual brakes. A second hand citica or revo S are affordable and will perform well as you become more proficient.

Michael rodriguez reply :

Thanks everyone for giving me your suggestions I ended up getting a new Lews lfs speed spool at bass pro

SFL BassHunter reply :

On 12/30/2016 at 9:36 AM, Michael rodriguez said:

Thanks everyone for giving me your suggestions I ended up getting a new Lews lfs speed spool at bass pro

Cool, let us know how you like it after a few tries.

Should be a good reel. Did it pair up well with your rod?

faygo1979 reply :

For cheap baitcasters I can only recommend the H2o Mettle, the Okuma Calera, or the Bass pro shops Pro Qualifier. Those are the only under $100 baitcasters I would waste my money on. If you look just above the $100 mark I would recommend the Diawia Tatula models.

Angry John reply :

If your a right hander i just saw a for sale thread here with a pair of zillions in your price range. They are used but these reels are not 100 dollar class. There are many available mods and upgrades for this reel and it will last you forever. Zillion is a quality product.

fishnkamp reply :

Here is my two cents. I presently fish with over a dozen baitcasters. Most of mine were Shimano Chronarchs and Curados, BPS Extremes and a few Quantums. A good friend, I met on his own fishing board a couple of years ago, put me onto Daiwas. He fishes HARD like 3 to 4 times a week on the Potomac and Upper Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers. He fishes for bass, but also catches big stripers and snakeheads. My first Daiwa was an Exceler as others have mentioned. That reel retailed for $99 and often would go on sale for $60, It is a smooth- nice handling reel. Right now NEW it is available for that $60 price from Tackle Warehouse. If your budget is sub $75 this is the reel to get. If you can go to around $100 then step up to a Tatula CT. Often they are available brand new online for around $100 shipped to your door. That is a terrific reel that normally retails for $129. Both of those reels will serve you well for many years. So far I have replaced over half of my reels and over the next 6 months I intend to replace my entire lineup. This will leave me with a mix of both right and left handed Tatula CTs, Tatula TYpe Rs and the one Exceler. I have them in a mix of retrieve ratios as well.

S. Sass reply :

The most common reels that have proven to be quality reels that can be had new in the $100 range or less are the Daiwa Tatula, BPQ, and the Lew's Speed Spool LFS. Just search these forums and those three seem to have been discussed for eternity. All three of these reels are excellent reels for the $ and have a long history to prove it.

Great choice I have several of them and they have took a beating and still are going strong.

NHBull reply :

Last summer I tried reals in every price category.

While a <100.00 real will certainly get the job done, an extra 30.00 brings a great bang for the buck and at that level the Dawaia is the way to go.

If it makes it more palatable, think of it in pennies per cast over 1 summer

new2BC4bass reply :

On 12/31/2016 at 12:27 AM, Angry John said:

If your a right hander i just saw a for sale thread here with a pair of zillions in your price range. They are used but these reels are not 100 dollar class. There are many available mods and upgrades for this reel and it will last you forever. Zillion is a quality product.

Michael.....I think you need a second reel. One of these would be a great choice. Another excellent choice (new) for a 2nd reel would be the Tatula and Tatula CT...$95 on ebay. However, once you start using that LFS I think you will not only want another baitcast reel, but will be willing to spend a bit more. As already suggested, the Lew's Tournament MB would be a fine choice as would a Tatula Type R. The MB can be found for under $110....the Type R around $130.

The Flea Market on this forum and the Reels 4 Sale on that bass boat forum are excellent places to look for used. So are state bass forums such as the Texas and New York forums. Very good deals can be found on all of them.

Best of luck with your new reel. If you are like me, it won't be long before all you want to use are baitcast reels. Then the fun begins.

Maggiesmaster reply :

Since you said you can go $150---my recommendation is to S T R E T C H it to about $165-170 & get a Lews Tournament Pro from Ebay. I've bought several that way, and they're the best reels I've found. People here have said less the less expensive Lews are good too, but I don't have experience with them.

CTBassin860 reply :

If you can stretch it to 170 you might as well buy a curado 200

Robert Riley reply :

On 12/29/2016 at 11:53 PM, Nor-Cal Basser said:

You can find a brand new Lews LFS on EBay right in your budget. They're solid reels with an aluminum frame. I'm a little weird about buying used reels unless I know the person I'm buying from, though plenty of people buy used reels without having any issues.

That^ 100%

CrustyMono reply :

shimano curado bantam

MassYak85 reply :

Let us know how you like the LFS once you try it out for a while. It was my first baitcaster and I couldn't be more happy with it it's still going strong for me and still gets significant use despite being the cheapest reel in my arsenal. I cleaned it last winter and it's performing better now than it did out of box.

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