Ultra Lite Baitcaster 2025

bigbassctchr101 reply :

Is there a small baitcaster that would easily accept 6 or 8lb diam line? I do not like spinning reels. I'd like to have something that could accurately pitch a shaky head, or throw a small fluke, and a float-n-fly in winter.

jmed999 reply :

Curado 50E. I have one on a 6'-6" M Duckett....It is the lightest setup I've ever held.

http://www.***.com/Shimano_Curado_50_E_Series_Casting_Reels/descpage-SCE5.html

J Francho reply :

Daiwa Sol or Alphas. If budget is no issue, then the PX Type-R is made for this.

clayton86 reply :

I think the new revo mgx is also designed for light lines and finese presentations

BASSclary reply :

On 8/15/2011 at 10:40 PM, J Francho said:

Daiwa Sol or Alphas. If budget is no issue, then the PX Type-R is made for this.

This guy speaks the truth.

Fat-G reply :

Presso!

J Francho reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:06 AM, Fat-G said:

Presso!

Not out of the box, unless you want to ruin a very expensive reel. Needs several upgrades in order to be "bass ready." Same for the original Pixies. These were meant for fishing small streams for little trout.

islandbass reply :

On 8/15/2011 at 11:32 PM, BASSclary said:

This guy speaks the truth.

Do you know how light a weight they can toss and does it go a fair distance, say for example, how far would it cast a 1/16th rooster tail on say 6# line?

Thanks!

s13john reply :

My ito handles small baits I can cast a1/8oz weight pretty good

Fat-G reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:20 AM, J Francho said:

Not out of the box, unless you want to ruin a very expensive reel. Needs several upgrades in order to be "bass ready." Same for the original Pixies. These were meant for fishing small streams for little trout.

I just read the word ultralight...didn't even read the thread LOL.

J Francho reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:22 AM, islandbass said:

Do you know how light a weight they can toss and does it go a fair distance, say for example, how far would it cast a 1/16th rooster tail on say 6# line?

Thanks!

With the right rod, in the right hands, sure. I couldn't say exactly how far, but I've built up a few reels did fine - they cast as far as you'd need. Go up to 1/8 or 3/16 oz, and now you're really cooking. I wouldn't go much lighter, spool start up becomes too difficult.

A float and fly will be plenty heavy enough.

BrASSmonkey reply :

On 8/15/2011 at 10:40 PM, J Francho said:

Daiwa Sol or Alphas. If budget is no issue, then the PX Type-R is made for this.

I agree with these options. But don't forget that you need an equally light/ultralight rod that loads properly with these weights in order to cast them.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:22 AM, islandbass said:

Do you know how light a weight they can toss and does it go a fair distance, say for example, how far would it cast a 1/16th rooster tail on say 6# line?

Thanks!

On another forum Ive read Pixy owner toss 30' with 1/16oz grub jig & a 6'9" MLXF rod

.ghoti. reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 8:16 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

On another forum Ive read Pixy owner toss 30' with 1/16oz grub jig & a 6'9" MLXF rod

I have almost that setup. A St Croix LT 6'9" ML-XF rod and an Alphas 103F spooled with #8 XL. I normally use this combo for wacky jigs and drop shotting. Last year, fishing for trout on the White River, I was throwing a 1/16oz hair jig. Had no problems hitting the bank from 40 feet out.

I have another 103F on a GLX BCR852. Throwing a 1/16oz hair jig on that combo is not at all effective.

It's more about the rod than the reel.

rayrock99 reply :

My Pixy (Pixilla) on a GLX 782 gets the job done.

skunked_again reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 8:16 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

On another forum Ive read Pixy owner toss 30' with 1/16oz grub jig & a 6'9" MLXF rod

in 90% of the worlds hands, a Pixy is an expensive Sol.

a Sol serviced correctly on the correct rod IMO cant be beat.

islandbass reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:44 AM, J Francho said:

With the right rod, in the right hands, sure. I couldn't say exactly how far, but I've built up a few reels did fine - they cast as far as you'd need. Go up to 1/8 or 3/16 oz, and now you're really cooking. I wouldn't go much lighter, spool start up becomes too difficult.

A float and fly will be plenty heavy enough.

Thanks! I figured rod selection would also be a factor. I know an ultralight casting setup for me is definitely on the list of things to acquire.

J Francho reply :

A lot is in the rod, but then you have to have a light spool, since performance depends on inertia at start up. You can generate inertia with rod length. I used a tuned up TD-A Black Widow loaded with 8# mono to throw light float rigs for trout on an 11 UL/slow action rod. This worked great. I could pitch a 6' float rig 40 feet or so, which is plenty for that kind of fishing. Now, 11' is pretty long for bassin', but 8' isn't, and think that would be what you want. More rod to protect light line, and suppress head shaking that you can't control with a light power rod. For perspective, I catch 10-20 trout on UL gear and light line. Steelhead near rocks and trees, in current are pretty similar to bass in cover, just takes longer to get the trout in.

bigreddog reply :

On 8/16/2011 at 1:20 AM, J Francho said:

Not out of the box, unless you want to ruin a very expensive reel. Needs several upgrades in order to be "bass ready." Same for the original Pixies. These were meant for fishing small streams for little trout.

With all due respect, the original Pixy was actually designed for finesse bass techniques on highly pressured waters, and does the job just fine in its stock form as long as you treat it as a finesse reel.

The "Pixilla" mods and upgrades can make them an even more capable and well-rounded reel, and suitable for heavy cover applications.

The Presso is indeed marketed as a reel for trout, but likely as a response to the Japanese government declaring bass to be an invasive species.

J Francho reply :

"With all due respect....." then something contradictory, LOL.

I tend to offer advice that borders on the CONSERVATIVE. Your mileage may vary.

bigreddog reply :

It is what it is. The original poster was asking for a small baitcaster suited to finesse applications on 6-8lb. diameter line. And that's exactly what the original Pixy was designed to do.

J Francho reply :

I'll give you another reel that isn't bass ready off the shelf, and it will shock some, and others will even passionately dispute my opinion. Of the 14 that I currently service on a yearly basis, six have had MAJOR issues with normal bass fishing stress. Ready? Steez. In all flavors. As much as I hate it, being a Daiwa guy, it's true. Just because the literature says it's for this or that, doesn't mean it can stand up to it.

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 8/18/2011 at 11:47 AM, J Francho said:

I'll give you another reel that isn't bass ready off the shelf, and it will shock some, and others will even passionately dispute my opinion. Of the 14 that I currently service on a yearly basis, six have had MAJOR issues with normal bass fishing stress. Ready? Steez. In all flavors. As much as I hate it, being a Daiwa guy, it's true. Just because the literature says it's for this or that, doesn't mean it can stand up to it.

John,

So what your saying is buy shimano.

J Francho reply :

Well, that was yesterday when I had a bunch to sell, LOL. I'm actually a Daiwa guy...Sols, TD-A, TD-X, Zillions, etc. Probably getting some T3 Ballistics later this year.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

On 8/18/2011 at 11:47 AM, J Francho said:

I'll give you another reel that isn't bass ready off the shelf, and it will shock some, and others will even passionately dispute my opinion. Of the 14 that I currently service on a yearly basis, six have had MAJOR issues with normal bass fishing stress. Ready? Steez. In all flavors. As much as I hate it, being a Daiwa guy, it's true. Just because the literature says it's for this or that, doesn't mean it can stand up to it.

John and I have discussed our experiences servicing Steez reels and I can second his perception. I've also seen things you wouldn't expect in a top line reel.

bigreddog reply :

On 8/18/2011 at 11:47 AM, J Francho said:

As much as I hate it, being a Daiwa guy, it's true. Just because the literature says it's for this or that, doesn't mean it can stand up to it.

Certainly I could point out that "the review from the other website" that first started this whole Pixy craze was done as a bass reel in its stock form.

But more importantly, I own a couple of Pixy reels myself (both LH '04 Yellow models), so this is more than just theory or conjecture on my part. These reels been used only for finesse techniques for bass and walleye on light line, and they haven't given me any reliability or performance issues when used for these purposes. Maybe you're using them beyond their original intended purpose?

For trout, the drag would need to be smoother that what the stock Pixy offers -- but that's what the Presso was for. For the record, I did upgrade the drag on my reels -- but this was more for smoothness than to up the overall power. After all, I'm using it with nothing more than 6lb line (or 10lb braid with a max 6lb leader).

I don't have any experience with the Steez reels, so I can't speak to whether or not they're any good as a bass reel. I do find it a little surprising that a flagship reel would be unsuitable -- if that's the case, I'm surprised that Daiwa is so revered among the tackle enthusiasts.

I guess I should be glad that the rest of my stable consists of entirely of round Shimano DC reels (although I do have a T3 on the way). Don't you love the irony?

skunked_again reply :

One thing I should have brought up is the Daiwa Fuego. The reel is IMO the most under rated Daiwa reel out there. One serviced by any of the forum techs will handle like a dream.

Primus reply :

First of all great topic and if I could I would use a casting reel for almost everything but jerkbaits where I prefer a spinning rod. I throw some fairly small baits such as a Smallie Beaver on a 1/16 oz mushroomhead with a 101D Curado on a BCR852 Mossyback (7'1" length, EX. Fast, 10-14 lb line rating, 1/8 to 3/8 oz lure rating). I use 8lb Floro which is a little under Loomis spec but I have not had any issues with this rod being too much for this line. I also through the 6" Fat Straight tail Robo worm regularly with this rod and my casting distance is comparable to any spinning rig that I've tried to date because the line slap from Floro seems to impact spinning rods more. I have not tried some of the reels already reccomended in this discussion but have no doubt that they probably perform as good or better than my current choice. I remember reading in a Bassmaster a few months back about specially rigged Japanese casting reels that they use to throw small baits and very light line and would welcome anything that could push the envelope in this regard. I'm intriqued by the Daiwa PX Type R reel that was recently introduced. The hard part for me is its a reel not made by Shimano (I'm a very loyal Shimano guy) and the $ 499.95 price tag.

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Ultra Lite Baitcaster 2025

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