I fish with 3 vintage Abu Garcia 5500C round baitcasters from the 70's, an original I bought myself in 1976, and 2 more I picked up along the way. They work great, only 5.2:1 retrieve though; I did put carbontex drag washers and new Boca bearings in them. I also have a 90's Abu 6500C3 on my catfish/inshore rod, mostly it is used fishing for stripers and big catfish etc.

I plan to pick up two new baitcaster rigs, one for jigging/pitching and another for crankbaits. I was looking at new reels but I am not sure which are good. I am partial to Daiwa (esp JDM Daiwas), but am looking at Lews and Shimano.

What baitcast reels for bass you guys like?

Rods, I got figured out.

Tatula. I fish salt and fresh with 'em and they handle bass and bull reds like a champ. Most backlash free reel I've ever owned, including the 200E7.

Another vote for the Daiwa Tatula.  The first Tatula was a great reel, the next gen the Tatula CT is even better (smaller and lighter). Now there is an even smaller one, but don’t have any experience with those, yet. The Tatula and CT caused me to get rid of all my old Baitcasters.

In the high end stuff, I have a Steez combo that is awesome.  But probably not worth the extra $$ over the Tatula.

I have a Daiwa Tatula size 1000 spinning reel already on one of my panfish/trout rods, and that reel is smooth and works great, lots of torque. I'll def check them out. What else?

I have two of the $99 Lew’s LFS reels. You can get them for around $79 on sale at Academy.

I used to mainly use spinning setups so it was a big difference at first. I still get some backlashes but they’re not that bad.

The reels have worked out well for me, I have a 7.x:1 and a 5.x:1. I can cast crankbaits a mile with the lower geared one on a St. Croix fiberglass Mojo Bass crankbait rod.

From Lew's I would set the minimum at $100 and go from there. I've used the carbon fire, the Mach I, and I have a Tournament MB. I prefer the Tournament over the others with the Carbon Fire being second.

Shimano I have limited experience, but it's in the form of using my Curado. Great reel. Do recommend. Looking at their line, Citica and up should be g2g.

Abu, I prefer their round reels however i do have experience with some low profile reels. On the low end i like the older style silver max reels but only for a specific purpose and, unfortunately, it's not what you described. The only low profile Abu I have is a Revo Toro NaCl. It's solid. I'm happy with it. Looking at the Revo X reels for something new. I like their line.

13Fishing is another company to look at. My experience with their reels is very limited however I do enjoy using their Concept Z reels (have 2) and I will be looking for a Concept TXZ when we can get them in stock. From what I've handled in store, I like the Concept platforms but only have the experience using the Z in both fresh and salt.

Daiwa Tatulas are solid reels as stated above so I've left them out to shoes you other ideas.

Really interested in the new Tatula 150 and the Tatula TW SV. Trying to decide...

Before you spend a lot of money, get a Tatula CT and try it.  Anything above that is wasted on me, they are pretty though.

Went to Academy (needed some line) but they were OOS on them, so I didn't get any reel-fondling done. The Tat150 is running around $130 on ebay, the Tat SV TW is pretty much $179 everywhere. Starting to warm up to the 150 for that reason, but I still need to handle one before I buy it.

Bass Pro or maybe Academy is going to have a Lew’s combo on sale at $79 marked down from $149 on BF.

Speed stick 2 I think? White and green rod and reel.

Well, I snagged a Tatula 150HS on ebay BF special for $125. I have a 7' medium power fast action StC Mojo Yak rod its going on for mostly plastics, jerkbaits, and spybaiting. I'll see how it does and review it after.

I use Lew's exclusively. I have Tournament Pros, BB1 Pros, and Custom Pros. They have done me great. I'm awful at cleaning them but they have never let me down.

For baitcasters, I only run Lews. Ive tried a few others but for the cost and feel, a Lews is hard to beat in the $100-$150 range. I run three different setups of their speed spools on a 7'3" Duckett with 50lb braid, 6'6" custom medium with a fast tip and one of Lews basic carbon combos in 7' medium.

I've almost got myself sold on a Lew's super duty for drifting for salmon in the rivers.

I have a black max now that's letting itself reel backwards after a season and a half of salmon fishing.

every reel i have except one is a shimano slx. the other one is a curado k.

i'm not a fan boy, i like the diawa offerings in the same price range, but they're not in stock locally. I bought a couple diawa ca 80's for a friend's birthday. they're comparable to the SLX's.

Know that it might be out of your range...

Love my OG Zillions/SV103H/SV103X and Shimano Core50/Curado 70

I just like the small profile for close combat. For Zillions/SV103 goes to my cranking (chatterbait,lipless/cranking). The SV103XS is primary dock skipping reel. Shimano Core is primary bottom contact with my NRX 803C & NRX 873CCR

I know some folks swear by Lew's, but I've never been impressed with them and the decent ones cost too much for a Doyo reel. Same thing with Abu after the first gen Revos. The Tatula is very hard to beat for the money. The Tats (150 and CT) still offer 5.5:1 models too if you're looking for a dedicated cranking reel. I'm still using my original one from 2013 on a regular basis and am planning on picking up one of the new SV's and maybe a Coastal SV for an inshore setup. Looking hard at the Tatula Elites too, but my wallet can only take so much. The new Shimano's are great too. I've been tempted to pick up one of SLX reels after all the praise I've heard. The Curado K and Scorpion MGL (JDM and would highly recommend) are regulars in my line up, along with my old E series that just won't quit. Daiwa and Shimano really have the sub $200 market locked down with their offerings. All of mine see regular casual fishing, saltwater, and tournament use and Daiwa and Shimano are the only options as far as I'm concerned.

I was out fishing yesterday and I found my Curados were easier to control than my Tatula. I will say the wind wasn't ideal.

Tried my first Shimano DC reel today.

Watch Bass Pro/Cabela's and get the Bass Pro Pro Qualifier reel when it's on sale. Fore the money, it's hard to beat.

I'm an Abu Garcia fan, but the PQ2 is a great reel for the $

Curado K.

This or a Curado DC if you have an Amazon Visa with reward points. Amazon was $20 cheaper than everywhere else I looked (they aren't anymore) and I picked one up for $148 with my points.

Another vote for the Tatula if you're partial to Daiwa. If you're setting up a dedicated jig/pitching rod, I'd say check out the Tatula Elite. There's a pitch/flip model with a longer handle, but the elites have the aluminum side plate for a nice rigid platform. Only downside is they're a bit more expensive. One of those, the new SV, and the coastal are all on my wish list for my next purchases.

Abu Garcia Revo SX


I bought two of them two weeks ago and couldn’t be happier! Great quality and smooth casting.

I'm using a Piscifun Chaos 50, and I love it.

It is not one of the big name brands, but they seem to hold up despite the price. Dieter Melhorn uses them on his fishing charter and they seem to do pretty well.

I have 8 of the diawa 150 reels that are 4 seasons old, great reels. I bought them for $99 on sportsmen outfitters.

Love my tatula sv's.

I tested a few reels for them a while back. Good reels for the money. They aren't any more Chinese than my Lews or my Revo or Tatula. ie they are all Chinese now (the ones I listed)

I killed one of their graphite phantoms horsing in a big snakehead and they sent me an all aluminum Allow M bait caster for s replacement. I really like it for frogging. Backlashes only if I am being retarded with it and its held up to salt extremely well.

What is 'spybaiting'?

I had to look it up. Apparently you need really clear water so I will likely never use it lol. Clear water by me looks like sweet tea.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/spybaiting-101.html

Depends on how you fish.  Surf? Keep the spinning set up.

But f you need accuracy, nothing beats a good baitcaster. If I see some low cover near shore. Like. 2 foot wide whole in the cover. I can accurately send a lure sideways and get it right into it. You also typically get more distance with one.

They really aren't hard to master. Just practice a bit before learning while fishing.  Most try to learn it while they are actively fishing.  Get some casting weight and practice in a field.

Stay with Daiwa. Get the tatula sv103 tws for cranks and the tatula pitch and flip for your jigs
excellent reels

I've been demo'ing baitcasters at my local tackle shop.  It's a family owned store, not a big box retailer.  So they're very helpful and know far more about these things that I do.  

Closing in on purchasing the Daiwa Tatula SV TW which is a $200 reel.

I don't know what's up with the factory set tension knob.  Looks just like a regular one to me. Its aluminum body with plastic side cap or caps.  You know the plastic stuff every manufacturer likes to call "carbon composite" because it sounds good.  All the baitcasters I've tried all have this stuff.  Very nice reel though.  Much better than the Kastking Verus my BIL gave me earlier this year.  

Seems smoother and easier to setup on what I am casting.  My Kastking specs lists more bearings. So I guess it's more on the quality of the bearings and design that's important.

The Kastking is not bad and decent for someone like me that's always used spinning reels and don't know if I would switch.  Took me a couple of trips to start casting without over-spooling and birds nesting. Once I got that behind me, these reels are quick. No wonder why the tournament guys like these things with time limits of first cast to lines out.  The Kastking is very lightweight since it's the sides and body are made from carbon composite plastic.  I backpacked for several decades with a Fennick rod and Shimano Custom X 2000 in the sierras for alpine lake trout fishing.  I'd definitely switch to the Kastking if I was still doing that. Today's reels readjusted what I consider lightweight.

I did rule out the Shimano DC reels.  I don't need a semiconductor chip that might fail in a reel.

That Daiwa is made in Vietnam, iirc.  Lew's are mostly made by Doyo in Korea and some in their North Korean factory which they call Dowan. Doyo makes the BSP reels. Kastkings are made in china. AFAIK, Kastkings are made in the same factory as Piscifuns. You'll find baitcasters made in Malaysia and Indonesia as well.  The high end Shimano and Daiwa reels are made in Japan.

I have a Diawa Tatula and a Shimano Curado 200E5, both are very nice reels and once setup I rarely get the rat's nest.