Looking for Lew's reel recommendations

[MOBass]

The reel you should get depends on what you want to do with it-

Budget- Get a Speed Spool for $100.  Aluminum frame, 10 bearings, cast really good, kinda like the old green Curado before Shimano screwed them up.  I have more of these in my boat than anything else.

Chuck and wind - BB1 or BB1 Pro.  Cast a mile.  The Pro is nice because you don't have to open the sideplate to adjust breaks.

Flipping, big bait stuff - SuperDuty.  Aluminum frame and handle sideplate.  If you like braid and hammer down the drag this is the reel you seek.

Team Lew's Lite - $240 and a lot of the guys fishing for big money like them.  It's a really good balance between strength and weight, reliable.

Tournament MP and Pro are both really good reels from $150-200.  The Pro has more features, but they may or may not be something you need so look them both over.

Pro Ti is really sexy, all aluminum.  Only one gear ratio though so that is a bit of a limitation.

Custom Lite - New and just getting out on the street.  If you want to build a really light combo get this and a Pro Ti rod.  It is crazy light.

Lots of other stuff, but the above are what I see as the stand out stuff.

 

[mixermarkb]

I know, question has already been answered, but I agree with what MObass said above. Here are pretty much how I use the reels I have, what I fish them on, and why I use the gear ratios I do. 

2x BB-1 in the 5:1 ratio,  on 7' Falcon Cara reaction medium crankers, pretty much dedicated to Warts and Rock Crawlers. These have the old fashioned multi-stop anti reverse. (the handles have a tiny bit of back play on this model, which I really like for grinding along bottom, because when you hit a rock you can kind of lean back on the reel and the wart floats up and right back into the fish's face)

2x BB-1 in 6.4:1 ratio, on 7'10" St. Croix Legend Tournament magnum crankers. These also have the old fashioned multi-stop anti reverse, and are dedicated to 15-25' deep cranks. Prevailing wisdom on deep cranks is the 5:1 ratio for less fatigue when cranking the big pullers, but I fish deep cranks in the summer, and find I get more bites really banging them along the bottom pretty quick. Also, fish are active and fast post spawn, and I was losing fish trying to keep up with them with that 5:1 ratio. 

1x BB-1z in 7:1 ratio, on a Falcon Cara 6'5" jerkbait special. This one has a megabass 110 of some flavor on year round. I like the 7:1 ratio, with instant anti-reverse on this one, because just a small turn of the handle pulls up the line, and keeps just the right amount of slack for the bait to work. 

2x BB-1z in 6.4:1, on Falcon Cara 6'8" angler of the year rods. These get used a lot. Spinnerbaits, topwater walking baits, small whopper ploppers, squarebills, chatterbaits, etc. The 6.4:1 is probably the best all around retrieve ratio for me. I can wind it fast, or slow it down. 

2x Super Duty in 6.4:1, on Falcon Cara 7'5" Super Duty rods. These get used for anything big and heavy, Arigs, the big Whopper Plopper, big swimbaits, etc

4x Team Gold in 7:1, on G. Loomis NRX 7'3" Carolina Rig rods. These are my main bottom dragging rods. C-rigs, 3/4" to 1oz jigs, and enough tip to pitch smaller jigs and Trigs into brush or around docks. Some guys use the ultra fast 8:1 ratios on these type of setups, but the 7:1 seems plenty fast in bringing up slack, and they didn't make an 8:1 when I bought these. 

2x Team Gold in 7:1, on G. Loomis GLX MBR-843 7' medium heavy. These are pretty much finesse jig rods, with a 5/16 or 7/16 pigsticker football on them year round. 

2x Team Gold in 7:1, on old G. Loomis IM6- 7' popping rods. To be honest, I'd rather these be 6.4:1 ratio BB-1's, as I think the BB-1 ever so slightly outcasts the more expensive team gold, but I got a deal on them, so I use em. These rods are soft noodles, and get the Redfins and sometimes the bigger gunfish. These are long cast, open water topwater rods. 

 

Having said all of that, everything I own has been in the garage since August, because work and family...one day I'll get to use them again... LOL

one more thought, that may not be the same now- all the Lews reels I have have the same paddles on the handles, and the same thumbar release, so they really don't take any time at all to adjust to, they feel pretty much the same in hand...

[edwin]

thank you for all for the time invested to pull together the write ups...truly appreciated!!!

[Champ188]

18 hours ago, edwin said:

thank you for all for the time invested to pull together the write ups...truly appreciated!!!

Still a very good bunch of guys here, Edwin. Happy to hear you've been able to get back to fishing. 

[edwin]

1 hour ago, Champ188 said:

Still a very good bunch of guys here, Edwin. Happy to hear you've been able to get back to fishing. 

Thanks James.  I recently picked up an old semi-beat up BassCat to at least get back on the water.  Hope to get back into the groove and catching some fish.  Hope all is well with you and Donna.  

[rps]

Good to see you back edwin.

[edwin]

Tnx rps!  I've been a lurker for a few years.  Buying this old boat (1990 model BTW) sure makes me appreciate the 2008 BassCat Cougar I had with big HB's on the console and bow, new everything, huge decks front and rear, and the purr of that 250 Opti scooting down the lake.  That said, this previously enjoyed boat will serve just fine for my limited use and weak at best skills.  

tight lines,

edwin