A follow-up baitcasting reel report

[tjm]

I'd guess that excavation of old land fills would reveal millions of pieces of junk made in USA, the merit of an item has to determined on an individual basis model by model. The old Imperial knife company in Providence made the sorriest knives that I have ever seen and they also made some very good knives. Manufacturers in every country make what can be sold at profit.

[timinmo]

So I would not judge anything by the country it comes from.  Good stuff comes from all over.  Most of the rods are made in China, with exceptions of a few brands.  The US made rods would include Loomis, St Croix, Cashion and probably more that I can't think of right now.  Many many reels come out of the Doyo and Banax(?) factories.  Most Lews, Abu, Ardent, Penn and Pflueger all come out of the same factories.  I just view it like a GM factory where several brands may run down the same line, the same would apply to Ford or Chrysler.  I think both Banax and Doyo are Korean companies with factories in China as well.

 

[professioneat]

On 12/25/2020 at 10:17 PM, Al Agnew said:

A recent discussion of baitcasting reels got me thinking, and I decided to take every casting reel I own, put it on the same rod, and cast the same lure out on my pond, just to see which reels did best.  The lure I use most in the winter, my homemade hair jig made on the jighead that Mitch Fields designed, in 3/16th ounce, on a medium power Majorcraft Nanoace jig and worm rod. Note that this is probably a lighter lure than most people typically use with baitcast tackle.  I would also note that I took the time to adjust each reel to best cast this lure on this rod.  And one more note...it was a very windy day and I was casting into a quartering wind.  I suppose I should have also tried casting a more wind-resistant lure, something like a small buzzbait, in order to get the best evaluation of my rods, but I didn't...maybe some other time; it's too danged cold to do it today. 

The other problem, as you'll see when I list the reels, is that I don't have a lot of NEW models.  In fact, some of these are 20 year old reels, models that have long since been replaced.  So don't consider this a really good review of what you can buy these days.

 So, here are the reels I tried, ranked in order of how well they did, from best to worst:

1.  Diawa Tatula SVTW--taking the time to really dial this reel in for the lure and the conditions made it tied for the best.  It got the most distance, and without having to ride my thumb on it in those windy conditions.  The reel I've ranked number 2 got the same amount of distance, within a foot, but I'll tentatively rank the Tatula number 1 for reasons I'll discuss below.

2.  Kastking Stealth--this one will probably surprise you.  When I bought this reel a couple years ago, it was on a whim.  I couldn't imagine that a reel that you could buy on Amazon for less than $70 would be all that great, but I'd heard SOME good reviews on it.  It seemed that people either loved Kastking reels or hated them, and apparently one big problem was quality control; there seemed to be a lot of lemons.  So I wasn't expecting all that much when I bought it, and indeed, the first couple times I used it, I was not impressed.  But the problem I was having was a spool that was simply TOO free.  I couldn't cast it without backlashing, unless I really rode my thumb on it.  I was in the middle of trying to fish, not standing in the yard, so I adjusted around on the spool tension knob and magnetic cast control until I could cast the particular lures I was using it for without backlashing, and called that good enough.  However, I finally took the time to really fool with it and try to get it dialed in properly.  I wasn't using it for the hair jig until I tried it for this report, and it took a little more adjusting, but once I got it, the reel cast beautifully.  It certainly was comparable to the Tatula.  Of course, I don't know how durable it will be compared with the Tatula, but just from my experience with the reel so far, it seems to be a little better able to handle inconsistent maintenance, something I'm known for.  So the only reason I'd rank it slightly below the Tatula is that it is definitely more persnickety about getting it adjusted just right.

I have no idea whether this model is still available; I didn't see it in a quick check online.  It appears that Kastking decided to produce several more expensive models, prices comparable to other companies, in the $150-170 range, though they do still have some really cheap ones.  I'd thought originally that Kastking was a Chinese company, but it is an American company.  So I'm going to give one of the high end Kastkings a try--got one ordered and waiting for it to come in.

3.  Shimano Citica 200G6--this one was about 3 feet less distance than the first two with the 3/16th ounce hair jig, but I can tell you that it will cast the crankbaits I ordinarily use it for a mile.  The other day I was fishing a Spro RK Crawler 55 crankbait, and it was casting the thing about as far as I've ever cast any lure anywhere when I wanted it to...and it wasn't until after I got home that I realized I'd missed a guide when I was stringing up the line, so my outfit was operating at far from peak efficiency!  The problem with reviewing Shimano reels, though, is that they seem to change models every year.  If what I'm seeing in Tackle Warehouse is correct, the whole Citica line has been discontinued.  And while most Shimano reels I've owned over the years have been very good, you can't depend upon that; there was one year that they produced a Curado model that was pure crap.

4.  Abu Garcia Revo STX--this one was a cut below the top three, still a very good reel, casted without backlash and without riding my thumb too much in the wind, just didn't get quite the distance.  I've had this reel several years and have really mistreated it, but it is still going strong.

5.  Lews Mach 1 MH1Sh--this is the cheapest of the Lews reels I own, but handles lighter lures the best of them, surpisingly.  A good, tough, workhorse reel.

6.  Daiwa Tatula CT100HS--this was on a par with the Mach 1 and the Revo, really.  You could probably rank the three of them even.  It's a good, smooth reel.

7.  Bass Pro Shops Prolite Finesse--you can forget about finding this reel; it's from at least 8 or 9 years ago, the bright gold-colored one that lasted for a year or two in their line-up before being replaced by another gold colored Prolite, which lasted for a year before they changed it completely.  The newer ones were pretty bad.  That first gold one was the best, the second gold one was as good but not as durable; I wore mine out in a couple years.  This one is still going strong, and when it was new it probably ranked even higher in this list of reels.

8.  Lews Laser Pro LP1SH--a decent reel, got less distance than the Mach 1, but it's been tough and serviceable.

9.  Shimano Curado CU200--this is the REALLY old full size green model, hasn't been available for probably 15 years.  It's a heavy reel compared to many I own today, but casts light lures surprisingly well, and has to be the toughest reel I've ever owned, which is obvious since I have owned 2 of them for probably 20 years and used the heck out of them.

10.  Shimano Curado CU100B--this is the smaller, lighter model of the old green Curados.  It doesn't really get any more distance than the bigger model, and requires a bit more maintenance, but my two of them are also still quite serviceable after all this time.

11.  Shimano Scorpion 1000--this one is a Japanese market reel from probably 15 years ago.  At the time it was THE reel for casting light lures.  It's still pretty good, and comparable to the reels I've listed at 4-6, but it was not a super durable reel, always required a lot of maintenance, and is now pretty rough, which is why I downgraded it in my listing.  But it still casts well.

12.  Lews BB1 SHZ--well, there had to be a reel coming in last, and this one is it.  Funny thing is, this is the reel I've been using this winter so far on the rod, and using the hair jigs, that I used in the test, and it came in dead last.  One of the reasons I did the test, though, is that I KNEW it wasn't working all that well with the 3/16th ounce hair jig; I just wasn't getting good distance when I wanted to.  I did everything I could to dial it in, but in the end, it got a good 15 feet less distance than the top reels, and 2 or 3 feet less than even the old Curados.  So it's now on one of my less used all purpose rods.

So I don't know how much this will help anybody in choosing a reel.  Every one of these reels will do the typical baitcast job of casting 3/8th to 5/8th ounce lures well.  Maybe it's more a matter of evaluating companies and assuming where any reel in the line-up will fall in relation to similar reels with other companies.  But since every company probably produces lemons now and then, you have to take even that with a grain of salt.  And of course, every one of these reels is under $200, or was when I bought it from this website.  Could be the high end reels of various companies are far better than any of these.  Or maybe not; I've always asked myself whenever I was contemplating buying a $400 reel, whether it would prove to be more than TWICE as good as a $150 reel.  So far, I think the most expensive reel I've ever owned was a Shimano Chronarch from a number of years ago that I paid just over $200 for--and I kicked it overboard in a fast, deep riffle on the Meramec.  The second most expensive is the Tatula SV.

Which is it? Assume there is no impact on your own pocketbook. What is the absolute, no argument, best baitcasting reel today? Will never be used around saltwater. Only fishing within Missouri reservoirs, lakes, and The Ozarks. The only target is throwing for trophy largemouth.

[Flysmallie]

4 hours ago, professioneat said:

Which is it? Assume there is no impact on your own pocketbook. What is the absolute, no argument, best baitcasting reel today? Will never be used around saltwater. Only fishing within Missouri reservoirs, lakes, and The Ozarks. The only target is throwing for trophy largemouth.

Simple. Whatever you have in your hand. I’m sure you could get a hundred different answers here, and we could all discuss lure weight and different rods and all that. But at the end it’s going to be what is best for you. That smallmouth doesn’t care. 
 

I use less expensive reels and focus more on having the right rod for the presentation. It works for me. 

[Al Agnew]

1 hour ago, Flysmallie said:

Simple. Whatever you have in your hand. I’m sure you could get a hundred different answers here, and we could all discuss lure weight and different rods and all that. But at the end it’s going to be what is best for you. That smallmouth doesn’t care. 

I use less expensive reels and focus more on having the right rod for the presentation. It works for me. 

Exactly!  I doubt if anybody has had the opportunity to test every reel on the market today side by side.  In my original test of my reels, I tried to make everything as equal as possible, same rod, same lure, same line, same conditions.  However, there are probably hundreds of reels I didn't test.  It always amuses me when somebody asks for a recommendation on just about anything, and a bunch of people say that the model they happen to own is GREAT.  Define "great".  They haven't tried many of the other options, so how do they know their model is better than any of those they haven't tried?

Plus, different people are looking for different things in a reel.  I want good, smooth casting, light weight, and durability.  But how do you test for durability without using a reel for years until it throws craps.

And the right rod is something that way too many people fail to even think about.  Your rod should match the lures you are using.  If it does, it doesn't make much difference which reel you're using.  If it doesn't, the best reel is only going to go so far to overcome that disadvantage.

[fishinwrench]

All the baitcast reels have gone "Low-Profile" now, and I can't get used to that.   Therefore I'm stuck with old 4500C's and either 5.3:1 or 6.2:1 for everything I use casting gear for.  

I can only enjoy using a low profile rig for about an hour......after that I just wanna throw it in the lake/river.   

[Flysmallie]

6 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

All the baitcast reels have gone "Low-Profile" now, and I can't get used to that.  

That happened like 30 years ago boomer! Let it go man. 4500?? I gave some, but no thank you. It’s those big primate hands that screw you all up. 

[Al Agnew]

10 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

All the baitcast reels have gone "Low-Profile" now, and I can't get used to that.   Therefore I'm stuck with old 4500C's and either 5.3:1 or 6.2:1 for everything I use casting gear for.  

I can only enjoy using a low profile rig for about an hour......after that I just wanna throw it in the lake/river.   

Interesting.  Everybody went low-profile when palming the reel became the fad.  Personally I HATE palming the reel.  Rod handles were made to be gripped.  The only parts of the reel I ever touch are the free spool button and the reel handle.  Given that, it doesn't matter to me in the least what shape the reel is.  I started out using Shakespeare Sportcast direct drive reels when they were the gold standard.  Switched to Ambassadeur 5000s when they were the best reel out there, and went through all the other iterations of Ambassadeurs over the next couple decades.  Switched to the first U.S. Shimanos, the first low profile reels, when it became obvious that they were an improvement in weight and smoothness.  And now I have no loyalty to any company and no preference on reel shape.

[fishinwrench]

I palm the reel because I pitch & flip alot, and the rod balances there. Plus I set the hook like I'm splitting wood.    I gotta have a handful of something.  😁