brophog

There are a lot of great reels at that $100 price point. The Fuego CT is really nice because it can often be had for quite a bit less if you’re patient.

Most of the positives have been covered, but there are many negatives. Durability of materials. This is throughout the reel, from frame and side plates to drag stars, gearing, levelwinds, shafts, spools. Smoothness. Bearings add quite a bit of weight when you’re pinching fractions of an ounce. Even line capacity is often reduced because the line itself is fairly heavy. There is also a hollow nature to many of the very light reels that really turns a lot of people off. They can feel more toy like than a piece of precision machinery.

Then you have to convert it into a casting rod. It’s not as much a case that casting reels can’t do what a spinning reel can, it’s that it takes more expense, time, and effort to get there. For some, that’s just not worth it. For others, that added experience is what makes it worth it.

I totally agree with the comment about the Lexa Wn/HD. The Wn version is definitely cheaper but it’s a backup/occasional use version of that reel. As someone who has too often pushed gear way past its intended usage, once you start needing to get into 300/400 sized gear territory, don’t skimp. The money you thought you were saving is just going to the next reel.

I don’t know about you, but if I want fish most efficiently then I’m going to the grocery store.

For a beginner, there may be no more forgiving braking system than the Daiwa SV brakes. Yes, there may be a small reduction in casting distance depending on lure but you can set them to need little or no thumb even at splashdown (which is why a lot of people like them at night). The most forgiving part is when they do backlash they don’t tend to be as severe as many other braking systems, imo. The spool capacity is not an issue for line in the common 30-50 (braid) or 10-12 (mono) lb ranges that would be typical of a MH rod. It’s actually a plus because that spool is a little smaller to keep spool weight down which helps in casting lighter baits. The big lure weight range is a plus for someone only wanting to carry a couple all purpose setups. The Tatula has the zero adjuster knob, which is really a fancy way of saying they made the cast control hard to rotate. The brake dial on the Tatula is typical of a Daiwa, which if anything can be a bit hard to adjust. I guess if someone palmed it just right maybe they’d have a tendency to accidentally adjust it, but it’s certainly not a common occurrence. The only real downside would be price as there are certainly reels in this thread that would get the job done for less. But the Tatula is designed to be stress free and very versatile and that seems to tick the boxes here.

No problem. I was just wondering if I was misunderstanding. Price is definitely something that is a huge consideration here. BFS is something that can be gotten into at a cheaper price point, primarily through the use of aftermarket spools into existing reels or the newer cheap knockoffs, but it’s still niche enough that the good gear is still quite pricy.

This point makes me curious. Generally this is an area BFS excels in. Reels like the Daiwa Air Stream Custom are made just for that scenario.

I totally agree. Today’s reels make a lot of sacrifices in overall quality in the name of weight reduction.

The fixed spool design doesn’t scale well with regards to size and that greatly impacts things like drag pressure and line capacity. New materials have greatly neutralized those typical characteristics in spinning reels just as they have in casting reels. By and large, if someone wants to just use either they can. The problem is the rod market hasn’t really caught up with this new paradigm, so each reel is still sort of pushed towards finesse or power, respectively. That can be overcome to some degree, but it can often mean either needing to go custom or import.

They can be but with every iteration they are also getting better and better at being easier to accomplish finesse tactics that were previously spinning only. A significant obstacle is the fact it’s still almost exclusively a non-domestic market and that can present certain challenges, especially in regards to rods.

What condition are your spool bearings in? Even a DC reel will backlash at minimum brake settings unless there is another source of friction slowing the reel down. For maximum distance, thoroughly clean the spool bearings, add a drop of light viscosity oil, then adjust braking so you’re just at the edge of disaster. Fine tune for your personal comfort level. For most of us, what’s comfortable is also not maximum distance. ?

For me, it’s casting gear, mostly because I greatly prefer it. Honestly, at the distances most fish, preference is really the key because both can deliver the goods provided rod, reel, and lure/bait are properly matched, along with good technique. A trained distance caster can cast either way further than anyone would care to fish, proving neither system is greatly restrained. Weather tends to be an equalizer in this debate, though.

Grab a spincast reel. Honestly, this is an area they do really well.

The first thing you have to ask yourself is what is it you don’t like about your current reel. For bass fishing, there’s a huge range of spinning reels that work.

And at the end of the day, with all of these features, they’re still just trying to approximate a spinning reel. If I told someone I’d sell them a 1 bearing, 18 IPT reel for the cost of a Pflueger President, I’d imagine they’d take the President. It’s just a far superior reel to a Goldcast at a similar price point. That’s probably the biggest testament to the resolve of spincast reels. The better models sell at a price point in which far better spinning, and in some cases baitcaster, reels reside and yet they still sell. So there is certainly a market for them and I don’t think anyone would claim they don’t catch fish. They may have caught more in the past 60 years than spinning/baitcasters combined. But the question we are now debating isn’t whether spincasters sell or if they can catch fish....it’s if they’re for serious bass fisherman. So, I want to know this...how many of us have 10 spincast combos rigged up on the decks of our boats?

Ditto.

They’re still basically the same. The Omega is a nice spincast reel, but it’s honestly just getting back to where 33’s were all those years ago. The Bullet is a bit different in that they’ve elongated it to increase the gear ratio, and that allows that reel to do things traditionally difficult to do on a spincast.

The biggest problem with even good spincasters, like an Omega or Bullet is the price. I’m not saying those two are overpriced, they’re both well built. But spincasting technology is such that to build them that well you have to over build them and that drives up the cost. The problem is for that money you can get a spinning or baitcasting reel that is 10 times the reel. That doesn’t mean for a person’s given needs spincast wont work, but they come with serious compromises compared to rival technologies.

Replacing the bearings is often required, but they’ve put out some real workhorses that can really take a beating. They’ve also put out stuff that the local five and dime would be ashamed of. That’s where Quantum’s reputation suffers is in the vast range of reels they sell. If you stick to their quality offerings, they’re good value for the money. They don’t put out much one would consider enthusiast level, so some websites tend to dismiss, but for the weekend angler that just wants to catch fish, they make some good reels. That said, Daiwa and Shimano are really attacking the price points that companies like Quantum or Pflueger excel.

For that 50-60 dollar range, really hard to beat.

The answer really depends on casting vs spinning. To be fair, I don’t recommend combos at all, just because there is rarely enough savings to be of any advantage. However, the floor of usability for a spinning reel is very low. It’s hard to find a spinning reel that is so bad it’s unfishable. The handle may crank back a quarter turn, and you may seriously question where they hid that one advertised bearing, but it’ll catch fish. Spincast reels, like a Zebco or Shakespeare, are surprisingly poor low end performers despite being readily available as such. These aren’t your grandparent’s 33’s. As for baitcasters, just spend the money. Today you can more readily find sub-100 dollar models that work, but that’s always been a good price point. Most manufacturers these days make some very good reels in that range. Something like a Daiwa Fuego or Shimano SLX will not only last but give you a lot of enjoyment.

Good to hear. Service is second to none.

Those long ultra lightweight rods are generally meant for spider rigging from a boat. They dont really have enough backbone to cast well. At least I've always found them to be very tricky to cast, in the best of circumstances. I do like about a 7 foot ultralight for small panfish, though. Light enough to cast, but still plenty manageable.

I like Pflueger President's but actually prefer a bit bigger reels. Smaller spinning reels create more problems. A 25 or 30 size of the same reel will likely still work fine. I like a 30 size with 4 or 6 lb line for such applications. For a casting application, either of those rods will work fine. Aside from the obvious slight size difference, I'm not sure what the difference is from specs, other than the handle.