CaughtMeABiggun

If I would have paid the same for the Eagle reels as I did for the Zephyr, I would be doing that. I got the Eagle reels for 25 bucks a piece and I think they are worth that. I don't anticipate them failing, but I do anticipate them not being as smooth a year from now. My reason for posting this topic was more to show my surprise that KastKing built a reel that is worth the price they are selling it for. I was able to get the Zephyr for 30 percent off of the 49.99 price. That sale is not something that happens all the time and expect to pay the full price. I think the Zephyr is worth 50 bucks all day long. I think the Eagle is worth 35 bucks tops all day long. The normal price of the Eagle is 50 bucks. That reel was released at least two years ago. To sum it up this increase in quality on the low end, gives hope that you are getting what you are paying for on the high end. I'm just not sure I would take the risk on a 300-dollar KastKing reel.

I want to start this out by saying that I use all different brands of reels at different price points. I am in no way partial to any one brand. I just thought this might be helpful to someone looking for a reel in this price range. I love finding fishing gear that hits above their weight. I saw KastKing released a non BFS Zephyr and I decided to get one and see what it is all about. It is a sub-50-dollar reel, and I was curious to see how it compared to the BFS Zephyr. I am building a couple of sub-100-dollar combos, and I had also just ordered two KastKing Valient Eagles as well. (Got two for the price of one) I know that KastKing has been creeping into a higher end market over the last couple of years and I can say that from what I have seen they can be hit or miss across the board. First impressions of the Valient Eagle vs the Zephyr was like comparing a Shakespeare to a mid-range Pflueger. The Valient Eagle is an older reel at the same price point as the new Zephyr. They feel like they came out of different factories. The Valient Eagle had no lubrication at all while the Zephyr had lubrication in the levelwind and inside the reel. The Valient Eagle feels like the tolerances are loose while the Zephyr feels tight. The Zephyr feels more like a 13 Fishing Origin. It is not an Origin, but it's close. The drag and spool tension click, and the reel has a solid feel to it unlike the hollow feel of the Valient Eagle. How each reel makes it through this coming Fall fishing season is yet to be determined, but I have an idea which one will still be in my arsenal this time next year.

Forgive me, but this is not a short story. In less than a week MLF will hold its largest tournament of the year on Lake Norman. As a local fisherman on the Catawba chain it’s hard to believe that this is actually happening. I started fishing Lake Norman in 1998. At that time it was the Dead Sea. 12 hours of fishing and 1 small skinny bass in the boat was a successful day. My Mom caught a 24 inch largemouth in Norman around that time that weighed in at a starving 3.5 pounds. Even though Lake Norman was tough there was a jewel to the north. The 6 mile long Lookout Shoals Reservoir nestled between 30 mile Norman to the south and near 20 mile long Lake Hickory to the north. Lookout Shoals had a great thing going. Full of aquatic vegetation and plenty of big largemouth. At one time the state record striper came out of there at over 50 lbs. I saw two stripers cruising together that were both that size. My PB largemouth came out of there. 7 lb 3 oz and 21 inches long. That was over 15 years ago. For those that lived on Lake Norman that aquatic vegetation was a problem and somewhere around 10 years ago or so Lookout Shoals was dropped to river level. I believe it was an attempt to remove the vegetation from the lake. Regardless of the motive it removes the vegetation from the lake. Lookout Shoals has a dam that allows the water to run over the top of it when the lake gets high. After large rains it’s not unheard of for the d**n to be completely submerged under 10 to 15 feet of water. Being a 70 plus foot tall dam, it becomes the South’s Niagara Falls. At some point the grass that was up rooted, but still alive enough to take root made it across the dam and into Norman. This provided the nutrients missing from Lake Norman and kicked off the fishery we have there today. Sadly there is no more grass in Lookout Shoals and today it continues to die a slow death. I just thought I would share this story as I know Norman will have a lot of eyes on it. Without a doubt the lake is a top fishery, but I still remember the days when it was on life support.

I typically go in this order. -Technique -Budget -Environment that I am going to be using it in -What is the best bang for buck based off the previous three. I'm open to any brand and after doing research I sometimes find that the brand I am not familiar with is a sub brand of a major brand. I just ran into this with the Kalex brand found on Amazon and Sportsman Warehouse. Kalex is a sub brand of Abu Garcia that goes back before they were purchased by Pure Fishing. From everything I can tell the Kalex XR5 rod is a Abu Garcia Vengeance for 35 bucks. I bought two of them to pair with two 5.4:1 gear ratio Revo X's. They work great for crankbait rods. The black and green rod looks really nice paired with those reels. I have yet to be convinced that every sub-100-dollar rod is bad, and every above 100-dollar rod is good. I'm currently debating on a Piscifun serpent rod. The specs seem really good for the price and for the price they seem to be worth taking a chance on. For what I do I cap myself at around 150 for a rod. Maybe someday I'll spend more, but not right now. I also try to go no longer than 7' 3". I'm not a big believer in longer the rod the better. I fish a lake with a ton of docks and a 6-foot rod is hard to beat for accuracy. I enjoy using a pistol grip when throwing small to medium cranks around docks too. If you're fishing from a boat, I think the size of the boat plays a part in rod selection too. Using a 7' 6" rod on a 17 or 18-foot boat can be difficult if you are not the only one on the boat.

I’m not saying they are, but they look to be 95 percent the same reel. One is 25 bucks and one is 100 bucks. I have two of the the Calamus reels that I bought a couple of years ago for giggles and I was stunned that they out-fish any 75 to 80 dollar reel. Honestly I have some 100 plus dollar reels that they fish as good as. I am still stumped on how they made a reel like that for a price like that. I took one apart and I couldn’t find anything different that would make it less than a reel that is 3 to 4 times it’s price point. If Dobyns used this reel for the base template it would make a ton of sense, but if they did it makes sense to buy the Calumus and save 75 bucks. The Dobyns has some extra bearings (10 vs 5), but you can take the 75 bucks you save and put it towards a higher end Dobyns rod. I just wanted to give some food for thought. With a lot of reels coming out of the same Chinese factories it’s a good idea now to make sure that you are getting what you are paying for. I think these reels are just made from templates. This frame, this side plate, and so on. It’s like picking out the cabinets, backsplash, and floor for your kitchen. To be honest I hate it has become this way. Unless you spend 200 plus dollars on a reel, you’re probably just getting a random mix of parts out of the same parts bin that everyone else is using. Abu Garcia and Pflueger have been diluted by rebranding Doyo reels. Lews and BPS are Doyo. I have read multiple places that Daiwa and Piscifun have reels that share components. How much are we paying for the name on the reels?

Hi, New member here from NC. I do a lot of fishing on lakes around the area I live. I have no loyalty to any brand of rod and reel and I fish with anything from a Revo to a Quantum 381 crankin reel and anything in between. I’m always trying new things and I also like to see if I can find those hidden gems that fish way above their price point.

Just want to throw this out there. Take a look at the Dobyns Maverick casting reel and the Calamus X2 casting reel on Amazon.