Last year I needed two baitcasters and while checking out the TW website saw they had these on sale at $109 each. (That's $90 BELOW retail) I'd always used Shimano but figured that at that price it was worth a shot.

When they arrived I saw that they were the WLP model (wide spool) which made them even better IMO. I've used them for a year now and can honestly say that I've not seen a smoother casting reel anywhere. With both internal and magnetic braking adjustments these are just super reels. The drag is as smooth as one could want. I only have one regret and that is that I didn't have enough money to go back and replace every reel I have with these. You could do a whole lot worse than the Patriarch.

I have yet to try the original patriarch, but I fell in love the Patriarch XT last summer. I currently have 4 of them and they are phenomenal!!

i plan on adding 2X 7.1 Patriarchs to my set this summer (once I free up some money). I also used to be a shimano guy but the pflueger patriarchs are as good as any other reel on the market IMO....

Mike D

Pflueger makes some great reels . i own 5 of them (asaros, trion, and president). the only thing that has kept me away from the Patriarch series is the way the handle was attached. Having to press in on the drag star and rotate the handle backward is a pain in the backside. And the first time you do it you can never seem to get the handle tight like it came from the factory. I do believe that the patriarch series have gone to a nut style handle for the newer ones which should be much more reliable.

I got in on the same deal form TW and have been very impressed with the reel especially at $110. I bought a president spinning reel back in jan and love it also.