I just need some advice on a good overall crank bait reel, something that will cover from lipless and square bill to some what mid/deep diver. Also I m not looking to bank the bank on a reel... It will be matched up on the st. croix mojo bass crankbait rod. Thanks for your time!

A low gear/ipt version of your favorite reel will be perfect

5.5-6.4 gears and under 28ipt are good to go imho

The word around town is usually 5.4.1 or something close.

Abu c3 4600 size

I always thought a lipless crank was suppose to be fished with a faster reel and then Deep Cranks with a slower reel.  Maybe I am mistaken on the lipless...  I would think something in the 6s would be good all around.

You can burn a lipless or slow it depends what fish want

Ignore gear ratio and focus on inches per turn. Lipless cranks are usually fished faster than others. The abus with a 5:1 have an inches per turn rate of I think 26". Some reels with a 6:1 are the same. My curados are 23" with a 5:1 and 27" with a 6:1. I think the abu is a good all around crankbait reel. Giving you the choice to burn it, slow it down but still give you the power you want when fishing deeper diving cranks. I personally use a calcutta. But like the abu as well.

quantum kinetic pt on an auction site for 60.00 it is the best distance casting reel I have used...

 

Mitch

For anything 10ft + its a lot easier to work a crankbait with like a 5.4:1. I've yet to fish with anything with a higher gear ratio that felt comfortable fishing deep divers.

Lews BB1 can be found for 119. 5:1

My general rule, I fish my square bills and lipless cranks on the same rod, I generally use 6.3:1 on them. I rated to retrieve the square bills a.bit faster. The lipless cranks are typically yo yo'd and retrieve pretty eradically.

I use the slower gear ratio or Lower ipt, for med and divers.

A 'normal' ratio such as 6.x:1 should do you just fine.  Not that long ago that was considered ultra fast but today in a world of 7.x:1 let alone 8.x:1+ becoming common place it's considered moderate if not even slow by some standards.  I'm of the school of thought that when in doubt go medium retrieve which means 6.x:1.  Worse case scenario going 5.X:1 or 7.x:1 won't kill ya. 

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/perfecta-lte.html

 

 

 

 

Curado E5...awesome

Chronarch E5. Lucky for you, most stores have them on clearance right now too.

Shimano D series reels. The Curado or Citica would be ideal with their low gear ratios. Bullet proof reels but great for moving baits.

I've tried a couple of low profile baitcasters for deep cranking and truthfully, the one thing that made the biggest difference to me in a reel with a low gear ratio was a longer handle. The lower gears (4.9&5.1) did make it easier to crank deep divers, but the addition of a longer handle really added to it.  My feeling is that adding a longer handle to a 6.1:1 that retrieves around 26-28IPT could serve both purposes with one reel.