I hear some, what I assume, to be gear noise on my baitcasters.  It's not screeching, grinding or doing anything funky.  It just makes noise.  Not anything I think is a malfunction.  Not anything alarming but in a way, just kind of annoying when you want total silence at the crank of the handle.  Is this normal?

It can be.

Yes

probably normal. what type of gears do you have?

I wondered the same thing for the longest time. I noticed it was the worst in shimano reels, I had a curado I, citica e, and calcutta and sold all of tyem in like a week because I hated the gear noise. I have found that daiwa is the way to go if you want a silent reel. I have an alphas ito, a pixy, and a couple of tatulas and you can't even tell they have gears! Quantums are actually really smooth as well, I have an older energy and an exo and both are nice and quiet.

^^^^^^ Funny you said Daiwa for being quiet.  I have two that make noise no matter what I try to do to them. Still function as they should but the squeak does get a little irriating after a bit so they have been retired to the box of extra reels.

Yeah I had a lexa that was really geary, I ended up selling it as well. I just can not stand to feel/ hear the gears in my reels.

I've only noticed it on worn out or lower-end reels.

try lubing it up.

If you're hearing it, then it's probably nothing. Might even NOT be the gears. If you're feeling it, it should be addressed.

A reel is a mechanical tool with moving parts. Some being more refined, will be quieter but none should be expected to be completely silent, especially if setup for peak performance. 

what you think are gears may be spool or level wind bearings, too.

I lube it with moly. The gear teeth. I like my reels quiet.

I wondered the same thing for the longest time. I noticed it was the worst in shimano reels, I had a curado I, citica e, and calcutta and sold all of tyem in like a week because I hated the gear noise. I have found that daiwa is the way to go if you want a silent reel. I have an alphas ito, a pixy, and a couple of tatulas and you can't even tell they have gears! Quantums are actually really smooth as well, I have an older energy and an exo and both are nice and quiet.

I agree with this 100 percent. Every shimano I've owned after the D series curados developed noisy gears after a few uses. I'm not sure about the cheaper daiwas but my older zillions are super smooth, no gear noise. I just bought a quantum energy a few months ago and it is still super smooth.

Just turn up the radio . . . . 

 

A-Jay

All my high end ABUs have a noisier geary retrieve compared to my other brands.

I hear some, what I assume, to be gear noise on my baitcasters.  It's not screeching, grinding or doing anything funky.  It just makes noise.  Not anything I think is a malfunction.  Not anything alarming but in a way, just kind of annoying when you want total silence at the crank of the handle.  Is this normal?

 

This is the exact same reason I got rid of my Revo STX. Reel was perfectly fine, but that dang geary noise was driving me nuts. 

Gear noise can go down the line into the water like a gutiar string. I'm very worried about making more noise when in stealthy. Shore fishing isn't easy.

I have never seen a reel of any sort I can't hear.  If it's not gears it's bearings.  Moving things make nose.  Heavier lube can mask it but comes with its own price.

 

Josh

My curado 200E, after 4 years of heavy use doing paddle tail swimbait duties, is the loudest reel I own.I've used the reel long enough to tear the drag washers apart and have them pretty much stuck on the brass gears. I bought Carbontrex drag washers and It's better than ever. It will throw those swimbaits just as far as any reel Ive owned. I credit it's long casts for a few of my bigger fish when my partner couldn't make the distance casts I could. I'll listen to that geary noise all day long, since the fish don't hear it.

my bass pro PQ gurgled a couple times after oiling the bearings but it stopped shortly after. that was a irritating sound.

Would I accept a new car making noise......No, I would't with a reel either.

With all of the light weight reels out, most of them have some sort of carbon, plastic side plate. This type of material will not stop the natural sound emitted from gears that are working properly. You are going to hear noise from the gear box. A slight noise is fine but if it is loud, you can feel it in the handle, and it is harder to reel than there is an issue. Otherwise it is just the nature of the beast.

I've seen or heard of a totally silent reel.

Hootie

Even with proper lubing they'll make noise. 

 

I tend to use a bit more/heavier lube on the drive gears to keep the geary noise down, I like it silent, and like mentioned above, that noise actually gets transmitted down the line.

 

Think about it, we're using the most sensitive rods, reels, and lines on the planet. You can feel a 3 inch grub tick a pebble from 50 feet away with a line that's several human hairs thick.....you're silly not to think that the same vibrations we want to feel can't also be felt/heard in the water from our reels. Can you catch fish with a geary reel? Yes, but in finesse applications I'm sure a silent reel is just one more thing to your advantage.