I own 6 Diawa's ranging from the Fuego to the Tatula 200's. I own 2 Shimano's, 1 spinning, and a Castaic baitcaster. When I bought the Castaic, I used right out of the box, it was spooled with 14 lb mono, but casted like it had 80 lb mono. After some cleaning, and lubing it's sorta normal, But, not anywhere near as buttery smooth as my Diawa's, even the $ 99.00 Fuego.

6 or 7 years ago, I owned nothing but Shimano reels, and they were great, but back then they were made in Japan. Seems like unless you buy their higher priced reels, the performance isn't there any longer. I'm super happy with the Diawa reels, and for usually less money.

31 minutes ago, Ogandrews said:

For bass sized baitcasters it would have to be the curado k in 7.1. Super dependable, easy to use, smooth and doesn’t break the bank. For bigger stuff no question the tranx 300, 400, and 500. I really want to try some higher end bass reels but every time I look at the price I think that I could buy another tranx or Calcutta d, or finally buy a Calcutta conquest.

I have the same but in 7.4 gear ratio. I was mad at myself because early this year I leaned it against the BBQ with a fish on the line, bouncing around and SLAM...left a couple nicks and wear on the paint finish. I am over it now but it took a few days, I try to baby my reels, and it was a very stupid action on my part