1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

 

Honestly, there's not much about them that's graphite. They're plastic, and if you take apart and reassemble a plastic reel, you'll have a different feeling about them.

 

 

Hmmmm... me and reels don't share any feelings or stirrings as Captain Jack Sparrow would put it, but I can vouch for the reasons to avoid plastic and or carbon fiber frames. At my age I only get stirrings when a bass strikes the lure. 

 

In the past from personal experience I have lost entire reels because of this issue. Either the frame outright cracked and broke both spinning and baitcasters, or a piece broke off the frame inside, or place where a screw was threaded was now stripped out.

 

One baitcaster with carbon fiber frame was extremely brittle. Once it began cracking up, entire reel was done.

 

I've seen instances where strong springs were bending their plastic mounting hole out of shape and coming out of place. Its not really fixable. Gotta get a new frame and start all over until that one does the same.

 

These frames may be usable when new, but over time they can change shape. Even on large fish they can bend and twist. More time limited reels.

 

Solid metal frames and reel bodies may weigh more, but in the long run tend to be more durable- as I see it. But so long as reels like this one here in this thread are well cared for they can last a reasonable amount of time. But I do have aluminum framed reels still working after 30 years, so I'd be curious what the average length of time the BM reel can endure?

 

ADDED:

 

I've worked on a ton of these BM reels over the years and probably a half dozen this year already. In all of them, one thing I would recommend doing is put a little drag grease on that factory dry drag washer. Can't tell you how many had hangup bumps in the drag, and sticky dry drags because the material used for a lot of those reels is either a pink/red or blue colored cardboard material. Which when tracked down a while back turned out to be commercial pipe gasket material.

 

It tends to stick to either the gear or the pressure plate key washer and drag is often just one side of drag washer is slipping while other side is stuck. Free it up. Add a little drag grease on both sides of drag washer and it can once again be as smooth as is possible.

20 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Hmmmm... me and reels don't share any feelings

Uh boy. Me either...

 

You took the time that I didn't to articulate some of the reasons plastic reels can be an issue like torsion spring mooring holes getting wallowed out, which BTW can also happen to aluminum framed reels if those points don't receive grease. Throw in limited cycling of coarse threads in and out of the frame, etc. Just goes to support the idea that if you can get a different yet competitively priced disposable reel it might as well have an aluminum frame.

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

I suppose his frustration comes from the fact that he's brought this info to light often over the years with little reaction based on reluctance to purchase from certain overseas sellers

The delivery on the last post in my opinion didn’t help the cause. 
 

Most of the ones talking about budget reels are just getting started with baitcasters or are on a limited budget and don’t or haven’t taken the deep dive into the inner workings of the reels he referencing or the overseas markets. The budget reels like the Black Max are readily available and in stores that people frequent quite often. That’s why they’re so popular.

45 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

The budget reels like the Black Max are readily available and in stores that people frequent quite often. That’s why they’re so popular.

This.  For those of you in Michigan and Ohio or anywhere Meijer has a presence, they sell them for $20-$30 from time to time.  I've never seen them advertised that cheap, but when you go to the small fishing section they have, you'll see them marked down on a semi regular basis.  I say small section because it's really only a quarter of an aisle and maybe a couple of end caps these days.  When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, they had at least 2 aisles full of fishing tackle, and the ones closer to popular fishing spots had a good 3 to 5 aisles and sold everything from budget stuff to mid and even some higher end.  I bought my first nice reel, a Daiwa SS Tournament 1300 at Meijer back in '92.  It cost $100 then, which is closer to $250 adjusted for inflation.

2 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

This.  For those of you in Michigan and Ohio or anywhere Meijer has a presence, they sell them for $20-$30 from time to time.  I've never seen them advertised that cheap, but when you go to the small fishing section they have, you'll see them marked down on a semi regular basis.  I say small section because it's really only a quarter of an aisle and maybe a couple of end caps these days.  When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, they had at least 2 aisles full of fishing tackle, and the ones closer to popular fishing spots had a good 3 to 5 aisles and sold everything from budget stuff to mid and even some higher end.  I bought my first nice reel, a Daiwa SS Tournament 1300 at Meijer back in '92.  It cost $100 then, which is closer to $250 adjusted for inflation.

Now that my kid is going to be going to school at GVSU I’m going to make it a point to swing through the Meijer when I’m up that way. That sale price combined with my son’s discount for working for Meijer would definitely make me buy one or better yet a Pro Max.

2 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

Now that my kid is going to be going to school at GVSU I’m going to make it a point to swing through the Meijer when I’m up that way. That sale price combined with my son’s discount for working for Meijer would definitely make me buy one or better yet a Pro Max.

You'll have to fish the Grand River, there's just about anything you can think of in there.  Smallmouth, largemouth, steelhead, brown trout, etc.  Bring some fishing stuff with you.  A one day license is $10 for both residents and non residents.

I contemplated writing this and I should know better but I’m going to throw my .02 cents in anyway, and it is there are a lot of really good deals from the overseas “OEM” manufacturers such as @Bigbox99 has pointed out and I can say I’ve taken advantage of them to getting a really good sale such as @redmeansdistortion has pointed out that I have and  I’m hoping to again take advantage of also. Me personally I just like buying and trying everything from A-Z and I’m always looking for a great buy whether it’s a sale/closeout/good product at a great price or just an unknown name such as has been pointed out I’m willing to try it and I’ll definitely share my opinion if anyone interested.

Not to throw this off topic, but, I'd like to see some threads/pictures of the aliexpress reels with their branded counterparts. Which reel is the same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Platinum?

29 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Not to throw this off topic, but, I'd like to see some threads/pictures of the aliexpress reels with their branded counterparts. Which reel is the same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Platinum?

I agree, this would be beneficial.

6 hours ago, Bazoo said:

Not to throw this off topic, but, I'd like to see some threads/pictures of the aliexpress reels with their branded counterparts. Which reel is the same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Platinum?

I think it’s a great idea! Start a new thread with a good title that grabs the attention of those looking for that info. I think there’s enough people out there that it would be a popular topic.

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

I think it’s a great idea!

I doubt sponsors or potential sponsors would agree. Just sayin...

 

If someone else decides to go down that road, I'll just watch from the sidelines quietly.

15 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I doubt sponsors or potential sponsors would agree. Just sayin...

 

If someone else decides to go down that road, I'll just watch from the sidelines quietly.

You’re overthinking things a tad bit.

11 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

You’re overthinking things a tad bit.

Perhaps, but I'll go with my gut.

7 hours ago, PhishLI said:

doubt sponsors or potential sponsors would agree. Just sayin...

 

If someone else decides to go down that road, I'll just watch from the sidelines quietly.

Let nobody take away your freedom, that's the kind of free speech this forum needs, otherwise what's the point? 

24 minutes ago, Banned User said:

Let nobody take away your freedom, that's the kind of free speech this forum needs, otherwise what's the point? 

So, you go for it then, sport. Full bore. Knock it outta the park.🍿

On 7/30/2025 at 7:20 AM, 12poundbass said:

Well, the topic of the thread is asking about the Black Max reel and others opinions on the Black Max so naturally this thread is going to get responses from Black Max users and it seems like the opinions are overwhelmingly positive. 
 

For me personally, when I started using baitcasters I started with budget friendly ones. The first one I tried was complete junk! Then I tried the Black Max and it was great! I’m not a gambling man, I got burned on the first reel, and hit a home run  on the second reel. I upgraded to a Silver Max and it was junk so I was 1 for 3. Naturally, I picked up more Black Max reels. I did eventually pick up a Pro Max and it worked great. You could say I was loyal to the Abu brand reels at one time, that was because they worked and again I’m not a gambler and at that time I didn’t have the budget to gamble on anything else. I did receive a cheap Kastking reel as a gift and it was a great reel which I now have two and still use occasionally. I wouldn’t have tried one if it weren’t for receiving one as a gift. Again, think budget minded and fear of getting a dud. Keep in mind, this was all before I found this place. I trust the opinions on here and I eventually started to add more expensive reels because of the opinions on here so that’s a factor. 
 

I’ve never understood the disdain for graphite framed reels. I hear it frequently on here. What are people doing with their reels that they’re worried about the integrity of a graphite framed reel? Are these people also only using glass rods and carrot stick rods? 😁

I think this is the answer.  It's a cheap reel and they work great.   This is leads to a positive impression of the reel so you get responses in these threads over the years like "best budget reel hands down"  "best reel for under 50 bucks" or "best reel for under $150" comment in this thread that made me blow a gasket.  Is the Black Max the only cheap baitcast reel they have used?  Probably.  That's probably also why they think it's the best cheap reel.  They are more than content with the Black Max they have used so they will make complimentary statements about the reel such as "best budget reel". 

 

I have a 3rd gen I turned into a BFS reel for tossing UL cranks.  The beat thing about the reel is that they are popular so there is a ton a cheap BFS spools, deep swimbait spools and color parts to trick out a reel however you want.  When it comes to widely available cheap reels to customize to your liking its the next cheaper option down from the Fuego CT.  

On 7/30/2025 at 8:26 PM, Bazoo said:

Not to throw this off topic, but, I'd like to see some threads/pictures of the aliexpress reels with their branded counterparts. Which reel is the same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Platinum?

That's a Doyo reel.  BPS does use Aliexpress reels from Tsurinoya for their cheaper options like the Tourney Special but once at the $100 range they seem to be Doyos which is good.  Doyo makes the Lews and Abu reels and they are solid for the money. 

 

BPS used Doyo back in the 2010s and then moved to cheap reels for their house brands like Bionic, Extreme ect.  During that time the BPS employee that was part of the process of ordering reels for BPS left the company and bought the rights to Browning from BPS, which also owned the dead reel brand, Lews.  He then revived Lews reel brand using Doyo reels that he was familar with and brought the brand back and it quickly caught on with US anglers looking for an alternative to foreign brands like Shimano and Daiwa.  BPS was so butthurt over this they barred Lews reel from their stores for a while after this.  What gets me to this day is that when BPS owned Browning they never used the Lews brand for reels and actually made sold Browning reels.  Blows my mind how hard they fumbled those bags 

https://doyofishing.co.kr/goods/catalog?page=1&searchMode=catalog&category=c0001&per=40&sorting=ranking&filter_display=lattice&code=0001

Can you point out which one of those reels in that link are the equivalent to the BPS Platinum?

20 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Can you point out which one of those reels in that link are the equivalent to the BPS Platinum?

It looks like an older Lubina like the Lubina G4 (gen 4?) or Urano G3.  It could even be a reel that is not on the site that they are no longer offering to new clients with BPS being the only remaing customer.  Lews used the same platform for their last gen LFS and have moved to the newest Urano platform.  I'm guessing that was done more by force than choice with Doyo no longer offering the reel.  

 

4 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

Lews used the same platform for their last gen LFS and have moved to the newest Urano platform.

Also, as of the last time I looked through BPS schematics, no extended turned diameter on their pinions, whereas Lew's has the P2 pinion going back to the previous gen LFS. So, the Platinum is definitely built on a dated Lew's/DOYO platform.

Not for nothing, but this dude's most recent video and he's still using the black max

 

1 hour ago, Banned User said:

Not for nothing, but this dude's most recent video and he's still using the black max

 

"Has drag on the side"

Adjusts the ACS brake 

"Fishing poles"

Sets spool tension to max

"Casts as far as any other reel on the market"

Does not infact have 1st hand experience with other reels on the market. 

"Casts as far you need"

Makes a pitiful cast 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

Has drag on the side

Adjusts the ACS brake

Clearly a slip of the tongue, I've watched Matt and Tim and Iaconelli and KVD and so many other dudes who literally feed their families by bass fishing say things that you could scoff at by taking it at face value instead of understanding that when they said "cast this frog into the pads" while they're holding a swim jig that they actually mean the jig and not a frog. 

 

8 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

Does not infact have 1st hand experience with other reels on the market

He mentions that the only reason he picked up the max is because people in the comments asked him to, and he could compare it to reels "he's used to in the $300 range"

 

8 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

Casts as far you need"

Makes a pitiful cast 

Maybe we are referring to 2 separate casts, but from that angle looked fine enough to me.

 

Regardless, that video is 5 years old, he's now at almost 180,000 subscribers and in his most recent video still using the Black Max. At this point, he's had ample opportunity to try other reels and certainly catches plenty of fish on the max as you can see in his videos. 

 

I'm just saying, this is absolutely a testament to the value of a Black Max