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whats the best current USDM baitcast reel

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other than Shimano and Daiwa reels what is the best baitcast reel in your opinion.

im curius what eceryone has to say about USDM reels since ive only have JDM reels

1 hour ago, corey90 said:

other than Shimano and Daiwa reels

Are there others?

Sooo...Doyo.

 

Besides that we have Sixgill which makes a US reel and that new company Bates.

That Sixgill Arrival baitcast reel looks interesting and made in the U.S.A.!

  • Author

should have aske about Lews, Abu, Adent 13 ect. none of them are made in USA there just available in the United States.

Shimano, Daiwa, and Doyo (Abd, Lews, etc) make nice reels for sale in the US. Pick the one you like best, or get some of each. No one makes low profile baitcasters in the US. No matter what the website says. Sixgill may put some parts together and call the reels "assembled in the USA" but by any reasonable definition are not made in the USA. Neither are Bates reels, which they actually do say they are foreign made in the fine print. All this nonsense about where fishing tackle is made is getting old. I wish companies would just be honest and tell us where things come from rather than try to be deceptive. Good stuff can be made anywhere in the world. Bad stuff can be made anywhere in the world too.

  • Author
4 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

USDM is US domestic market.  It means reels sold on the US market.  

and not all JDM reels are made in japan

The basic differences between JDM and USDM are that JDM models tend to have more options, shorter handles, and shallower spools. As above, lots of JDM models are made in South Korea, China, Malaysia, etc. Nothing magic about JDM, most of the reels are the same as USDM with different paint, gear ratios, etc. They are cheaper these days with the exchange rate. A Steez or Stella or Antares is the same reel whether USDM or JDM. You go JDM for the price or more options, but the quality is the same. 

  • Author

guys im talking about reels sold in in the USA only. you cant buy a calcutta Dc or a Anteres DC at tacklewharehouse but you cant get a curado mgl on a japan tackle store either get what im saying

  • Super User
12 hours ago, corey90 said:

guys im talking about reels sold in in the USA only. you cant buy a calcutta Dc or a Anteres DC at tacklewharehouse but you cant get a curado mgl on a japan tackle store either get what im saying

 

So far as I know, the Chronarch is a USDM only model if we're building a list.

  • Super User

I have some first generation 13 Concept A, C, Z, and E reels.  They're fished pretty hard and have held up well.  The Z's require a little more PM than the others, but they cast a mile and are pretty smooth for a, then, $200 reel.

Penn low profile reels are Doyo. In their various forms Doyo reels are the best casting reels that are not shimano or daiwa. I believe the highest end Doyo sold in the US is the Abu Zenon. 13 fishing reels are nice too, but not super high end. 

  • Super User
2 minutes ago, uno said:

13 fishing reels are nice too,

13 is built by Banax.

6 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

13 is built by Banax.

Good to know. You read my mind, I was just thinking of asking that. We'd only have 5 or so reel brands if they were all sold under them name of the company that makes them.

  • Super User
4 minutes ago, uno said:

Good to know.

Banax also makes some of the Quantum reels. The Smoke and Tour PTs are excellent reels. My Brother has a few 13s including the A3 and Z3 big bait reels and has nothing but praise for them.

9 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

So far as I know, the Chronarch is a USDM only model if we're building a list.

Tatula Elites are USDM only

On 4/20/2023 at 8:50 PM, uno said:

The basic differences between JDM and USDM are that JDM models tend to have more options, shorter handles, and shallower spools. As above, lots of JDM models are made in South Korea, China, Malaysia, etc. Nothing magic about JDM, most of the reels are the same as USDM with different paint, gear ratios, etc. They are cheaper these days with the exchange rate. A Steez or Stella or Antares is the same reel whether USDM or JDM. You go JDM for the price or more options, but the quality is the same. 


I like to buy the made in Japan JDM models. Ordered a Met today!

On 4/20/2023 at 1:57 PM, uno said:

Shimano, Daiwa, and Doyo (Abd, Lews, etc) make nice reels for sale in the US. Pick the one you like best, or get some of each. No one makes low profile baitcasters in the US. No matter what the website says. Sixgill may put some parts together and call the reels "assembled in the USA" but by any reasonable definition are not made in the USA. Neither are Bates reels, which they actually do say they are foreign made in the fine print. All this nonsense about where fishing tackle is made is getting old. I wish companies would just be honest and tell us where things come from rather than try to be deceptive. Good stuff can be made anywhere in the world. Bad stuff can be made anywhere in the world too.

Most of us would be priced out of the game if "American made" was true. "Made in the USA" comes with a HEAVY pricetag and is why things are made overseas these days. Wish people would realize they don't really want to pay for American made and that it's nothing more than a nice thought.

10 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Most of us would be priced out of the game if "American made" was true. "Made in the USA" comes with a HEAVY pricetag and is why things are made overseas these days. Wish people would realize they don't really want to pay for American made and that it's nothing more than a nice thought.

 

Buying American made isnt about the quality of the product. Its about a single individual who cant really make a difference, trying to somehow help America. China dominates world trade and is looking to overtake the US Dollar as the standard currency. Me buying Made in USA likely wont have much of an impact on that, but it makes me feel better about not supporting the USs demise.

 

I buy Made in USA when possible and completely agree. Quality depends on the company. There are some companies that hire skilled/semi-skilled labor and pay fair wages and it shows in their products. Others don't and it also shows. 

I totally agree that most folks wouldn't want to pay for American made. I just wish companies wouldn't try to pretend products are American made when they aren't. Also, you can get reels made in Japan for less than 300 bucks, and I am sure their labor is not cheaper than the labor here. Anything you buy in the US is helping people in the US, regardless of where it is made. You are still giving money to stores, shippers, advertising people, etc who are in the US.

I’m a lefty, so this matters for what I recommend. 
 

Abu makes the only low profile deep crank reel and I love it. The 5 speed Revo X is a tank and has been pulling deep 25ft divers and bigger swimbaits/A-rigs for me the last two years. 
 

Otherwise the Lews hypermag has been a great reel. Two plus seasons and I still swear by it. I don’t frog with it as it’s aluminum gears but for most other techniques it’s great. 

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