I am fishing several small ponds with fly rod and spinning gear from the bank. I have been catching panfish and 1 to 2 lb largemouth. There are probably a few large bass in them, but I haven't seen one yet.

I would like to also use baitcasting gear just for the fun of it, but I am fishing from the bank, so it is pretty much just fan casting with no idea of the structure underwater. I want to spend as little as possible, but I do not want junk. Is there a baitcasting reel that is no more than $100 that is worth bothering with?

I would strongly suggest looking at the Shimano SLX which is $115.00 at Tackle Warehouse, it has a braking system that isn’t as user friendly as the Daiwa Fuego or Daiwa Tatula X but both are $150.00 so a bit over your price point.

If you are mostly fan-casting small ponds from the bank, I would not force baitcasting unless you just want to learn it for fun, because spinning is still the easier tool for lighter baits and blind-water fishing. Under $100, I would prioritize a forgiving reel with decent brakes over bearing count or hype, and I would honestly look for a clean used Daiwa or Shimano before buying a brand-new bargain reel. The biggest mistake people make here is buying the cheapest caster they can find and deciding they hate baitcasters after a week of backlashes.

I would like to point out @KP Duty just posted in the “latest sales thread” Bass Pro Shops has either the Daiwa Tatula CT or the Quantum Smoke S3 on clearance for $99.00.

53 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

I would like to point out @KP Duty just posted in the “latest sales thread” Bass Pro Shops has either the Daiwa Tatula CT or the Quantum Smoke S3 on clearance for $99.00.

S3 only in 5:1. The Tat is 8.1 gear and a solid buy.

https://www.basspro.com/p/daiwa-tatula-ct-baitcast-reel-100828802?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=BPS%7CShopping%7CPMax%7CFishing%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CGoogle%7CNMT&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19856021896&gbraid=0AAAAAD1TgtdWCKAjCeTkYd1YeAgiUDwo7&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1ZjOBhCmARIsADDuFTBXzp9PSt4QweS-svghXrHEWFuae6U-5km6vZU7U4fJPdOjNsVh_tcaAph1EALw_wcB

7 hours ago, Kow said:

If you are mostly fan-casting small ponds from the bank, I would not force baitcasting unless you just want to learn it for fun, because spinning is still the easier tool for lighter baits and blind-water fishing. Under $100, I would prioritize a forgiving reel with decent brakes over bearing count or hype, and I would honestly look for a clean used Daiwa or Shimano before buying a brand-new bargain reel. The biggest mistake people make here is buying the cheapest caster they can find and deciding they hate baitcasters after a week of backlashes.

I have to disagree. A properly set up casting combo, either a M with 12lb line or a MH with 15lb line is more versatile. On a good MH rod, you can throw everything from 1/4-1oz and be setup for almost any situation that arises. Case in point, I am hitting the river in the morning and taking a single 7' MH rod and everything from 3/16 shaky heads with a craw up to 1/2oz jig and trailers. It's just a personal preference as I used to feel casting tackle wasn't for me until I started using it and immediately fell in love with it. Give it a try. The SLX is a great starting point, and Shimano offers a combo with an SLX rod and reel for under $200.

18 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

you can throw everything from 1/4-1oz and be setup for almost any situation that arises

You and I must fish different ponds. If I threw baits that big, I'd scare away most of the fish in my ponds. Yes, there are some bass that would hit a full sized lure, but the rest of the fish in the pond won't. It's rare that I'm throwing anything heavier that 3/16.

Every baitcaster I've got is Abu Garcia and under $100. They are all in the 'Max' line of reels and I think the most I spent on any one of them was $60-$70 bucks. 75% of my fishing is from the bank even though I have a boat.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the info.

Actually, I know how to use baitcasting gear. I am an old greybeard and started out with it as a kid in the early 1960's and my last reel was an Ambassador 5000C. But, I got away from fishing for several years and when I started again the tackle had changed so much, and the prices had gone so high, I didn't have any sense of what gear was good stuff and what was not.

I started fishing again using an old fly rod I had not given away, and then asked this same question about spinning and got spinning gear and now I am confident the ponds have fish and I want to use baitcasting. For me it is more fun, more effective and just all around better except for light lures.

After reading these comments I am thinking I will raise my budget and go up to a Shimano Curado, but looking at them, I see several variations and can't tell from the description which version would be good for me. I also like the look of the Abu Garcia Max and Lew's Speed Spool that I see in the local sporting goods store.

On the lure size, I agree my fish are not going to like large lures, but I believe I can cast a plastic bait, texas rig or carolina, and the smaller fish will go for them. The weight will be enough for casting and I have already caught small bass with them on my spinning gear.

I love this stuff.

I have two Daiwa Fuegos, a Tatula, an H2O Xpress Ethos and two Garcia Black Max’s. I fish ponds with all of them. I like all of them.

1 hour ago, SJS said:

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the info.

Actually, I know how to use baitcasting gear. I am an old greybeard and started out with it as a kid in the early 1960's and my last reel was an Ambassador 5000C. But, I got away from fishing for several years and when I started again the tackle had changed so much, and the prices had gone so high, I didn't have any sense of what gear was good stuff and what was not.

I started fishing again using an old fly rod I had not given away, and then asked this same question about spinning and got spinning gear and now I am confident the ponds have fish and I want to use baitcasting. For me it is more fun, more effective and just all around better except for light lures.

After reading these comments I am thinking I will raise my budget and go up to a Shimano Curado, but looking at them, I see several variations and can't tell from the description which version would be good for me. I also like the look of the Abu Garcia Max and Lew's Speed Spool that I see in the local sporting goods store.

On the lure size, I agree my fish are not going to like large lures, but I believe I can cast a plastic bait, texas rig or carolina, and the smaller fish will go for them. The weight will be enough for casting and I have already caught small bass with them on my spinning gear.

I love this stuff.

The best curado is the 150. Probably best curado ever made. It is a small frame, 6 arm svs infinity and super smooth. You could try to find one used or wait for a tackle warehouse site wide sale.

That Daiwa Tatula CT looks like an amazing deal for $99.

I bought that same one a couple years back for $150, except I have the 7:3.1 and it was and is my first bait-caster ever. Taught myself how to use one over online videos over the winter time and bought it the next spring. I definitely had some backlashes due to my learning curve but I love that reel. I have it paired with my St Croix Rod, Legend Bass Tournament

LBTC71MHF

7'1"

MEDIUM HEAVY

FAST

I love that setup.

I was considering buying the Daiwa Tatula Elite and swapping out the CT. Now I may buy another CT and ADD another St Croix rod. Maybe a BASSX or a BASS MOJO or splurge for another VICTORY rod. I love my VICTORY MH FAST spinning rod

VTS71MHF

7'1"

MEDIUM HEAVY

FAST

Tough decision here. 🤪

Oh boy, were into rods now too, this is my idea of fun.

3 hours ago, SJS said:

Oh boy, were into rods now too, this is my idea of fun.

@SJS Oh man you’re in for a ride if you’re being serious. Rods are a huge rabbit hole in my opinion that makes looking for a good reel child’s play even in the budget category.

38 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

@SJS Oh man you’re in for a ride if you’re being serious. Rods are a huge rabbit hole in my opinion that makes looking for a good reel child’s play even in the budget category.

Man, ain’t that the truth? Reels can certainly be specific but a standard 100-150 size with a 6.3:1 or 7.3:1 can be versatile with a lot of baits. But you don’t want a MH/F rod for crankbaits or a ML/MF for Texas rigs.

18 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

You and I must fish different ponds. If I threw baits that big, I'd scare away most of the fish in my ponds. Yes, there are some bass that would hit a full sized lure, but the rest of the fish in the pond won't. It's rare that I'm throwing anything heavier that 3/16.

You'd be shocked. My most used bait this year in ponds has been an 1/8oz shaky head with a 6-6.5" worm and I've caught fish as big as 4 and as small as 8" on it. This morning, on the river, I tossed a D Shad and caught 2 that were less than 10" long. Bass do not know how big they are, so they will always hit full size baits. Try it and you'll be shocked. I fished BFS most of last year and gravitated back towards standard gear in winter, tossing 100-112mm jerkbaits, full size jigs, etc and had my best winter for size.

1 hour ago, Drew03cmc said:

You'd be shocked. My most used bait this year in ponds has been an 1/8oz shaky head with a 6-6.5" worm and I've caught fish as big as 4 and as small as 8" on it. This morning, on the river, I tossed a D Shad and caught 2 that were less than 10" long. Bass do not know how big they are, so they will always hit full size baits. Try it and you'll be shocked. I fished BFS most of last year and gravitated back towards standard gear in winter, tossing 100-112mm jerkbaits, full size jigs, etc and had my best winter for size.

The ponds I fish have more rainbows and panfish than bass. I try to fish things that will appeal to all.

If you wanted to see what the bass are capable of, I would likely be tossing jerkbaits, even as small as an X-Rap 8 or X-Nanahan on my M powered Zodias with 10 or 12lb line. Trout will hit those as well as bass.