I was thinking about getting a Bass Pro shop, Johnny Morris platinum series baitcasting reel, but now I’m having second thoughts.

I have several of the pro qualifier reels and I love them. That seemed like good quality I generally like everything about them. But what I’ve come to realize is because they have tropical brakes, their spools are heavier, and thus I can’t cast lighter lures as well with them.

I use a couple Abu Garcia Black Max 3 and I have a Daiwa CR80 that I like as well. They have magnetic brakes, but not centrifugal and this allows me to cast lighter lures. I easily cast 1/4 ounce floors using these reels.

So I guess my question is, what reels should I be considering that are in the quality range of the BPS platinum series but do not have centrifugal brakes?

I have considered putting a new spool in the BPS real, that didn’t have the brakes. Or perhaps trying to remove the braking system from the reel. Is this an option, thoughts?

Greetings @Bazoo

Your reasoning parallels my observations too.

When tossing lighter lures with lower effort, the lower spool mass appears to be the way to go based on inertia.

My personal comparison with the different low cost casting reels have been with magnetic brakes. I have an older BP casting reel that had both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. A well built reel but I realized I did not need or use the centrifugal brakes, it was all magnetic. So, that is why I ended up with what I currently use.

This is also the case for my BFS casting reel. It is used just via magnetic adjustments.

I adjust the friction, spool tension, to just where there is minimal lateral play. Just off from the zero movement setting. That works for my preference towards the lighter presentations.

I hope this helps. Be well, Cheers!

Not 100% sure but I think MN Fisher has some experience with the JM Platinum. Maybe he'll chime in. Not familiar with new reels. Are you willing to buy used? I have a Gen1 Revo STXL that gets very good distance with the right rod/lure combination. Lowest weight I've used on it is about 3/8 oz. as I spooled it with 40# braid for fishing in lily pads. Does quite well with a 10" weightless ribbontail worm. Gen1 is magnetic only. Newer added centrifugal.

On a 7' MHF Jupiter (Walmart rod made by Daiwa) it really launches a 3/4 oz. spoon (over half a spool). No idea how it would handle 1/4 oz. Probably not great as it holds approximately 135 yards of 12# monofilament. I assume that 135 yards is the recommended 1/16-1/8 from the rim. I fill to the spool bevel so I feel I was getting approximately 70 yards with that spoon on some casts.

From what FloridaFishhinFool says, a centrifugal reel will outcast a magnetic brake reel. I've never tested that. Maybe look at a Shimano XT for less than the JM Platinum. Or look used for a higher end reel that falls within your budget.

Good luck. Happy hunting. The Bait Monkey loves you. 😁

24 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

MN Fisher has some experience with the JM Platinum.

Never had a Bass Pro reel in my life...Pflueger, Daiwa, Okuma and Lews have been my experiences...oh and a very old Ambassaduer 500r

@new2BC4bass

Must be why every distance casting champion and record was made using no centrifugal, but with a mag brake.

Heres the photo dropped from the link

20 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Never had a Bass Pro reel in my life...Pflueger, Daiwa, Okuma and Lews have been my experiences...oh and a very old Ambassaduer 500r

I think you've pretty much hit the BPS manufacturer parlay.

@new2BC4bass I believe you’re thinking of @volzfan59 as he has and likes his BPS JM Platinum casting reels. Maybe he will see this and respond.

Interesting replies. Thanks all. I really like my bass pro reels, for the things they are suited towards.

I’m using Abu Black Max and Daiwa CR80 reels for my lighter weight stuff, since neither have centrifugal brakes.. I want a higher end option for that. But not super high end. Maybe $150-$200.

I’m going to throw out the Okuma Hakai reel from Tackle Warehouse in that price range and I see a couple places offering it for less. I have 2 Dream Tackle versions which are basically just a different color and I find it can really sling a Strike King 1.0 square bill which is a 1/4 ounce with zero issues. Tackle Warehouse says it’s a centrifugal brake system but the Okuma site says magnetic which both of my DT reels are magnetic brakes only.

If you fish left handed retrieve, just go to Shelton’s Clothing and they still have Tatula TW 80’s in 6.3 for $105.00 and you’re good to go. There are aftermarket spool options as well. Hard to beat.

12 hours ago, Fishing_Rod said:

I adjust the friction, spool tension, to just where there is minimal lateral play. Just off from the zero movement setting. That works for my preference towards the lighter presentations.

It's the way to go, but unfortunately we still have a lot of people teaching the method of cranking down that spool tension knob and watching that lure barely wiggle to the floor. That's passable when we're throwing 1/2oz and have enough mass to overcome that unnecessary amount of start up resistance. But at 1/16oz? No, you can't have all of that spool tension.

We purchase a bfs setup to make the spool easier to turn, don't undo that by cranking down on a knob to do the opposite. I'm not supportive of Daiwa's actions to phase out the spool tensioner knob but I certainly can appreciate why they've gone that direction.

With a talented and educated thumb, it’s my experience either a dual braking system or a reel with centrifugal only, I get more distance and much fewer overruns.

I’ll never own a mag only reel as it will give you only what you give it without the ability to adjust anything at start up.

Doesn’t matter if the spool slows on impact, that’s what the thumb is for.

Mike

Something to remember here is bass pro reels and many many other manufacturers are all made by doyo. Sooooooo don’t get to hung up on who’s name is on the reel. And pick something affordable with the features you like. That said my best casting reel for like lures is a Shimano slx mgl71 it slings light lures amazing and was built for it. probably my only non lews ( doyo) reel I like

11 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Never had a Bass Pro reel in my life...Pflueger, Daiwa, Okuma and Lews have been my experiences...oh and a very old Ambassaduer 500r

And bulldog1935. I'm getting senile.

MN Fisher, is it Platinum rods you have? Thought that might be it after posting, but left post as it was. Most likely I'm still wrong. Please have mercy on me.

I don't believe I have ever said one casts further than another. I can't make such a claim without objective data to back it up.

A lot of that has to do with the rod, line, setup, adjustments, weight of lure, line size, weight and flexibility, and casting ability of the person doing the casting, and even wind direction at time of cast and possibly humidity or air density/resistance variables plays a small role as well, and whether a reel has steel bearings with heavy grease or ceramic bearings with no lubricant, or oil only, and weight of spool. Lots of factors beyond just the reels.

What I have consistently said is I prefer centrifugal over magnets because the magnets can never be turned off and I want them off permanently. So all of my casting reels are magnet free which I can then turn off all brakes and have a true free spinning spool which is my choice and preference. Only my flipping and pitching reel has magnets and they could be removed from those reels and not missed.

Shimano gives me a true free spinning spool. Other brands do not. So today I won't spend one penny on any reels with magnets. Just personal choice. I only need a little braking help at the high speed spin out at top of the cast, and I want brakes to taper off as cast progresses. Only one type gives me what I want and prefer.

And I agree with MikeL's comment lines:

"it’s my experience either a dual braking system or a reel with centrifugal only, I get more distance and much fewer overruns."

"Doesn’t matter if the spool slows on impact, that’s what the thumb is for."

Exactly! With centrifugal, those brakes are backing off as spool slows so there is less braking on back end of a cast which is what I want. Magnets cannot be turned off, and are MOST effective when there is less inertia weight to slow down that happens as a spool slows on tail end of a cast is when magnets do the most braking which is opposite of what I want and prefer.

So engineers of magnetic braking reels have worked hard trying to turn magnetic brakes into centrifugal brakes with spool speed controlled devices trying to minimize the "always on" magnets at tail end of cast to try and make them more appealing to the market. That's how I see it anyways.

I made the switch away from magnets back in early 1990's when Shimano engineers made the switch away from magnets, and I have been very happy and thankful ever since. My curado HG's cast like a dream, and year after year no problems with them. best bang for the buck in my opinion.

Now as for the comment about magnet reels holding all the world records. I did an exhaustive search on whether or not the reels discussed in this thread have world records and they do not. No such thing as a world record for bass fishing baitcast reels that I could find anywhere online. So I went to the source of the world records and find this quote:

"The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) does not maintain separate world records based specifically on the type of reel (baitcast vs. spinning or spincast)."

So the reels that hold world records for casting distances are NOT the ones being discussed in this thread- from what I can tell so......... back to reality. If anyone can find such world records please post them. I was not able to locate any.

If you search the web for which casts further, what I find out there are opinions only of the users. So it goes both ways out there. It is a matter of choice and preference and nothing more.

24 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

MN Fisher, is it Platinum rods you have?

Same with rods - no 'store brands'....St Croix, Okuma and Daiwa.

Haven't thrown that one but I do own the BPS Johnny Morris CarbonLite Tech reel and feel like it's one of the best values out there right now at that price point. Especially when it's on sale and you can also get a 10% club discount sometimes.

These have a dual brake system on them (very similar to the previous gen Lew's KVD reels) and that type of system does well for most applications. Aside from that some of the newer Lew's ones are mag only but that new ParaMag system is a bit better than the old strip of magnets on the side that shipped w/ the old speed spools. Daiwa Tatulas would be the other ones I'd suggest looking at if you don't want centrifugal brakes. I actually like centrifugal brakes for heavier lures but like dual brakes or mag brakes for lighter stuff personally.

@new2BC4bass, like @Eric 26 mentioned, all I use is BPS, JM Platinum series bait casting reels and rods, love them. They have a dual braking system but to be honest, mine are all on zero. Get considerably longer casts with everything freed up. Takes a bit of practice and when you do get a professional overrun (backlash), they can be a doozy!

Now, I’m not sure what is meant by casting light lures? I’m old school, anything under 1/4 oz is thrown on spinning tackle. Even with that, other than one BPS Carbonlite rod, I only use BPS Platinum rods. Got three Platinum (made by Diawa) reels and four Shimano reels.

@volzfan59 - here's 1/4-oz plug cast consistently to 200' on a bench small-frame Ambassadeur CT, mag-brake only. Probably more impressive, the 7'8" para 4-axis carbon rod struck the fish 180' away.

2 hours ago, Brian11719 said:

Daiwa Tatulas would be the other ones I'd suggest looking at if you don't want centrifugal brakes. I actually like centrifugal brakes for heavier lures but like dual brakes or mag brakes for lighter stuff personally.

It's not so much that he is trying to eliminate centrifugal brakes, it's that he's trying to reduce spool weight for light lure applications. A downside of centrifugals is the spool weight, which is why Shimano uses the FTB system on its light lure reels. The FTB system removes the braking unit from the spool entirely, making it significantly lighter. While Shimano has brought down the weight of MGL spools considerably compared to most traditional centrifugal braked spools, they still weigh quite a bit in comparison to an FTB braked spool.

I would suspect something like an Aldebaran MGL would actually be sufficient for purposes of this thread, but it is cost prohibitive. Purely magnetic reels satisfy the weight requirements for a cheaper price.

I bought a 13 TX2 for fluke and stripers and that little reel is awesome. I wasn't happy with Rapala for gutting Rapala, but now its clearly a tragedy.

9 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

here's 1/4-oz plug

Who makes the plug?

@GetFishorDieTryin

A go-to favorite, Imakatsu K-ta 58 suspend , of course in Bora (mullet) prismatic

They also make lipless Koume 60 at 11 g, and it really sails.

The first baitcaster I ever owned was a Daiwa Procaster that I bought back in the early 80's and it had no centrifugal breaks, only the spool tension knob. I fished it on a 5' 6" Ugly Stik rod with a pistol grip handle. Yeah!!! That was an interesting thing to cast with really light lures and especially into the wind. I still have that reel.

The thing is, magnets didn't work back then, because of the limits of the magnets made then.

I have my late dad's (Shimano-made) BB-1LM, which I gave to him for Christmas 1982, and have never been able to discern a difference with mag set - must be there for crossing the hump with light lures, but I can't find it.

All that changed with N42 magnets on Lew's Super Duty G. After 5 salt years when I replaced the magnets with N52, had to remove two magnets to get the magnet force on the adjustment cam.

By far, the fastest and greatest light-lure distance I have in an LP reel is ZPI Alcance with their 7-g magnesium shallow spool (Ti spindle). This reel is not for the faint of heart.

I've also fished it from 1/15-oz Ned's to 1-oz topwaters.

I appreciate the discussion and suggestions. I throw 1/4oz lures a lot, but I might jump up to a 1/2oz trap at any time.

I ain’t looking to modify a reel for super light lures, just trying to see what’s out there in a little better quality than the Daiwa CR80 and Abu Black Max I currently use.

I haven’t ever really considered the Tatula but I guess I am now.