What baitcasters do you use and why?
I'm curious as to which models & brands have held up in the saltwater best for you.
*Update: Maybe I should have been more clear because several have suggested round reels. I've been there/done that, and they do tend to hold up better than most but the weight is a HUGE factor when casting lures repeatedly.
I don't use Baitcaster reels but Service many for the inshore captains.
Most of them are Shimano. The Curado is used the most with the Chronarch being second. Then there are the Abu Garcia Revo's.
The Shimano reels seem to hold up better. These reels I'm referring too get used everyday and I've seen how they hold up. The worst thing I've seen is badly corroded ratchet gears. The ratchet under the main gear that pushes the kick lever back into gear. It's aluminum.
We used to float rube in the local kelp beds here a lot and used abu 5500c's. Did just about everything well,very easy to service and parts were easy to come by. Handled dunkings fine as long as they were rinsed after, very tough reel.
I'll agree with that. But if you take all that level wind crap outa the insides, gears & all & degrease the crap out of the bearings those little reels cast so much nicer.
I caught a couple large redfish on my diawa millionaire 300a and they pretty much ruined it. It was fun but i could barely slow them down and if not for 40 lb power pro i doubt i would have caught them. Lesson learned, lol.
I love my Curado. It casts like a bat coming out of a cave and palms fantastic. But, the edge of the flange is rotting off of the aluminum spool and the end of one of the yoke posts rotted off. I've been into it so many times that the side plate screws are getting sketchy where they dig into the composite frame. Also, the magnetic brake dial on the tail plate has always been really hard to turn and I can't figure out why.
If I could get the same distance out of the old metal Calcuttas I'd never touch the Curado.
-steve
I think I'm the only casting reel user in my area of southwest Florida. For the last decade or so I have settled on older Abu Ambassadeurs that were super tuned. No low profile baitcaster seemed to last. Revo's are junk and even the top of the line lasted just a season, less if sizable Snook or Jacks were caught on it. Daiwa's Lexa 100 was a top performer but they discontinued it in one season. I wish I had hoarded several. Shimano's were nothing but trouble for me except the Curado D. The septon grips melt at my mere touch. Water seemed to enter into Shimano's very easily from just simple reeling. Scooby-Doo's youtube video shows the new Curado K does the same thing. Daiwa's Tatula was solid but the T wing line guide was troublesome for long leader knots and proved useless for me. So the Ambassadeurs kept ticking until recently when age, cubital tunnel and arthritis made me look again at all these new age sub 7 oz. low profiles. I'm testing out the Curado K to see if I like it now. The difference in weight is substantial to me and my fishing days more comfortable and less painful. Its performance has been top notch thus far and I didn't experience the water intrusion now famous on youtube. I haven't caught any bulls on it yet though. I like that there is no longer a ball bearing behind a pin on the spool shaft needing special effort/tools to maintain.
I need to add that i use a Shimano Caicutta for trout and smaller reds and it is by far my favorite baitcaster ever. i use to fish abus exclusively 5000, and 6000 series but ever since ive held the calcutta I gave/passed down the abus to my kids.
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 20, 2018, 01:42:42 AMI caught a couple large redfish on my diawa millionaire 300a and they pretty much ruined it. It was fun but i could barely slow them down and if not for 40 lb power pro i doubt i would have caught them. Lesson learned, lol.
Isn't that reel pretty much the same as a Luna 300? I know the Luna is very robust and can't imagine it would go bad from a couple of even large reds. What parts went out? I'm guessing the roller bearing perhaps?
Quote from: 0119 on February 20, 2018, 02:49:41 PM
I think I'm the only casting reel user in my area of southwest Florida. For the last decade or so I have settled on older Abu Ambassadeurs that were super tuned. No low profile baitcaster seemed to last. Revo's are junk and even the top of the line lasted just a season, less if sizable Snook or Jacks were caught on it. Daiwa's Lexa 100 was a top performer but they discontinued it in one season. I wish I had hoarded several. Shimano's were nothing but trouble for me except the Curado D. The septon grips melt at my mere touch. Water seemed to enter into Shimano's very easily from just simple reeling. Scooby-Doo's youtube video shows the new Curado K does the same thing. Daiwa's Tatula was solid but the T wing line guide was troublesome for long leader knots and proved useless for me. So the Ambassadeurs kept ticking until recently when age, cubital tunnel and arthritis made me look again at all these new age sub 7 oz. low profiles. I'm testing out the Curado K to see if I like it now. The difference in weight is substantial to me and my fishing days more comfortable and less painful. Its performance has been top notch thus far and I didn't experience the water intrusion now famous on youtube. I haven't caught any bulls on it yet though. I like that there is no longer a ball bearing behind a pin on the spool shaft needing special effort/tools to maintain.
First off I want to thank everyone for your input!!
0119, I feel you on the arthritis I have problems like that too, at this time I'm only looking at sub 7oz low profiles. The Lexa 100 is probably a good unit to go with as my Lexa 300 is a tank (in more ways than one :-\) it has stood up to the saltwater for several seasons but is almost twice as heavy as any of the 200 size stuff out there. Makes it a chore to fish with. :(
So far my 13 fishing concept A has performed the best but because I used it all year and didn't have any others to switch up with so it's showing some signs that it may be close to retirement. I'm doing a complete breakdown on it and replacing the level wind pin & worm gear and picked up a Lew's custom pro (a sweet piece), but I plan to assemble a collection of low profiles so one reel doesn't take all the beating. So far I'm liking Lew's and I see them on the Redfish tournaments, we'll see how it holds up.
*I also see the Shimano name suggested but I have to admit I've never liked their products and having to open up a reel out on the water to change brake settings is a no-go for me. They have a legion of fans out there, I'm just not one of them. I will admit the Curado K has very smooth gears compared to most reels in that class.
Quote from: nelz on February 20, 2018, 06:18:27 PM
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 20, 2018, 01:42:42 AMI caught a couple large redfish on my diawa millionaire 300a and they pretty much ruined it. It was fun but i could barely slow them down and if not for 40 lb power pro i doubt i would have caught them. Lesson learned, lol.
Isn't that reel pretty much the same as a Luna 300? I know the Luna is very robust and can't imagine it would go bad from a couple of even large reds. What parts went out? I'm guessing the roller bearing perhaps?
@nelz, Im not sure on the Luna 300, sorry I have never heard of one. The two reds I caught were 47", and 49" and probably 45-50 lbs so the reel was definitely overmatched. The reel still works although not well and I have not replaced any parts although I suspect that the plastic main gear and or spool has warped from the heat generated during those long runs in shallow water. Twas a lot of fun though!
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 20, 2018, 11:00:43 PM@nelz, Im not sure on the Luna 300, sorry I have never heard of one. The two reds I caught were 47", and 49" and probably 45-50 lbs so the reel was definitely overmatched. The reel still works although not well and I have not replaced any parts although I suspect that the plastic main gear and or spool has warped from the heat generated during those long runs in shallow water. Twas a lot of fun though!
Must've been a blast for sure! Just want to clarify though, that reel definitely has a brass main (and pinion), the plastic gear is for the level-wind. My guess is your drag washers got fried, a simple fix.
Looked it up and yes, almost identical to the Luna 300, the Luna just got a little more bling added. A set of carbon fiber disks is all those reels need to be great. I've caught big rays and snook on the Luna 300 without a hitch.
Thanks for that Nelz, i will have to check that out for sure. I had relegated the reel to the role of a bottomfishing reel! Gonna get some smooth drag washers for it and open her up and check it out. Apologies to Rockfish for taking your thread off track!
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 21, 2018, 11:58:53 AM
Apologies to Rockfish for taking your thread off track!
NO you're good, we're still talking about baitcasters in the salt. I just can't throw lures repeatedly on a heavy reel, so that's on me, I have an Abu 5000 but it's just a baitchucker now. My friend has a Calcutta but only uses it periodically because a strong, salt resistant low profile reel is more suited for what we do. (Lot's of casting, strong fighters, 5lb-20lb range)
And by the way, the 40+ pounders you caught IMO would torch a lot baitcasters in that category.
I know you said baitcaster you also said lite weight. The accurate Valiant 300 @ under 10 oz might be worth consideration also the the Andros 5N. They both cast well hold plenty of line. Just throwing this out there... Jeff
Quote from: the rockfish ninja on February 21, 2018, 03:13:51 PM
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 21, 2018, 11:58:53 AM
Apologies to Rockfish for taking your thread off track!
NO you're good, we're still talking about baitcasters in the salt. I just can't throw lures repeatedly on a heavy reel, so that's on me, I have an Abu 5000 but it's just a baitchucker now. My friend has a Calcutta but only uses it periodically because a strong, salt resistant low profile reel is more suited for what we do. (Lot's of casting, strong fighters, 5lb-20lb range)
And by the way, the 40+ pounders you caught IMO would torch a lot baitcasters in that category.
I do a lot of inshore coastal fishing for redfish throwing lures mostly 3/16 oz jigheads with soft baits. I have an okuma krios I bought for cheap to learn on and it works alright but I'm shopping for something new right now. I don't think you can go wrong with any decent low-profile bait cast reel but they don't all have the best drag for redfish and snook that like to run hard and long. I am think of a daiwa tatula now to see if the T shaped line guide will help casting smallish lures. I rarely use my current baitcast reel when I need to cast to spooky reds because I can't get the distance with smaller lures like I can with a spinning reel.
Quote from: rippin_lips on February 22, 2018, 06:34:57 PM
Quote from: the rockfish ninja on February 21, 2018, 03:13:51 PM
Quote from: Miles Offshore on February 21, 2018, 11:58:53 AM
Apologies to Rockfish for taking your thread off track!
NO you're good, we're still talking about baitcasters in the salt. I just can't throw lures repeatedly on a heavy reel, so that's on me, I have an Abu 5000 but it's just a baitchucker now. My friend has a Calcutta but only uses it periodically because a strong, salt resistant low profile reel is more suited for what we do. (Lot's of casting, strong fighters, 5lb-20lb range)
And by the way, the 40+ pounders you caught IMO would torch a lot baitcasters in that category.
I do a lot of inshore coastal fishing for redfish throwing lures mostly 3/16 oz jigheads with soft baits. I have an okuma krios I bought for cheap to learn on and it works alright but I'm shopping for something new right now. I don't think you can go wrong with any decent low-profile bait cast reel but they don't all have the best drag for redfish and snook that like to run hard and long. I am think of a daiwa tatula now to see if the T shaped line guide will help casting smallish lures. I rarely use my current baitcast reel when I need to cast to spooky reds because I can't get the distance with smaller lures like I can with a spinning reel.
My friend just picked up a Tatula, he hasn't used it enough to get review yet. Not sure if the T-wing guide is gonna solve the 3/16oz conundrum for you, that's pretty light. Most small or lightweight baitcasters do best in the 1/2 to 2oz range of lures, at least for what we do in the Bay and coast here. I guess that's why I see a lot of Gulf coast anglers use spinners too.
If you're concerned about drag, look at the 13 fishing stuff, they tout 22lbs of drag on their Concept reels, several other brands are coming out with similar drag ratings to compete, I think the Abu Revo inshore is 20lbs. That should stop most fish.
My usual jig size is 3/8 oz. A Curado 70 XG refitted with full ceramic bearings will get 47 yards. The rod is St Croix SCIII blank rated for up to 3/8 oz. 20# Power Pro.
If a more delicate presentation is needed I will drop down to 1/4 oz. For 1/4 oz I use a St Croix 4wt fly rod blank with an original Calcutta 50, again refitted with full ceramic bearings. It will not quite reach 40 yards. The bearings cost more than the reel. Stainless bearings will cast just as well if they are not lubricated or wet.
With vintage rods and reels of various types I do not go below 3/8 oz and the criteria is to get close to 40 yards.
The yardages are measured when casting from a standing position. In practice I'm casting from a seated position with my behind just a few inches above the water level. That will take 3-4 yards off the distance.
-steve
Any idea how the Pixy Daiwa's compare to small Curado's?
Rock, how about the old lew's? like the bb-2? or the salt water model? Or maybe just get a 4500 abu.?
I have both sizes of the Lews Speed Spool Inshore. Not the same cosmetics as the current ones. Good value. No complaints except I don't like that third bearing on the spool shaft. The smaller of the two casts just a little better but only because the spool is more narrow so line gets through the levelwind eye easier.
-steve
I've been using a Lew's custom pro in the salt lately (we'll see how long it holds up) but so far it's been doing the job. Casts smooth and I've already pulled in a keeper Halibut on it, so far so good. My 13 fishing concept A casts farther but the Lew's is starting to win me over just on the quality of retrieve, very smooth.
I had a chat with one of the tech guys at Lew's and during the conversation he told me that they use the same double shielded bearings on all their reels except for the sealed bearings in their new Inshore model. Through the conversation he conveyed to me that there wasn't that much difference between an "inshore" model and the rest of the reels, as long as you avoid the magnesium models and keep them up, you should be good. I found that interesting.
That said, I'm looking at a new old stock Lew's inshore on eBay, plus a Tournament pro, I'm finding some good deals out there.
My son uses a Lews TLL1sh and 2 TLM1sh for spotted bay bass and LMB at the lakes. He likes them a lot. He uses Abu Revo Toro NaCL 50 and 60 sizes and a Beast 50 inshore too. They've all done well. He got rid of the Curado 300ej after having to have most of the guts replaced by Shimano. I use an old Curado 200 and a 300dsv and Lexa 400 and 400 HD as my saltwater baitcasters. I still have a Millionaire cvx253 and a cvz300 too. Just have to rinse everything off well after using.