Capt.Bob

Round reel would be the TE Calcutta Best. Low Profile would be the Lew's Team, first model, I may like the Team Gold better but haven't used it yet, but was so impressed with the original I had to try the new one. But if it's better I will still be keeping the older model, it is sweet.

If they don't the next favorite baitcater poll will be owned by Lew's, for a company that is only about three years old with Mr. Reeves resurrection they almost were #1 the way it is, or have some forgot. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/113499-baitcasting-reels/page-4?hl=%2Bpoll#entry1242002tg This was a post by roadwarrior before this last poll after the "G" was introduced and the latest poll taken. Quote) These "What's Best" threads always get bogged down in brand loyalty, but a big part of that is experiece with a brand over time. To put this in perspective, whenever we have a "Favorites" poll, the results are always +/- 60% Shimano vs. the field. You can argue that these polls are not scientific and usually only have a hundred votes or so vs. our 38,000 members. So, judge that as you like. (Quote If they come out with a "H" with the same improvements the "G" incorporated I will assure Lew's will run away with that poll!! No one said they were junk, but Brand Loyal or not people don't stay with a company that keeps moving backwards!

Reality sir, just trying to make sense out of some of these comments! No body would be ^^%$^&&^%% if there was no grit in my comment, sorry but I did not mean to upset you, if there is no difference in quality as some said, why not make the money, makes no sense to me, but a lot of what I read on the internet makes no sense to me! There is as I said a difference between being as good and being as good for the money! As for liking something I loved the the Curado, B, D, E, every one was a upgrade and cost about the same to slightly more, I gladly paid it, the G was slightly less, so I glady bought one, I didn't like what I got and I didn't think I was fishing a better reel, I am sorry but that tells me I am going to give up something, when it cost me less to upgrade any product from the same manufacturer, and in 58 years, when I bought new gear I never went in thinking I would like a new model so I can give up anything. I always went in knowing if I wanted a little more I needed to be ready to spend a little more, again sorry I didn't think it is as good PERIOD, I simply asked, why someone would not make money and own brand new equipment at the same time, especially when they say they reach for the cheaper priced reel most often? it usually means they prefer using it, and most people I know prefer using there best for any situation! As far as liking Shimano, I like owning the best my dollar will buy, That is why 15 reels out of 23 that I own are Shimanos. I will not be buying any more Curados, OR Symetre's Saros, either, I do know the difference. But I will anxiously wait for someone to explain this to me, again sorry, I am a little thick in my older age.

I will start by asking who will buy a brand new G if they have a chance to buy a brand new E, for the same price, that will be around $175.00, as that is as cheap as you will find an E for, Brand New in the box today?? If you won't that means you admit it the G is a better buy, not a better reel, as no one buys a worse reel for the same price they can a better reel in the same model regardless of series!! For all those that are so proud of those "FINE" Curado "G" series reels, I think if you really do grab them and love em as much as the E's you own, you should trade those worn or used Curado E's you keep comparing the G's you also own, for new G series reels!!! Then you would have brand new reels you think are as good as the used E's, which would put money in your pocket, and have brand new, which is better than used!!! plenty easy to do, there are people who would jump all over that trade!! even up with cash to boot!! BUT!!! That won't happen because inside their heart, they know their is a difference, better parts, more metal, necessary probably not, desirable yes to most, more durable yes, but like Shimano themselves, the their brain won't admit it, a little fanboy some might say, or they would sell them for more and buy brand new G's if they really thought the G was better, or the same, that would be the only thing to do that made sense. I had the G, I do service reels in my shop, I do see the inferior difference in quality. I am not saying the don't work as good, at 65mph an F150 goes down the road as good as a F250, and for 200,000 miles should be as trouble free, until you hook your Tournament bass boat to both and do the same thing. These guy's buying used E's for more than they sold for new are also in for a heart breaker, because Shimano has a huge ego and they will figure a way back on top with the Curado or phase it out. If they they come back with a reel as good or better than to the E, the price people are willing to pay for them E's today will be fall big time, so be willing to sell cheap or plan on keeping them when a better Curado comes out, and I really think that is going to happen, Shimano has been the big dog to long to get in the back seat!!!! Buy the way for all those willing to buy that G for the same price, I have as many as you want for $175.00, cause that is what you will have to pay or more if you want a brand new E in the box!!

The only braid I would never again use is Spyder wire! I have been very pleased with the Sufix 832 being very quiet, with Fireline Braid, and Power Pro, being as good on the strength, durable and manageability, I have went with the ghost, crystal, white the same color just named different by the manufacturers and then there is no color bleeding, any of them that are green brown yellow you name it have bled the colors. I would have all braid but have some reels that still have the original fireline on them and only 1 to 3 years on the usage, when they do get wore out, or it gets to limp and frayed on both ends, I will change to one of the braids. I usually got 2 years usage on a spool and then would turn it around on the reel and use the other end, I have found that even when it looks wore out and frayed, it is still stronger than the mono or Fluoro leaders I run off of it. I use up to the same weight leader material and find the braid (synthetic) to always be stronger and always have better knot strength than the line itself, why I use mono or fluoro, I control where it will break by the type knot I use in the leader, and never the knot joining the 2. They are all very good for transmitting what is going on to the other end, I have told others if you put braid on an ugly stick it is almost the same difference as switching to a cheap graphite rod and running mono on the graphite rod, buy a good quality graphite rod and put one of the braids I mentioned on it, and it is like being the telephone and being told what is going on on the other end of the line, mud sand gravel boulder wood it just tells you everything, when fish are winded I can feel them panting!!! It really does more to transmit sensitivity than anything else I have done to improve feel in the past 20 years. When you put it together with the newer rods and reels you really have the best of all worlds.

Well it came this morning, BBI with the 6.4-1 gear ratio in right hand. I didn't have any braid but did have enough 20 lbs. fireline smoke on a spare spool to fill it up and give it a try. So this afternoon I took it out and threw some jigs on my 7' MF Avid. I started with a 1/2 ounce and set it up the way I always do, no brakes turned on, with heavy tension where I have to shake the rod to get the lure to fall. After several cast I was to the common free fall with no over run when the jig hit the ground. I then went to one brake on, the the rest off, and never tried the 2 blue aggressive brakes. By doing this I had it where the tension was 2 clicks looser and the line would over run when the jig hit the ground, my normal thumb control to avoid overuns at the end of the cast. I used 1/2, 3/8, and 1/4 ounce jigs with all of them casting as good as anything I have ever used, I did this with all these weights and never changed the tension or brakes after I made my last adjustment with the 1/2 ounce jig, one break only is all I had on. I was out for about 2 hours and am again "VERY IMPRESSED" with this BB1HZ. I am glad I got the instant AR, I don't know if it would make any difference in the casting, but as far as I am concerned the Lew's line is as good as it gets for any baitcaster even close to their cost! I see no reason why anyone would have a problem with this particular reel that was used to using a baitcasting reel.

Yep Shimano and Diawa both better wake up, Shimano has already cut corners and cheapend up the Curado and now the Chronarch. They are trying to compete with these companies that outsource the whole reel, and it blew up, they want high dollar and want to sell less quality, it aint working, a year ago the Curado was probably the best selling mid priced low profile baitcaster on the market, today it is probably Lews, if not at the rate Lew's is gaining acceptance it soon will be. Now they have cheapened the Symetry and the Saros, by eliminating the Aluminum frame. But not the price??? I noticed they started this when they changed the oscolation system from the worm feed on the FH Symetre to the cam type on the FI, before that the FH and earlier models were stradics with one less bearing and composite spare spool, and different handle!! As for the Shimano bearings, when I bought my first Lews TP I bought a set of abec 7 SS bearing to upgrade it. I did this and seen no noticeable improvement. So I then took the stock bearings and put them in my Calcutta, a CT200GTB,same size bearings, that was a noticable improvement, so then I changed them around and put the stock bearings back in the Lews and the Abec 7's in the Calcutta, it was no better than the stock Lew's bearings, the point is Lew's evidently uses a better bearing than the standard "B" Calcutta comes with, and I will take a good abec 5 SS bearing anyday over an ARB, these things may be better for someone who never cleans or lubes there gear or better in salt water, but they aren't as efficient as a good SS bearing. I could go on and on but the point should be clear, every real brand is doing all they can to save pennies to compete in a dog eat dog market, and in the past few years the guy's on hear like DVC, Francho .RM. and others I am sure have noticed this more and more lately when servicing newer models, I have. Most have went to a main manufacturer who can buy cheaper as they build several brands and deal in much bigger volume, so Shimano and Diawa will continue to cut as many corners as they can to keep there cost where they can compete, unfortunately we are not seeing the upgrades in materials and durability we used to with there new models. This is also leveling the playing field and others are bringing better models to the table to compete with them at more reasonable prices. Instead of an upgraded Sahara, Symetre, Saros, Curado, Chronarch, we will probably continue to see less quality without paying less???? Time will tell, I hope they don't start doing this with there top tier products????? The one last thing that is obvious is they all package them on there own. I just got my new BB1 from Lew's today and discovered something VERY IMPORTANT "to me", when I read the manual and smart brake notice it came with, I could only find the English version!!! I then looked at the writing on the box!!! WOW the only thing that was not printed in English "ONLY", was the warning on the bottom of the box about the use of lead in the product, (obviously because our government legal system requires it to free them from liability). I for one get so peaved at looking thru manuals and turning packages to find the standard language of the country I live in and buy from, that I am pleased to see this and hope that Lew's continues this practice, after all if you buy it here to use here, and can't read English, how do know the laws, the rules, heck how do you expect to communicate in America, where it is our native language!! THANKS LEW'S!!!

I own one 7.1 and mostly 6.2 and 6.4 reels, I won't be buying more 7.1's. I like the reel and it works for most stuff -MOST- I don't care for it for cranking, not even shallow or traps, I prefer the 6.4 for that, and would use a 5.1 if I had it, I use the 6.4 for everything and even though the 5.1 works better for cranking and especially deep cranking, I don't do enough to warrant just one reel as the 6.4 does work for everything as others have said, look at it like this, if you could only own one reel for everything - mine would be a 6.4, you will have no trouble regardless of what you are going to use it for!

Famous last words,,,,,TRUST ME,,,,,,,,reminds me of my dating years seriously though, we will remember you said that!!

I have been happy with every Lew's baitcaster I have bought, Dual breaking Tournament, Team Team Gold, Tourney Pro, and was thinking about a Super Duty, but with all the confusion in this thread and some saying this new 6 pin breaking system is good?? bad?? can't be set and forgot?? Heck with it, I pulled the pin on one to find out for myself. I found it hard to believe that they would put out on the market a remake of the reel that made them famous, that was built by others, and let the new model display their inability to improve it. I did not go with the antique AR as I agree with Francho, it was one of the best innovations to me in a spinning reel and even more so in a baitcaster. So I wanted a completely upgraded BB1 and sprung for the 6.4 gear ratio. My TP is a 7.1 and I like it, but feel the 6.4 is the best all round gear ratio for everything. If I was using it only for the deepest diving crank's "only" I would think about a dedicated 5.4, but I am getting lazy in my later developing physical format,,,, and more and more find I prefer slower and less fatiguing tactics than crankin for long periods of time. When it comes I will let everyone know what I think of the reel and it's braking system and casting consistency!! GO BUCKEYES!!!!

What is the difference in the rod over the white BB sold separately???

You will be very happy with the rod you chose!! When you upgrade later a year two whatever it will still be worthy of a better reel and maybe think about 6 lbs test if the cover your fishing in will allow it, just my preference with the ML rods, I am sure you have a seriously affective rig, great line and rod!

I did one reel with ceramics a couple years ago, saw very little difference but I have seen a big difference in every reel I ever serviced by stripping the seals and degreasing them and lubing with proper oil for the enviornment they are used in. I have had more than one customer think I tuned their reel just by servicing it the first time. If I have a reel that needs new bearings (usually because of neglect or contamination) I use abec 5 SS and have never had an unhappy customer, quite the contrary.

had my order in the 3rd still waiting, but sounds like I should be happy with it when it comes.

Like J Francho said, the only place I have found to get it is the manufacture, there is a link to it's uses and a link at the end to buy. http://www.tsi301.com/tsi321main.htm

another vote for the snip, this will be my second year on them and still happy!

If the rod is as good as the Burgundy blank rods even as far back as 15 years ago, the rod itself is a steel at that price, The Extreme and Bionic have been great rods and way under priced since their introduction.

The St. Croix Avid would be a great rod as mentioned earlier!! The 6'8"MXF as is 6'9"MLXF they are both great choice fabulous rod's for what you are wanting, and to close to your budget price to settle for less????

The Tournament SS has one less bearing along with the differences mentioned, but you won't notice it, it is every bit as smooth as the TP, and real close to the Team, The weight difference is as stated, a plus on the rite rod!!

There are a lot who tape and spool, I never do. I don't like the fact that if you want to remove the tape you have a sticky mess to clean off that requires smelly solvents, I always use mono, 5 or six wraps then braid if I have enough, this way next year or when I have worn the braid enough it is limper than I like I can turn the braid around and have fresh line for my next year maybe 2, I some times get 3 or 4 years life out of one spool up by doing this it just depends on use, If I have enough line for the purpose but not enough for a full spool, then I use mono backing to make up a full spool. The choice is just a matter of preference, like snook said, performance wise both work the same on the business end!

That usually works, but on this trip when that failed I decided he!! just cut er off and push her through??? that don't always work either, I don't know if the line didn't work this time because it was burried past the bend or so small and felt like it was caught on the barb past a tendon or nerve or ,,,,,,,, but when I finally got it cut and tried pushing it out, I ran out of hook, mid 90 temps saved the day, we had a cooler in the canoe with plenty of beer, once we got back to the truck a couple mile away, we only had an hour and a half drive back home by then the thing really wasn't bothering me anymore,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,like I said those little ******* are a B****

The BPS Extreme is a much better rod than the Berkley lightning rod, and in any configuration the Lightning Rod is not as good as the St Croix Premier, the Extreme's that I own are why, for the money this is what I would buy. I would save my money if I couldn't buy the Extreme or better, but my original statement stands as it being the best choice in your price range, JMO. And I have owned the lightning rods, they were not kept in favor of the Extremes.

This is pretty sound advise in my opinion. The BPS Extreme is a great rod for the money, you would have to spend more than twice that to buy the same quality in a name brand rod. I am a St Croix addict but I think the Extreme is a better rod than the Premier and close to the Avid. If you get the 6'8" MLF you will have a quality rod with good sensitivity and rugged durability, finished with quality hardware!

I fish a lot in rivers and smaller creeks, I will use a small Rebel wee teeny craw in chartreuse or brown craw, or my favorite bait from Lake Erie - a watermelonseed or pumpkinseed tube. the smaller creeks where the fish are usually 6-12 inches and many species available the wee teeny craw is killer, but them little #10 trebles are very unforgiving, it can be a real ***** when your an hour or more from the truck and that little sucker is buried in your thumb!!!

I agree with your assessment of the not as under rated, I had mine out again playing and it does seem to have a softer tip than any of my other XF Coix's but still definitely XF! for me that is a good thing as I want it for light to weightless soft baits 1/4 oz to weightless tubes and the likes, with quite a bit in 12 to 30 feet of water I am very impressed with it so far, now if I could just get them Smallies fired up!! The eyes are absolutely quiet.