Good Baitcaster For The Price

[dave]

H2o xpress ethos rod 59.99 and h2o mettle reel 49.99 from academy and you will not be disappointed.

I will continue to recommend the H2O Mettle.  It is an incredible reel for $50.

[dave]

I love my Academy H2O Mettle. I can cast a hollow body frog about as far with it as my Team Lews or Supertuned Curado E. In fact, I can outcast my PQ by about ten feet using heavier line. The mettle is a solid simple reel that works flawless with braid, but can be a little difficult using smaller diameter lines. 

Amen

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I'm liking my revos And my max's have had no problems.. but will deff venture off to other reels when I get own boat and I'm not bank fishing..

[Capt.Bob]

I totally agree with the comment DVC made on the rod being more important! You said you already had a less expensive reel you were happy with. That being said and wanting to upgrade I would not spend less than $100.00 on up for an excellent reel. If you buy cheaper you probably would be looking to upgrade much sooner than you think, and find you really weren't getting the bang for your buck. The Lew's reels, Like the BB1 or the Tournament, are both available at a price far less than their quality suggests. The BB1 @ around $110.00, I would put against any new reel available for $200.00 or more up to and including the Chronarch, and I find the 6 pin centrifugal braking system on the BB1 to be a better than other 6 pin systems, and much more effective and adjustable than others. If dual braking is your cup of tea, I assure you that you won't find a better bargain than the Tournament for $100.00 to $105.00 and it is readily available at that price, and has excellent dual breaking,  both have a one piece Aluminum frame, something you will have trouble finding on the reels at around $80.00 and less. 

 

When you get ready to equip it with a rod, for $120.00 a used St. Croix Avid would be my goal, or could go with an excellent Premier for around $100.00 new. but for a rod I would wait till I could spend that or I think the reel will be of lesser usefulness. If you put together an outfit with these items in any combination, I feel you would be hard pressed to duplicate the quality and durability with any other combination at these prices, plus you will have an outfit that will give top performance for years to come!!

 

There are others that are good but these are the best I have found at these prices. I also am no fanboy and not a fan of the Curado G, but would disregard anyone telling you it was junk! Maybe not an E but still a quality reel, as with anything there are always better, but not the PQ.

[livetofish28]

I totally agree with the comment DVC made on the rod being more important! You said you already had a less expensive reel you were happy with. That being said and wanting to upgrade I would not spend less than $100.00 on up for an excellent reel. If you buy cheaper you probably would be looking to upgrade much sooner than you think, and find you really weren't getting the bang for your buck. The Lew's reels, Like the BB1 or the Tournament, are both available at a price far less than their quality suggests. The BB1 @ around $110.00, I would put against any new reel available for $200.00 or more up to and including the Chronarch, and I find the 6 pin centrifugal braking system on the BB1 to be a better than other 6 pin systems, and much more effective and adjustable than others. If dual braking is your cup of tea, I assure you that you won't find a better bargain than the Tournament for $100.00 to $105.00 and it is readily available at that price, and has excellent dual breaking, both have a one piece Aluminum frame, something you will have trouble finding on the reels at around $80.00 and less.

When you get ready to equip it with a rod, for $120.00 a used St. Croix Avid would be my goal, or could go with an excellent Premier for around $100.00 new. but for a rod I would wait till I could spend that or I think the reel will be of lesser usefulness. If you put together an outfit with these items in any combination, I feel you would be hard pressed to duplicate the quality and durability with any other combination at these prices, plus you will have an outfit that will give top performance for years to come!!

There are others that are good but these are the best I have found at these prices. I also am no fanboy and not a fan of the Curado G, but would disregard anyone telling you it was junk! Maybe not an E but still a quality reel, as with anything there are always better, but not the PQ.

X2 The mojo bass is also an excellent rod. if your lucky and you check the bargain room on the st croix website often you may be able to get an LTB really cheap I got one for 110 my friend has a Abu Garcia black max on a Abu vendetta and still catches fish, just remember the fish don't know what rod and reel your using.

[.RM.]

You are entitled to your opinion, but your statemrnt is pretty harsh. The majority of fishermen, especially

on this website, would choose Shimano over the PQ by a large margin. I have 19 combinations. One is

saddled with an Abu Garcia STX and another with a Pinnacle Optimus, the other 17 are Shimano.

X2   

[SissySticks]

You're talking my language in this budget combo business. Since you've gotten quite a few suggestions of reels in the $120 range, I'll suggest a whole combo. For the money, I don't think you can beat the Academy Ethos rods. I'm partial to micros for use with fluorocarbon, so I'd get an Ethos Micro 6'10" MHXF and either a H2O metal reel or a used Bantam curado/citica (the old ones) on ebay. I would have to go the shimano ebay route because Academy doesn't see fit to make their baitcasting reels in LH versions.

 

That combo will put you right in your wheel house and will be a great rod for everything from worms/light jigs to spinnerbaits/soft swimbaits to weightless senkos, depending on what line you put on it.

 

Don't believe the hype that you need expensive tackle to catch lots of bass. I have exactly one combo that cost more than $150, and while its nice, I will never again spend more than $150 on a combo, and I catch more than my fair share of bass. IMHO, the line you put on your combo has more to do with sensitivity than the rod or the reel, once you get into a certain range of what I would call medium-to-high end tackle (anything over $50-60 for rod or reel)

[Eddie-NoVA]

BPS pro qualifier or LEWS Speed Spool has done well for me.  Great products under $100.

[stkbassn]

Revo S, last years model (the silver one) on Ebay...$99...retailed for $129. Awesome little reel. New, in box...just got one a few weeks back. This will be the third one I've owned and I love em'. I am really a Shimano guy but I have a soft spot for this particular reel. It's pretty sweet!

[coots]

A rod to look at that is getting decent reviews for their price range. 

 

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Bionic-Blade-XPS-Micro-Guide-Trigger-Rods/product/1209290947195/

[coots]

Just saying that would leave you $60 to try and hit the Flea Market here to snag you some reel someone is getting rid of. I picked up a Bass Pro Shop Johnny Morris Signature Series for $80.00 to my door.

 

So if you hang around and be patient... you never know.. someone may put a BPS PQ on there for sale pretty cheap. 

[OK Bass Hunter]

Save up and spend the 120 on the reel, then get a rod. It's better to scrounge up the cash and buy one quality combo at a time. You won't have to upgrade them in the future.

[sarcazmo]

So apparently the Academy h20 reels are the same as the daiwa lexa and can be had for outstanding price right now.  Just bought two.  I also LOVE my PQ and recently really began digging my lews bb1.  The knobs on the lews are the most comfortable I've used yet.

[*Hootie]

The knobs on the lews are the most comfortable I've used yet.

I agree, but a lot of guys don't like them at all.

Hootie

[TNBassin']

A PQ over a Curado? Lol.

[sarcazmo]

A PQ over a Curado? Lol.

Why not?  Will the curado outfish the PQ?  Doubtful.  

 

I'd rather spend more on rods than reels personally.  My PQ catches just as many fish as my steez.  Casts well too!

 

Fishing is no different than anythign else.  Brand loyalty is an awesome thing but sometimes people let it cloud their judgement or allow it to persuade them into trying to convince others of unreal expectations.  Just because something doesnt cost as much as another similar product doesnt mean its a far inferior product.  I honestly never listen to people who only use or advertise one particular brand of product.