I Need Help Picking A Baitcasting Reel For $200 Or Under

[okbassguy]

Whats the best baitcaster on the market for $200 I have $200 to spend and need help theres so many good reels its overwhelming

[smallies24/7]

Lews Tournament Pro! Just got one yesterday, blows away my $200 Abus and Daiwas

[rippin-lips]

Any of the top companies will have good choices at that price point. You just have to decide what features you are looking for in a reel and find one that feels the best to you. Daiwa Tatula Shimano curado i Lews tournanent pro

[bootytrain]

Curado I, it can do it all.

[BasshunterJGH]

Any of the top companies will have good choices at that price point. You just have to decide what features you are looking for in a reel and find one that feels the best to you. Daiwa Tatula Shimano curado i Lews tournanent pro

X2. Exactly. Curado I, tatula, tp are all great reels can't go wrong with either of them. Tatula gets my vote though for features @ best price. $100 @ amazon you just can't beat that.

[F14A-B]

Curado I, Jdm Scorp, Lots of love for Tatulas & Lews, I believe you should study braking systems and see what appeals to you & handle as many as possible before you decide, ideally if you have a diverse dealership around, you could possibly even mount these reels helping you to further isolate your choice.

[*Hank]

I personally really like the diawa tatula type R. You can get one of amazon for $150 with tax and shipping.

[Hogsticker]

Any 50/51 size Shimano gets my vote. Just choose if you like red, white, or green. Simple to use, versatile, comfortable, and will last.

[John G]

Any 50/51 size Shimano gets my vote. Just choose if you like red, white, or green. Simple to use, versatile, comfortable, and will last.

X2

[Jaderose]

Curado I, Jdm Scorp, Lots of love for Tatulas & Lews, I believe you should study braking systems and see what appeals to you & handle as many as possible before you decide, ideally if you have a diverse dealership around, you could possibly even mount these reels helping you to further isolate your choice.

This!!  At that price point, find the one you like and feels best to you and buy it.  You would be hard pressed to find a bad one.  I personally use PQ's from Bass Pro (which are a lot cheaper than what you are looking at) and love them BUT I'm not going to recommend them because they may not be what you want.  

[illinifan4152]

Shimano Curado I or Chronarch 200E

[HoosierHawgs]

Depends on what you need it for. Are you looking for all around, or for a specific purpose?

[Catch and Grease]

The Diawa Tatula is a very good real at a very good price...

[new2BC4bass]

Have a Lews Tournament Pro, but haven't used it much as a grandson grabbed it, but I like it the little I have used it.  The Tatula Type R is a black beauty.  Got mine from Upland Gifts for just under $131 shipped.  Used for about 10 minutes, so I can't really comment on its abilities.  The Curado 50/51E is a pleasure to use.  If you can use a LH reel, TW still has a couple of the T3 1016 reels for less than $200.  Really like mine so far.  Only reel I have ever been able to cast with all brakes off and not get a professional backlash.  My Chronarchs are older ones, but also very nice reels to use.

 

Have to agree that you need to decide what type of braking you prefer.  Handle a few to see which one(s) feel the best in hand.  Tough to get a bad reel at that price.

[AK-Jax86]

Drop an extra $20 an grab you a Quantum Smoke Inshore (its built for salt water and freshwater my favorite reel out of all the ones I own). But if that extra $20 is breaking the bank then go with the regular Quantum Smoke.

Don't listen to the Quantum haters they exist lol

[OntarioFishingGuy]

Any 50/51 size Shimano gets my vote. Just choose if you like red, white, or green. Simple to use, versatile, comfortable, and will last.

X3

[Inflatable Raft Bum]

I'm a simpleton i suppose. I see no need to spend over $75 on any bait-casting reel for bass fishing.

I had to slash my bass fishing budget years back (2008 ) and i didn't catch any fewer fish, i just spent less money. (Leaves money for a nice sit down meal on the drive home)

[gulfcaptain]

You will find a lot of people will suggest Shimano, Diawa, Lews, Quantum, ABU...etc....I'll throw in Fishing 13 just becaue they impressed me and now have 2 of theirs as well as some Quantums, Diawas, and a Shimano.  Bottom line, look to see what you want.  I use a lot of BPS Carbonlite's simply because they are nicely made, work well, and are light, not to mention priced well.  Hit up a few stores, BPS, Gander Moutain, Acadamey, Cabelas, Dicks, etc and pick up the reels, hold them, put them on a rod in the store if you can so you can see how they feel.  Asking that question you're going to get a lot of different answers.  You are the one that's going to be fishing it, so you need to find what works best for you and any reel honestly between $130-200 is going to be a quality reel.  You just need to decide which fits best for you. Also can fnd plenty of nice reels in the $80-120 range that are also quality, but most will come in with a weight of about 7.5oz on the lighter side and avg around 8.2oz compared to the upper range of what you're looking for that avg between 6.5oz to 7.5oz.

[bass raider]

as said in earlier posts you really cant go wrong in this price range.if you like magnetic brakes go for a daiwa tatula or type R tatula or a lews tournament pro MG.i believe the lews TP is hands down the smoothest reel I've ever used.if you like centrifugal brakes go for a shimano curado I or the chronarch E...a.k.a. white curado E.

[WIGuide]

If you're looking for a reel $200 and under you're going to have a lot of great choices. I'd check out any of the Abu Revo's or some of the Bass Pro reels. I've had great luck with them. 

[Glenn]

Check out Pinnacle reels - honestly.  Not because they're a sponsor, seriously.  But those on the forum that know me, know that I don't BS and hold back anything.  I own a fleet of Revo's, and have been using Abu since I was a teenager.  But the new line of Pinnacle reels seriously blew me away.  I mean, after using several different models - including the 89.99 model - I'm seriously questioning why I spent close to $500 on top-of-the-line Revos, when these reels perform just as well.

 

I know Pinnacle isn't a brand that comes to mind in these conversations, but whenever I take someone fishing, I just hand them a Pinnacle rod and reel combo, and they're seriously surprised.  My longtime friend Larry (some of you met him at the Kentucky roadtrip), buys only BPS reels due to price, freaked when I told him the Producer was only 89.99 after I let him try it out.  He thought it was 3x that amount!

 

So try it out.  You might...no wait...WILL be surprised!

[iceintheveins]

Shimano Curado I or Chronarch 200E

 

X2

[new2BC4bass]

Check out Pinnacle reels - honestly.  Not because they're a sponsor, seriously.  But those on the forum that know me, know that I don't BS and hold back anything.  I own a fleet of Revo's, and have been using Abu since I was a teenager.  But the new line of Pinnacle reels seriously blew me away.  I mean, after using several different models - including the 89.99 model - I'm seriously questioning why I spent close to $500 on top-of-the-line Revos, when these reels perform just as well.

 

I know Pinnacle isn't a brand that comes to mind in these conversations, but whenever I take someone fishing, I just hand them a Pinnacle rod and reel combo, and they're seriously surprised.  My longtime friend Larry (some of you met him at the Kentucky roadtrip), buys only BPS reels due to price, freaked when I told him the Producer was only 89.99 after I let him try it out.  He thought it was 3x that amount!

 

So try it out.  You might...no wait...WILL be surprised!

 

Too bad Pinnacle gets so little exposure.  Every review/article I have read on Pinnacle has been very favorable.  I must admit that when I am looking for another reel Pinnacle doesn't come to mind......literally.   If Pinnacle did, I'd probably have one by now.  I will try to keep Pinnacle in mind for the next time.  Thanks for the reminder.  Does Pinnacle put their rods and reels on sale during Black Friday?

[ColdSVT]

Curado i

chronarch 200e

Lews Tourny pro

Lews BB1 pro

13 ***

All are awesome!!

[new2BC4bass]

I'm a simpleton i suppose. I see no need to spend over $75 on any bait-casting reel for bass fishing.

I had to slash my bass fishing budget years back (2008 ) and i didn't catch any fewer fish, i just spent less money. (Leaves money for a nice sit down meal on the drive home)

 

Simpleton, no.  Frugal, yes.  I took a 25% cut that year.  Got 12% back, but have lost my part-time job since then, so probably back to making 25% less than in 2007.  Have spent more than I should on fishing.  I would be better off taking your route.