With which reel would you treat yourself?

[freelancer27]

Hi all,

I got a little bonus from work that I want to use for something 'ridiculous'. What I mean with this is an amazing baitcast reel.


My arsenal of reels contains at this point:

* Lews Inshore 2

* Lews Team Lew's Custom Pro Speed Spool

* Daiwa Coastal

* Shimano Curado 200 I Casting Reel

* Bass Pro Extreme Baitcast reel


I am looking for something in the Daiwa Steez, Shimano Metanium kind of region.

Those reels would ususally be totally out of my price range. But I am thinking, why not do something 'ridiculous' ?!

So a couple of questions for people who have experience with that kind of reel.

1. Is it a difference to the kind of reels that I have in terms of castability?
2. How is the long term quality of those reels? My Inshore for example already starts to wiggle a bit.  I would like to keep that reel for 10 years at least.
3. Is it worth to spend that kind of money?
4. Would you buy it again?
5. What reels fall into that category that you would recommend?
6. Where to buy the reel? I was planning to buy via TW, but if there is a place where it is cheaper and still safe, I would be interested!

Hope my questions make sense.

Thank you for your help!
 

[WPCfishing]

All my 11 reels are Lews... I'm no help to you unless you think you could be happy with a Mag Lite. 

[Yudo1]

1.  Higher end reels have a more refined feel to them.  They retrieve smoothly and cast with less effort.  They may cast further in some instances.

2.  They are built with tighter tolerance so they should last longer.  I have some high end reels that are 12 years old and still as smooth as new.

3.  For me they are worth it.

4.  Yes, I'm addicted to nice reels.

5.  Any high end daiwa or shimano.  met mgl, met 13, met dc, steez, conquest sv 103 etc.

6.  The tackle trap or japan lure shop for jdm.

[bassbassontherange]

Dangerous territory you're about to tread. 

"Worth it" is such a relative and objective question, it's going to be different for different people. For me, I spent years slowly upgrading before I reached a point when I could first afford to buy my first high end reel. After that, all bets were off... I just found ways to buy sweet gear. If you're an enthusiast like me, and enjoy the gear as much as the fishing, a top end reel is absolutely worth it. I love fishing my Mets, Aldebarans, supertuned Chronarchs, Steezes, and more exotic reels like Exsence DC's and Conquests. I still use Curados, Citicas, Pro G's, Tatulas, and such... but they're more the reels I take out when I know conditions are going to be nasty or if I'm wading or something.

I'm not a super competitive fisherman (other than just with my buddies), so I'm more interested in fun than value or function. To me, I just enjoy fishing higher end reels more. I'm on the water for relaxation and fun. My top end stuff is just... fun. That's why I buy it. That being said... will I catch more fish because of them? I'd say hardly ever, if at all. I can cast a tad bit farther with my MGL than I can my Citica E's, but hey... I could put the boat a little closer in almost every case. 

To your question of whether or not they're more durable, I'd say no, not really. I take really good care of my stuff, and buy almost all Shimano and Daiwa with some 1,.3 Fishing. and Lew's sprinkled in here and there. I wouldn't say my 3 year old Metaniums have worn any better or worse than my 10 year old Curados, but the Mets are tighter and smoother... and they always were. If you take care of Shimano and Daiwa reels, they just last.

Would I buy again? Yep. Good reels from reliable manufacturers hold their value if you take care of them. They're an investment like good Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee tools ect... I can turn around and sell my Chronarch D7's for what I paid for them ten years ago. The same can be said of almost all of those older Shimano and Daiwa reels.

Okay, so after all that... my recommendation. 

1. Don't do it unless you're prepared to buy more down the road. You'll want to.

2. Go Shimano or Daiwa.

3. If you're looking for a great all purpose, I think there's a ton of value in something like a used '13 Met. You can find one for under $275 for sure, and they're pretty much the perfect reel in my opinion. I like the MGL a tiny bit better, but it's also going to cost you $50-$100 more. Other options would be an Aldabaran or Steez, just depending on what you're throwing with it.

Congrats on the bonus and have fun!

 

[Big Bait Fishing]

if i were you , i'd spend that money on a custom rod instead !!! reels are great , but i'd think you'd benefit from a rod built with a great blank and components , built exactly how you want it ....

[roadwarrior]

http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/products/fishing-reels/baitcast/aldebaran.html

 

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

You are out of my stratosphere with those reels.  Glad you can treat yourself to one.  Think it is safe to say you won't regret it.  I am partial to Daiwas, but in this case I think I would go with a Metanium.  However like bassontherange said, you might wind up wishing you hadn't gotten into the high end.  Once you spend more it becomes easy to spend that much again.  It can become addictive.

[Goose52]

11 hours ago, bassbassontherange said:

Dangerous territory you're about to tread. 

"Worth it" is such a relative and objective question, it's going to be different for different people. For me, I spent years slowly upgrading before I reached a point when I could first afford to buy my first high end reel. After that, all bets were off... I just found ways to buy sweet gear. If you're an enthusiast like me, and enjoy the gear as much as the fishing, a top end reel is absolutely worth it. I love fishing my Mets, Aldebarans, supertuned Chronarchs, Steezes, and more exotic reels like Exsence DC's and Conquests. I still use Curados, Citicas, Pro G's, Tatulas, and such... but they're more the reels I take out when I know conditions are going to be nasty or if I'm wading or something.

I'm not a super competitive fisherman (other than just with my buddies), so I'm more interested in fun than value or function. To me, I just enjoy fishing higher end reels more. I'm on the water for relaxation and fun. My top end stuff is just... fun. That's why I buy it. That being said... will I catch more fish because of them? I'd say hardly ever, if at all. I can cast a tad bit farther with my MGL than I can my Citica E's, but hey... I could put the boat a little closer in almost every case. 

To your question of whether or not they're more durable, I'd say no, not really. I take really good care of my stuff, and buy almost all Shimano and Daiwa with some 1,.3 Fishing. and Lew's sprinkled in here and there. I wouldn't say my 3 year old Metaniums have worn any better or worse than my 10 year old Curados, but the Mets are tighter and smoother... and they always were. If you take care of Shimano and Daiwa reels, they just last.

Would I buy again? Yep. Good reels from reliable manufacturers hold their value if you take care of them. They're an investment like good Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee tools ect... I can turn around and sell my Chronarch D7's for what I paid for them ten years ago. The same can be said of almost all of those older Shimano and Daiwa reels.

Okay, so after all that... my recommendation. 

1. Don't do it unless you're prepared to buy more down the road. You'll want to.

2. Go Shimano or Daiwa.

3. If you're looking for a great all purpose, I think there's a ton of value in something like a used '13 Met. You can find one for under $275 for sure, and they're pretty much the perfect reel in my opinion. I like the MGL a tiny bit better, but it's also going to cost you $50-$100 more. Other options would be an Aldebaran or Steez, just depending on what you're throwing with it.

Congrats on the bonus and have fun!

 

A great post !  Nicely summarized and it speaks for many of us...

[Jaderose]

I really want one of these.

 

http://japantackle.com/daiwa-morethan-pesv-2014.html

 

[DubyaDee]

I was in a similar position last year and I picked up a Shimano Calcutta Conquest 101.

The Conquest is extremely smooth. I love it for slow rolling a spinnerbait or swimbait. It's tough to put it down once you pick it up. I'll have the conquest for the rest of my life.

[Hulkster]

i'd get a Calcutta conquest too. that thing is a work of art

[buzzed bait]

just be really "ridiculous" and go all in..... on a calcutta conquest dc or antares dc!!

[freelancer27]

19 minutes ago, DubyaDee said:

I was in a similar position last year and I picked up a Shimano Calcutta Conquest 101.

The Conquest is extremely smooth. I love it for slow rolling a spinnerbait or swimbait. It's tough to put it down once you pick it up. I'll have the conquest for the rest of my life.

I like the idea!

I am using the Lew's Inshore 2 for my big baits right now and I am feeling that it is a bit underpowered and has just enough line capacity for 25pound Fluro.

Since I am planning to use the reel for inshore saltwater fishing as well, that might be a candidate and the Inshore 2 I would use on my cranking stick.

I would be looking at the 400-modell.  580 USD on TW... Wow!
Interesting!

 

[Dypsis]

13 hours ago, bassbassontherange said:

Dangerous territory you're about to tread. 

• Agreed 1000%  It starts with one NRX, or one MB rod, or one Metanium.......

I'm on the water for relaxation and fun. My top end stuff is just... fun. That's why I buy it. That being said... will I catch more fish because of them? I'd say hardly ever, if at all. I can cast a tad bit farther with my MGL than I can my Citica E's, but hey... I could put the boat a little closer in almost every case. 

• Again, couldn't have said it better myself.

1. Don't do it unless you're prepared to buy more down the road. You'll want to.

2. Go Shimano or Daiwa.

• Yet again, sound advice.  IMO although I haven't tried Lews or a few others.  

 

Great post.

[fishballer06]

Treat yourself to a Metanium. But be warned, once you use one, you'll be wanting to replace all your reels with one. 

[shawnmc]

Daiwa fan here. I'd go with a Steez.

[5fishlimit]

If you are really looking to "treat yo self" then I would check out the Megabass reels.

[fishwizzard]

Having just dipped my toe into finesse casting, I would go for a used higher-end finesse reel, then send it out for a supertune.   If you are looking for "ridiculous" then just think of the looks you will get throwing 1/16oz spinner at trout or perch with a casting rig.

Of course, you will then need an UL rod, but 2-piece JDM ones are pretty reasonable on ebay.  

 

[DogBone_384]

I bought a Diawa PXY68 a couple years ago and love it. It's on a certain 6'10" ML casting rod and tosses 1/8 oz Rapalas and spinners quite nicely.

[fishwizzard]

That's the reel I have, but on a Recon 2 L.  It is absurd how much fun that combo is.  

[freelancer27]

I think I will need to use the demo program from TW to get clarity on this overall question: "How much better is a 400 USD reel than a 250 USD one?"

 

[hawgenvy]

How about one of those Shimano DC ("digital control") models? I think they're available only in Japan.  They control spool speed with a computer chip, preventing backlashes.  And they supposedly allow much faster spool RPM for greater casting distance than reels without DC. They are very expensive. I don't have one, so I have no personal experience. But the DC reels sound intriguing. If you want to treat yourself to the world's best baitcaster, you'll want to investigate the Shimano DC models.

[freelancer27]

3 minutes ago, hawgenvy said:

How about one of those Shimano DC ("digital control") models? I think they're available only in Japan.  They control spool speed with a computer chip, preventing backlashes.  And they supposedly allow much faster spool RPM for greater casting distance than reels without DC. They are very expensive. I don't have one, so I have no personal experience. But the DC reels sound intriguing. If you want to treat yourself to the world's best baitcaster, you'll want to investigate the Shimano DC models.

I think you are referring to the Shimano Antares?!

[rippin-lips]

It's only money so buy yourself a high end reel and enjoy it. Just remember that there's Daiwa and Shimano... then everything else. 

[MBB Nate]

I think I've decided my next rod/reel is going to be a Daiwa Alphas SV paired with a Daiwa Tatula rod.  Got to feel a tatula rod today and fell in love.

 

I am however very curious about the DC shimano reels.