What's the lightest casting reel I can find for $100?

[Skeeloco]

Trying to find a casting reel to be used exclusively for jerking, an old wrist injury prevents me from using too heavy of a setup especially if throwing jerks for an extended period. It'd be great to drop $250 on a nice light 4.9oz reel but right now $100 is all I can afford. Currently set on a AB Revo SX which is 6.7oz, but I'm willing to bet there's other reels out there closer to 6oz or less for my budget. Also shooting for at least 7.x gear ratio. Be nice if websites let you sort searches by reel weight, but that'd just make it too easy .

[Robert Riley]

I'd save up a bit more cash and grab either a Lew's Lite G, or a Flooger Supreme XT, they're both pretty light. 

[Damn Yankee]

Bps has the original JMcarbonlite for 80 bucks online.

[cottny27]

1 hour ago, d**n Yankee said:

Bps has the original JMcarbonlite for 80 bucks online.

This one is my pick. 5.8oz

[A-Jay]

You do know that you can always use spinning gear to fish jerkbaits.

Most any 6'10" to  7' medium spinning rod works well. 

Fast or x-fast seems about right.

Sure would give that wrist a break as well.

A-Jay

 

[Jeff H]

3 minutes ago, cottny27 said:

This one is my pick. 5.8oz

Yep, probably can't do any better than that JMCarbonlite.  The Pinnacle Producer LTE would be close, same weight but no 7:1 gearing (6.2:1) and costs $10 more.  Quality is likely a wash.

[Boogey Man]

Slightly over $100, but you can usually find a Lews Tournament MB on the auction site NIB for around $108. Awesome little reel. 

[new2BC4bass]

25 minutes ago, Boogey Man said:

Slightly over $100, but you can usually find a Lews Tournament MB on the auction site NIB for around $108. Awesome little reel. 

 

I agree.  Like my 7.5:1 ratio, but weighs 6.7 oz.

 

EDIT:  I can't think of any reel 6 oz. or less for $100.  Had to look up the 2 reels mentioned.  The older Pixy reels (5.8 oz.) can be found around $140-$150, but you would also have to pay to get the 7.2:1 gear set.  I did that...and more...for my Airy Red because I always wanted one.  I wouldn't suggest going that route for you unless you really would like to have a Pixy.  At that price ($180) you could have a new Lew's Tournament Lite G Speed Spool ACB (man, what a long name  ) with a 7.5:1 ratio and 5.7 oz. weight.

 

 

[Boogey Man]

Just now, new2BC4bass said:

 

I agree.  Like my 7.5:1 ratio, but weighs 6.7 oz.

Missed that part in the original post?

[Chance_Taker4]

I'm going to suggest a couple reels most if not everyone dismiss but I find myself using more and more all the time. Ardent Apex Tournament ($99) and Apex Ranger ($80) both weigh in at 6.3oz I have switched all my main reels to the Apex series for the 2017 season. I think the fly under the radar and very underrated. 

[Skeeloco]

On 3/19/2017 at 6:55 PM, A-Jay said:

You do know that you can always use spinning gear to fish jerkbaits.

Most any 6'10" to  7' medium spinning rod works well. 

Fast or x-fast seems about right.

Sure would give that wrist a break as well.

A-Jay

 

 

Get a lot of wrist pain jerking with my 6'6" St Croix and Mitchell 308 spinning setup. Seems to me casting setup requires a lot less effort, especially when I can get in the habit of snapping the rod downward instead of to the side.

 

 

 

On 3/19/2017 at 10:15 PM, Ohio Bassin said:

I'm going to suggest a couple reels most if not everyone dismiss but I find myself using more and more all the time. Ardent Apex Tournament ($99) and Apex Ranger ($80) both weigh in at 6.3oz I have switched all my main reels to the Apex series for the 2017 season. I think the fly under the radar and very underrated. 

 

I discovered the Ardent reels the other day, they do seem very underrated for the price. I just can't understand why they're so limited on the 7.x ratios though, and biased against lefties. The elite and pro models have 7.3 ratio for RH only...and the only LH 7.3 reel they have is the grand which is $200 .

[Chance_Taker4]

1 minute ago, Skeeloco said:

I discovered the Ardent reels the other day, they do seem very underrated for the price. I just can't understand why they're so limited on the 7.x ratios though, and biased against lefties. The elite and pro models have 7.3 ratio for RH only...and the only LH 7.3 reel they have is the grand which is $200 .

I use Right hand I wasnt aware of the limited Left hand options.

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, Skeeloco said:

 

Get a lot of wrist pain jerking with my 6'6" St Croix and Mitchell 308 spinning setup. Seems to me casting setup requires a lot less effort, especially when I can get in the habit of snapping the rod downward instead of to the side.

 

 

Sorry to hear your wrist pain was worse using your spinning tackle. 

 I'm using a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ that weighs 6 oz. on a St Croix 6'10" LTB that weighs 3.9 oz.

  I don't know what rod you're throwing but that  Mitchell 308 weighs 9 oz by itself -

A-Jay

 

[Allen Der]

new Pflueger President XT is very light.  Or try a pflueger supreme 30 size spinning reel with your current rod

 

I think getting a balanced rod and reel is going to be more important than the overall weight.  

[fissure_man]

Where is team Eposeidon?  Isn’t this their bread and butter?

KastKing Stealth – 6 oz – 7:1 Ratio – $57 – +10% BR discount if you order before Mar 31

 

 

That said, shaving 1 or 2 oz off your reel weight isn’t going to change much, all else equal.  The torque you need to generate for sharp twitches is the killer – even if the reel weighed nothing it would be a strain to fish a jerkbait aggressively all day.  Find a rod and reel that’s comfortable in hand, and modify your technique to minimize strain.  Better yet, vary your technique so you’re not using the exact same motion all day.

 

I fish jerkbaits for smallmouth, and often the faster and more erratic I can make the bait, the better.  I use a spinning rod with a 35 size president (heavy) and LH retrieve.  If I’m fishing jerkbaits all day, I also have one rigged on a RH retrieve baitcaster so I can take a break and switch arms. 

 

What line and rod are you using?  If you are trying for an erratic action, using braid to a leader will let you get away with “gentler” jerks to achieve the same action, especially at the end of a long cast.  Same goes for a faster action rod – you can significantly cut down the required range of motion.

[craww]

Nothing to add regarding reels, but if it's to the point you cant fish them I suggest you try braid for the technique.

 

I'm a top water fanatic and from years of weight training and fishing have wrist problems. Braid requires much less snap or torque to work a bait on a long cast. It helps me work 2oz walk the dog baits on long casts tremendously.

[Skeeloco]

6 hours ago, fissure_man said:

Where is team Eposeidon?  Isn’t this their bread and butter?

KastKing Stealth – 6 oz – 7:1 Ratio – $57 – +10% BR discount if you order before Mar 31

 

 

That said, shaving 1 or 2 oz off your reel weight isn’t going to change much, all else equal.  The torque you need to generate for sharp twitches is the killer – even if the reel weighed nothing it would be a strain to fish a jerkbait aggressively all day.  Find a rod and reel that’s comfortable in hand, and modify your technique to minimize strain.  Better yet, vary your technique so you’re not using the exact same motion all day.

 

I fish jerkbaits for smallmouth, and often the faster and more erratic I can make the bait, the better.  I use a spinning rod with a 35 size president (heavy) and LH retrieve.  If I’m fishing jerkbaits all day, I also have one rigged on a RH retrieve baitcaster so I can take a break and switch arms. 

 

What line and rod are you using?  If you are trying for an erratic action, using braid to a leader will let you get away with “gentler” jerks to achieve the same action, especially at the end of a long cast.  Same goes for a faster action rod – you can significantly cut down the required range of motion.

 

Wow, that does look like a fantastic deal. Did see Kastkings on amazon but not the Stealth, looks fantastic for the price and all the good reviews speak for themselves. I think I should just get it because I'm more broke than I thought and could use the extra money for a new tackle bag and some lures.

 

The rod I picked up is a 6'6" medium Shimano Sojourn. Yes it is a cheap rod, but it is so ridiculously light I just had to get it. I trust it however because I was using a $25 Shimano FXS spinning rod for over a decade without issue. As far as line I'm a fan of the copolymer/ hybrid line...currently using Maxima ultra green but want to give the Yo Zuri hybrid a shot because there seems to be a lot of fans of it here.

 

I was never a fan of braid nor having to use a leader. I mostly shore fish city rivers and it's just absolutely brutal on your line, it seems the hybrid line has the best abrasion resistance. Also a little bit of stretch works great for jerkin and helps me work out snags a lot easier, fluoro and braid tend to just snap within seconds. Mono/ hybrid line just seems to have so much more versatility as well.

 

I think I will just grab the KastKing and see how the setup treats the wrist. And you know having a LH and RH reel sounds like a great idea, more so since the injury is only in my right wrist. Thing is I grew up using a spinning rod so RH retrieve just feels so unnatural to me, as well as my right arm being my strong arm. 8 years ago I lost a 60-70lb grouper deep sea fishing in Florida because my left arm just didn't have the strength to keep the fish up off the bottom, and was so ticked I vowed to never use a RH casting reel ever again! However bass fishing I wouldn't expect arm strength to be an issue so I should probably consider getting RH reel in the future...you'll never catch me muskie fishing with a RH reel however .

[Fishfisherson]

Pflugher has some great reels for 100$ price point 

[Falkus]

If you have 129 - you could get the pflueger patriarch 9530 for $129 on Cabalas website. It's last year model. Im suppose to get it on Friday *Crossing Fingers* 

 

Regular Price: $199.99

Sale Price:  $129.99

 

One of them are going to my Soft Jerkbait Rod (9530 on BPS 7'2 Carbonlite M Rod) and other one is on my Mojo Bass for Hard Jerkbait.