Lews orange Crush reel

[Cgolf]

Anyone tried this out? Trying to convince my wife I need this, orange is my favorite color, and want to find out if it is worth the cost? I don't want to buy just because it looks really cool.

[NYWayfarer]

Great looking reel.

 

I know you are sold on the orange colors but I find the Lew's Speed Spool LFS to be the better choice.

 

For $99 you get an aluminum frame as opposed to $139 graphite frame on the Crush. I assume the higher cost is for the Winn grip knobs as the other specs are similar.

[Cgolf]

30 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

Great looking reel.

 

I know you are sold on the orange colors but I find the Lew's Speed Spool LFS to be the better choice.

 

For $99 you get an aluminum frame as opposed to $139 graphite frame on the Crush. I assume the higher cost is for the Winn grip knobs as the other specs are similar.

Also really confused on the DSG website, they have two different combos. One has an orange rod and is showing the reel to have 14lbs of drag and one with the *** which has 20 lbs of drag. 

 

Wonder if there are 2 different models of the reel? Only reason I am thinking of this is with the DSG coupon I can get the combo for 160. Only concern now is it has a different reel with a lower drag number, store only has the exclusive color combo in stock with the lower drag number.

[J Francho]

14# is more than you'd ever need for bass fishing.  20# is overkill.

[GReb]

Academy has LFS for $79 this Father’s Day sale. You can find them on eBay for around that all year. 

[NYWayfarer]

9 minutes ago, GReb said:

Academy has LFS for $79 this Father’s Day sale. You can find them on eBay for around that all year. 

DSG has the LFS for $79 as well. They also have a 20% off one item online sale right now.

 

This is a killer deal, hope it lasts till Sunday when I have some Father's day gift cards coming my way.

[Cgolf]

41 minutes ago, J Francho said:

14# is more than you'd ever need for bass fishing.  20# is overkill.

I do Musky fish a fair bit, and oddly all of my Musky have come on bass gear, so not sure if the extra drag is needed. When I go on vacation, it is a cool feeling to know you could tangle with a 50lb plus fish on any cast:) 

 

Not sure how much drag a proper musky reel should have? Do agree though that for bass that is probably more than any of my other reels I have now.

[J Francho]

You would use about 1/4 to 1/3 of the weakest rated part of the combo.  Whether that's line or rod rating.  So if you're using 50# braid on a 12-17# rod, you'd set it at about 6#.  If you're using 12# mono on a 20# rod, then set it to around 4#.

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

You would use about 1/4 to 1/3 of the weakest rated part of the combo.  Whether that's line or rod rating.  So if you're using 50# braid on a 12-17# rod, you'd set it at about 6#.  If you're using 12# mono on a 20# rod, then set it to around 4#.

I think you are right, even for Muskie we overestimate the amount of drag we need. Never thought of it like that, I honestly usually just crank it down on bait casters and allow for some slip on spinning reels. Eventually I will quit being lazy on how I set stuff up, just years of bad habits are hard to break;)

 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

14# is more than you'd ever need for bass fishing.  20# is overkill.

 

My Calcutta's have a whopping 9.5 lbs!

 

Bass aint the tough fighters most anglers think they are which is why a composite frame is fine.

[Cgolf]

Alright so I went with the Crush for the a few reasons. I could have it for the weekend, short sighted thinking but the bait monkey won. My wife has issues with certain types of fishing gear being uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, so I am hoping the grips will work well for her (the fact that they are tapered you can change your grip point often) since she has been using a baitcaster more often lately. Last one was the rod it had with it fits what I toss perfectly, so I get a chance to try out a Lews stick in the deal too.

 

Of those the 2nd was the most important.

 

Thanks for the idea of the LFS as I may pick up one down the road as well. Now I need to figure out what to spend the 20 bucks DSG cash I got when I bought this thing too.

[LxVE Bassin]

I have the Mach II reel which is the precursor to the Orange Crush. According to Lew’s website the Orange Crush only comes with 20# drag. I still use my Mach II reel so there is no doubt in my mind that the  Orange Crush is a great reel too but at the price point of $159 there are way better options from other brands that will get you aluminum frame and all around better reel. 

[HogsNHawgs]

On 6/15/2018 at 8:27 AM, J Francho said:

14# is more than you'd ever need for bass fishing.  20# is overkill.

I LOL every time I see insane drag ratings.  Growing up on the west coast we'd set our 60# rigs to 20# of drag.  On a 7' rod it equates to 140 lb/ft of torque.  That's a TON of drag and it would pin your knuckles to the rail of boat.  

 

Other than the heaviest of XH Sticks tossing gnarly punch baits and big swim baits most of our rods are rated for "reasonable drag" in the line rating range of the rod.  So, a rod rated for, say, 8-17, means that on the high end of the "reasonable drag" range this rod most likely will handle a max of 9 or 10# of drag before potentially failing.

 

I've seen people tossing 65# braid on a 10-30# rated rod and set their drag according to their line.  Big mistake and a bunch of ruined rods.

 

Again, let's convert this to torque...  As I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, fishing a 7'6" rod rated for 10-25 lbs with 15# line and a "reasonable" drag of 6# equates to putting upwards of 45# of torque on that fish  (6# x 7.5 ft= 45 lb/ft of torque).  That's a much heavier amount of pulling than most people think.

 

So I think people should, in effect, ignore all those max-drag claims that manufacturers brag about.  I could care less if "brand X" has a 20 or 25# max drag.  I'm much more concerned about how SMOOTH the drag is a 6-8#.  That's the really important number!

 

Just my $.02.  I'll get off my soapbox.  By the way, I absolutely love this site.  SO MUCH INFO to be found here!!!!

[Cgolf]

2 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

I have the Mach II reel which is the precursor to the Orange Crush. According to Lew’s website the Orange Crush only comes with 20# drag. I still use my Mach II reel so there is no doubt in my mind that the  Orange Crush is a great reel too but at the price point of $159 there are way better options from other brands that will get you aluminum frame and all around better reel. 

At the sale price with the rod included and cash back for the next time I hit the store I am figuring I paid 140 for the combo which I don't feel too bad about unless the rod is junk, time will tell. 

 

I am wishing that my wife would have decided sooner because I had looked and the latest Revo SX for 160 with a free rod, but missed out on that one.

[LxVE Bassin]

3 minutes ago, cgolf said:

At the sale price with the rod included and cash back for the next time I hit the store I am figuring I paid 140 for the combo which I don't feel too bad about unless the rod is junk, time will tell. 

 

I am wishing that my wife would have decided sooner because I had looked and the latest Revo SX for 160 with a free rod, but missed out on that one.

I got the Mach II combo which has the same exact rod except it’s green and doesn’t have a microwave guide. My whole set up is holding strong and going on 2 years nows. I fish tournaments with it. The rod has no complaints from me.

[Cgolf]

Just now, HogsNHawgs said:

I LOL every time I see insane drag ratings.  Growing up on the west coast we'd set our 60# rigs to 20# of drag.  On a 7' rod it equates to 140 lb/ft of torque.  That's a TON of drag and it would pin your knuckles to the rail of boat.  

 

Other than the heaviest of XH Sticks tossing gnarly punch baits and big swim baits most of our rods are rated for "reasonable drag" in the line rating range of the rod.  So, a rod rated for, say, 8-17, means that on the high end of the "reasonable drag" range this rod most likely will handle a max of 9 or 10# of drag before potentially failing.

 

I've seen people tossing 65# braid on a 10-30# rated rod and set their drag according to their line.  Big mistake and a bunch of ruined rods.

 

Again, let's convert this to torque...  As I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, fishing a 7'6" rod rated for 10-25 lbs with 15# line and a "reasonable" drag of 6# equates to putting upwards of 45# of torque on that fish  (6# x 7.5 ft= 45 lb/ft of torque).  That's a much heavier amount of pulling than most people think.

 

So I think people should, in effect, ignore all those max-drag claims that manufacturers brag about.  I could care less if "brand X" has a 20 or 25# max drag.  I'm much more concerned about how SMOOTH the drag is a 6-8#.  That's the really important number!

 

Just my $.02.  I'll get off my soapbox.  By the way, I absolutely love this site.  SO MUCH INFO to be found here!!!!

I hear you, but unless we think about it, it is a spec that catches the fisherman. I always set my drag with the hand pull test, never done it with a scale.

[HogsNHawgs]

39 minutes ago, cgolf said:

I hear you, but unless we think about it, it is a spec that catches the fisherman. I always set my drag with the hand pull test, never done it with a scale.

YUP!  I only use a scale when I'm offshore fishing really heavy stuff.  I'd rather have a reel with max drag rated at 11# but super buttery smooth at 6# than a herky-jerky drag with a max rating of 25.  

[slolane]

I have two orange crush combos one casting one spinning and I must say I love them both. I had the casting combo first and liked it so much I went back a week later and got the spinning combo. When I bought the casting combo I also bought a tatula sv and XML rod at Cabelas. The orange crush combo is my go to set up love everything about it.

[Big Swimbait]

I have one & really like it. I got mine on the auction site for $133.00 shipped.

[burr56]

I got the mach crush combo myself and at the time there was a raffle lews was holding -but ticket and get 20% off and five$ a ticket so i bought 2 for 10$.  So my combo cost me 160 and then i got a free hoodie from lews with 50$ price tag. Since i live in spfd.mo. no shipping got it  at store so if you do the nath i got my combo for 120$. That sounds better than 200$. Guess i lucked out with the timing of it all? 

[Cgolf]

7 minutes ago, burr56 said:

I got the mach crush combo myself and at the time there was a raffle lews was holding -but ticket and get 20% off and five$ a ticket so i bought 2 for 10$.  So my combo cost me 160 and then i got a free hoodie from lews with 50$ price tag. Since i live in spfd.mo. no shipping got it  at store so if you do the nath i got my combo for 120$. That sounds better than 200$. Guess i lucked out with the timing of it all? 

Thanks for the reminder on the hoodie, unfortunately I need to pay shipping, but still a hoodie for under 10 isn’t bad. 

[Cgolf]

So just spent a week with the combo and really liked it. The thing casts a mile and the only time I backlashed was when I screwed up my release point casting lipless cranks at night for walleye. Not sure how my other options would have faired, but so far this thing is a winner. 

[mcipinkie]

What is this "drag" you are all so scientific about?  Is it that little star shaped wheel under the handle of the reel?  That must be the one I crank down all I can on my casting reels.

 

Set the hook and yank 'em in the boat.

 

We don't need no stinking drags !!

[Sifuedition]

Sorry, it looks like I'm late, but I have the combo and really like it. I changed to a left-handed retrieve just a few months after buying this. I debated buying the combo in a left handed retrieve but did not. Now I wish I had. I also have a Curado 201k on a Dobyn's Fury rod and I wouldn't hesitate to use the Lew's interchangeably with it.

[jbrew73]

Give us a follow up on the reel soon. Unfortunately I was not too pleased with the quality of the graphite lews reels I've seen.   I had one lews Jason Christie reel and my nephews have some of the mark rose reels and they felt cheap and didn't hold up very well.