good cheap bait casting reals

[fznfishing2018]

dose anyone know of good cheap bait casting reals for jigs.

[shovelmouth83]

i would go with lews. or diawa. they have machined parts but if you go lower than 40or 60 bucks your get plastic gears and bad spools. 

[CroakHunter]

Giant thread pinned to the top of the rods and reels forum. 

[shovelmouth83]

even if you get the shakspeare alpha it is a got reel for a beginner but the line leveler grear is plastic and will go after about 6 to 7 times out.

[fznfishing2018]

whats good for someone who fishish everday 

 

[Glaucus]

Doesn't get much better than Abu Garcia Silver or Black Max for 50 bucks or less. I'd go Silver for 50, Black for 40.

[Happybeerbuzz]

Kastking + eBay discount code would fit those criteria.

[the reel ess]

This is about as cheap as I'd go on a BC reel.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress™-mettle-mt2-baitcast-reel-right-handed#repChildCatid=903506

I really wouldn't feel comfy with a $60 reel, so I went here instead. And I have some $130 Lew's reels. They're a bargain at that price.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-tac-40-baitcast-reel#repChildCatid=3918504

 

I know $100 ain't peanuts, but if you get the el cheapo and have to replace it next season, you'll probably spend more. Spend a little more now, less later. Avoid the graphite or composite frames (I know some will argue-they're wrong, LOL) and plastic gears. You'll end up with a lighter, better performing reel for years to come. A cheap reel won't break on a 2 pounder. It'' break on a possible PB.

[Drew03cmc]

Kastking Spartacus, $40 on ebay. Several of us on here use and abuse these reels. I've never been left high and dry. They're better than any Abu Max product, especially for the price. 

[Maggiesmaster]

I got a BassPro Pro Qualifier at their sale last winter for $50. My best Lews cost almost $300. It casts much better than the Pro Qualifier, but 6 times better????

[Glaucus]

21 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

Kastking Spartacus, $40 on ebay. Several of us on here use and abuse these reels. I've never been left high and dry. They're better than any Abu Max product, especially for the price. 

Never used a KK reel. What I can say is, 7 year old Silver Max's have zero problems. Of course as fishermen we prepare for a day of DDs, PBs, and the worst cover of our lives, but then reality sets in and you're like oh this price and gear was unnecessary. 

[CrankFate]

3 hours ago, fznfishing2018 said:

dose anyone know of good cheap bait casting reals for jigs.

Ali express sells plastic Chinese reels that are amazingly good for $15-20. It gets embarrassing when they work almost as good as $200-$500 reels.  The drag washers are questionable and the claims of 9, 10 or 20 ball bearings are flat out lies. Some have zero. Corrosion resistance is a roll of the dice. But in freshwater, they actually work great. I buy them just for the hell of it. Sucks when I land a 15+ lb fish no worse than I can on a $450 reel with them.

[Drew03cmc]

12 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

Ali express sells plastic Chinese reels that are amazingly good for $15-20. It gets embarrassing when they work almost as good as $200-$500 reels.  The drag washers are questionable and the claims of 9, 10 or 20 ball bearings are flat out lies. Some have zero. Corrosion resistance is a roll of the dice. But in freshwater, they actually work great. I buy them just for the hell of it. Sucks when I land a 15+ lb fish no worse than I can on a $450 reel with them.

They aren't lying about the quantity of bearings. The quality is lacking, but the quantity is correct. When there's 3 per knob...that's a quick six...

[CrankFate]

6 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

They aren't lying about the quantity of bearings. The quality is lacking, but the quantity is correct. When there's 3 per knob...that's a quick six...

Nah they are 100% lying. I got some that have brass bushings or plastic bushings where the schematics say ball bearing. I don’t think I ever got one with an accurate bearing count. If You’re lucky you get 2 spool bearings.

[LionHeart]

If you fish every day buy a decent reel.  Not trying to be smug, but you should shoot for a Diawa Tatula or Lews Tournament MB.  Those are $ 100 reels and a good place to start.

 

 

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, CrankFate said:

Ali express sells plastic Chinese reels that are amazingly good for $15-20. It gets embarrassing when they work almost as good as $200-$500 reels.  The drag washers are questionable and the claims of 9, 10 or 20 ball bearings are flat out lies. Some have zero. Corrosion resistance is a roll of the dice. But in freshwater, they actually work great. I buy them just for the hell of it. Sucks when I land a 15+ lb fish no worse than I can on a $450 reel with them.

I have a buddy who landed an 8 pounder in heavy weeds using a friggin Zebco and some light line. Also uses it for 10+ pound channel cats. No problems. Kind if crazy how far the industry and gear is coming. Not saying we should all use a Zebco because I only have 1 and use it very, very rarely, but it's 2018 and indeed expensive reels are not proving to be much different than cheaper counterparts. 

[scaleface]

I've been thinking about buying a Balck Max combo   myself . The rod feels decent and I hear good things about the reel . Only 70 dollars .

[Mbirdsley]

I use a black maxx combo that I bought form Walmart. I am actually impressed with the black maxx rod that came with combo. I think I paid 69.99 for the black maxx rod and reel combo.  The reels by themselves can be had for 39.99 at Walmart.  So far with 2 months into it ( I fish 1-2 a week) the only thing bad I have to say about the reel is that on the bigger cranks( KVD size 5 or 6) with big lips it will bog down/ bind a bit on the retrieve.  I have had it apart and the gears are all metal .  I have not personally used the silver maxx.  I am thinking of getting the pro maxx for a worm/tube rod

[Robert Riley]

You can definitely find a nice set up if you cruise around for sales and what not. But I would recommend nothing less than the Lew's CarbonFire from DSG/F&S, it's usually on some form of sale (best I've seen is buy reel, get rod). Another option is the Abu Vengence combo, it's a decent combo, but it's a nice stout medium heavy rod, perfect for jigs and plastics. 

[NHBull]

It's always easy to spend someone else's money, but you can tell the coast of anything until the accounting period is over. Many times, spending an extra 30-40 dollars can get you a reel that last an extra year or two and may still have some resale value. I would look for a solid used one. Watch this site, as many get posted. I have also seen ci4's for 100.00

[Bermise]

14 hours ago, CrankFate said:

Ali express sells plastic Chinese reels that are amazingly good for $15-20. It gets embarrassing when they work almost as good as $200-$500 reels.  The drag washers are questionable and the claims of 9, 10 or 20 ball bearings are flat out lies. Some have zero. Corrosion resistance is a roll of the dice. But in freshwater, they actually work great. I buy them just for the hell of it. Sucks when I land a 15+ lb fish no worse than I can on a $450 reel with them.

I had a buddy brave enough to purchase 2 reels from Ali baba. One arrived doa and the other broke the 2nd fishing trip. They are far from “great” reels. 

[CrankFate]

14 hours ago, LionHeart said:

If you fish every day buy a decent reel.  Not trying to be smug, but you should shoot for a Diawa Tatula or Lews Tournament MB.  Those are $ 100 reels and a good place to start.

 

 

This is the best answer. There are a lot of good $80-$100 reels. 

13 hours ago, Glaucus said:

I have a buddy who landed an 8 pounder in heavy weeds using a friggin Zebco and some light line. Also uses it for 10+ pound channel cats. No problems. Kind if crazy how far the industry and gear is coming. Not saying we should all use a Zebco because I only have 1 and use it very, very rarely, but it's 2018 and indeed expensive reels are not proving to be much different than cheaper counterparts. 

I am not surprised. I got a few of those big carp that are in most lakes on crap rods and reels that I had sitting there while fishing another rod. 

[Jaderose]

My answer to this used to be simple.  The last gen Pro Qualifiers were built like tanks (I have 4) and could be had for peanuts when they went on sale...which was often.  I don't know about the PQ2 and it's ALWAYS $100.  Seems like everyone else has caught up with the PQ in terms of offering a good quality $100 reel.  

[FishTank]

The BPS Pro Qualifier gets my vote.  I have not fished one personally but one of my friends from work has sworn by them for years.  He fishes a lot of tournaments (successfully) and by the end of the year his reals may be held together with duct and a little glue but the reels still work.  Then at the beginning of the following year, he trades/pitches them and buys all new.  It sounds goofy but he doesn't service them and he abuses them. Also, this way he doesn't have to worry about destroying an expensive reel and he has equipment that he can depend on each year with out braking the bank.

[DogBone_384]

If you’re going to use it a lot, handle as many brands as you can.  All manufacturers at the $99 price point have good, reliable offerings.  I started with a Pro Qualifier and could probably still use it daily but the MONKEY coerced me into upgrading when good sales came along.....

 

I own Shimano, Diawa, Abu, and *** reels.  Diawa and *** are my favorite.  

 

Pick a reel that feels good in your hands.