Lew's Pro Ti, Shimano Aldebaran or Concept C?

[Zack Nash]

Hey guys, new to the group. I joined specifically to get input on a reel decision. I recently purchased a 6'8" MH Favorite Summit for a fantastic price and want to pair it with a decent reel. I've narrowed it down to a Lew's Pro Ti, Shimano 18 Aldebaran 30 MGL and a 13 Fishing Concept C. I will be using it mostly for small-med jigs, small swimbaits, T-rigs, ned rigs, etc around medium-medium heavy cover in small natural lakes. My current arsenal consists of:

- 6'6" MH Shimano Convergence w/ Shimano Curado 201 Bantam Reel (6.2:1)

- 7' MH Lews speed stick TP1 w/ BPS JM CarbonLite 2.0 (8.3:1)

- 6'10" MH Daiwa Tatula Bass rod w/ Shimano Curado DC (7.4:1)

- 7'3" MH Favorite Emperor w/ Daiwa Tatula SV TWS (8.1:1)

 

Anyone with experience with 2 or more of the reels especially, please give me your input! Thank you

 - Zack

[hwright38]

Aldebaran would be my choice, but you can't really go wrong between that and the pro ti. I would not recommend a 13 reel though. They're nice out of the box, but in 2 years the Shimano will still be just as smooth as it was day one, while the 13 have degraded a lot. 

Aldebaran > Lew's TI >>>>>>>>>>>> Anything 13 makes.

[Zack Nash]

8 minutes ago, hwright38 said:

Aldebaran would be my choice, but you can't really go wrong between that and the pro ti.

Any chance you've fished either? I own a BPS carbonlite 2.0 and I JUST sold a Pro Qualifier 2. I'm pretty sure Lews and Bass Pro use the exact same frame (everything is identical.) I loved both of the bass pro reels, so I'm sure I would like the Lews. But do I go with what I have or get something I'm not sure I'd like? I'm looking at a Ti for $280 and a lightly use Aldebaran for $270.

[matbellon3]

I would suggest the Aldebaran or even a Metanium. Would not suggest the 13 reels do to the braking system only having six brake settings and not being externally adjustable.

7 minutes ago, Zack Nash said:

I own a BPS carbonlite 2.0 and I JUST sold a Pro Qualifier 2. I'm pretty sure Lews and Bass Pro use the exact same frame (everything is identical.) I loved both of the bass pro reels, so I'm sure I would like the Lews.

BPS does use Doyo as a manufature as does Lew's but the two bps reels you mentioned do not share the frame with the PRO Ti reel from Lews but they do share their frame with the older LFS series. So the pro ti will feel different in hand than the bps reels. 

[Zack Nash]

7 minutes ago, matbellon3 said:

I would suggest the Aldebaran or even a Metanium.

 

So the pro ti will feel different in hand than the bps reels. 

Do you have experience with the aldebaran or metanium? If so what do you like or dislike about them?

 

Do you have experience with the Ti? If so, would you say this is a positive or negative feeling compared to the other models?

 

I apologize for the questions, just trying to make an informed decision.

[FishingGeekTX]

All will fish great at that price point.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but your current lineup of BC reels are all general purpose to heavier application.

 

The aldebaran 30 mgl is specialized for light setups, and if you use it for that, I'd get the Aldebaran no contest.  The 30 has a very shallow spool I believe, so definitely keep that in mind..it's a very light reel, specialized for lighter lures and a lighter rod.  Set up that way, it would hurl those ned rigs and finesse trigs better than most any reel   So IMO if you're wanting to round out your setups, and you will always have some lighter stuff rigged up, Aldebaran is the pick.

 

If you wanted a more general purpose reel, I'd go with the Lews Pro Ti.  That's next up on my reel list too, I have too many silver reels (met MGLs), and a Lews Hypercast (also sliver) and I like the look and performance of it...I'd like the Lews flagship to compare.  I do fish a Concept Z reel also, and I like it, but I feel the Lews/Shimano are more expensive for a reason...they will feel a little more finished IMO.

[Zack Nash]

8 minutes ago, FishingGeekTX said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but your current lineup of BC reels are all general purpose to heavier application.

 

The aldebaran 30 mgl is specialized for light setups, and if you use it for that, I'd get the Aldebaran no contest.  The 30 has a very shallow spool I believe, so definitely keep that in mind..it's a very light reel, specialized for lighter lures and a lighter rod.  Set up that way, it would hurl those ned rigs and finesse trigs better than most any reel  

I would agree that most of my setups are general purpose to heavier. The reason for this being, I've never had the opportunity to purchase multiple setups until recently, so I have never purchased a rod or reel for a specific purpose. As I was slowly able to buy nicer/more expensive setups, I always bought what I was used to as a safe bet. I am slowly branching out to various techniques and presentations, but still seem to always come back to a Texas rigged plastic. 

 

I was considering the Aldebaran being that it is 4.7oz and the rod I purchased is 2.9oz, making the entire combo approximately the weight of a standard BC reel. Being that I fish a lot of slower presentations, (neds, trigs, small plastics swimbaits, etc), I wanted this "premium" setup to excel at my normal style. (Partially to justify the purchase ?)

[FishingGeekTX]

9 minutes ago, Zack Nash said:

I would agree that most of my setups are general purpose to heavier. The reason for this being...

 

I was considering the Aldebaran being that it is 4.7oz and the rod I purchased is 2.9oz, making the entire combo approximately the weight of a standard BC reel. Being that I fish a lot of slower presentations, (neds, trigs, small plastics swimbaits, etc), I wanted this "premium" setup to excel at my normal style. (Partially to justify the purchase ?)

 I didn't mean to question why they were all general-purpose.(we all have mostly the same!), only to cover my behind in case one of those was a light finesse reel.  didn't think so, but if it was, maybe Aldebaran wouldn't have been the best choice since you had that base covered.

 

Yes, IMO if you plan on fishing lighter lures a significant portion of the time (1/4?) , I'd consider that Aldebaran.  You should definitely check the spool line capacity, and ensure you are OK with a lower # test (braid w/leader can likely solve it anyway if you don't want the lighter line on the spool).  It may shock you.  Thing is, casting light lures is all about low weight spools, and loading up a ton of heavy line will kill performance.   No warranty is a risk, that's your call.  It's a quality reel from a quality mfg..not the worst of risks.

 

On a L, ML rod, I don't think any other combo will be as good for ned rigs and such, if you don't like/want to mess with spinning gear.

 

Reel test youtube does in-depth on that reel..measures spool weights, details the brakes, etc., so check it out of still wondering. 

 

[Big Rick]

Welcome to the forum, Zach. I've had no experience with the Aldebaran, but plenty of experience with the Concept C. If I could get my money back I would. Those reels are very smooth to start with but it doesn't take long for them to develop slack and gearing issues. I loved them at first to the point I bought 5. I've given all but one away. And the last one will be gone shortly....

 

I've never had a bad experience with a Shimano product. That said, I really like the Daiwa Tatula SV series. For a little more refinement, step up to the Zillion SV. Smooth as butter and cast 1/4 oz baits like a dream. And with the SV spool you'll quickly become a lure skipping genius. That spool is amazing. Just some food for thought..

[punch]

I love this thread because I currently own all 3 of these reels... 

 

Of the 3, my favorite would be the Lews Pro Ti for a few reasons. The Pro TI has a few things going for it. 

It's beautiful, very smooth and quite easy to dial in. It's one of my least tempermental reels and is just a pleasure to use. It's Lews "flagship" reel so they put all the bells and whistles on it. Is it worth 350? No, but you can find them for around 250 and man it's a sweet reel. 

 

I have an Aldebaran (non MGL) and it's also a very good reel BUT it's "wow factor" is it's weight because it's small and magnesium. I don't think I've ever held a lighter reel personally. It's got a much lower line capacity but if you want to go for pure lightness, then the Aldebaran is a no brainer. If you pair an Aldebaran up with a high-end light rod, it's really fun. 

 

Personally I use my Pro TI on my Megabass Destroyer FMJ and have it spooled with 40lb braid and it's my main jig/flippin combo. The reel is quite powerful and very fun to flip with all day. 

 

I use my Aldebaran on a St Croix Legend X 7'1 MH because the combo is INSANELY light. It feels like a toy almost. 

 

I also have a Concept C, but it's not even in the same league as the other two. 

[Zack Nash]

1 hour ago, punch said:

 If you pair an Aldebaran up with a high-end light rod, it's really fun. 

The rod it would be going on is a Favorite Summit 6'8". It weighs 2.9oz. From my findings it's the lightest non-custom rod available.

1 hour ago, Big Rick said:

That said, I really like the Daiwa Tatula SV series. For a little more refinement, step up to the Zillion SV. Smooth as butter and cast 1/4 oz baits like a dream. And with the SV spool you'll quickly become a lure skipping genius. That spool is amazing. Just some food for thought..

I already own a Tatula SV and I completely agree! I love it. Just looking for something a little different for this setup. 

[gilkeybr]

I would go with the Aldebaran.  After fishing with my 30MGL for a very short time I ran into a big problem:  I wanted to put it on ALL my light (in weight) setups.  Tried it on a 6'8ML, 6'6MH, and no its on a 6'10M Poison Adrena.  Absolutely awesome on all of them.  I think the only negative to the Aldebaran is the max drag pressure isn't super high, but that is a small concern for me.

 

I had a Concept A for a short while.  It was fine.  I didn't keep it long enough to see the durability issues others describe.  It was a clear step below the Aldebaran.  Brakes weren't very intuitive to me (or easy to access).  I assume the Concept C will be very similar.

I didn't like the Lew's reels I owned (BB1 Pro).  But, I never tried the Ti.  Maybe its better than the rest?