What is your favorite big bait reel

[Ogandrews]

47 minutes ago, Tywithay said:

Daiwa Z2020. It might be my favorite reel period, but it's crazy good with big baits.

That is one bad reel, that’s definitely a Diawa I would like to have.

 

39 minutes ago, BigBassBo said:

I've got 3 - Tranx 300, Lexa 300 Winn & a Lew's SD Wide Spool. Not an issue with any of them but to be fair, the Lew's is the oldest followed by the Lexa and then the Tranx is new this March. Also I do not throw anything over 6 oz with any of them.

hows the drag on the SD wide? I know it’s not as strong as the 300 sd but idk if it’s noticeable.

[WRB]

1 hour ago, Ogandrews said:

Took a look at those and it doesn’t appear any of them have a level wind, or a thumb bar for that matter. Would make it difficult to cast for 12 hours straight but I’m sure it would pull them easy.

Salt water game fish are very strong and fast swimmers therefore level winds and thumb bars fail under the stress of fighting these fish. It's common to cast "iron" over 75 yards and these reels are superb casting reels, another reason no level wind to slow down the line. 2 speeds for retreiving  lures faster, then shifting down to fight powerful when they down deep to wench the fish up.

I grew using casting reels without level winds and it's a none issue keeping the line even on the spool. Putting your thumb on the spool then disengaging it is also a automatic motion easy to learn. 

Overkill reels for fresh water fish but extremely ridgid frames well made USA products.

Just letting you know there are reels available that easily retreive your cow bell spinners and any musky you may hook into.

Tom

[Ogandrews]

11 minutes ago, WRB said:

Salt water game fish are very strong and fast swimmers therefore level winds and thumb bars fail under the stress of fighting these fish. It's common to cast "iron" over 75 yards and these reels are superb casting reels, another reason no level wind to slow down the line. 2 speeds for retreiving  lures faster, then shifting down to fight powerful when they down deep to wench the fish up.

I grew using casting reels without level winds and it's a none issue keeping the line even on the spool. Putting your thumb on the spool then disengaging it is also a automatic motion easy to learn. 

Overkill reels for fresh water fish but extremely ridgid frames well made USA products.

Just letting you know there are reels available that easily retreive your cow bell spinners and any musky you may hook into.

Tom

I have actually always been curious why big salt water reels don’t have level winds or thumb bars. The thumb bar thing isn’t a huge deal, a lot of guys fish musky with the high end abu reels without thumb bars. With the lack of a level wind do you have to lay the line on the spool with your hand to keep it even? I’d imagine it would get lopsided in a hurry without some sort of correction.

[WRB]

Line tends to follow itself back and forth with a little help at the spool ends. I always run the line over my index finger tip under the thumb to feel strikes etc but it's automatic motion to bump the line back and forth. Wide spools take a little more practice but considering my Marlin and big tuna reels are over 4" wide it's not a issue managing spooled line on the retrieve.

When you consider thousands of big musky and pike have been caught using Amdbassaduer 6500 reels with tiny drags, nearly any reel can handle them. I caught my PB 37 lb musky on a 2500C with 8 lb line fishing for smallies.

Tom

PS, wahoo and Marlin can run 40 mph!

Newell 220 no longer made is a good choice for lighter weight reel with larger spool that can handle big swimbaits and fish.

[Bluebasser86]

Curado 300E. Also have an Okuma Citrix 364 that I like really well.

[Ogandrews]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Line tends to follow itself back and forth with a little help at the spool ends. I always run the line over my index finger tip under the thumb to feel strikes etc but it's automatic motion to bump the line back and forth. Wide spools take a little more practice but considering my Marlin and big tuna reels are over 4" wide it's not a issue managing spooled line on the retrieve.

When you consider thousands of big musky and pike have been caught using Amdbassaduer 6500 reels with tiny drags, nearly any reel can handle them. I caught my PB 37 lb musky on a 2500C with 8 lb line fishing for smallies.

Tom

PS, wahoo and Marlin can run 40 mph!

Newell 220 no longer made is a good choice for lighter weight reel with larger spool that can handle big swimbaits and fish.

Yea it’s not the fight of the fish that warrants the big reels it’s handling the lures. When it comes to anything but big double bladed spinners most baitcasters with enough line capacity to run enough 80 or 100 braid will do. The biggest pike I’ve caught in my life have all been on regular bass gear not even swimbait setups and they handled it perfectly. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ambassador 6500 has caught more musky and pike than any other reel on the market.

[rangerjockey]

Tranx 300

[22RangerZ520R]

Calcutta Conquest 400A's is what I use for my big baits.

[Maico1]

8 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

From my understanding this is the modern version of TEs right? 

Actually the TE was the model marketed in the USA while the Conquest was the JDM model marketed in Japan. The Conquest had the following differences a drilled side plate , a forged handle ,a forged drag star and a clicking cast control knob.

[Big Swimbait]

15 hours ago, Ogandrews said:

That is one bad reel, that’s definitely a Diawa I would like to have.

 

hows the drag on the SD wide? I know it’s not as strong as the 300 sd but idk if it’s noticeable.

I have had zero issues. It is more than adequate. I do have it serviced annually as I do all of my reels.

[Patrickt]

On 4/13/2020 at 10:34 PM, JediAmoeba said:

I have 5 Lexa's - 2, 300 Winns; 2, 300 HD's and 1 400 HD.  I am very happy with all of them and haven't had any problems with them.

 

 

I use my 300 Lexas for throwing Double Cowgirls and Super Cowgirls for hours on end.  Never have any issues.

 

 

I am looking for a size 300 reel to throw 1-4 oz swimbaits (mostly bull shads and bull gills) for bass and a possible musky on occasion. I will be using 65lb braid with 80lb mono leader. Is there one you would recommend over the others?

[roadwarrior]

For a little more money...

Shimano Calcutta CTE 300 (used) or Conquest 300 new

 

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocalcutta300te.html

 

https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-CALCUTTA_CONQUEST_300-400_A.html

[redmeansdistortion]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:28 AM, Ogandrews said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the ambassador 6500 has caught more musky and pike than any other reel on the market.

They're probably the most popular reels for musky here on Lake St Clair among non professional anglers, but the charters typically use Penns since they can take repeated abuse for seasons on end.  While the Abus are nice reels, the hardcore musky fishermen will go through a set of gears every two or three seasons, but the Penns just keep on going.  I've never had to replace Penn gears for a musky charter, but I get a fair amount of Ambassadeurs in requiring new gears.  The Penns usually need nothing more than a cleaning and lube and sometimes a failed AR pawl spring, but that's about it.

[Patrickt]

On 4/13/2020 at 11:16 PM, Big Swimbait said:

I've got 3 - Tranx 300, Lexa 300 Winn & a Lew's SD Wide Spool. Not an issue with any of them but to be fair, the Lew's is the oldest followed by the Lexa and then the Tranx is new this March. Also I do not throw anything over 6 oz with any of them.

If you had to choose one reel, which one of the three would you chose and why? Thanks

[BayouSlide]

On 4/13/2020 at 4:28 PM, Born 2 fish said:

Lews super duty 300.

Same here.

[Big Swimbait]

6 hours ago, Patrickt said:

If you had to choose one reel, which one of the three would you chose and why? Thanks

Probably the Tranx. Smooth, powerful and the best drag of the bunch. But the Lews is a real close 2nd. I understand the latest Lexa has been improved but I haven't tried it to compare and probably won't. 

[Ogandrews]

Ended up buying a lexa 400hd at the beginning of the year to throw some musky blades on and after using it for not even 4 months the thing is already noticeably loud and Geary feeling. My 3 year old tranx 500 feels way newer than it, this has been the case with every lexa I’ve owned. Idk if I keep getting duds but that’s the last time I’ll ever spend my money on anything besides a tranx for big gear.

[Jason.Domingo]

I use the newer Lexa 300..so far its held up fine. Casts great, smooth..I’ve thrown everything from a 68 special all the way up to a Deps 250 with no issues. I do want a Luna, Ryoga or a Conquest if I do buy a new swimbait setup.

[Tizi]

Lexa 300 here

[gim]

I've got a pair of Calcuttas and although I don't use them as often as I use my bass tackle, I can say they are still as smooth as the day I bought them 6 years ago.  If I was going to buy another muskie reel, I would buy a Revo Beast.  I have a friend who has one and I used his setup for a few casts and that sold me.  Its like using an oversized low profile bass reel for musky fishing whereas the big round reels still have the size and feel of musky tackle.  Anything that lowers the hand stress and physical wear and tear during a musky trip is welcomed by me.  Its hard enough work as it is tossing those giant lures.