Old Baitcasters still worth buying?

[waymont]

On 6/19/2020 at 2:27 PM, BaitFinesse said:

Worth a read: http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=84150

 

What's up with these guys using a reel for one trip and wearing out the gears? A bunch the posters on this thread seem to wear out their gears by looking at them.

[Captain Phil]

The early Ambassadors were tanks.  I still remember when I bought my first 5500C. What a reel!  Today, they are relegated to collector's items.  Later they cheapened them up to a point where they weren't worth buying.  The most significant difference between older reels and modern reels is weight. Modern reels are smoother and lighter.  The spool diameter is smaller,  making backlashes less likely.

 

Cheap is a relevant term.  If I can buy a quality casting reel under $200 I'm happy.  I think $500 for a bass fishing reel is ridiculous, but some people don't.  Most Shimano reels are great.  Some are bargains if you can find a decent one used.  If you are going to dabble in used reels, you need to be able to work on them yourself.  With all the YouTube videos out there, this isn't hard as long as you have at least some mechanical ability. My favorite used reels are the Shamano gold Calcutta and Chronarch series reels.  I buy them online and repair them myself.  

 

 

[waymont]

46 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

Also some guys were targetting other species of fish that can really give a reel a workout.

I saw that some guys fish for Kings, strong fish. I do pay close attention to my gear, and work on my own reels.

The closest I came to noticing a change quickly to a reel was with a Curado 70. After one season the gears definitely changed quite a bit mid season.