Need a new reel, $200 budget.

[TcRoc]

Love my Sv’s and Tatula Elite and Elite P/F.. but I’ll throw a wrench in… I picked up the new Okuma Hakai The other week in a 6 spd.. running 12# Sniper on a Dobyns Kaden 713 .. I have been Thoroughly enjoying this reel . Never had an Okuma reel and never thought of buying one til started seeing a few posts here about it. Swallowed the bait(lol) and ordered one. Will probably get another at some point . 

[Boomstick]

The Tatula SV won't win any distance casting competitions, but it's great for pitching and skipping and making carefully targeted casts. The new model is nice and compact in size and behaves the same as the old model.

 

From your description of what you are looking for, I would say the Shimano SLX MGL 70 is perfect. That reel will bomb cast light lures all day long. Yes you do have to open it up, but I would leave 4 pins in and use the side dial to fine tune it so it's not really a problem.

[akmac]

19 hours ago, TcRoc said:

Love my Sv’s and Tatula Elite and Elite P/F.. but I’ll throw a wrench in… I picked up the new Okuma Hakai The other week in a 6 spd.. running 12# Sniper on a Dobyns Kaden 713 .. I have been Thoroughly enjoying this reel . Never had an Okuma reel and never thought of buying one til started seeing a few posts here about it. Swallowed the bait(lol) and ordered one. Will probably get another at some point . 

Interesting.  I have heard good things about the Helios XT as well.  Nice that we live in a time that the playing field is more level amongst competitors.  Gives us more options, but man it is hard to choose!  Which model are your throwing? 

[akmac]

11 hours ago, Boomstick said:

The Tatula SV won't win any distance casting competitions, but it's great for pitching and skipping and making carefully targeted casts. The new model is nice and compact in size and behaves the same as the old model.

 

From your description of what you are looking for, I would say the Shimano SLX MGL 70 is perfect. That reel will bomb cast light lures all day long. Yes you do have to open it up, but I would leave 4 pins in and use the side dial to fine tune it so it's not really a problem.

Thanks for the reply.  That reel is tempting at that price.  I kind of wrote it off due to the line capacity since I don't use leaders, don't want to be changing line all the time.  The idea of using braid and just swapping out leaders is tempting though- just stuck in my ways.  I am finding there is no magic bullet or do it all reel.  There are trade-offs with spool weight, capacity, etc...  If I want to chuck lighter lures a shallower, lighter spool is probably a must.  I am curious to see how the Tatula 80 pans out.  It checks a lot of boxes for me, but not sure with the spool design if it will do what I want.  Dagblamit, I'm picky...  

[TcRoc]

22 minutes ago, akmac said:

Interesting.  I have heard good things about the Helios XT as well.  Nice that we live in a time that the playing field is more level amongst competitors.  Gives us more options, but man it is hard to choose!  Which model are your throwing? 

Hdt100-A , which is 6.2:1 , The standard casted reel .. not the Finesse or pitching  model 

[Boomstick]

49 minutes ago, akmac said:

Thanks for the reply.  That reel is tempting at that price.  I kind of wrote it off due to the line capacity since I don't use leaders, don't want to be changing line all the time.  The idea of using braid and just swapping out leaders is tempting though- just stuck in my ways.  I am finding there is no magic bullet or do it all reel.  There are trade-offs with spool weight, capacity, etc...  If I want to chuck lighter lures a shallower, lighter spool is probably a must.  I am curious to see how the Tatula 80 pans out.  It checks a lot of boxes for me, but not sure with the spool design if it will do what I want.  Dagblamit, I'm picky...  

What are you running for line? You should be okay if you are using a fluorocarbon that runs on the thinner side (aka not Berkley) up to 16 lbs with the SLX MGL70.

[LrgmouthShad]

On 3/18/2022 at 10:32 PM, cbailey168 said:

Shimano Curado MGL 150. This will likely be my choice unless someone manages to persuade me on another reel within the next few days

Been fishing it more and more. It is a beast with lighter lures, but its performance with heavier lures, at least for me, leaves a little to be desired. It feels a little overloaded when trying to cast them. Still love mine, since I got it for relatively light setups, but bear this in mind if you pick it. I also notice its comfort level can be very different depending on what rod you put it on, so if you can get it in person and match it up with a rod and feel the setup in your hands, that would be ideal. Again, I'm fortunate that my setup is extremely comfortable. It's smooth as butter, casts a mile, and has some really great drag. Great reel.

[akmac]

7 hours ago, Boomstick said:

What are you running for line? You should be okay if you are using a fluorocarbon that runs on the thinner side (aka not Berkley) up to 16 lbs with the SLX MGL70.

12lb Yozuri Hybrid.  

[LCG]

I fished a SLX 71 MGL pretty hard last year and it is very smooth and comfortable. Fished with 10lb big game using weightless - 1/4oz Texas rigs, 1/8oz Ned rigs, 3/8oz spinnerbaits, light jigs, etc. Never missed a beat and feels strong on the retrieve. 

 

Added a Curado 71 MGL because I wanted something just a tad smaller for a new rod. Haven't fished it yet, but she is a bit smaller and slightly more beefier gearing wise.

 

I really like the reel size, never ran out of line or even close. Big game 10lb is really 14lb line diameter with 14lb breaking strength from various tests I have seen. 

 

The Curado 150 MGL looks pretty sweet if your using heavier line or want more line capacity. Slightly higher drag rating I believe as well.

[Boomstick]

3 hours ago, akmac said:

12lb Yozuri Hybrid.  

That should be fine as well.

[TcRoc]

33 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

That should be fine as well.

Yea should be.. without looking up 12# yozuri which I use on my

Cb and Jerkbait rods diameter

is equal to 16# Sniper.. love Yozuri .. that line just proves the need to compare line diameter not poundage . Again didn’t check .. just the reminder of diameter is so important to compare

[Boomstick]

Just now, TcRoc said:

Yea should be.. without looking up 12# yozuri which I use on my

Cb and Jerkbait rods diameter

is equal to 16# Sniper.. love Yozuri .. that line just proves the need to compare line diameter not poundage . 

Most Yo Zuri is the same diameter as most thicker mono except the 15# which is .016in which is the same as 17# in most thicker mono.

[TcRoc]

2 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

Most Yo Zuri is the same diameter as most thicker mono except the 15# which is .016in which is the same as 17# in most thicker mono.

 ..it’s the point to me to compare line diameter as well .

 

[HaydenS]

On 3/20/2022 at 1:39 PM, TcRoc said:

I picked up the new Okuma Hakai The other week in a 6 spd.. running 12# Sniper on a Dobyns Kaden 713 .. I have been Thoroughly enjoying this reel . Never had an Okuma reel and never thought of buying one til started seeing a few posts here about it. Swallowed the bait(lol) and ordered one. Will probably get another at some point . 

I like this idea a lot.  This will be one of the next reels I buy, besides shimanos.  

However, if the Tat is what you like go with that!  

 

[akmac]

40 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

 ..it’s the point to me to compare line diameter as well .

 

Agree 100%.  Yozuri Hybrid is a thick line by rating.  Basically 12 (.013) fishes like 14, 15 (.016) like 17. in both strength and diameter (never understood why Yozuri would rate their line that way when it is actually much stronger than it's rating)  Under certain conditions I will throw 12-14 (.013-.014) Gamma Polyflex, or 10-12lb Stren Magnathin.  Good to know I won't run out of line too fast.  Appreciate your input.  

[Boomstick]

10 hours ago, akmac said:

Agree 100%.  Yozuri Hybrid is a thick line by rating.  Basically 12 (.013) fishes like 14, 15 (.016) like 17. in both strength and diameter (never understood why Yozuri would rate their line that way when it is actually much stronger than it's rating)  Under certain conditions I will throw 12-14 (.013-.014) Gamma Polyflex, or 10-12lb Stren Magnathin.  Good to know I won't run out of line too fast.  Appreciate your input.  

My oldest son has a SLX MGL 70. At one point he had 15# Invizx on it and never spooled it. He has since switched to 12# because of how well that reel bomb casts light lures.

[akmac]

I decided to go with the Lew's Tournament Pro LFS.  I will report back after I spend some time with it.  Thanks for all of your help.

[dodgeguy]

16 hours ago, akmac said:

I decided to go with the Lew's Tournament Pro LFS.  I will report back after I spend some time with it.  Thanks for all of your help.

Awesome choice.

[cbailey168]

On 3/21/2022 at 8:31 AM, LrgmouthShad said:

Been fishing it more and more. It is a beast with lighter lures, but its performance with heavier lures, at least for me, leaves a little to be desired. It feels a little overloaded when trying to cast them. Still love mine, since I got it for relatively light setups, but bear this in mind if you pick it. I also notice its comfort level can be very different depending on what rod you put it on, so if you can get it in person and match it up with a rod and feel the setup in your hands, that would be ideal. Again, I'm fortunate that my setup is extremely comfortable. It's smooth as butter, casts a mile, and has some really great drag. Great reel.

Good to know. What do you consider heavier lures? Also what line are you using?

Thanks 

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, cbailey168 said:

Good to know. What do you consider heavier lures? Also what line are you using?

Thanks 

So I roll cast a lot in the kayak. I noticed that I had to roll a little higher than usual when casting and that the reel felt a little overloaded when casting 3/8oz and 1/2oz jigs with bulky trailers or 1/4oz Texas rigs with the big, full size brush hogs. And some might say, that’s probably your rod, not your reel, man. But I moved the reel over to a 7’ Heavy and noticed the same thing, although it was of course a little better. My opinion… it is not as versatile a reel as many claim it to be. Just kinda depends on what you want it for. I’ve been running 12lb trilene big game on it. 
 

Edit: I’ll add some lures it performed exceedingly well with. 3/8oz devils horse, 3/16oz Texas rig with baby brush hog or similar smaller plastics, and 5/16 oz finesse jigs. All of those….. she going…. and going and going… and gone.

Edited March 24, 2022 by LrgmouthShad

[cbailey168]

2 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

So I roll cast a lot in the kayak. I noticed that I had to roll a little higher than usual when casting and that the reel felt a little overloaded when casting 3/8oz and 1/2oz jigs with bulky trailers or 1/4oz Texas rigs with the big, full size brush hogs. And some might say, that’s probably your rod, not your reel, man. But I moved the reel over to a 7’ Heavy and noticed the same thing, although it was of course a little better. My opinion… it is not as versatile a reel as many claim it to be. Just kinda depends on what you want it for. I’ve been running 12lb trilene big game on it. 
 

Edit: I’ll add some lures it performed exceedingly well with. 3/8oz devils horse, 3/16oz Texas rig with baby brush hog or similar smaller plastics, and 5/16 oz finesse jigs. All of those….. she going…. and going and going… and gone.

Ok. Thanks for all the detailed nformation. Very helpful!

[akmac]

I got the Lew's Tournament Pro LFS in the mail today  Unfortunately I will be returning it.  The anti-reverse has some back play, and it sounds/feels a little rough when I turn the handle.  Not buttery smooth like I imagined it would be.  Maybe got a lemon?

[newapti5]

A little back play on AR bearing is fine, maybe it needs a little lubrication. But "buttery smooth" would depend on what you define as "buttery smooth." Also, new reels usually need a little "break-in" period. My Tournament Pro is smooth as it should be for its price level. 

[akmac]

I did open it up and put a drop of oil on all the bearings, went through several cast cycles and no change in the amount of back slop.  Buttery smooth for me would be anything better than my $120-$150 daiwas.  This reel has a slight grinding/crunchy sound, just doesn't feel smooth at all when turning the handle.  

[newapti5]

7 minutes ago, akmac said:

This reel has a slight grinding/crunchy sound, just doesn't feel smooth at all when turning the handle.

 

Yeah, that shouldn't happen for a new reel out of the box, probably a lemon then. 

On the other hand, my new reels usually were in the best shape after at least one trip on the water as "break-in" period. Sometimes even several trips.