Best sub $100 baitcaster...

[flippin and pitchin]

Several manufactures are or will be flushing 2009 and even 2010 models out this fall.  My local tackle dealer has had sales on the Revo S in right hand for $69.97 ( sold out ) and recently the Revo STX left hand for $99.97   ( sold out ) and Revo Toro 51 and 61 for $99.97.  Be a shopper and you won't have to pay MSRP or full retail for any reel.   

[WaterDawg]

Thanks for all the great replies.  Will definitely check into the Pro Qualifier.  Sounds like some very positive experiences.

FWIW, I went by Cabelas today and visited with the reel counter dude.  He was very well informed and an avid angler.  I spent about an hour with him and got some great advice.  Didn't try to sway me to one brand over another.

He showed me the ABU Garcia Orra ($99).  The Orra appears to be of the Revo mold.  Very similar look/feel.  I think its new for '10, and feels very well made.  He highly recommended it. 

His second vote was for the Cabela's Prodigy (which appears to be a Daiwa Excelor) and third the Cabelas Tournament ZX.  Their house brand stuff is made by Daiwa.

I'm a 2hr drive from BPS, so I won't be able to check the Pro Qualifier out til later.

Thanks again for all the input.

Donnie

[iceintheveins]

Have to say the pro qualifier, hands down. The Citica is a little better than the pq but it's about $120 in most places.

[ksbasser]

If you buy a reel from Bass Pro, you get a one year ,over the counter warranty. any problems are no problems. you can also pay a small fee and get that extended to 3 years. After the warranty is up, BPS still has support for you reel in the form of their own service center and parts dept. You can order parts from them, have a reel repair tech that works on bps reels fix it for you or send it to the Springfield bps service center. If you buy a store brand from any other company, you might regret that if you need work in the future. Some stores may switch out an almost new reel, but most tell you to send it the address on the warranty card. Then, if you ever want to replace a part yourself or have an independent reel person work on it you may also be SOL. None of the other store brands have a parts dept. You have to try to contact the company on the warranty card. Then you have to hope they have some parts from a similar house brand that fits your re brand reel or that anyone there can even remember building that reel for the store re brand. I have ran into this several times.

[OH-bass614]

i buy alot of my reels off ebay. you can find a new citica for about 90 if you look around. i would definitly go with the citica i have 3 of them and and curado and will be buying another citica in a few days. there really great smooth reels and they cast very well

[Crestliner2008]

A lot of good suggestions have already been made here, but I'd like to throw this out. How about an Abu Ambassadeur 5500 series? I have 1/2 dozen of these "round" reels and two of which are over 30 years old.

They are reliable, work fine and are under your $100. cost limit. Best part is your kids will be able to hand them down to their kids. 

[Raul]

Round Abus are great reels but the reason why I don 't recomend them has more to do with me having a problem with the reel size/width/height vs palmability/comfort, got small hands so they just don 't feel right for me. But, if you want is a cheap reel built like a tank and practically bullet proof then a round Abu is your poison.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

My vote goes to the Quantum Accurist PT "new" reels (the gunmetal color ones). They are a nice small profile, cast a MILE, have external braking adjustment, a good drag, and they are in Quantum's "PT" (performance tuned) series, which uses higher quality components and has aluminum frames (stronger) as opposed to their Code and Burst and all non-PT Quantum reels.

Now, I like my Pfleuger President (lefty), and my Curado 201DHSV better, but the Accurist, especially for the price, is right up there in terms of performance and feel. It's great!

Available in Left or right handed, and in 6.2:1 and 7:1 (Burner) gear ratios. They're small and light and perform very well for <$100.

x2

[BlaineFred]

I second the idea of buying good used reels.   Many are available on the websites, but I would stay away from E-Bay where I attempted to buy reels a few times only to get bid very high.  Sometimes Craig's List can be a good place but it takes time for good values to pop up. 

I like the Cabela's Prodigy reels...normally at $99, but frequently on sale for $68...made by Daiwa, says so on the reel.

They have the "spool free" feature that you don't find in reels at these prices. (This spool free feature is a mechanical feature to distinguish from a free extra spool.)

[piscicidal]

IMO: Revo or Citica (if you can get one under $100).  Otherwise, Quantum Accurist PT.

[shootermcbob]

The cabelas prodigy is a fine reel. I have 4 of them. Watch for them on sale, I paid as little as 54.00 for them.

My advice would be to stay away from the cabelas tournament ZX baitcasting reel. It is a graphite framed reel now and they used to be aluminum framed. I used to have a couple aluminum framed ones, and they were fine. However, since they redesigned it and went to the graphite framed reel, I see several in the bargain cave every time I go to cabelas. This means folks are returning them because they are obviously unhappy with them. A friend who works for cabelas told me they really cheapened up the reel on redesign and were having lots of returns.

I also like the Revo S reels at or around a hundred bucks

[Nebraska Bassin]

A Daiwa Procaster Rojo would be a good choice.  If you're looking at the Procasters, the Rojo would be the best option, and it's still well under $100.

[mrbassky]

Used is the way to go but if you buy new Pfluger makes several good reels you can get cheap. Also I like the Browning Citori as well. You can get them on sale throughout the year if you live close to a bassproshop. You might even catch the high end Midas on sale for $100. Thats the only reel Marty Stone uses. 

[Bean Counter]

Another vote for Quantum Accurist.

[repper]

I agree with what Raul said. that Procaster at $40.00 is a very good deal. And I surprised nobody has offered up any good deals on a used reel for ya. I've got an Exceler, like new, that I will sell you very reasonably if you want.