starting baitcast reel?

[marcusn]

ive used spinner reels and fly reels, now i think its time i want to try a "bass reel". i was wondering if you guys could tell me what a good begginer baitcasting reel would be. perhaps a good rod to match with the reel. i guess my budget would be around $150-170 for both. ill spend a little more when i get the hang of using the baitcaster.

[BASSTRACKER]

personally id recommend any shimano reel,maybe a citica or curado. both great reels and mid level price.im really impressed with the carrot stix i have for rods but depend alot on what you fish. a good all around rod is hard to find these days seems like they all wann be technique specific but a medium action fast tip 8-20lb line rod is pretty good all around.brand wise again shimano is up there. check the bargain or sales in cabelas and basspro maybe tacklewarehouse. alot of good deals come up from time to time i got a prodigy rod a cabelas brand with a curado reel for i wanna say 160$ awhile ago and its a great combo.best advice is spend a little more if your serious about it so you dont have a reel and rod that will be sitting in the corner as you get better with baitcasting gear.

[roadwarriorsvt]

After I got my first baitcasting reel, I tied on a heavy lead weight to the line and went to the closest park to practice casting. It will be frustrating at first, but you can work thru it. Google atricles like "How to clear birdsnest baitcasting" or something similar to get some info.

[skunked]

I'm with Basstracker in recommending a Citica or Curado. You can get the $119 Citica 200E for $92 shipped from ebay (seller name: Affordablefishing). This reel doesn't have a thousand bearings and fancy bells and whistles, but it is a solid reel from the most reputable company. Also, it is easy to set up for learning on. The BPS Pro Qualifier is on sale right now for $79. Very nice reel, but you might be SOL down the line if it breaks down on you and need some parts. It is based on the same frame as the ABU Revo line. One thing to remember is to never go cheap on a baitcasting reel! I bet a lot of people buy cheap reels and then get frustrated, thinking that learning a baitcaster is too hard. It's different than spinning reels where a $50 Shimano will cast just as far as their $700 Stella. One more thing: If you're used to reeling your spinning reel with your left hand, try getting a lefty baitcasting reel. I guarantee you it will feel more natural. You won't have to go through the wasted time and money like I did with the right hand reels. As for rods, some others have made some great suggestions. I like the Shimano Compre, Falcon Bucoo, and Bass Pro Carbonlite. I have a St Croix Mojo which is just ok. I also have 3 Cabelas Prodigy rods. For the sale price they are good, but not at reg. price. A little heavy and unbalanced, and the actions are not very crisp. Stay away from the yellow noodles (Skeet Reese Tessera). If you're not sure, let me know and maybe we can meet up so you can practice with one of my combos.

[Ca_Bass]

I highly recomend the shimano curados, they might be a little out of your price range but they are definately the best reel for your dollar( have 5), I don't think they are of much lesser quality than the chronarch..(haven't used the core yet) don't know a lot about citica, but I have read a lot of good reviews on the canean(sp) I thinks its 90 bucks I know the shimano curados and canaen(sp) are both ok to use in saltwater as well. I'm a fan of the cabellas prodigy rods pretty good rod for the money. I have a lot of technique specific set ups but my curado prodigy(6'6" med hvy) combo is definitely the most versitile. It is my standard spinnerbait rod, but it fishes senkos(full size) great, jigs pretty good(prefer a 7ft rod). Pretty much any contact bait. You could get away with lipless cranks but regular cranks would probably pull out a lot. The shimano compare is similar rod but it's a bit light and a little softer tip. I would go with one of those. I personally prefer the cabellas brand over the bass pro brand. Cabellas is made by daiwa and I think bass pro is phluger(sp) or pinnacle. Daiwas is hands down a better company than either of those two in my opiniin. Shimanos mid to low level products are probably the the best on the market. I would save up a little more and get the curado, you won't regret it and it will last for years. For worms/jigs/senkos(contactbaits) I think a high quality rod is of a better value. But nowadays a 75-100 dollar rod is usually pretty nice.

Tmw I should have got my 7ft team daiwa steez svf jig rod...I would be willing to give up my 7ft med or med hvy prodigy for a tank of gas in my boat(16 galllons of 93 octane) but its half full right now so like 8gal. Its a two piece rod but it is supprisingly sensitive for a two piecer. I use it for jigs and heavier texas rigged baits good jigging/pitching rod but it not as limited as a flippin stick. Would work for spinnerbaits as well.

[skunked]

This might be some useful info for you:
http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/view ... 47&t=30019
Ca Bass, please post a review with pics of your super volume fiber rod when you get it! Are you holding another tournament with your wife in order to win a matching Steez reel? Lol!

[Ca_Bass]

I will definitely review it for all. I thought about having another fish off to get the steez reel to match as well

But we decided that we would do this once a year....and we are thinking it will be to win our anniversarry present, though I know if I win I will still get her something.

I got a team daiwa viento about a month ago...tacklewarehouse had them on sale for $89 normally $185 to $209:D I was planning on using that on it, since its a pretty awesome jig reel (not quite as smooth when I have the spool tension knob loose, the way I like it when I'm pitching, but it's quite nice when I have it at a normal setting). Plus the twitching bar is pretty cool, it really helps me keep a constant feel on my lure since I don't have to take my hand off to reel up slack..still getting trying to break the habit of just reeling though. Tackleware house doesn't have anymore vientos now. I don't know if they just stopped carrying them and were selling them super cheap, or if daiwa stopped making them all together. I always though they were kinda gimicky, but brand new and $89 I couldn't pass it up.



Even with the "heavy" 8.3oz viento I think the whole set up will be less than 11oz or so I'M SO EXCITED AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!

[Ca_Bass]

Marcusn,
If you wanna check out a curado or a citica in person, roys has some in stock. They have always sold me stuff significantly cheaper than what they have it marked for too. I think the curados are marked like 190 or 200 but I've never paid more than 170. The citica is marked at 119 and I bet she'll sell it cheaper. They didn't have much for casting rods in but I have bought a 6'6" medium hvy shimano compre. That is a good quality rod, better than my 6'6" med hvy prodigy and that would be good for many lures. I think it was marked at 150 and I got it for 100. I would HIGHLY recomend a 6'6" med hvy rod it probably the best utillity action and one more thing and then I'm done, I would. 6'6" rod better and it looks more at home than the 200 series curados on a 6'6" med hvy rod. I think the 200 series are better for medium and medium light rods.

Hope this helps.

[marcusn]

cool, i love roys. thanks for all the help guys.

[Stan Wright]

I was down at Brian"s Fishing Supply and he showed me a new Daiwa Casting reel.

It's the Megaforce 100 TSH

It has a "twitch bar" that you can use to inch the line in while holding both hands on the rod. A new way to fish the plastic worm?

He said it's a good first casting reel for someone getting started...
Under $60.

I think he posted something about the reel on his Facebook page.

[Ca_Bass]

I have the team daiwa viento..same reel esentially just the viento is the higher end model.

The twitchin bar is really cool, great for picking up the slack in your line after you work your rod tip up. Like Stan saids let's you keep both hands on the rod which is really important. I don't really like it for actually putting any action on the lure. I experimented a little bit with and it just pulls/hops it. I like to shake my worm.

And if you don't end up using the bar, it makes a nice lure holder