Lew's is a company that's been around for a long time. They've always had a good reputation. I think I even own a Lew's bait caster. {You can tell I have too much junk, don't even know what I have }
Just saying that if you run across something from Lew's that looks good to you, take a chance on it.

 

Lews are usually pretty good but they've recently changed their parts. Now you can no longer buy directly from them. You have to buy from a 3rd party which significantly raises the cost to repair.

 

The Diawa Tatula CT is a great reel for a good price. KastKing seems to be getting more popular and I just bought a KastKing Zepher. Seems very nice but I have not had it on the water yet. I have opened it up and I am surprised at the build quality. That said the first one I received had a big scar inside where the screwdriver slipped off the screw and cracked the plastic on the magnet holder. Amazon had me a new one the next day.

 

leeabu knows his stuff. for certain And I agree with him on the KastKing Zepher BFS
On sale.... Amazon $59.00. Here it is compared to a $300 Revo Premier.
Only 5.6 oz. 25% less then the Revo. Has a shallow skipping spool, a very popular feature these days.
Plus.... will throw a 1/8 oz. ned over my neighbors house!

Highly recommend!
Revo is on the right

 

With today's prices, I'm not sure how a bait casting reel that costs 50 bucks can really be that good.
Shimano and other good reels cost more for a reason.....and will have parts available for most of our lifetime.
If you have a retail store nearby, go turn the handle on a 50 buck reel vs. a 200 dollar one. You'll see/feel the difference immediately.

 

Shimano only makes parts for about 5 years after the model has been discontinued. Not only Shimano but most manufacturers.

 

@DeathFromAbove
I'll keep an eye out on the Lew's brand reels and take a look at some YouTube videos on them, to have a better idea of what they offer.
@berkshirepresident
I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for, but I have ran across equipment that was too good to believe and was pleasantly surprised. It's entirely possible to find a decent bait cast reel between $50 and $100. I need to keep my options open and look at more brands, like Shimano and Lew's to see what they offer too.

 

This doesn't apply to spinning reals, but part of what makes expensive bait casters so expensive today is the excellent anti-backlash technology that exists.
FWIW, I like Lews but I'm not sure if I'd go the KastKing route or not. But, opinions very.....which is fine.
I really like Shimano and Daiwa reels. I've been pleased with some middle to high end Pflueger spinning reels over the years.
I have six or so Shimano Solstace Spinning reels that are probably 25-30 years old that still work great. Two size 4000 Solstace reels still get heavy use.
I have a Shimano Mark II that I got from Koenig's in Richmond Mall around 1988 or so. It's dated but it was my first nice reel.
I have at least two Pfueger spinning reels.....a Supreme and a Supreme XT........that are pushing 20 years old and are still in A+ condition.
I didn't get hooked on Daiwa BG spinning reels until 4-5 years ago....right after the BG was updated.
As you said, you get what you pay for. I just don't know how long Chinesium reels will last or how long parts will remain available.
I probably buy 75% or more of my reels when they go on sale. Heck.....maybe all of them were on sale?
But tight lines to you.....whatever reel you pick.

 

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/mach-mach-2-slp-baitcast-reel

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/lews-pro-sp-baitcast-reel

Note how the cheaper reel has a graphite frame while the more expensive one is made from aluminum.

Stepping away from Lews:

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-pro-qualifier-2-baitcast-reel

More expensive but NICE:

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/daiwa-tatula-100-baitcast-reel-100164747

 

I don’t know that you can find a better reel for the money ($100) than the Shimano SLX.

 

I see lots of excellent reviews on the SLX but I have never had one in my hand. I have a Curado DC that I do not care for. If I was to buy another Shimano, it would probably be the SLX. Also Diawa CA80 is about $100. I have not had this one in my hand either but I have several models of Diawa and I like them all.

 

I've been watching the current stock of fishing accessories at Walmart. Every year they do the same thing about this time....and that's put "clearance" prices on last year's inventory, because the new 2024 stuff is arriving.

I find it entertaining in a way, because those items were full price last week and were supposedly capable of catching fish. Suddenly, they're obsolete and being replaced.
I found an Abu Garcia Black Max bait caster with left handed cranks on "clearance" for $19.99 and I couldn't leave it on the shelf. Last week it was $51.99.

 

By pure coincidence, this Black Max is black with red trim and my only bait casting rod is a Berkley red with black trim. Must have been meant to be. I spooled up some Spiderwire 15 lb. braid, to do some jigging.

 

Speaking of KastKing.
Last year was my first year targeting Muskie a good bit, but I was using my bass swimbait set up and while it did hold up to the Muskies I caught last year, I don’t see it holding up another full year of Muskie fishing.
Back to KastKing. I recently bought a Diawa Prorex 9’5 Muskie rod and I’m now looking for a reel to go with it. Has anyone used the KastKing Kapstan 300 Elite? I read they were pretty good reels, but you never know if those reviews come from someone that works for KastKing or gets paid to do the reviews. Same goes for the Piscifun Alijoz 300.
Has anyone used either of these reels and what do you think?

 

I buy used Abu Garcia 6000/6500s with a bait clicker for $70/$80. They run forever, or have readily available pieces for upkeep. They hold their value if you want to trade or sell them off. I'm a practicer of the belief, "Buy once, cry once."

 

I too buy the Abu 5000 6000 and 6500 they do last forever and I fish with them for Cats and mainly for the memories of days past

 

Love My Shimano's But no one mentioned Bass Pro models I like the Carbonlite $129 and I have a couple Tourney T/s dirt cheap but work well at $59.00 also have a Pro qualifier at $99 all these reels work very well for the money I can not say they are as good as my Shimano's but for the money.......

 

I have only 2 baitcasters, one is a low profile FLW (Forrest L Wood) that was sold as a rod & reel set at Wal Mart. Cheap as hell, but it works. The other is an Abu Garcia 6500 C3 mounted on a Gander Mountain medium heavy action 7'6" rod that I use for Musky.

I paid decent money for the Musky rig, but, like I said, the FLW was really cheap, but it has its uses. The first time my BIL took me fishing for Smallies around the Ashtabula breakwall I brought it for a reason I no longer remember, but wound up glad that I did. He decided to troll outside the breakwall along the 25' contour. I put an 800 Series Reef Runner deep diver on and caught the biggest Smallie of my life! It was 20+ inches and my BIL guessed the weight at about 8lbs! It pulled like a freight train, and if I'd have been using a spinning outfit I never could have handled it. Sometimes you just need a winch!

 

As stated in a previous post, the Shimano SLX is hard to beat for the money.

 

When you guys say Shimano SLX, do you mean the A Model or the DC model?

 

I have an MGL70 and a regular SLX A. The MGL looks prettier, but functionally I can't say it's worth an extra $50.

 

I would go with the NON DC model.

 

The only brand I'll recommend is Shimano. Buy either one of the slx's. Daiwa is a close 2nd IMHO. But they've been having issues lately and the parts support isn't what it used to be. The rest of them for the most part are made by the same 2 companies in China and Korea. Lews, revo, pflueger, johnny Morris and more all come from the same factory. The quality control isn't the same as Shimano. Buy a Shimano. Take care of it, service it regularly. It will last you a long time and work well. And if you go to sell it, you'll get top dollar for it trust me. I just sold my stradic fj that I had for 10 years that I paid 149 for and sold it for 175.