[Joe the Logger]

Settled on a new St. Croix 6' 6" medium rod, looking for thoughts on the best baitcast reel to hang on it. This rod will be exclusive to Bass fishing. Every sales person says theres is the best, looking for real world reports, any any brand to steer clear of.

 

[Gitzit]

I've had the best luck with shimano curado"s, I think all shimanos are durable though. I have the same rod by the way.

 

[NanookOdaNorth]

Another vote for the Curado...I just sold a bunch of them on ebay, they really hold their value!

 

[Realtrehntr]

How much you wanna spend?

 

[John-PA]

Definitely depends on how much you want to spend. The only reel I would stay away from is the Abu Garcia Revo, I have heard a lot of complaints over the last couple years about those reels. I have Shimano's, Quantum's and a couple Daiwa's. Never had a problem with any of them.

 

[MadMortarMan]

Shimano Curado E is in my opinion the best reel made right now.

 

[blackpowder]

I used quantum's for years and had good luck with them. I later ended up with abu Garcia 6600C4's and really like them. I now have 3 of them and have used them here in pa and use them at the obx when I go there. they have been great reels for me, however you might think they are a little big for what you want. they work well here with a large buzz bait, large spinner bait or big worms.

 

[GOOSE 16]

Out of the new baitcaster's out there I've got to try the quantum exo, abu Garcia revo, shimano curado, shimano chronarch. Exo was nice but not quantums best ever performer, revo very nice in fact purchased two, curado solid... only thing I can really say they perform nice for the money, chronarch very solid pretty much no different feel than the curado except they do get a tad more distance. I feel the curado, chronarch, & revo will all give you plenty of bang for the buck. The exo was kinda a let down for quantum...

 

[jlh42581]

the curado is a good reel, far from the best reel made.

Price... we need to know this to start
Intention... is this the only rod you have, i keep 8 on my deck
Size of baits... a curado50/51e or pixy will throw a 1/16oz lure

BPS offers a few really great reels that are under priced for what the reel offers. I fish high end reels and BPS and service all my reels. I mean full service into the pinion gears, drag washers.... BPS reels are built great for the price.

I like the way Daiwa is built but it can be unforgiving. They have the only true magnetic brake in the industry but they can be finicky. Lots need to over compensate on the brakes and spool tension once they get the right lube in it because firing it like a rocket is no longer required = backlash city especially with fluorocarbon.

 

[jlh42581]

You should buy a megabass hyper lariat... on sale right now $877

http://samuraitackle.com/fishing/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20492

Oh if only I were loaded

 

[quakbak]

Have good experiences with the bass pro extremes and higher priced models. Stay away from pfluegers. Had the most expensive one and the bass pro extremese are way better.

 

[lwrsusq]

In my opinion the bass pro shops pro qualifier is the best reel for the money.. I have a couple of em and they feel much more solid than any of my others.. You can get em on sale for 79 if you watch, or theyre 99 normally.. I have 4 bait casters I use on a regular basis, and the 2 with my pro qualifiers are my favorite by far..

 

[GOOSE 16]

I've had bps pro qualifier stuff in the past and hated it have they changed something over the last few years? I went to take a look at the reviews and they seem to be well received...

 

[lwrsusq]

I'm not a huge fan of the spinning stuff (just the look mainly).. I use all st croix rods, so I don't have experience with their rods.. I LOVE the baitcaster.. I've used much more expensive reels that I don't like nearly as much as the pro qualifier.. Reels are such personal preference though, but the reviews are pretty incredible for a reel of that $ range

 

[Buckethead]

The vast majority of my baitcasters are Abu Garcias Either 5600 0r 6600 series. I like the barrel style reels. I've never had a problem with any of them.

 

[Joe the Logger]

I ordered a Curado online. I was out today and stopped at a shop to spook around. The owner was changing some displays and as we talked I told him I was upgrading my Bass gear. He then asked if I liked this reel he just took off his display rack, an Abu Garcia Ambassador Silver. I admitted it felt nice and seemed to roll like a Swiss watch. Long story short, he let me have it for $35. He said they have a new model now with a different gear ratio, so the old has to go. According to him that was his cost. How did I do ?