Fishing Forum

Hello folks,

The reel on the baitcaster combo I bought at BPS is starting to make a funky noise whenever I do long casts now. Doesn't look like it's gonna hold up to serious fishing. Since it still works otherwise I was gonna load it up with braid and not use it for distance casting.

Which leads me to the reasone for this post... I was hoping someone could recommend a nice baitcasting reel thaty doesn't cost a million dollars. Something in the 60 to 90 dollar range would probably keep me out of trouble w/ the wife. I do most of my shopping on Amazon, so it doesn't really matter if it's locally available or not. I have a nice rod sitting reeless already so I get the reel and I'm good to go.

I almost bought the Daiwa Strikeforce SF100SH Baitcasting Reel for 50 from Amazon, but then decided to ask here first as the other reel works so I am not gonna get in a rush and make a mistake.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I just want a solid reel that will hold up... doesn't need to be fancy. I really liked that BSP reel until it started making that noise.

Thank you folks,
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Well I never became a big baitcaster freak myself always preferred light spinning gear. I have dozens of lower end models but they all lack. The only one I actually spent money on was the one that performed the best. I love my abu garcia ambaseur c3 I use it primarily as my swimbait outfit. Thats the only one I could really vouch for. Generally I would think go with the better quality brands and dish out the $150 [cool]
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[cool] I use an older Shimano Curado all the time and have had no problems with it. But the new ones are alot more money. Check out the Shimao Corvolus. I got a 400 series for big swimbaits. They make them in 100,200,300, and 400 series. I think Sport Chalet on Marks St. still has them for about $60.
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I picked up a couple of Shimano Corsair 300s and love them. They can be had for less than $30 bucks used on ebay and you can make those reels scream.
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A wise man (Whizzle) once told me not to bother with baitcasters under $100. I've owned a few and I'm inclined to agree. If the budget constraint is reel bad, hahhaha, buying a used reel off eBay or craigslist may be a good option.

You might score a reel that sells new for $100-150 for $50 to $75 dollars. The key to scoring on used gear is patience and research. Good luck on your search, Mark.
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Oh and I have a Shimano 100series($65 new) reel that did the same thing to me after a day of throwing the big casitas baits.

It may have as much to do with what the reel is rated for as the quality though.
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