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Got a birthday coming up, an occasion I annually use to get a new reel. And I've had my eye on the Daiwa Megaforce with the "twitchin bar" that picks up 7 inches of line at a touch for worming, something I do a lot. I know, I know, it's a gimmick that causes many guys to bite on a feature they'll not really use. But I get most of my fish on a Texas-rig crawdad that I constantly hop, hop, hop. So I'm curious -- anybody got the reel (the cheap model, that is) and know about the twitchin bar first hand? Please share.
While we're at it, anybody know a good source for reconditioned baitcasters? A senior with medical bills out the ear, I need to hold reels as far under $100 as possible.
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I have played with the twitchin' bar on the Viento (the higher-end reel). I like the idea of it for flippin', because I often find it a hassle to switch hands just to reel in 2 feet of line. I figure I could use the twitchin' bar to do that while my rod is still in my right hand.
Regarding the Megaforce, I have a friend who had one and it didn't last long. Maybe he didn't maintain it, but it's worth noting.
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Thanks, Scott. The twitchin' reel I'm watching has more bearings than any baitcaster I own, so I'm optimistic. All of mine are cheap, but I look for bargains, then do weekly maintenance. I can't imagine a high end reel.
Hey, I started fishing as a poor wader on the Texas coast, using a battered plastic Quantum out of a pawn shop. As a church mouse, my goal then, and now, is to spend as little as possible. I've never paid more than $50 for a reel and only use baitcasters. My best one is part of a Bill Dance combo from Bass Pro, which cost $65, including a good pole. I'll buy pawned and yard sale reels that show promise and clean 'rm up. Sometimes I rescue a good one, but I really need to learn how to change out bearings.
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Hey Revrusty,
I have an old Bass Pro Extreme baitcaster you would be welcome to if you could just find a way to pay for the shipping. It served me well in its day and caught bass over 5 pounds. Of course it shows some wear, although I tried my best to take care of it.
The only real problem is that sometimes after engaging it, the anti-reverse will slip and instead of stopping instantly if you reel backwards, it will go about a quarter or half a turn. Of course I don't reel backwards but some lures require you to give the rod little jerks, and the line tension from doing this will sometimes cause the handle to back up a little.
It doesn't do this every cast, just sometimes. Let me know if you're interested. I'm sure the shipping is only 3-4 bucks.
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Wow, I'll take you up on that generous offer. Thank you! Please send your snail mail address to [url "mailto:revrusty@gmail.com"]revrusty@gmail.com[/url] and I'll include $5 with my address. Let me know if you need more postage.
You know, I'm thinking of reel covers to keep 'em looking better. Then my reels would be protected from dings to and from the lake and I could stuff the covers in an ODC pocket.
Its problem doesn't sound too bad. I'm used to making do. I guess I recently got some oil down the shaft of a Curado Bantam, my best reel, causing the drag not to work. (Didn't find that out until on the water and tried to set the hook.) I worked on it three times and the drag works a little now, but in the mean time I've learned to put my thumb on the spool in order to keep using it.
I'm not bad on cleaning, but I really need to learn how to replace bearings. I snapped up an old Daiwa (so faded I can't tell the model) at a yard sale because the spool spun very fast. Excited, I cleaned it and went fishing, but  ly it made a rattling noise on long casts (bearing, right?) and I didn't get adequate distance. I'd probably be good for short casts beating the bank, so it's a backup. But it'd be a starter with new bearings. I don't like risking a good but diminishing reel by taking it all apart, but if I messed up that old Daiwa in a learning experience I wouldn't be too disappointed.
What baitcasters do you use? How much do they cost? Are the $100-plus reels really worth the money for a weekender like me?
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I might also have a few (OK) reels i can part with if it helps out a fellow angler and definitely a tuber.
I use mostly Shimano and Quantum products. I have some Shimano Chronarchs, Curados, Calais, Calcuta's and Quantum Tour PT's, Energy's, and accurists. I have a BPS reel that i got in a combo. The rod was good and the reel is ok just not up to snuff with my other stuff. I think its an extreem?
Any how, it seems that for reels the more you spend the better you get, for me at least. The stuff way up there in the $400 price range, for me seems to not have enough benefit for the extra price, but the stuff in the middle at aorund $200 retail is priceless i think at maximizing your on the water fun time. Less backlashes, less worries, no brakage, all meens more fishing time for me.
That being said, i am not made of money and i'm always looking for a deal. I very rarely pay retail but i have once or twice.
My advise is one GOOD reel is better that 6 Ok reels. Thats just me i know its hard for some to round up that cash but i would rather lose a few days on the water and save up for a good reel. There are some good ones to be had at $100 bucks. The Shimano Citica comes to mind. Worry free fishing for me is priceless.
Just my $0.02.
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Around $200, huh? Even $100 makes Reel Schematics' deal of a reel maintance manual and how-to-start-a-reel-repair book seem affordable.
Maybe there's more too a clean reel casting far that its bearings being replaced. But I keep thinking new bearings will solve the distance problem.
I don't backlash very much, but then again I fish lakes that usually are protected from wind. Seldom must I cast into a strong wind. I mostly tend to get a snarl after something big splashes on the edge of my normal casting range. I give it something extra to reach farther, and that added elbow grease earns the backlash.
Also, I go out with four reels and sometimes forget their quirks. My most expensive reel at $70, marked down from $120 as I remember, is a six-year-old BPS Extreme that's presently shelved in need of new bearings after losing casting distance.
Haven't gotten a raise this century, so I just can't afford any more than necessary. I haunt eBay and look for bargains at discount stores. I did splurge for a $70 Bill Dance combo out of BPS two years ago, and it's by far my best. I use it for long casts with cranks. Next best is a Wal-Mart Quantum, marked way down after originally being part of a combo and now missing its cap. So I went home, gathered caps, went back and found one that fit. The best reel should be my Curado Bantam found in a Shakespeare box of the closeout bin at K-Mart, which stopped carrying baitcasters. But I stupidly got oil into the drag shaft, making it unpredictable and dangerous for hooksets. It'll start out the day OK, but lose drag as used -- that's a pain. I also use a old model Daiwa MagnaForce that I got new off eBay, with a flippin' switch (yeah, I'm a sucker for those.) My only backup is the shelved BPS.
I'm happy with my four cork-handle rods. Well, let's say I don't know enough about rods to want better. None's probably more than $20, but they work.
Please let me know if any of yours are for sale. I don't care how they look as long as they get decent range.
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I totally agree with MadBasser. That's one of the reasons I'm giving away the reel, for years I tried to find the cheapest way to build an arsenal. Now I find myself selling reels 2-3 off on eBay to try to buy one new reel (and adding money on top if necessary).
I too am a big Shimano fan. I have a few Shimanos, a couple of Quantums, an Abu Revo and a Daiwa Luna. This is just for me personally, but I decided recently that I do not want to fish reels that sell for under around the $150 range (that doesn't mean I have to spend that amount on them). Fishing is important to me. I'm not rich by any means, but whatever spending money I do get goes towards tackle.
On the other hand, I'm not very willing to spend over $200 on a reel either. For example, I don't think a Chronarch or Core is that much better than a Curado, at least the way my financial situation is.
And I also second the recommendation of the Citica. The old D series was a very good value, the E series is actually a really nice reel for $100ish. I am hoping to sell a Citica and Curado (both D series) soon to buy a Curado e7.
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Sorry rusty, My intention was not to knock-down your equipment. Hope you didn't take it that way.
If it works for you thats great. You probably have more skill than me, being able to compensate for each reels quircks. I am anal about having all my stuff fish the same so picking up one reel is the same as all the others.
As far as reparing your old ones with new berrings. I say jump in! It is easy to tear appart a reel. Some have hidden screws, but just don't force anything, keep tearing it down were you can and evetually you will find the hidden screw. If they don't work now they can't get any worse. I have yet to tear one down and have stuff fly all over the place and not be able to put it back. One good trick is to tear it down inside a large plastic zip lock bag so it will catch all the peices and not have to look for them on the floor. I dought that there is any book out there is completely comprehensive in the teardown of ALL reels so it would just be generall anyways. You can order berrings from one of the sponsers on this site (Boca Berrings). You just take the old ones out measure them with a caliper ( digital one is best, get a cheap one from Harbor Frights), call them up with your specs and they will send you replacements. I will say that if you do that it might cost you more than you might want to spend.
I did find a good reel on sale at BPS when they have thier Fishing expo. I got the $190 Quantum Accurist for $29. That was a killer deal. I always keep an eye out for that stuff.
And i would not dream of selling you any reels i don't use anymore. I can put then in a flat rate box for the post office and send them your way. I just need to check witch ones i can send. I will send you an email in the next few days.
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I bow to your, and MadBasser's, experience and expertise. Thanks so much for your information.
Fishing is a big part of my life, too, even though it's pretty much limited to Saturday morning's until 10 a.m. My invalid wife is my top priority, as God would have it. When I was a pastor my prayer was to reach as many as possible. My wife's prayer, as a female Forest Gump, one of the last kids in America to get polio before the Salk vaccine, was for someone to help her. I am the answer to her prayer. But mine was answered, too. Although not in the pulpit, I reach an untold number as the writer of fundraising materials for various organizations and ministries. I'm told I make millions for people, but very little for me -- which is fine. I'm glad to take what the Lord gives to do such work. So I appreciate your kindness and generosity.
Fishing is a great release from my work and my care of my wife. And it's something I do with the Lord. Maybe it's because the Bible shows Jesus knows where the fish are, but I'm not alone alone on the water when I'm by myself. A late starter as an angler, I never could cast well, and at 63 I'm not getting any better. I have to ask for help to get under the branches or between obstacles to reach the right spots, and He complies. And when I land one, even a little guy, the whole lake hears Who made it possible. Thanks again.
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[quote MadBasser]Sorry rusty, My intention was not to knock-down your equipment. Hope you didn't take it that way.
==> Nope. Didn't think that at all.
You probably have more skill than me, being able to compensate for each reel's quirks.
==> Not really. For years I waded with just one pole, then added an ultra-light spinner for the fun of landing a bull red on a flimsy rig. I added a second rod holder to my wading belt for three rigs in my U-boat. Now with a custom 3-rod holder on my ODC, I went up to four this spring. So quirks still are new to me.
I remember hearing Rick Clunn say on a TV show that he used to shuffle between several rods and reels until he realized how much time he was wasting getting comfortable again with each reel during the day. I think he now uses copies of the same reel to keep it simple. That utopia would be nice, maybe the subject for another post: what one reel would that be?
As far as reparing your old ones with new bearings. I say jump in! It is easy to tear apart a reel. ... I have yet to tear one down and have stuff fly all over the place and not be able to put it back.
==> So you've successfully changed bearings? Do the reels perform as new, I hope?
One good trick is to tear it down inside a large plastic zip lock bag so it will catch all the peices and not have to look for them on the floor.
==> Now that's a tip I can and will use! The next time in fact.
You just take the old ones out, measure them with a caliper (digital one is best, get a cheap one from Harbor Frights), call them up with your specs and they will send you replacements. I will say that if you do that it might cost you more than you might want to spend.
==> I gotta price bearings then. Can two or three of them add up to more than $40?
I can put then in a flat rate box for the post office and send them your way. I just need to check which ones i can send. I will send you an email in the next few days
==> Fabtastic! Let me know when you're ready, and I'll gladly cover your postage and then some. .[/quote]
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