Baitcaster recommendations

[NArmstrong]

Just looking at buying a baitcaster. I've used one before but never owned one. I'm looking at using it with SP's fishing for bream flathead/ mangrove jacks etc. prob 11lb line (ish). I'm gonna head into tackle world in brissy some time soon but I thought I would get some ausfish opinions?

[chris69]

Whats your budget?????????????????????

[phantomphisher]

I've got an abu garcia revo sx, smooth as and has served me well for a couple of years for a fairly decent price.

Cheers, PP

[xxMothxx]

For SPs I'd stick with spinning gear. Casting anything under 1/4oz with a baitcaster, especially if there is a bit of wind about, is hard work. For Jacks though I use a Calcutta 400 with 15lb main line but that's with hard body lures or live baits.

[davo]

I agree. SP for Bream definitely spin gear. In fact if you insist on the light lures then the price goes way up. I suppose Shimano Curado is my recommendation as a good baitcaster reel. I have a heap of Shimano baitcasters and love them. Really you have to pay a bit for a decent baitcaster reel. Cheaper baitcasters are terrible to cast.

[JohnWard]

Hey NArmstrong, I literally paid for a membership just to reply here (and everywhere else now). I may only be a young fella of 21 but I've had several baitcasters that I've used over my last year of fishing. Firstly I got an Abu Garcia Pro Max 2 ($100) which was a decent enough entry-level baitcaster (I've got a decent thumb so I could use it well without birdsnests. However it seized up a bit after 8 months of 2-3 times a week of use. Not bad for a hundred dollars. Secondly I bought a Shimano Curado 200g7 ($267) (for the high gear ratio) and it casts like a breeze. Its a very good reel but after about six months of use the levelwind seized up on me when I hooked a shark, there was a little bit of weed that ground into the levelwind and destroyed the pawl screw I think. Took it to barra jacks and they fixed it but now I've retired it to freshwater only at least until i find a good tackleguard and replace the felt stock drag washers with carbon fibre and replace the bearings with ceramic ones. This brings me to my current (and favourite) baitcaster the Abu Garcia Revo 3 Inshore ($289) which is a true titan of baitcasters. It seems resistant to a lot of corrosion and it runs smooth as silk. Casting with it is much like the Curado and i can get the same distance off it as i could with a spin reel using soft plastics. I've been using Squidgies wild prawns in bloodworm colour on a 1/4 ounce 1/0 sized jighead and they cast fine. The trick is to make sure you have the thumb work required down pat. But I truly think if youre using it in saltwater at all the revo inshore is excellent. Just my two cents but I've never been a fan of daiwa baitcasters because until youre paying ~$450+ they arent that great (plus I'm a fan of the higher gear ratios). But I'll also admit the Daiwa TWS (T wing system) will get you about another 10-20% distance off your cast without practice. If youre set on a baitcaster get one with a decent braking system because there is a VERY noticeable difference between the magnetic brake of the ProMax to that of the Curado or Revo Inshore. But for the price of that you could get an $80 spin combo for soft plastics use. Sorry for the long post but I felt that the more information you got the better. Also I've done a tonne of research into baitcasters so if you can give a budget and how much saltwater-freshwater use it'll do I can give you another long post of suitable answers.

[NArmstrong]

Hey NArmstrong, I literally paid for a membership just to reply here (and everywhere else now). I may only be a young fella of 21 but I've had several baitcasters that I've used over my last year of fishing. Firstly I got an Abu Garcia Pro Max 2 ($100) which was a decent enough entry-level baitcaster (I've got a decent thumb so I could use it well without birdsnests. However it seized up a bit after 8 months of 2-3 times a week of use. Not bad for a hundred dollars. Secondly I bought a Shimano Curado 200g7 ($267) (for the high gear ratio) and it casts like a breeze. Its a very good reel but after about six months of use the levelwind seized up on me when I hooked a shark, there was a little bit of weed that ground into the levelwind and destroyed the pawl screw I think. Took it to barra jacks and they fixed it but now I've retired it to freshwater only at least until i find a good tackleguard and replace the felt stock drag washers with carbon fibre and replace the bearings with ceramic ones. This brings me to my current (and favourite) baitcaster the Abu Garcia Revo 3 Inshore ($289) which is a true titan of baitcasters. It seems resistant to a lot of corrosion and it runs smooth as silk. Casting with it is much like the Curado and i can get the same distance off it as i could with a spin reel using soft plastics. I've been using Squidgies wild prawns in bloodworm colour on a 1/4 ounce 1/0 sized jighead and they cast fine. The trick is to make sure you have the thumb work required down pat. But I truly think if youre using it in saltwater at all the revo inshore is excellent. Just my two cents but I've never been a fan of daiwa baitcasters because until youre paying ~$450+ they arent that great (plus I'm a fan of the higher gear ratios). But I'll also admit the Daiwa TWS (T wing system) will get you about another 10-20% distance off your cast without practice. If youre set on a baitcaster get one with a decent braking system because there is a VERY noticeable difference between the magnetic brake of the ProMax to that of the Curado or Revo Inshore. But for the price of that you could get an $80 spin combo for soft plastics use. Sorry for the long post but I felt that the more information you got the better. Also I've done a tonne of research into baitcasters so if you can give a budget and how much saltwater-freshwater use it'll do I can give you another long post of suitable answers.

Thanks for the reply! And I think u will do we being a member of the ausfish clan! Very helpful butch here. Great load of information. I will have a look at the rego inshore and see what I think. At the moment I am using SPs about 90% but I do want to transition across to more hard lures. Revo is prob slightly higher than my price range but I might just save up a little longer to get something decent. Thanks.

[PeterKroll]

JohnWard, really helpful post with lots of background knowledge. I like it a lot.