Baitcaster?

[M_A_C_K]

I really want to get a baitcaster but i don't have much money to spend. I want something that preforms nice but isn't outrageous on price. Can anyone help me out? I would like to spend 50-100 bucks?

[Tavery5]

Shimano Citica, Lew's Speed Spool, and BPS Pro Qualifier, seem to be very solid reels in this price range.

[carolina-rig-01]

I would look really hard at Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier reels. We just bought a handful of them for my wife but so far they are crazy smooth and cast really well.

[bamabassman]

ABU PROMAX,SILVERMAX. at your local wally world pal. great reels and good price. i have 2 promax's and 1 silver max. love em.

[Backwater Charlie]

I say go for a BPS Tournament Pro Qualifier for $79.99. Or get a Citica, Revo S, Tierra, etc slightly used or new from eBay (price is lower there).

[M_A_C_K]

What about baitcaster combos?... is there any decent ones out there worth buying?

[cassidyta]

I don't know if you have Sport's authority in your area, but they sell a decent pflueger combo that usually sells for $99, but is often on sale for $79.

I am sure that most guys on here will agree that you will be hard to find a decent combo that will last in your price range. That being said, the fish won't know the difference.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by M_A_C_K

What about baitcaster combos?... is there any decent ones out there worth buying?

No, Baitcaster combo's are not a good deal. One might be ok and the other is usually crap(rod/reel). Most B/C's under $100 are junk, the quality of components aren't very good. Rods are getting less expensive for good blanks. Good reels run about $130-150 to start, Rods beginning around $100 but sometimes you can find sales.

[walkeraviator]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Most B/C's under $100 are junk, the quality of components aren't very good.

Not true. Yes there are a lot of junk reels under $100, but there are also some outstanding reels made of quality material and workmanship. The BPS will run with reels way outside of its price point. If you go to Wal-Mart you can get the Revo S brand new for $100 (at least at my local wal-mart you can.)

I do agree with Tomegun on the combo though. Most combos have the cheapest crappiest rods they can get to keep price down. I have had a few combos like this. Had a Quantum Tenacity combo... Rod snapped mid cast on a lure that was on the lower end of the rated weight range for the rod. Have a BlackMax combo I bought at Wal-Mart right now. It has zero sensitivity.

If you wanna keep the price down, I suggest going to Bass Pro and buying a BPS Extreme Reel on a Lightning Rod Shock. Neither components are top notch, but if taken care of last forever, and perform extremely well for their price. It may not be an all start setup, but if you wanna keep the price of the whole combo below $100 this rig will do the job very well.

[CamG]

Originally Posted by walkeraviator

Not true. Yes there are a lot of junk reels under $100, but there are also some outstanding reels made of quality material and workmanship. The BPS will run with reels way outside of its price point. If you go to Wal-Mart you can get the Revo S brand new for $100 (at least at my local wal-mart you can.)

I do agree with Tomegun on the combo though. Most combos have the cheapest crappiest rods they can get to keep price down. I have had a few combos like this. Had a Quantum Tenacity combo... Rod snapped mid cast on a lure that was on the lower end of the rated weight range for the rod. Have a BlackMax combo I bought at Wal-Mart right now. It has zero sensitivity.

If you wanna keep the price down, I suggest going to Bass Pro and buying a BPS Extreme Reel on a Lightning Rod Shock. Neither components are top notch, but if taken care of last forever, and perform extremely well for their price. It may not be an all start setup, but if you wanna keep the price of the whole combo below $100 this rig will do the job very well.

I've got two good fishing buddies that have these combos and have had them for a number of years with no problems. These were the older Lighting Rods, but I'm sure the new Shocks are just as good. You can have a combo like this for $110. I think it would make a heckuva setup for most anyone.

[smittyman]

http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ad.php?t=27279

Read that, pick one mentioned.

[unbiased14]

add the black max. I've had no problems with it.

[BigBassin144]

I'm pretty impressed so far with the BPS Pro Qualifier for a $100 reel. The Citica is good as well for a little more.

BB

[M_A_C_K]

So from what i gather minimum quality is 80-100 bucks for a reel and 50 bucks for a rod? Cuz i know alot of ppl have bought ****ty baitcasters and were highly disappointed.

[BigBurlyBass]

The citica was the first baitcaster I bought and I was not dissapointed the reel is very light, it is smooth, and it looks great to. Great reel for the price!

[Jim80]

you could get a diawa megaforce for around 70 bucks and it's a solid reel and walmart and a few other places carry the pinnacle reels which are solid reels as well .


Jim

[Lvitch]

I think the price point on both is about 80-90$. I have a bunch of bps extremes that I have beat up and fished hard (2 club tourneys a month +) with very minimal maintenance for going on 5 years now, that still perform great. They go on sale for $60 I believe. And I'm hooked on the ABU vendettas which are a great rod for $80. They have both been great, and I'm a pretty serious n cheap tackle junky lol the 2 balance well and are very light also. Be aware there are 2 different pro qualifiers. One is a cheapy and I would avoid It. The more expensive one (129$ I believe) is good. Avoid the other.

[M_A_C_K]

Originally Posted by Lvitch

I think the price point on both is about 80-90$. I have a bunch of bps extremes that I have beat up and fished hard (2 club tourneys a month +) with very minimal maintenance for going on 5 years now, that still perform great. They go on sale for $60 I believe. And I'm hooked on the ABU vendettas which are a great rod for $80. They have both been great, and I'm a pretty serious n cheap tackle junky lol the 2 balance well and are very light also. Be aware there are 2 different pro qualifiers. One is a cheapy and I would avoid It. The more expensive one (129$ I believe) is good. Avoid the other.

Medium heavy? Cuz i figure im going to use the baitcaster for power fishing and spinning reel for finesse. The more recommendations and opinions you guys give me the easier my choices seem to get.

[nobass]

sent you pm

[tomegun]

I went to Cabela's and saw that there was some St Croix's on sale. The Premier, Mojo, and Triumph's all are the SCii blank. Depending on where you buy from(Dick's, Cabela's, Bass Pro's...), you can go from $60-100. I like the Premier graphite crankbait rod alot(I got 4 of them) and the Mojo's very cool too. Don't get me wrong, I have my share of high price rods too. Right now, I would definitely use Premiers over my high price Loomis' and Kistlers.

My rod collection has taken years to compile. Don't be shy about asking for options, there is alot of experience willing to share.

Medium heavies are a good all purpose rods.

[M_A_C_K]

Yeah theres so many ways to go... i just want something of great quality for as cheap as i can get lol... there are so many choices... im just kind of flustered cuz i need to pick somthing that will last me for a few years at least...

[nobass]

re pm you sorry for typo

[walkeraviator]

Lvitch is right there are two Pro Qualifiers. One is a tournament pro qualifier. But he is dead wrong that the cheaper one isnt as good as the other one. It is a $30 price difference, and as far as i can tell the only difference is that the tournament model is lighter.

[fish4942]

Originally Posted by M_A_C_K

Yeah theres so many ways to go... i just want something of great quality for as cheap as i can get lol... there are so many choices... im just kind of flustered cuz i need to pick somthing that will last me for a few years at least...

I’m a huge Bass Pro Shops brand advocate. I have the Pro Qualifier(PQ) and several Johnny Morris reels. I haven’t seen any reel that’s even close to matching the PQ for the price. I believe they are on sale now for about $80.00. If not, it’s still a steal at $100.00. You can tell by the comments on hear from people that uses it as well as the BPS reviews. Of course having a variety of choices the American way. So I’d say PQ, Abu Garcia Orra SX, and uh, lets through the Quantum Accurist in there. I do have the Accurist which is a good reel. Caught it on sale at Scheels for $70. Speaking of Scheels, they do have a Abu Garcia Revo S combo that is very nice. Rod is not a cheapo like you would find on many combos. Personally, if I was going to by my first baitcasting reel I’d get that combo no questions asked. It’s a fairly light combo and the rod is a split-grip 6’6” medium heavy. If I go in there and they have dropped the price I still might get it for gp.


I’m glad you mentioned “somthing that will last me for a few years at least...”. That really means you don’t want a super cheap setup from Wal-Mart. You’ll want to invest a little bit to get something that you’ll use for years even when you start to upgrade your equipment.


Reel: Bass Pro Shops- Pro Qualifier 6.4:1 ($79.97)

Rod: Berkley- Lighting Rod Shock 6’6” MH ($49.99)


My $.02

[DVT Mike]

You get what you pay for to some degree, but there are plenty of well built, fairly durable reels in the $75-$120 range. Especially during sale times. If you need to go closer to the $50 price point, look at the Pinnacles (Solene etc).