Honestly, the curado 150mgl is worth looking into. Thumb bar has no mush, cast great, very smooth, good brakes, and durable finish. The Jdm market is also a good place to look Randy. You can get Shimano and daiwas high end models for WAY less than the US market and they are made in Japan. Only downside is the handles are typically smaller and the spools can be a little shallower, wich could be a plus as well.
I love Curados!!!! I've thrown Swimbaits up to 4 ounces for over 5 years and they're still buttery smooth! I can't say enough about the micro module gears and in house bearings. I'm to cheap for Mentaniums, but they're absolutely beautiful!!! Never had the thumb bar wear, great reliability, super smooth, casts a mile, and just don't have any issues!!!
I have tried many brands. I now only buy Shimano. There are other Manufactures that make some amazing reels that will perform as well or in some cases better when comparing reels of similar pricing. Here is the thing though, I like buying good quality upper mid-tier reels as I fish lots and need to depend on the equipment I am using. No mater what brand or price point you buy, reels are going to wear or break down. Unless someone can tell me different, no other company has the quality of service that Shimano has. It truly is amazing. Each winter, I look through my reels and box up the ones that don't feel right, send them to Shimano factory service center along with forms filled out online. Shimano charges a flat fee that depends on the price point of the reel to fix it. No extra costs or surprises. I get a reel back with a detailed report of what was fixed and replaced and a reel that feels brand new. Any other reel brand has been nothing but headaches and even a repair bill that can cost near as much as a new reel. Never an issue with Shimano
I came here to recommend the elite as well.. I got a revo rkt, the abu Ike and the elite is by far my favorite.. Tried a buddy's slx DC but it wasn't for me
I own all Shimano. Have one of just about all their reels except new Metanium. The Curado 70 MGL and the 150 MGL I think they are the middle of road great but the Bantam is awesome just more money.
Shimano MGL Chronarch not the most expensive but these are very good for the money , shimano is a gear company , to me they make the best reels and they hold up better to me than all and I’ve been through a ton of others
I personally use the Lew’s Tournament MP reels for most of my heavy flipping rods. It has 20 pounds of drag and combat grip knobs. It’s around the price you’re looking for I believe. But if you want to go more expensive, I think the Shimano Curado/Curado DC is hard to beat for most fishing situations.
I have Abu Garcia baitcasters and I am really happy with these reels. They are easy to rebuild and maintain but like you said reels in the price range that you mentioned are really great choices for the average angler and that's what I based my reel choices on. I did try a cheaper reel at first but the quality is not there so as they say you get what you pay for. Great video Randy and curious as to see what reels you decided to go with!
I am mostly a Lews reel man. My bread and butter is the Lews SS1SHA model. 10 bearings snd and easy open port to oil the reel. A good budget Shimano is the SLX and the SLX DC. Reel quality has really increased in the last 5 years. You don’t have to spend $300 anymore to get a reel that performs and will last.
For the bomb-digity $300, Shimano Chronarch MGL. Workhorse reel…..outgoing Curado 200K for $140 or less. For light stuff…outgoing SLX MGL 50 for $99-110.
I love my lews reels. I used the original speed spools in the 90s and they were great. When they got re introduced in mid 2000s i bought several and have aqcuired upwards of 20 now. I have had some small issues with clutches wearing out and pawl going bad on worm gear, but overall for the use they get they have been great. Servicing them myself has been an advantage too.
Can’t go wrong with Shimano. 😎 They basically last forever because parts are easy to find even for reels that are 20 plus years old. Always super smooth and reliable and they’re easy to maintain yourself. I have a whole playlist on our channel showing how to take Shimano reels apart and tune them up lol I own a lot of them man. 🤦🏻♂️😂 I’m not a DC guy and I’m very budget conscious. The best ones for the money in my opinion are the Curado 200 K, absolute workhorse (and are on sale currently because they’ve been replaced by the Curado M), Curado MGL 150 is absolutely awesome, you can throw a BFS bait on that thing if you wanted it’s ridiculous, SLX 70 is sick especially for pitching and flipping, but the absolute biggest all around bang your buck reel they have which has impressed me so much that I’ve bought a bunch of them is the SLX XT 150. That thing fishes WAY beyond its price at only 125$ and I find myself using it the most. All the Shimano handles are comfortable especially on the Curado reels, but as I have big hands sometimes I upgrade them. A little Shimano trick is to order XG size handles from the parts store cheap and put them on the lower gear ratios, for some reason they put longer handles on the 8 ratio reels, or I get Gomexus power handles if I really want them oversized and they’re pretty sweet as well. 🤙🏽 That was long winded but lol hope it helps someone out. 🎣👊🏽😁
Buy the Bass pro reel oil, it's red and will make your reels not only work like a well oiled machine but they will last so much longer. It's great and I use it in all of mine.
Take a look at the Daiwa Admira or the new Admira A. They will have everything you mentioned. It is a JDM reel but it's built to take some abuse, it has a heavy duty clutch, and a larger 100 or 110mm, free spinning handle. The regular Admira is a work of art but is built like a tank and the Admira A looks like a beefed Tatula.
I’ve used the Johnny morris gold series reels for years I’ve got some that’s close to 20yrs old I’ve always tour them down every year cleaned and relube myself
I have a variety and really like all of them from walmart abu garcias up, but something about my shimano curados stand out as my favorites. Tackle warehouse has their curado 200 marked down to 150
The BB1 is still hard to beat. If you can afford them and like how they feel, get more of those. I really like the feel of Daiwa reels also. Shimano also makes amazing stuff. For a large handed guy, try the Curado. Those are bulky and feel so so nice.
I would suggest the Daiwa Zillion or shimano Bantam if you want superior quality and longevity and smoothness. But unfortunately those are out of your price range. They go for around $350. For you price range 13 fishing has several great options and they are bulletproof
I really like the Lew's reels. I will continue to buy them as long as i fish unless the quality goes down. Good luck this year in your tournaments Randy. I will be pulling for you sir!
Check out the okuma hakai or okuma Komodo. Bought the hakai because z a bother you tuber I follow was in love with it, (sponsor free). Bought it and loved it myself. Smooth, hardly backlashes, easy to remove backlashes, lightweight and easy to palm. The okuma Komodo may have a bigger handle you prefer. Worth putting in hand anyway.
The Abu Garcia reels, for me, just don’t back lash. They perform great and have the features you’re taking about. I get the white one that’s about $89. I can set it and forget it cast it all day without any issues. I have been a die hard shimano guy most of my life but they’re just too expensive and I get along better with the white Abu. I love them so much I just bought 4 more. I do have a newer shimano for casting ultra light baits. More distance is all. Something to consider. If I was in your shoes I wouldn’t hesitate for a second on saving a couple thousand bucks.
If you don’t use the Shimano Curados, then you are missing out, even the new SLX 70MGL will blow your mind and I have Shimano’s that are 40 years old and work great
Those bb1 are probably some of the best made. I understand wanting new stuff but id Def get those super tuned and keep them. I mean my favorite reel is an old curado 100b lol... but from what you said you want I'm betting an Abu would be the best bet. Lots of lockdown drag strength and the knobs are bigger than like shimano or diawa.
BB1's on sale at Tackle Warehouse, 40 bucks off adds up pretty quickly. Or use the year to investigate other options, save some penny's and be ready for the black friday sales. I like to try, and buy, a different reels but I'm not a tournament pro either. Still have reels from the 1980's that work fine. Good luck, hope you share the journey and talk out the decision process. All the best.
Looks to me that your looking for a Curado in the 200 size. The Curado K or the new Curado MGL would be perfect. I like the Curado 150mgl. It also has the big handle and really good drag and the mgl spool but it seems to me you want a bigger, beefier reel.
Im abu garcia all the way i have a couple over 20 years old they have been rebuilt afew times but still fishing have a couple pfluegers and okumas used to fish some tournaments and i fish alot i will spend more on the reel than the rod but as a rule i wont buy a new reel and put it on a old beat up rod and when its to the point i question its reliability i pass them along to my buddies or nephews people ask me how many rods i need in my boat my gf laughs and tells them we dont switch lures we switch rods
For the past year or two, I've been using Ultimate Aplha Carbon Cast reels. They've been nice n smooth to use, 10 bearings off the top of my head, and nice n light at 6,3 ounces. Affordable, too, at around a hundred bucks. They're more catered towards finesse fishing, though, with shallow, perforated spools, so maybe not quite what you're looking for, Randy. I've been using them for zander (euro walleye) fishing, myself.
One 'newer' reel that I picked up that stands out is the Shimano tranx 150 . . . only 'downside' I've seen so far is line capacity if you're fishing fluro. It pulls double duty in saltwater and freshwater for me and has held up very well if that means anything. I don't have a dig in the hunt. . . . I own reels from most brands, minus Okuma, (not a dig on Okuma, I just don't own one).
I can’t stress enough - try and see/feel reels in person rather than taking a chance and purchasing online. Wait until they hit stores if you can. Feel is everything as a reel contours to everyone’s hands differently
I like the Shimano 21 scorpion DC I paid right at $220 had it for a little over a year now and I love it. Ordered it from Japan so it's a JDM but it's well built.
I would buy two Shimano Calcutta conquest. With the lower retrieve. 1 Shimano SLX DC with a 6:31 then another Shimano SLX DC in the higher ratio. With those four reels you can do no wrong. Lifetime of memories.
I’m just a weekend angler and never spend a ton of money on gear… bang for the buck type a guy. I have found the BPS Carbonlite to be very smooth and comfortable and performed flawlessly over the couple years I’ve had it….
ardent is a missouri company . ever try a left hand reel ? might help your old wore out right wrist. i use old shimano reels that you can back reel😁😁😁😁
Hey Randy I like your channel. I really like lews for that price range. I really enjoy the tournament pro and bb1 pro. Great reels. Honestly I have a few reels that are higher priced and I think the TP and BB perform as good or better. TP and BB have the speed lube port and lure catch which I use more than I thought. BB has the larger handle and spool I use for cranks. It sends them. Lews customer service has been outstanding to me. A lot of good reel choices out there though. The agony of choice lol
Abu Garcia for me..i had my very 1st baitcaster, an abu garcia when i was 10 years old..$29.99...lasted easily 10 years & would have continued using it if it held more line..100 yds of 12 lb. Line
I bought 2 of the old green curado off of eBay for $40 a piece and they are in good shape, makes 3 for me, I like the revo too. So I bought 2 reels for $80 and there better than the new ones
I know that you already know what you like and probably want but I have been using Lews for the last 15 years and I recomend them but recently I have been swayed to Diawa . I think Diawa makes the best reels in the world I have gotten a few so far and I cant find any faults with them . Me personally I spend a minimum of 200 up to 350 . I have got lucky a few times and got a few discontinued 500 dollar reels from TW for 300 but you have to keep your eyes peeled to get those deals .
You're a very intuitive angler! Please look into kastking. You'll be doing yourself a favor. I'm an average jo, and did my due diligence. Their reels check off all the boxes!! Read the specs!! So incredible that I've slowly replaced almost all my old ones! Please do yourself a favor! Tight lines from the San Joaquin Bassmasters 🎣
I wonder should you save your old reels for back ups with different lines in case you need to adjust your tackle to a specific pattern. Also, I wonder will those handles you like be able to transfer over to the new reels. Probably not, but just wondering.
@@ChickFilA_Sauce you could even go with the curado K 200 size for heavier stuff. The only thing it doesn't have is the sweet song that the DC chip gives you.
18 setups in the rod box and upgrading 2 every year,1 baitcaster, 1 spinning all my eqt. is mid grade . the one reason its all Quantum is that while fishing I NEVER, NEVER think about my reel , They always perform as I expect them to , all other brands seem to " fall apart " " somthing I notice about this reel " way too soon.. So while fishing ,Too many " Variables' " ( as you say ) to be thinking of . The rod and reel shouldnt be one of them while on the water !
Punxsutawney Blaukat ... I know you took a beating when you finally left your hole 🕳and did that low rating Stockton Lake boat ride video on Groundhogs day ... but this would have been a nice video to actually get outside again and walk us through some actual reels and features.
Halfway trough the video i felt you needed a STEEZ. All the criteria you mentioned and quality you are looking for are coming together in a reel like that. At the end of the video i Still feel you NEED a Steez reel. But,....... You are looking for an excuse to spend 'so much money' 😮 I tell you but them JDM,....😅 You are killing two birds with one stone. 😂😂. BTW an Antares MD DC or 24Metanium DC is great too. 💪😋👌🇯🇵❤️🎣😎💯😛🥳👍
how much do you worry about how your new reel will “balance” with your rod? does that matter as much as people sometimes say it does or is it more about just being lightweight period?
