Just bought one of these today and then found your video because I needed to figure out how to open the brake case lol. Glad to hear it’s pretty solid. (My first Baitcaster)
Nice video brother 👊🏻. I’m always looking for quality budget gear. Nice to see someone who isn’t fishing $700 combos all the time lol. Keep it up man. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
What kinda drag that reel have? About to invest in a heavy flippin stick, was thinking about Lew's LFS HD has 20 lbs. drag but $. Usta be a Shimano guy, 80's, but have been using the Lew's nearly 10 years.
bro I love that reel. I have seven of them . I have my other reels The Shimano caius real for $79 feel better than some of my reels that I spend $100 for . This is one of the best cheap reels I purchased so far . I just purchased the 13 fishing origin C and the origin A . My other reels are basically lew's. Chaturbates jerk baits Square bills They work pretty good for me . I meant. it made it simple. it may have been from using them for so long. I know I have to slow Down my Cadence. but for the record. I use square bills but other than that I love it. I love them. Thinking about buying some more. I actually sent a kite out to Shimano. I wanted to see if they would make a slower version and a faster version. Thanks for bringing them up. People should try them out the Shimano caius is a great deal to me.
I'm on year 4 of my 2 Shimano Caenen reels that I paid $54.00 each!! They are very similar to the caius reels, graphite frame, 4 bearings, 150 size, same breaks, etc. They have been fantastic. I've cleaned and lubed twice in the 4 years. The 7.1:1 reel is my primary worm reel, and has been flawless bringing in up to 7 lb bass. These have been used around 30 trips a year and are still smooth as silk. If the Caius is as good as the Caenen, they should be fine for anything except frogs or punching. Ps. The SLX reels are great too. Have 4, and use them for everything. The Hagane (some kind of aluminum alloy) is plenty strong. While cleaning my reels, I noticed the Canean reels have a bearing at the base of the drive shaft, where the SLX has a bushing. I'm assuming Shimano did that because the Canean may flex a little more because of the graphite frame. Either way, both are hard to beat.
Hey Mikey, love the videos brother. I retired 2 years ago and we hit the road in our RV to see the country. About a year in I got into fishing while spending the second winter in Lake Havasu. Picked up my first baitcaster and decent rod and started kayak fishing the lake and was hooked, so to speak. My first setup was a Caius reel and Phenix X-11 crankbait rod. Fast forward 1 year and I'm back living in Havasu and still use this setup for throwing a chatterbait. I'm sure i've landed over 50 bass, on this setup. The reel has held up really well, I've learned to tear it down and keep it cleaned and lubed, and it's still relatively smooth and performs fine. I've gone all in since getting the sickness and have multiple mid range setups including various Combat Sticks and Levantes, paired with Curados DC's, and Tatula Elites, SLX dc's, etc, but I still keep this Caius/Phenix setup in rotation. Testament to the robustness of this reel. And considering I was able to learn to throw a baitcaster using just the basic control you get with this reel helped me learn without having to rely so heavily on the finer control you get with the less budget friendly reels.
I agree Mikey ballz! Pretty good reel if you pair with a less destructive purpose techniques! I've used a revo x Fer few years now. 100.00 reel and takes a beating from regularly fishing 1 oz pulsator JT s favorite color! Frogging and walking baits ! Shimano has always been so smooth. I use 14.00 composite reels by Shimano. Incredible finesse reel for cold water or no freezing up. R1000 thru r4000. 4.1to1 ratio. Great low speed pick up reel for finesse worming. 👌
Good, and accurate, assessment of the this reel. I have it's big brother, the since-discontinued Casitas, and I love it. the main difference is that the Casitas has the SVS external braking adjustment, which this does not. Same brakes, though. My Casitas consistently outcasted my Curado I, which had SVS, but with different brake pads. I can see why they discontinued it. It was too much competition for the Curado.
If the Curado 200I series casted similarly to the Citica I, Casitas easily outcast while being less finicky in my experience, feels really similar to the smaller 70I.
I have 8-10 of multiple variations of this reel. I have the gen 2 caenan and gen 2 caius, as well as multiple of these exact reels. Add in some boca bearing ceramic bearings and they are amazing.
I looked at this one but the knob for the spool tension was so cheap and plastic I passed on it and got the SLX. Still think the Lews Classic speed spool at $60 is the best cheap baitcaster.
Decent reel for sure..I use Tatula CT's but you must grease the gears when you get them new , for whatever reason Daiwa refuses to grease their gears from the factory. They last just as long as the all of curados I have owned.
I bought 2 of these a year ago and they've never gave me an issue and have drug in some good ones. I feel like they're shimanos version of the black max you just don't kill it lol
you're exactly right, it's a low end big box store bait caster but for some basic stuff where you don't need a crazy reel frame and gearing they get the job done.
i'm quickly becoming a big Shimano fan - just got this reel but also have the SLX 150HG & Caenan 150HG & they're all excellent ... as a recreational angler, i find the braking system on Shimano "works" better than other brand's budget reels
Greetings from So MN. Really love all your vids… lots of genuine energy and straight up bass goodness. Thank you for sharing - esp Bog Man. He is the genuine article. All the best.
I just picked up a Caius for 70$ feeling pretty good about it was able to get it rigged up with 10lb XL and take it down to the river to throw 1/2 oz lures with a 7ft scimitar med under it not throwing any bird nests in really surprising since I never fished a bait casting outfit before just had a old pro give me a few pointers and watched a couple short videos and bam catching half pounders on 1/2 5/8 oz spinners I'm pretty happy with Shimano
I have the old and new model Caius and they are good reels. The only gripe I have with it is the tension control knob tends to slip from time to time but I've just gotten in the habit of checking it periodically to make sure I'm not free spooling when throwing heavier baits. I bought the updated version of the BPS Extreme reel last year and it's actually a solid reel as well. All metal body and dual breaking and feels a lot more solid than any previous versions of the reel and I've owned them all.
I have one on a 7'MH Shimano Sellus rod and I use it for my spinnerbaits, traps, and even jerkbaits. Got it from my father in law who works at a pawn shop that paid 35$ for the combo, almost brand new. I love the thing! As u said its very palmable and I think "ergonomic" is the word u might have been lookin for. Feels and casts great. Its gonna b hard to find a better reel at this price. 🤘🏻
the caius is basically the old casitas, but without the extra external adjustment and one bushing instead of a bearing (and if it loosens up after a lot of fishing you can replace the bushing with the bearing for the casitas). the casitas was one of the best reels shimano made recently made but discontinued two years ago.. so with a longer handle and the price point, that reel is a sleeper!
When I decided to return to bass fishing after a 29 yr hiatus I still had 2 Shimano bantam reels and 2 All Star graphic rods. Although I’m now up to 15 baitcasting outfits and 3 spinning I still use those 2 reels with 15 lb mono. The rest are all 13 fishing outfits. I end up paying a little more because I only use LH retrieve reels and they can be hard to get. What’s up with RH fisherman using RH retrieve reels? It just don’t make any sense to cast with your right hand and then have to switch hands with the rod so you can reel? JT finally did a video about this a few months ago on how dumb it was for right handers to fish this way. I can’t imagine doing that all day? As a right hander when using a spinning reel I’ll bet 99.99999% of all of them have a LH retrieve reel … there’s a hint in there somewhere …😬😬😬😬
Thank you! I’ve been saying the same thing and it just feels more natural to use a LH reel lol but sadly since they’re hard to find as you said, I stick to RH reels.
Just got mine, dont catch a bush om your cast😂 like 4th cast i had a backlash from hell😂 got it out last night, took it out on my new rod that showed up today, im loving it. Havent caught a fish yet but it casts great and reels smooth!
This is the same one that comes on the combo right? I saw DSG has them marked down to 100$, seems like to get the most for your money you might as well get the rod too if it’s only 20$ more!
Picked up a Shimano Nasci 2500HG the other day and it doesn't suck. Really solid spinning reel for $99. I normally buy daiwa spinning and shimano casting but this Nasci is a much nicer reel than my daiwa legalis with the same price tag.
@@mikeybalzz I will say it's a bit on the heavy side which I personally don't mind in a spinning reel since the weight is below the pivot point. It's very sturdy and tight though and the drag is very smooth.
These are between 45-50 bucks on eBay now new, is this the best Reel for that price if that’s all you have to spend? I’ve seen great reviews including this one…
My opinion on this real is, I bought my 10 year old son this rod and real combo so he would stop taking my expensive rod and reals out with his friends and banging them up, at first with lighter lines, and lighter lures it worked well, doesn't cast all that far but for the price is something I would buy for my kids so they can destroy them like everything else they get there hands on, the rod I think is ok, not the greatest but can get buy with it, one day I needed a reel for 50 pound braid to do some punching so I threw the braid on this real with a 3/4 ounce bullet weight and was punching flipping ect, it couldn't handle it at all back lashes after back lash, it started to make noises, my over all just go with the slx, for $20 more dollars you get an aluminium frame, and I think the slx line blows it out the water, the caius is an entre level reel for beginners and ppl learning baitcasters
Dude you are going to think I’m crazy but an amazing reel for $80 is a Piscifun Alloy M. This thing is made like a tank try it out bro you won’t be disappointed
Thanks. I'm looking for my first baitcaster. Not sure which way I'll jump. I squeeze pennies to make wire. I agonize over every bait purchase, and count pounds of fish per dalah spent. But I catch fish and have fun. I'll fish 15 hours if I have to make sure I had a good day.
I've got 1 Caius, 3 SLX and 3 SLX xt's and I have to say 2 of the SLX reels are very noisy even after a good cleaning and lube. I may rethink buying reels off Ebay. They may be factory rejects..
It's up to you whether or not they're worth it, you can get upgraded bearings from china as a lot of 10 or something and just find the best in the lot for cheaper than brand x upgrade if you just want to see. ZPI when they cared about making upgraded parts had an article that was interesting. Basically said yes our spools are light and don't spin that long like you see online, you're cast never last more than a couple of seconds however (I think they quantified a 3s cast as long) which for bass fishing I'd agree with.
Welp ya just sealed the deal for me I've looked at this for over a yr now and never pulled the trigger I think mostly cuz dicks has it so it comes in a combo and the rod is a lil iffy but ya I'm definitely going to pick it up
Its a terrible reel but the SLX is pretty solid for a cheap reel. The older caenen and casitas are sub $100 shimano reels that are very good. As well as the citica. They made some good beginner reels.
check out this guy in either a 7 3 mh or a 7 6 h - depending on whether you're looking more for a worm style rod or more for a flippin style rod bit.ly/2ZJMLtP
@@veteran_bassin3068 My bad - definitely a Curado like this guy bit.ly/37CYkFC or even the more high end ones. You could probably get away with using a Shimano SLX with the flourocarbon but if you go to braid you need a reel with stouter guts.
Nice! Looks like a good option. Curious what spinning reel you use that doesn't suck. I have some Shimano Siennas ($30!) which are surprisingly good out of the box, and have 6.2:1 ratio...but they aren't going to last.
I bought the 100$ SLX last year and the 100$ Abu Garcia revo x this past spring. i couldn't be more impressed with the revo x. Better breaking system, better tension knob, more winching power and just feels more solid than the SLX. its got 100+ flipping/frogging fish on it and it feels brand new.
@@mikeybalzz ok sweet, also I think I adjusted it right but I still get very minor kickbacks, is that normal? Or how do I know how to adjust the main brakes in the side
@@natephillips8029 i get some backlashes on it. more than on my slx. the reality is it's more of a budget style baitcaster so it's not perfect and you're going to get a few. i keep mine pretty loose both on the knob and maybe with 1 brake engaged. i'd rather make bomb casts with the occasional backlash than not be able to cast it very far but cast clean every time.
Actually no, the caius comes with the old-school VBS braking system while the casitas had the SVS Infinity. Depending on who you are talking to and their preferences that can be a major difference/deal breaker. If you want something like the casitas you have to get the shimano bass one xt, it has the old frame with the SVS brakes and is basically the same price ($80ish) as the new caius.
