Affordable Reels

[ChuckB]

OK, here's the question..... Lets say your average fisherman goes out and ... much to his wife's dismay.... saves up the money and purchases a nice Kistler rod... say the 6'6" Crankbait Special. An awesome rod for your first Kistler purcase... What is the best reel to put on this awesome piece of craftsmanship while still being affordable to the average angler?

[Julian1]

Best reels out there are the Revo series from Abu Garcia

[creationfish]

Chuck
The Revo is a great reel if your throwing Rattle Traps and such, but if your throwing a crankbait like a SpeedTrap or Bombers etc look in Cabalas or Bass Pro Shops and find a Baitcaster with a lower gear ratio on the reel. The Revo is WAY to fast.
Here is a link to an nice affordable reel from Cabelas.

[-- login to view link --]

Or if you are real adventurous go on Ebay and get a Lews speed spool BB1NG. The best crankbait reel ever made. Its all I use for crankbaits, BUT I do use a Revo for RattleTraps!!! Good luck!!!!
Mike

[Upside]

The high speed Revo's might be too fast but any 6.X:1 reel is fine for general purpose and there's a ton of them out there. I recently picked up the Daiwa Tierra for $120.00. There's nothing fancy about it (aside from its looks) but it's a good solid reel. And at the 6.1:1 or 6.3, whatever it may be, is perfect for most applications. It's easy to slow down your retrieve when necessary, much more difficult to crank the heck out of it all day. My opinion is that anything in the 6.someting to 1 is the ideal ratio for general fishing.

[Dago]

The main thing to consider for me is weigth, but also look into the way the reel fit on my hand. I dont know how do you name this in english ( I thinks is palmable ). A low profile reel like Revo ( I just try it this weekend and works great ) is great to start. Also I will take a look into Ardents ( same weigth 8.7 oz ) and looks palmable too

Your Kistler is a great tool, consider to match with other top brand tool



Dago Luna
Mexico

[Upside]

Put a Daiwa Fuego on it. The rod might still be a bit tip heavy but you'll have about 11 ounces total. Or the new Revo Premier, total weight will be about 10.5 ounces. You can cast either one of those all day long and it'll be like you tossed a feather around all day. I'm going to Rainy Lake in Ontario in 10 days and those two reels are all I'm planning on using. I've got heavier rods for heavier fish but for targeting the 5 pound smallmouths, the LTX with either of those two reels can't be beat.

[ChuckB]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm thinking over the options.

[TurkeyBoy113]

I go with Shimano Cardiff 100 and 200. Make no mistake about it. Yes, it may be such a ROUND baitcaster but it gives me at 5.8:1 gear ratio. It's also PRETTY LIGHT! The 100 weighs at 8.1 oz while the 200 weighs at 8/6 oz. That's as CLOSE to low profile baitcaster weights.

I've had a lot of success with it catching smallmouth, largemouth, walleyes and northern pikes. Even for crankbaits and rattletraps. Yes, for some fishermen, it may look a wee bit SLOW for rattletraps but I have done a lot of work into my Shimano Cardiffs. I think they're awesome STEAL @ 100-110 bucks. Gone fishing in the land of 10,000 lakes! V!

[ohiobass]

stay away from the Revos. Brakes are too hard to control. I've fished with all kinds of reels, including top of the line, lightning quick JDM reels, and Abu messed up with the Revos. JMHO,

[TurkeyBoy113]

Work for Cabela's. I am not impressed with Abu Garcia Revos. If any good Abu Garcia baitcaster, I stick with the C4. They're simply old reliable. However, for the money, Shimano Cardiff...you cannot go wrong with it.

[kingofboizz]

CARDIFF is one of my favourite reels. go for some of the old ones which have metal components, then go buy ABEC 5 bearings and you will have a CALCUTTA for less than half of the cost.

then, do not forget that round ones are very small so you can palm them very well.

tight lines from italia

[Dago]

I try the Cardiff few weeks ago and yes, I was impress by the reel. A friend of mine have a Cardiff/Graphite Plus CrankBait Composite combo and it feel great. Well balanced and also palmable. Nice combo. you are rigth guys.

I will post soon a 10 lbs bass cathc with a Mg CrankBait composite on Sugar Lake in Mexico. Nice footage

[TurkeyBoy113]

I'm glad you gave the Cardiff a try, Dago. I ain't giving up mine. Continue to keep it up and you'll see how much reward you reap with the Cardiff. I know I've had my shares of catching a lot of midrange size largemouth and smallmouth bass alike on this reel. Yes, I even caught some northern pikes on them well over 35". Bottom line, it's smooth and stubborn reel that doesn't let up.

[Tritonguy]

The Revo comes in three models and two speeds in each model.
SX in 6.4:1 or 7.1:1
STX in either
and the top of the line Premeir in either.
I have all on my truck and the best prices anywhere to boot.
See you at Kistlers.
George

[NRHMike]

I have 12 Kitler Rods and all of them have Revo SX or STX ' on them. The new Premier is light weight and feels good but I will reserve my opinion till they are on the market awhile longer.

The 6:4 to 1 REVO will work fine for most crankbaits you just have to change your thinking on how fast to reel. I persoanlly have Abu Garcia OLD 4600c'c on my crankbait rods with 4:7 to 1 ratios on them. If you can find an OLD 3:8 thats even better for LARGE crankbaits.

Just my 2 cents!

Mike
NRH, TX