What's your favorite baitcaster for bass fishin'? Mine always has been the Pflueger President, but recently I bought a Lew's Speed Spool Tournament. This thing is awesome...I may have a new favorite. It's the smoothest, easiest to use baitcaster I've ever fished with.
                                                                                                                                                                                            

well i don't use many bait casters, But the one that i use a lot for salt and fresh is a guide series GS56 Reel with a I-M8 Graphite 6'6 Pole.

Its not the fastest, But its durable. I Have brought in flounder to bass to trout to carp its a 5:2:1 costed me around $120 for the set.

The 5.2 to 1 gear ratio is a good one '151. It gives you better cranking power than the 6.4 to 1 and 7 to 1. I ordered my new Lew's reel in that gearing...it lets me fish big spinnerbaits and crankbaits without making my shoulders feel like they're gonna fall off!
                                                                                                                                                                               

I'm still using my trusty old Shimano Curado CU201 as my primary reel. Its starting to grind and pop and click a bit so I just bought a new Curado. I haven't had a chance to put line on it yet so I don't know if I like the new one as well as my old original. I also have 1st and 2nd edition Cabela's Prodigy by Diawa. Bought both of them at 50% off sales for boat rods and they are totally worth $60. I'd even pay full price for one. A buddy of mine uses the Pflueger President also. I tried it once, but I fish lefty and he's a righty so it was kind of like taking a test drive blindfolded

Hey Hoss, your trusty old Curado is a LOT of people's favorite...and rightly so...it's one of the all time greats! Keep us posted as to how that brand new one performs.

I only have 3 baitcasters...they multi-task...I use them in salt and in freshwater...I have the Cabo cbc30 (2) and Engery PTS...I like the PTS alot better...for bass fishing anyways...I can cast it a good ways...and it's got a smooth retrieve...the CBC's are bit more beefy...better for saltwater speices...

i use two that i would say are my goto. On is a bass pro shops emigma 5.2.1 the other one is a daiwa megaforce plus with a twitchin'bar 7.1 JOHN

I've had a Curado CU 201 for about 15 years that still works great. I've had it serviced a few times during the off-season throughout its life so some parts have been replaced, but overall, very happy. About 5 years ago, my sister bought me a 201-BSF which has also been great. A couple months ago, I bought a 201e7 after trying out a buddy's. It performs far better than the earlier models so I strongly recommend it, although they discontinued it and replaced it with something else that I haven't tried. Hard to beat a Curado, at least IMO.

Man...these are all great reels...makes it tough to pick a favorite. 

One of my favorites is the Abu Revo !!!!and I can get em in Lefty's!!!!!!!!!

I recently picked up an Abu SilverMax and its an awesome reel for the buck. It's not gonna keep up with a high dollar reel, but for a mid priced baitcaster, IMO it can't be beat. Paired it up with a Berkeley Lightning Rod-Shock series and it's becoming my favorite. I also use a Browning Midas series for throwing jigs and heavier finesse baits.

Posted By cedwards0823 on 17 Dec 2011 03:37 AM
I recently picked up an Abu SilverMax and its an awesome reel for the buck. It's not gonna keep up with a high dollar reel, but for a mid priced baitcaster, IMO it can't be beat. Paired it up with a Berkeley Lightning Rod-Shock series and it's becoming my favorite. I also use a Browning Midas series for throwing jigs and heavier finesse baits.

You might be surprised about that, most companies mid-priced reels CAN keep up with their high dollar stuff. Usually important details like the frame material and gearing are the same. The only difference is the top of line model has a few more bearings...often in places that just don't make much difference. Or they have a few more pounds of drag pressure. My Pflueger President boasts over 20lbs. max drag pressure, but who's ever gonna need that much for bass fishing? Now granted, a Silver Max is not a Revo MGX, but both are great reels that should last a long time with regular maintenance.
                                     

Too many anglers get caught up in the number of bearings in a reel. Come on, folks, do we really need ball bearings in the handle paddles? I would think that 5 ball bearings + 1 roller beating is plenty for any use. I'm not real familiar with the working parts of a baitcaster but an example would be where do you put 10 ball bearings in a spinning reel? One on each end of the main shaft, one on each end of the pinion (handle) shaft and MAYBE one in the line roller should do it, right?

I've only started using baitcasting reels recently in the last few years. So for general bass fishing, my favorite would be the Shimano Metanium MG7.

Posted By slipperybob on 17 Dec 2011 11:12 AM
I've only started using baitcasting reels recently in the last few years. So for general bass fishing, my favorite would be the Shimano Metanium MG7.

Wow Slipperybob! If you just started using baitcasters, you didn't waste any time getting a good one...that's a $350 reel...great choice!
                                                                                      

I have always been a Pflueger fan and last year I bought 4 of thier Patriarch baitcasters 2 7.1:1 and 2 6.4:1 and all I can say is WOW these are some really nice reels and quickly became my all time favorite reels.

The PATRIARCH...that one word says it all. This one is the flagship of Pflueger's fleet. You're a lucky man basbandit! I love my President, but someday I will have a Patriarch!

Posted By mo65 on 19 Dec 2011 12:14 PM

Posted By slipperybob on 17 Dec 2011 11:12 AM
I've only started using baitcasting reels recently in the last few years. So for general bass fishing, my favorite would be the Shimano Metanium MG7.

Wow Slipperybob! If you just started using baitcasters, you didn't waste any time getting a good one...that's a $350 reel...great choice!
                                                                                      

I started with a $25 Shimano Coriolis on a $40 Shakespeare Ugly Stick Lite.  Got me so so far only and didn't really care much for baitcasters.  I didn't believe in the expensive stuff, but after hearing the advice of others I decided to try it.  The expensive reels really do cast effortlessly, along with a good rod.  It's a world of difference when there's no birdnests to deal with.

Good point Slipperybob...just like one of those $49.99 pressboard guitars from Sears ain't no Fender Statocaster! Jimmy Page could make either one of them sing, but the average "Joe" would get better results from the Strat. There's probably not much sense in trying to learn to use a $25 baitcaster...that does sound like an accident waiting to happen. My best advice would be to start with a mid priced model, something like the one cedwards0823 was talking about.
                                                                                             

Good point about the baitcasters, but if I may add, when learning how to cast with a baitcaster, there are 3 things to consider and keep in mind, brake control, spool tension knob and thumb control. Always make sure your brake and spool knob are set according to the weight of your lures and knowing how to maintain line control with your thumb.