Bait casting reel opinions - low $100s

Have a friend with much saltwater spinning reel experience that is getting back into bassing after many years away. He has asked me to recommend a low $100s baitcaster that he should buy 3 or 4 of plus help him outfit a new tackle box. I am thinking about three reels that seem to fit his category:

1. Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifer at $99.99

2. Lew's LFS at $99.99

3. Shimano Curado I at $120 or so online

Never used 1 or 2 and the Curado I seems to be hit or miss whether people like them. I've got one that I have had since they came out and it has performed great so far. Maybe I just got one of the good ones?

Think any of them could work for a year or two but what about year 5 or year 10?

I have a bunch of Curados and Chronarchs that have 5 to 20 years on them with only normal oiling and cleaning so I am leaning towards the Curado I (yes I know it's made in Malaysia, but the others are probably China or Korea, so ...). For the $120 range it seems pretty solid.

What say you that have used the Pro Qualifier or Lews LFS for a few years?

I have moved to all Shimano reels, Curados, Chronarchs and a couple Metaniums, also a couple Citicas. I have a couple Stradics for spinning reels....no problems with any of them.

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FWIW, ive got 3 lfs reels and i love em. They'll cast a mile

Lews LFS for $99, changing over from Carbonlites like dreamweaver said cast a mile.

Shimano Citica or even better, Curado. Daiwa Tatula. All excellent reels.

Here's a pretty good deal on Diawa reels.

http://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/daiwa-tatula-type-r-100-casting-reels.html?utm_source=Mobile+Newsletter+8%2F28%2F16&utm_campaign=8%2F28%2F16&utm_medium=email

been using the lews for a bit now and like em. What he may want to do is see if tackle ware is having a labor day sale. If so probably 15% off and no tax or shipping. Good time to stock his tacklebox to.

Or he could wait for their black friday event in november. Last year it was 20% off with no tax or shipping with purchases over $50.

I wouldn't think twice. Grab a couple of used round abus. Swedish made reels are good reels and can be had all day long for less than a hundred. Later he can get them tuned and have an even better reel.

BPS pro Q Great for $

Plus however many on Lew's. Go to jet.com, use discount code TRIPLE15, agree to pay by debit card & get an LFS for $76.00 or a Tournament MB for just a little more shipped. Buy anything else & both items get cheaper. They also have a good selection of other brands that are discounted the same way.

Is it just me, or does http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Pflueger/catpage-PFLUEGER.html make a great reel?

I have all three reels you spoke of and the lews is my favroite by far.

several good reels offered in the 100 dollar range. I own several bps pro qualifiers and lews and imo for 100 the lews lfs is hard to beat. I will be ordering the new one next though to try it out. i have the mach1 and love it, so figure ill try this one out.

http://www.lews.com/casting-mach.php

The Bass Pro Labor Day sale paper came today. I see the Pro Qualifier for $79.97. I own several of these reels and have been more than happy with them. That's about the best price your gonna see. The Johnny Morris CarbonLite rods are on sale also.

$129 - Best reel for the money - 5.8oz and casts a mile - Academy's H2O Xpress Mystic casting reel. Got rid of my Revos and my Lew's and only use this awesome reel for three years now. They used to put it on sale for $89, but haven't since 2014.

Thanks for the responses. Ordered him a couple Lews LFS for about $74 each, have a couple Curado I models at $115 in hand and may pick up a couple BPS Pro Qualifers at the $80 Labor Day price and let him pick what he likes. Would be interesting for a head to head casting competition by my friend just returning to bass fishing trying out these three to see which performs best by a less experienced caster.

Brad - the thing I would be concerned about on that new Lews model is is does not say it has a one piece METAL frame. One thing I can tell you from experience is that a reel with one piece metal frame will last a lot longer than those that do not.

I bought one of these reels and it casts very well. Two more on order that should arrive today. These reels are selling for $90 more through other online vendors, and at least $20 more on Amazon when they're available.

Check out the new Abu Orra. Far improved from last years model. Light weight and smooth, casts small cranks a mile. Reg. $99 and Cabelas has them marked down to $79 as of today when I purchased my second one.

BPS

Easy answer, here. Shimano Citica. Same inside exactly as Curado. Best reel for the money. Just bought one last week for $130.

I bought a couple of these to try out and they really are nice reels.

I have a couple of the Lews $100 reels. I don't use them very often but they function great when I do. Like I said though, I don't use them often. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year at most.