For the past few years all I have fished for is catfish, but I have not had time to get out the boat and go to Lake Texoma recently.Instead, I have been going with my friend in his small 2 person boat on small ponds and lakes around the area looking for bass and trout. I have been using a Zebco spincast reel, but I can't seem to get my lures to the right spots on the pond. My friends suggest a Bass Pro Shops bait caster reel. I have a very low budget for fishing, and these reels can get very expensive. Are there any suggestions for reels I should buy? Is there really that much improvement in the reels for light weight casting?

No, get you a descent Medium Power, spinning rod/reel combo, you can probably find a descent combo for 50 bucks, that will cast lightweight baits, with ease.

Spinning rod and reel is a good way to go. It takes a bit to learn how to get one right where you want it, but when you do, you can get just about anything anywhere.

No, get you a descent Medium Power, spinning rod/reel combo, you can probably find a descent combo for 50 bucks, that will cast lightweight baits, with ease.

Get a Lews SpeedSpool/speed stick combo for $99. It's a decent starter bait casting setup and if you want, it can tight line for catfish too.

Thanks for all the quick answers. I have looked at a few rod/reel combos and saw the Bass Pro Shops MegaCast Split-Grip Rod & Reel Spinning Combo, which costs $40. Does anyone know if this is a good deal?

Mega cast stuff is gonna make ur bait cast experience terrible need a solid bait cast reel with quality breaking system. Like a 50$ At least reel try and find a h20 bait cast reel u can find them for 30$ usually used

If you can swing $130.... Abu Garcia now has an Orra combo that is pretty sweet. The Promax Combo they sell is $99, but the combo cost as much as the reel alone basically, to give you an idea of the quality of the rod. It works very well for the price but the new Orra SX Combo is probably the very finest rig you could buy ready to fish as a new angler, if you're interesting in investing that in it. The reel is still $100 of the package, and if you end up not caring for it too much there's plenty of demand to recoup if you wanted to sell it off. But that reel will absolutely shame anything you're going to get into for under $200 in just reels alone imo. Most beginner friendly braking system available and will sling light lures a mile just the same as heavier.

Best part is if you fall in love with it, they also make an Orra Winch combo the same, just with the Orra Winch reel for deeper crankbaits.


I've sampled a few of the $50-60 baitcast combos as well but they are horrendous and make learning a serious burden.

Are you sure? The others all suggested a spinner reel. If the Mega Cast isn't good, is there another reel that I could buy that's under 50 dollars?
Also, the only H20 reels I saw were $60 or higher.

Buy a Blue Max combo at Academy. 60$