After a decade fishing swimbait, frog, and various top water type lures with my old SHIMANO 300 DSV time had come to purchase a replacement. After doing some research and consideration of prices, I decided to give the PISCIFUN 300 a try. I mounted the new reel on a 7'6" Heavy rod and spooled it up with 65 lb. Power Pro. After 3 days of fishing, I have to say it seems to be doing its job. So far, so good! Has anyone put any significant amount of fishing time on one of these reels? What are your impressions after fishing it?

I bought a Sougayilang bait caster awhile back. At $45, it has done quite well. As far as I know, all dang fishing reels are made "over there."

I've been buying tha Abu Garcia Black Max and Pro Max reels for well under $100. I bought a couple of the Pro Max reels after seeing some reviews on the them and the Black Max because I had a walmart gift card and there was enough money on it to get this reel. I've put a ton of hours on the Pro Max reels and have thrown a frog with 30 pound braid with the Black Max for a good part of a day. So far I'd put these reels up against anything out there in any price range. I'm learning you don't need to spend mega cash to get good reels. These reels are extrememly smooth and cast a country mile. I'm about to start installing low friction ceramic bearings in all my reels to get even more casting range and I'll probably start with these reels since I use them the most. After seeing what these reels do I'd definitley consider any other brands in this price range.
One other thing, I'm a mechanic by trade and I've been at this game for over 40 years. It don't matter what you spend on a reel if you don't keep it cleaned and lubricated, it will eventually jump up and bite you. You wll have a malfunction or under functioning reel. I owned the most expensive reels you could buy in the 80's an 90's and if they got dry of lubrication, things went down hill fast. If you accidently dunk one; no matter what it cost, get it home, clean and lube it ASAP. Your wallet will love you for it.

Diawa Cr80 best reel you will find below $100 IMHO.

I have a bunch of Piscifun reels and have nothing but good things to say about them. I also have a bunch of Lews that cost me considerably more. Both do the same thing.

I agree totally.

Probably bought from china off Alibaba for 10 bucks a piece and then they put their stickers on them. Go do a search and take a close look. It's pretty common

gotta remember if the reel breaks they aren't repairable so it's a throw away reel. this is a main reason I stick with the big brand names

I have 3 Piscifun Phantom baitcasters and they have done everything my Shimano did, except make loud noise. I've been using them in saltwater for 3 years, with no problems. I ordered some spare parts from Piscifun, and they came in about six weeks from China, but were very inexpensive. I have paid $50 -$70 for them, as opposed to $275 for my Shimano Chronarch. My Shimano hasn't left home in over a year! YMMV IslandJim

I have a few of the phantom baitcasters. They lasted about 2 years with heavy usage. Will say they start to make noise, all of them did it. So far, only one has lost its drag and had to be replaced. Will go with daiwa reels from here on out. The CR80 or the CA80 have been OUTSTANDING reels for the $80-$100 price point. Really liked the lews MG speed as well but they are a bit heavier than the daiwa or picisfun reels.

The handle broke on my Piscifun Phantom. Contacted Piscifun and they sent me a new one for nothing. I have been using this Phantom for 5 years mainly flipping grass with 65 braid. Has held up fine. It does make some minor noise.

You cannot buy parts for Lews reels. Everything has to go through a repair shop, and if its an older reel doubtful it can be fixed. Pretty disappointed in this since I have a bunch of older Lews reels I paid good money for. It has become a throw away world.

Looking at the CR80. May give that a try. Looks like a nice reel for the price.

Except the CR80 isnt a 300 size...... so not really relevant here.

Thanks for the feedback and advise on the durability of the PISCIFUN 300 size reel. I am also a strong believer in keeping my reels lubricated and normally spray down all new reels with CORROSION BLOCK prior to taking them out on the water. You will get no argument from me that there is a good selection of smaller casting reels on the market for less than $100. My Shimano SLX XT 150 XG is a prime example. The main concern was how well the larger size PISCIFUN 300 I had purchased would hold up to hard use. Will it take the wear and tear over years that my 2008 Curado 300 DSV had taken? Prior to purchase here were a few of my options: The NEW version Shimano 300 DSV @ $250. The Daiwa Tatula 300 @ $269. The Shimano 300 K @ $210. PISCIFUN 300 @ $99. When the new PISCIFUN arrived, it was easy to see this wasn't any $10 reel. In fact, my first impression was that I had just purchased a $150-$200 reel for $99. Now that it has been in use, I am even more impressed with my new reel. Other than the price another factor for buying this reel was the 8.1: 1 option available. This was important to me because there are times that I need to get a lure back to the boat in a hurry to remove a weed or prevent a seagull from dive bombing a favorite Whopper Plopper. Once you get over 70 like me time is at its essence! I apologize for posting my question about a reel in the bass section instead of the reel section but never was good at following instructions.

No reason to apologize this is the best section to ask such questions.