$100 and Under Baitcasting Reel

Sorry if this has been posted before. I didn’t find it in the search engine if it has. Let me get to the point. Son is 12 years old, and he’s wanting his very own brand new baitcasting reel (won’t accept a hand me down). Looking around I think I’ve narrowed it down to either the Shimano SLX, Daiwa Fuego, or Lew’s Speed Spool LFS. He does the majority of his fishing on the bank with his buddies. He’s used a few of mine before, but his current reel is a Lew’s spinning rod and reel setup. I forget the name, but it’s like highlighter green? Anyways, this would be an all around set up. He mainly throws TX rig worm, flukes, spinnerbaits, and rattletraps. I want to keep the gear ratio below 7.5, cause he would have no use for anything higher. I have an old 7 foot medium heavy Abu Garcia Vengeance rod I’m going to put the reel on.

What would your pick of the three be, or if you have a better recommendation then let’s hear it.

Thanks in advance.

Revo-x

Really hard to beat the Daiwa Fuego CT

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_Fuego_CT_Casting_Reel/descpage-FCTX.html

I'd throw a 6.8:1 Speed Spool LFS on that rod. It's a good all round setup.

What Frank said

Stewart Discount Fishing Tackle

Chris Stewart is legit and has great discounts. All prices include free shipping and no sales tax. He ships same or next day of order.

I'll go along with Frank. That Revo X is a fantastic $100 reel. Comes in lots of ratios also, if you're into ratios.

Both bait casting and spinning.

I really like the X - Winch. It's about as good as the regular Winch and over $100 cheaper.

The other reels are all good reels, also. Pick which feels best to you, or you get the best deal.

You can't go wrong. Just remember, they are $100 reels, not $300 reels.

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for, but to learn the ropes an abu black max is hard to beat. Once he gets good with it, he will appreciate a better reel.

Agree.

He’s used my Abu Garcia Silver Max. He’s familiar with it. That’s the only baitcaster he’s ever handled. I’ve taught him how to adjust the brakes, and I’m quite confident he could adjust it on his own. The only thing that tricks him is the drag. Lol

My 11yo son got a pro qualifier 2 for Christmas. Was on sale then used points. Got it for 40 bucks. Regular $99

It’s really nice.

Abu pro max 7.1 pretty good reel

X3

Lews LFS
Best 100 reel

H20 Xpress Mettle. Get him some reasonable first, then if he gets the hang of it and sticks with it, upgrade him. The H20 reels are awesome! These guys just don't get the looks at the corner store at 4am wearing an H20 Xpress shirt

I learned on a 5500 Garcia !

To me Daiwa is the most user friendly reel out there. You can get a Tatula CT on eBay for around $100. I would just make sure to buy from a store if you go that route. Another thing to consider is a reel with dual brakes but with Daiwa you won’t need dual brakes.

Tackle Warehouse has the Daiwa Tatula CT on sale right now for $89.99. The best $90 value, in my opinion.

Tackle Warehouse Daiwa Tatula CT Link

Daiwa Tatula CT is great for $90. I have quite a few of them. I got a Daiwa CC80 and for $50 it performs great so far.

That’s a great deal on the Tatula. Gonna buy one now.

I feel kinda timid because I'm the first of many knowledgeable folk on TFF to mention the Shimano SLX. . I kinda feel like Shimano and Daiwa produce reels that are significantly better than other competitors in their respective price ranges. I hear great things about the Tatula line but I've not had the experience of throwing one.

Anyway, I have an SLX 150 and a Fuego, which I bought because I really like the Fuego spinning reel. The SLX is a smoother operator than the Fuego, IMHO. To me it just "feels" more expensive than it costs.

But the fellow that suggested the Black Max, at 50 bucks is spot on. For a 12 year old? Jonny Schultz fishes with Black Max reels. A hundred bucks buys 2 reels and that gives the kid TWO setups.

>I feel kinda timid because I'm the first of many knowledgeable folk on TFF to mention the Shimano SLX

OK, good, its not just me... ;-). TW has SLX for I think $99.. to me its hard to beat at this price level

Lew's LFS is hard to beat for the $$. Have several High end Shimanos and Revos, yet find myself picking up that little $100 reel.

Do either of these have a tension knob that clicks?

Is tension knob the drag star or the spool brake?

Spool brake

Landbigfish has the 13 concept z on sale for $79 marked down from $200

I also have a 12 year old that has two of the reels that are on your list, the Shimano SLX and the Lew's. Either of those would be great reels for your son. My boy prefers the Lew's as he says that it is smoother. I think that he said the SLX does not have a magnetic brake control if that makes a difference to you.

Thanks so much!!!

I agree with the Abu Garcia Revo X

Hands down the BPS Pro baitcaster on black friday will be my favorite reel for the money. I fish the [censored] out of mine and will pick it up just as much as my Curados.

Got 2 Curados, and the rest are bass pro brands, mainly the PQ. They have been great. I got a few that are 10 years old.

Daiwa CR80 on ebay. Great reel for he price.

Shimano SLX

Lews always the right answere. I have 100 lews and work as good or better than my 300 dollar reels.