Best bang for the buck on reels

I am looking for recommendations for a good reel that won’t break the bank. Thanks for any suggestions. We fish a bunch.

For $100 or under look at the Daiwa Fuego, for a little more you can get a Daiwa Tatula CT.

What price range? That may help you get some better answers and maybe better define "we fish a bunch". God luck!

I don't know what your budget is but for me, I'd say the absolute best reel for the price is the Curado K. I've used them for literally every technique that I fish and they will do it all. But if $180 is a little steep for you, the SLX is also a great workhorse for a hundred bucks.

Better define “break the bank.”

13 Fishing Inception is an awesome reel for $120

$100 or under would be ideal. I probably go out for the day 60-70 times a year. Bass fishing in east Texas.

SLX or whatever the “$99 Lews” flavor of the week is.

Maybe some BPS CarbonLites. I don’t know what the regular price is, but I have bought some Johnny Morris signature reels on sale for $99 each. Lot of reel for that price point.

I can usually find Revo SX's on ebay for $120 or so. They are my favorite reel for the price.

Bought a bunch of STX's when the Gen 3's were on sale for $80 and I wish I would have bought the SX's for $60 instead.

Kind of like Ford vs Chevy debate, I've had about 3 or 4 Lews in the past, and I'm just not a fan.

Look at all the tatulas. theyre pretty much tiered price wise. pick whatever meshes best with your budget....those are all good reels imo.

Academy H20 ones and if you want to got ultra cheap those $19.99 chinese reels off ebay, bunch of guyf I know use them.

I can't really speak for other brands - but all I use are the Shimano SLX's and I'm extremely satisfied which is why I can't bring myself to change! The SLX goes for $99 but - consider this...

If you're fishing a bunch you are likely fishing a bunch of different sizes and weight baits. To me...you need a reel that you can easily adjust the brake settings so you aren't constantly having to open up the casing to access the braking system and adjust them - and risk stuff falling out into the water at that. That being said - my recommendation is spending the extra $30 (instead of buying more reels for various techniques) and going with the SLX 150 XT. It's got the infinity brake system and an extra bearing - I've got 1 SLX and the rest are the XT's and I feel the XTs do cast a tad further (yes...thrown the exact same bait/weight, exact same line type/size, on exact same rod with both reels).

Just my 2 cents!

Daiwa Tatula CT

I have several of the Tatula CT, they are great and have all the necessary gear ratios.

Under 100 dollars, the H20 Xpress reels from Academy are AWESOME reels.

Abu Revo X Gen 4 has a lot of features for just $100

Another vote for the SLX

Basspro Pro Qualifier 2 100.00 bucks

Revo sx just works and works, I rinse them off about once a year, add 1 drop of oil and they last forever.

Here is my take. Add a reel every once and awhile. Get a quality reel and keep it in working order.
If you don't go in salt your maintenance is minor and they will last 20 years.

Bass pro qualifier 2, Tatula CT are good. Carbonlite reel is 100% garbage

For 49 bucks you can buy 4 Black Max's for the price of 2 of the SLX and I have 3 SLX. I also have 2 Black Max's and candidly they throw great. Johnny with Fish the Moment uses them alot.

Shimana SLX

After trying low end Lews and Revos the past couple of years I will be going back to Shimano. I’ve beat up all brands equally and the Shimano reels have lasted the longest.

Lots of good value reels mentioned; at the $70 price point, I recommend the Pflueger Supreme.

I am a novice at fishing with anything. I was totally convinced that no one made a bait caster that I could throw with any accuracy and not bird nest it every other cast. Then I tried a Daiwa Tatula SV TWS. I bought two of them used from the classifieds on this forum.. Both were spooled with line and they are awesome. I don't have them as loose as an experienced guy but I have no worries about back lashing them.

Wayne

There’s only one brand of reels. - Lew’s.

This is right on. I also like the Lews Tournament MP. Both in the $150 price range and cheaper on sale.

At the BASS Expo in Houston they had some great prices on reels. Only put them out occasionally.

I also have gotten them off Tackle warehouse on close out at years end.

Best deal I ever saw was American Fishing had Curado 50 E for $89.Those were great reels. I was going to buy 10 of the but didn’t. Still regret that.

I recommend Tatulas.

The Shimano SLX is a great reel but the best bang for the buck is the Daiwa CR80 Less than $80 on ebay. I have 6 of them and they are awesome. I also have some very expensive reels to compare them to and they are absolutely the best reel for the money. They are more of a finesse reel so if you need a more heavy duty reel I would choose something else. What technique are you wanting it for?

I love Lews reels and have a bunch of them. My favorites are the Super Duty, regular and the wide spool, and the BB1 Pro but Daiwa and Shimano also make some great reels, so your statement is totally false. Fake news.

I like and use the Shimano SLX XT and Daiwa Fuego and Daiwa Tatula CT. I give a slight edge to the Shimano SLX XT. TheLew’s Speed Spool LFS is also good.

This is all great information. Thanks for sharing. The reels are really for my college son. Although I’m always looking for a good reel at a good price. He is getting into tournaments so he is trying to build a small collection of poles. His one good set up is a curado I bought him about 7 years ago. Other than that he doesn’t have anything that is good. So he is trying to add 2-3 more decent setups. Again, thanks for the info.

Agreed. I love my Daiwas and my Shimanos.

The only issue with Daiwa right now is their supply chain on parts is terrible. SW Parts in Dallas has just about stopped selling them due to the issue.

Garcia Black Max (usually around $40). I use them for my sq. bills, Red eye shads and chatter baits. I use the Revo-X (different price range) for my plastics. The Black Max are very good reels, the only issues I've had with them is fine tuning my drag

Lew's LFS all day.

Kinda surprised to hear someone else say this and I was almost embarrassed to say it, but it's true. I've got Curado K's, Lews, Tatula's, Revo Rockets, etc, but for $80 that little CR80 is a very nice little reel. I use it for skipping docks and or cranks when you're in close quarters. They are a little more finesse, but not too bad for eighty bucks!

The SLX is a beast of a reel for the price. Usually find on sale around 98.00

Yep the cr80 is a great finesse reel for the price.

If a guy had 14 shimano E’s and wanted to finally make a change would he regret swapping to SLX’s ?

Probably!

Best reel under $100, and like he said, when they go on sale, you can get 2 for $100-$120.

BPS reels are junk. Just my opinion.

Another vote for Black Max!

Shoot me a PM if you have any 50E’s, I’ll buy them all!

SLX is sweet for that dollar range. I do agree that checking the classifieds, eBay and bbc for reel deals has definitely saved me some coins over the years. Am I a brand snob? Yep, Shimano all the way! I’ve owned almost every brand out there and have been impressed with none more than Shimano. Daiwa, second and all others tied for last.

If I was just starting out, maybe look around for some used “ greenie” curados?

200e7 ?

Maybe back in the day when Shimano had their name on them! Lol!

All I use is BPS reels now. I have 1 shimano. For pieces of junk they sure do the job and last a long time. Mostly PQs for me, 7 JM Platinums ( these are on the higher price side)

Have broken just as many other brands as I have BPS brands.

OK..... I’m happy for you. To each his own. #Merica I don’t begrudge anyone for using them, just my opinion. Glad they work great for you B-Mac

Would it matter if he was only going to throw the same spinnerbait all day - every day?

a guy has to have back ups !

Whatever you buy, to get the best bang for your buck, learn how to properly maintain the reel. Clean and lube the reel bearings. You can also further extend the life of a cheap reel by replacing the bearings. I was unable to find a source for spare parts on a BPS reel, so I took bearing measurements and ordered from Amazon. I'm throwing a Shimano Curado, and Lews Mach 1, or a BPS reel and they all seem to do the job. The price difference in the reels should be reflected in the quality of the bearings more than the quantity of bearings.

Not as long as you keep the E reels also.

I know I got extremely lucky but I have been trying to break this Megabass KO from Aliexpress for 3 years...

Revo X all day. All gear ratios, Winch 5.4:1, Reg 6.6:1, and the High Speed 7.3:1

daiwa tatula and shimano slx without a doubt. dont buy that generic chinese doyo reel [censored]

I found a brand new in the box E7 in the safe that I thought was an empty box!

Way better reels than the Revo. Daiwa, Lews, and Shimano.

If you like old school reels the Revo's are it.

Nice ! I really like what I have they all still work fine but I would like to try the newer stuff. Has anyone on here used shimano SLX XT ?

That seems like a pretty nice set up for the price

Got a Tatula 150P today at the expo for $128. Regular $160.

I like the two Shimano SLX XT reels I own. I can cast them far, and the retrieve is smooth. They feel like high quality. I haven't used them extensively but really like them so far.

I stopped buying cheap reels years ago so I’m of no help. Buy the most expensive Shimano you can afford is my advice.

Lews or Daiwa