Time for a new baitcaster -Maybe a new brand too

[Riprap]

You kids crack me up! :lol:
Every one of my posts was genuine and sincere.....ok, except that one thread that had naked chickens with stars in a roasting pan but that's a long story.......

The spammers keep us busy otherwise you okes would have to endure more of Bergie. :roll:

Now back to the subject at hand boys.

[dreamfish]

Yes JM, try Werner at Edelgas - 021 7011904. He will assist you with retail pricing.
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[PhalaBass]

I have recently started selling Lew's reels. Sold quite a few Speed Spool LFS reels. All my customers are very happy. I only ordered my own two reels this week. Got myself two Tournament MB baitcasters. Looking forward to put them to the test this weekend at our C4C event. I can also supply you with those reels, but I stay in Phalaborwa, that is like on the other side of the world from where you are. :blue-biggrin:

[Shamwari]

Derick...Phalies rocks bru....go to Buffalo's, you will find my name all over the show there...I will be there in December...

[jmgravenor]

I have recently started selling Lew's reels. Sold quite a few Speed Spool LFS reels. All my customers are very happy. I only ordered my own two reels this week. Got myself two Tournament MB baitcasters. Looking forward to put them to the test this weekend at our C4C event. I can also supply you with those reels, but I stay in Phalaborwa, that is like on the other side of the world from where you are. :blue-biggrin:

Hey man. Could you email me the prices of the 4 i mentioned earlier in this topic?
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[EmjaySmit]

Howzit guys,

I know this topic has been discussed before about the Lew's reels. I will soon need a couple more baitcasters and although I am a fan of the Chronarch, I am open to the other brands too(Sorry, no Abu, Daiwa or Quantums please). So basically only Lew's.

For some reason, I have an obsession with reel weight and would like my next one to be under 7oz. I'm quite impressed at how light the Lew's series are in comparison to their price, but...are they reliable...
The brand seems to have received many positive reviews.

I'm trying to decide between these 4 models:

Lew's Tournament Lite Speed Spool Casting Reel - 5.8oz
Lew's Team Lite Speed Spool Casting Reel - 5.6oz
Lew's BB-2Z Speed Spool Casting Reel - 7.4oz yeah, I know it's over 7...
Lew's BB-1 Pro Series Speed Spool Casting Reel - 6.5oz

Have any of you guys got any feedback on any of these models?
Whereabouts could I find the brand?

The weight of the first 2 reels are not more than 0.3oz off of the Shimano Core 50mg. The price, however, between the most expensive of the Lew's mentioned above, and the Core is a $130 difference! Yeah...130 Dollars...
I have fished with a Core and it's really an awesome piece of "machinery", but geez.

I tried contacting Emjay Smit who seems like he can really give me some good points on these reels as he has switched from Shimano recently. Not able to get hold of him though.

Thoughts on this topic?

Looking forward to some replies!

Oh man this is going to open a can of worms. To put it mildly I have fished every single brand and model of baitcasting reel on our local market as well as some exotics. Daiwa needs to get their act together in SA with Kingfisher. Brilliant product but we only get the crap locally. Abu good but don't like the drag inconsistency. Quantum not bad but it's like a ghost adjusts it by itself. One bout of rain and it's back to picking crows nests, not gonna get into the other brands in detail, Phleuger, BPS, Write&Mcgill, 13 Fishing, Pinnacle etc because we will be here all night. As far as Shimano goes it's the most consistent product on the market...or it was lol...

You might know the junior that fishes with Rory. Helped him setup up some of his reels...he also fishes a set of ALX's now. In other words I showed him how you can cast a mile and leave your thumb off the spool. Stops by itself even when the lure hits the water.

This all untill I researched Lew's extensively... Some interesting facts about Lews people don't know. They were the first ever low profile baotcast reel on the market. They hold the patent ® trademark to the following products...SIC (silicone carbide) guides. Silicone Carbide is the hardest substance known to man and only available on ultra high end rods. The single foot line guide is another. These are just to name a few.

They started as a company in the 1940's building bamboo rods. By the time Lews had their first baitcaster on the market Shimano was still trying to figure out how a bicycle works and the owner of Daiwa was still watching golf. Quantum didnt even exist and were still Known as Zebco fiddling with spincast reels and Abu was still making pocket watches and inventing whey lol.

Fact....a BB1 outcasts anything on the market. Thats my personal favorite but just call me centimental. As a Chronarch/Curado alternative I would consider the Tournement MG or pro. Similar in price but you have double shielded stainless bearings as standard. A smooth and consistant drag close the Abu and much higher than the Shimano but really smooth. I will recommend both Shimano or Lews. Main reasons for looking at Lews is that they offer me more for the money and to be honest Shimano's latest offerings leave little to be desired. The new casting/centrifugal systems are really high maintenance and awefull. They used to pride themselves on functionality and tried their best now to re invent something that worked perfectly.

Since the move to Malysia some of the new Curado I's have more orange peel than an Alfa Romeo spraypainted in a township. JDM is still finctional as ever but not worth the presmium a South Africa.

So that pretty much sums it up. All the above mentioned products are real good and will get the job done. I just look at things more finely than the normal person and try create an opinion most people will identify when handling a reel. Shimano E series reels and D Chronarchs will always be awesome value for money options but will start showing their age shortly and they are at the stage where kitting out a complete set of rods with those models are a daunting task. So at this stage of the fight my business has to go to Lews as they just offer me something that makes more sense at this stage of the fight. And I also get way more bang for my buck...

[Riprap]

And the rest they say is history......
Emjay, that was very well said and interesting. Thanks boet.

[EmjaySmit]

And the rest they say is history......
Emjay, that was very well said and interesting. Thanks boet.

My pleasure buddy. Next time you guys watch a FLW event or B.A.S.S event, try mentally marking every 10 anglers you see. You will notice that about 6 out of those 10 use Lews. And yes some of the top anglers are pro staff but most of them aren't. They buy their own gear and it says alot to me if so many anglers put the their careers on Lews. Lews also got the sponsor slot for the 2015 FLW tour which is awesome.

Randy Hayens, David Fritz, Jason Christi, Andy Morgan, Mark Rose etc are just some of the anglers to name just a drop in the ocean.

You won't be sorry if you own either Shimano or Lews. But in the real world under real world circumstances the Lews just offers more than any other locally available brand, in terms of performance (yes casting distances are unequalled), materials used, specs...it's just a phenominal product and a pitty we never really had the pleasure of fishing them a long time ago...

No it doesnt mean go sell all your reels and convert to Lews. It means go and try one rather and consider them as future options. Maybe I just dont know what I am talking about and you guys end up hating a Lews hahahahahaha.

[CrankbaitCarl]

Emjay just a small correction, both boron carbide and diamonds are harder than silicon carbide. Not that it matters in this instance though.

[EmjaySmit]

Emjay just a small correction, both boron carbide and diamonds are harder than silicon carbide. Not that it matters in this instance though.

You are correct lol sorry. 9.5 on the Mohs scale is still pretty descent hahahahahaha. But you guys get what I am getting at.... :lol:

[jmgravenor]

Most useful post I have seen this year. Thanks very much man. I think you've converted me even though I haven't even properly fished with one before!

[Navrik]

Hi Emjay.

Have you tried the Tour Mg yet?

I am keen to hear someone's thoughts on this reel.

[EmjaySmit]

Hi Emjay.

Have you tried the Tour Mg yet?

I am keen to hear someone's thoughts on this reel.

Not bad. I actually tried one about two months ago. Palms nicely and a good caster. But did the dip test and recast, took some time for the braking system to start biting again. Out of all the Quantums I still prefer the Smoke and previous gen PT tour. Fished it with 10lbs fluoro and it kept up well. Drag is an improvement but there was a bit of play in the anti reverse section as well as sideways movement. Not quite as smooth as an EXO and still think its a better buy than the MG. All the benefits but none of the flaws.

But at the price point there are definately other alternatives that I would rather opt for. Its a pitty Quantum only hopped on the magnesium band wagon so late. Personally I don't like magnesium reels as the aluminium cousins always performs better. I think its because of the flex associated with magnesium reels that aluminium reels cast better and feel more solid on the retrieve. I also believe that magnesium reels should solely be used for finnesse applications and ultra light line.

Is it the worst magnesium reel I have used? No...the Abu Revo MGX takes that honor. Is magnesium worth the premium on the same reel in aluminium guise? Nope...you barely save an ounce and pay almost double. You also dont want a reel too light otherwise a rod doesnt balance out nicely. But that's just my personal opinion. Is the Quantum Tour MG a good reel? Definitely... And at the price point no other brand magnesium reel can beat it for the ZAR...would I go out and buy one? Unfortunately not...after putting it down and picking up a Lews I realized just again what a wonderful tool I had it my hand...

[Riprap]

Emjay, you sure know your stuff and whether it's a marketing ploy or not, I don't care because you at least are being honest and give unbiased opinions; contrary to what they teach at "selling" school!

I have a question: Because the whole family fishes and different facets nogal too, the budget is like extremely stretched.......
The most expensive low profile baitcasting reel the kids own are Citica's and me personally I love my older Chromica 100 B's and Nav will love me for this, my Quantum surge burner......... Many okes have come and gone on my boat and I have felt some of the higher end models and they are nice, yes, but will you catch more fish?

I think that once you adapt to the type of tackle which you familiarize youreslf with and can afford, one can strip, clean, service and assemble in the dark just like we did with weapons! If you can't trust your reel on the next cast or next outing once you have neglected it slightly, then it's not worth owning.

Many guys ask on this site about a good decent reliable starter combo. I'm in the this same predicament and started as a kid and now my own kids are leaving the house but we still catch fish.
Lews BB1 about R1 500 - R1 800. How much better would you say they are to what I have mentioned above is the top range reels we currently use? The question eventually........

[Navrik]

Thanks for your reply Emjay. I must say I fell in love with the PT Tour the first time I saw it and now I have 7. I also have 3 KVD Tours which a littler heavier but very strong. I use all three ratios from my cranking rods as I feel like you said that heavier cranking rods balance a lot better with the slightly heavier reels. I also love the cranking power of the KVD Tour. I will definately take a second look at Lews some time.

Have you tried Lews spinning reels as well and do you feel the same about them as the casting models? I see the max out around the $129 level.

Then I saw you mentioning the ALX rods. What do you think about them? I have 3 so far and I am realling enjoying the sensitivity and bite detection on them and the confidence I feel in hand fighting a fish.