Steelhead reel

[bigsteel]

This is gunna blow up into a large argument that i believe all us fisherman are not looking for so we should just drop this maybe delete all this battle comments and inform this guy about a great baitcast reel..........lol and yeah can't blame me for being a favor of carbontex drag nothing wrong with it ive got it in my calcutta, turned that reel into a beast

you are a real piece of work,maybe don't buy junk off eBay and expect others to step up to the plate to fix your mistake!!!nice to know you are morally bankrupt.

 

[colbypearson]

I am looking for a good cheap bait casting reel.

Don't skimp on a casting reel, try to get a model that retails in the 150$-200$ and you will thank me later.

I like shimano's stuff.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I've had the Shimano Citica for about 5 years and it seems to be pretty indestructible, light and smooth. I have never had a problem with it at all and I believe I paid about $130 for it. It has adjustable casting brakes and once I got it dialed in I can cast it a mile with light weights only the very rare backlash.

 

[colbypearson]

I've had the Shimano Citica for about 5 years and it seems to be pretty indestructible, light and smooth. I have never had a problem with it at all and I believe I paid about $130 for it. It has adjustable casting brakes and once I got it dialed in I can cast it a mile with light weights only the very rare backlash.

Yep, Citica's are a solid reel, the cost between a citica or a curado isn't much for me to not justify going with the curado, specifically the curado E series, the new g series are not near the reel the E series was. If you're to go with one of their current reels I would recommend the Chronarch E, I know 200$ sounds steep but you get what you pay for with casting reels. IMO the Citica is the standard on the spectrum of good reels.

I just got a Metanium XG in the mail

I'm a shimano addict.

 

[18406ej]

Levelwinds are far superior when handling large, powerful fish which is why they are so popular with the salmon-steelhead crowd.
You can also pay out line smoothly making techniques such as back-bouncing or pushing a spinner intuitive. Spinning reels can do only one thing better....cast light baits. Sounds like the OP has made the decision to try a levelwind.

Direct,

Given your near 30-years of experience with a level-wind I certainly bow to your opinion and counsel. I admit prejudice against the level-wind reels due solely to my limited experience with a Curado after using a Symetre and Clarus for years (Team Shimano!). This experience culminated with the loss of at least 30 yards of line due to rat-nest cutting and repair, contact with a BPA low-pole high-tension power line and an extremely deep and painful finger laceration (don't ask; won't tell). Did I mention that all of this took place in my backyard over a two-day period? The Curado was up on the site under "Free to a good home" on day three.

As always it is the helpful advice of true experts that makes this site not only useful but welcoming as well.

Sincerely,

EJ

 

[18406ej]

Tacomastersteelheader,

You are a newer member of our OFF family, and as such don't be disheartened to any great degree by the warning I am issuing to you here. OFF Forum Rules (available for viewing under the "Forum Rules" tab at the top of our Home Page" states in Rule 1.1:

"It is prohibited to post any materials, including but not limited by text, pictures or video, that are illegal, harmful, threatening, offensive, irritating, dishonest, slander, inappropriate, pornographic, spam, or inciting race, ethnic or other strife."

Our OFF Administrator Anatoliy is a strong proponent and defender of freedom of speech as we all should be- As long as the statements are not offensive to the membership at large.

I can tell by your posts that you mean well and have a lot to offer to the Forum, and I certainly don't foresee any future warnings as likely. Like any of the rest of us, occurrence of any such future warning(s) would fall solely under improper or non-existent application of common sense on the violator's part.

For Administrative purposes I will tell you that additional warnings by any other Moderators are monitored by all. Subsequent violations will lead to the banning of OFF privileges for an incrementally increasing number of days, and violations after that result in a permanent expulsion from the OFF Forum.

Please, always feel free to contact me at any time you are wondering if subject matter you would like to post might be venturing toward the grey (or black) areas.

I look forward to your continued participation with all of the rest of the OFF community.

Sincerely,

Eamon

 

[18406ej]

And as for the rest of us,

Although difficult at times, we all need to try and keep in mind that newer members might not have grasped the tone of our Forum as regards to making comments or admissions that fall into (or at least teeter precariously on the edge of) violation of Forum rules.

Steelmonkiller was justified I believe, to retort to the violating comment in question as he is one personally affected by the suggested practice. Of course all of us that shop at Cabelas are indirectly affected as well via results such as paying higher costs to cover the store's desire to make things right, even though they might be conned into doing so by another's malfeasance*. Regardless, insulting retorts by those of us with lesser connection are usually poor form.

Again, thanks to Bagold53 for his discussion-starting question, and to all of you far less stupid than me that provided such useful input.

Sincerely,

Eamon

*Such a wonderful and smooth word...Say it with me: "Malfeeeezuuunsss". Pretty sweet I think. Plus it makes one sound like a goddamn intellectual, which ain't never a bad thing.

 

[halibuthitman]

This thread made me want to sit in a warm bubble bath with a bowl of movie theater butter popcorn and think about filing my taxes..

 

[18406ej]

Just don't spill...that Palm Oil/MSG kernel-coating is a true b-tch to remove from both porcelain and plastic fixtures alike. And the haz-mat cleanup bill from ServiceMaster isn't tax-deductible.

EJ

 

[DirectDrive]

Direct,

Given your near 30-years of experience with a level-wind I certainly bow to your opinion and counsel. I admit prejudice against the level-wind reels due solely to my limited experience with a Curado after using a Symetre and Clarus for years (Team Shimano!). This experience culminated with the loss of at least 30 yards of line due to rat-nest cutting and repair, contact with a BPA low-pole high-tension power line and an extremely deep and painful finger laceration (don't ask; won't tell). Did I mention that all of this took place in my backyard over a two-day period? The Curado was up on the site under "Free to a good home" on day three.

As always it is the helpful advice of true experts that makes this site not only useful but welcoming as well.

Sincerely,

EJ

Sounds like a wild ride !

One of the little secrets that no one ever seems to mention is never lift.
I'll explain...

Modern baitcasters have cast control that is generally one of two types:

Centrifugal
These have an array of "brake weights" that can be individually activated or deactivated,
Usually six.

Magnetic
These have a magnet or an array of magnets that can be moved toward a rim on the spool via a dial on the outside of the reel.
This has a dampening effect on the spool.
Beginners and intermediates like this system because of the external adjustment feature and the dampening effect of the magnets.
I started with a magnet reel.
The one thing that they don't tell you is that even when set to zero, you cannot turn the magnets 100% off.
When I got more experienced, I had to take the magnets out to get the casting distance that I wanted.

Back to never lift...
When I see people new to levelwinds flogging away, there is often a loud buggy whip noise associated with their casts.
Invariably it is a magnet reel turned all the way up and the whip is needed to overcome all the cast control that they have dialed in.
And they are lifting.
Lifting their thumb completely off the spool during the cast....a big no-no if you want to become proficient with the levelwind.

During the cast my thumb never 100% leaves the spool.
It may be so light (mid cast) on the spool that I can barely feel it, but it's there.
And when your bait hits, immediately stop the spool with your thumb.
It's about the education of your thumb.

 

[bagold53]

Back to never lift...
When I see people new to levelwinds flogging away, there is often a loud buggy whip noise associated with their casts.
Invariably it is a magnet reel turned all the way up and the whip is needed to overcome all the cast control that they have dialed in.
And they are lifting.
Lifting their thumb completely off the spool during the cast....a big no-no if you want to become proficient with the levelwind.

During the cast my thumb never 100% leaves the spool.
It may be so light (mid cast) on the spool that I can barely feel it, but it's there.
And when your bait hits, immediately stop the spool with your thumb.
It's about the education of your thumb.

Thanks for the info on the Centrifugal and Magnetic adjustments. will be a little easaier when I am picking up the reel I decide on and start the thumb training with my current levelwind. I have been doing well with just adjusting the cast adjustments.

Makes me want to say "Hey look no Thumbs"

 

[18406ej]

Makes me want to say "Hey look no Thumbs"

May God have mercy on you.

 

[halibuthitman]

May God have mercy on you.

No... Lets let Darwin have one..

 

[bagold53]

Well I ended up picking up a REVO STX so I could fish with it that weekend. So far so good, still learning the little things and having to use my thumbs more. But Thank YOu all for the info.

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Levelwinds are far superior when handling large, powerful fish which is why they are so popular with the salmon-steelhead crowd.
You can also pay out line smoothly making techniques such as back-bouncing or pushing a spinner intuitive.

Spinning reels can do only one thing better....cast light baits.

While I agree that casting reels have great drags and work well with large fish saying they are better in every way is a little misguided. High end spinning reels are extremely good for fighting big fish and have smooth powerful drags. If someone was watching us fish side by side on the river I would bet they could not tell the difference in how well either of us were fishing or fighting steelhead. I can fish just as effectively with most techniques using a spinning reel. Heck, I can float fish a centerpin reel just as effective as a casting reel. My hand is a more accurate drag system. Either will work well if you spend a little bit of money for a good reel. Good luck.

 

[Tacomasteelheader]

good you listened to someone who told you first off stx all the way man

 

[bagold53]

I did not just take the first persons suggestion. I went and checked out all the reels recommended. Played with them for a couple hours, kinda felt bad to for the person helping me. I choose the STX for the cost savings, since I did not have the extra 50 to put on a curado.

 

[DrTheopolis]

Should have opted for an Ugly Cast.

Nothing fishes like a reel-in-a-can.