# Help me pick out a Lew's casting reel...



## Talonman (Sep 12, 2013)

Help me pick out a Lew's casting reel...

Going to be used with 65lb 832 braided line for Top Water Froggin.

Going to also pick up a Heavy or Med-Heavy fast action tip rod to go with it.

I have never owned one before, but now consider Lew's the best bang for the buck from numerous reviews, and youtube videos I have now seen.

I am ready to take the plunge!

Looking on Cabelas, there is quite an assortment of Lew's casting reels.

NEW! Lew's® Team Lew's® Pro Speed Spool Baitcasting Reel $299.99

NEW! Lew's Team Lew's® Gold Speed Spool® Baitcasting Reel $249.99

NEW! Lew's® Speed Spool Tournament Pro Baitcasting Reel $199.99

Lew's® SuperDuty Speed Spool® Baitcasting Reel $179.99

Lew's® BB1 Speed Spool® Casting Reel $159.99

NEW! Lew's® Speed Spool Tournament Baitcasting Reel $149.99

Lew's® Tournament MG Casting Reel $129.99

NEW! Lew's® Speed Spool® Baitcasting Reels $99.99

Lew's® Laser® MG Speed Spool® Casting Reel $79.99


I will spend what I need to, but don't want to waste money either.
It's tough knowing where to draw the line on cost, and don't really know if the $299.99 is way better than the $159.99 model.

Where do you draw the line on cost of a single reel for a non-professional?

Which one would you probably select, if it was going to come out of your pocket? 

Thanks for any opinions!


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

To be honest, the tournament MG and up have the same drag rating, which will be one of the most critical aspects of a frogging reel. You'll need to able to lock it down to be able to really horse a fish out of cover. Second, you'll want the fastest retrieve speed you can get. A hot fish tail walking out of cover isn't easy to keep up with. The ability to gain line fast is paramount. After that, weight, fit in your hand (I believe all of the lews low profile reels are pretty universal here) and style will be choices you'll have to make. I own 3 lews reels. 2 speed spools and a tournament MG. All three are the smoothest, longest casting reels I've ever owned. And for 2 seasons, they've been absolutely solid as a rock and feel as tight and fresh as they did the first trip out.... and I was a die hard Quantum guy...

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## robertj298 (Feb 23, 2009)

Do yourself a favor and buy one of the new shimano chronarchs. For $269 you will get a reel that's twice the reel of the lews. The chronarchs are still made in Japan.


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

robertj298 said:


> lews. The chronarchs are still made in Japan.


Why is that good?


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## Talonman (Sep 12, 2013)

Bad Bub said:


> To be honest, the tournament MG and up have the same drag rating, which will be one of the most critical aspects of a frogging reel. You'll need to able to lock it down to be able to really horse a fish out of cover. Second, you'll want the fastest retrieve speed you can get. A hot fish tail walking out of cover isn't easy to keep up with. The ability to gain line fast is paramount. After that, weight, fit in your hand (I believe all of the lews low profile reels are pretty universal here) and style will be choices you'll have to make. I own 3 lews reels. 2 speed spools and a tournament MG. All three are the smoothest, longest casting reels I've ever owned. And for 2 seasons, they've been absolutely solid as a rock and feel as tight and fresh as they did the first trip out.... and I was a die hard Quantum guy...
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Thanks for the input. I will look for a 7 to 1 reel (Left hand retrieve).



robertj298 said:


> Do yourself a favor and buy one of the new shimano chronarchs. For $269 you will get a reel that's twice the reel of the lews. The chronarchs are still made in Japan.


Wow really?? I thought the Lew's were generally considered better than the chronarchs.

I will give the chronarchs a second look.


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## DL07 (Jul 21, 2011)

Lew's Tournament pro


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## Bimmer (Aug 12, 2011)

I have a couple Tournament MG and for the money I think they are great reels.


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

i would go with the chronarch if you have the $$
nothing better in that price range

lews are really good products for the price as well


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## robertj298 (Feb 23, 2009)

Dovans said:


> Why is that good?


The original Lews reels which are still sought after were made in Japan. All of the high end Daiwa and Shimano reels are made in Japan. while their cheaper reels are made in China or Malaysia.


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## briney dave (Aug 28, 2013)

This is a chevy ford conversation
I think the tourney pro is the way to go only because I have the most confidence in them as bait casters. For what ever reason I did not buy Shimano although respect them as I would respect a ford owner just get a little more snicker when I out fish them LOL

Hop on the bass resource site for some great conversations on the topic if you still have doubts about your options


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I've never used a Lew's reel so I can't and won't comment on them. I am a Shimano guy. I've tried out a Quantum reel or two in the past, and didn't like them. I didn't use them very much, but they didn't compare to the Curado's I was used to using. 

As far as the Shimano Chronarch goes, there are two different models. A standard model that retails for $199.99 and is an awesome reel. Shimano just came out with another model Chronarch .... its the 150 CI4+, and retails for $269.99. I haven't been lucky enough to try one of those yet. But if it is anything like the standard Chornarch it will be an awesome reel. If it's better than the standard Chronarch, then I'd buy that puppy in a heart beat !!! 

The only problem with the 150 CI4+ that I can see are the line capacities. They're kind of small. I'd still buy one, but I would have to tailor it more to the type of bait I was using, as well as the diameter of the line I was using. Long casts and small line capacity reels can present a problem with retrieve speed at the end of a long cast. The 150 CI4+ does come in a 7.6:1 ratio version, so that would make up for the smaller spool diameter that would result from a long cast. I'd really love to see Shimano come out with the CI4+ in a 200 size. If they do, that would definitely be the reel I would buy. You really can't go wrong with any Shimano reel IMO. If you want to check out the Shimano standard Chronarch as well as the Chronarch 150 CI4+, just go to Tackle Wareshouse's web site. They have great prices and awesome shipping. They're the best in the business IMO.

As far as the Ford v Chevy debate. I learned long ago to never get in a pissing match with a Chevy owner, because they're more full of it than us Ford owners.


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## mischif (Jul 14, 2006)

I own a tournament pro and it is by far my favorite baitcaster! Also, when it comes to the chronarch ci4, it just feels awkward in my hands and I really did not like it much when I was handling it. Shimano is my favorite spinning reel brand but to me, brands like lews and Abu Garcia blow their baitcasters out of the water. Shimano took a hit on quality on their baitcasters to lower their prices a couple years ago.


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## briney dave (Aug 28, 2013)

LOl that is too funny Honestly, I have drag raced GM for years and beat by plenty of fords both faster cars and faster reactors. I drive a chevy truck because it was the best of the bunch for the money I had that week on the lot. lol

I feel the same about not liking quatum and agree with the post right above about not feeling comfortable with the shimano (just did not like the feel not anything against how it worked) I know lots of guys who love them and only use that brand period

I love the shimano spinning reels and rarely will you see me out without them 

what ever brand or model make sure you like both the capacity of the reel and how it feels in your hand in addition to being the speed you want and the ability to lock it down to horse out lillypad hawgs 

for 150-250 you are going to get a decent long lasting reel with the ability to repair it if need be

Not mentioned here but I also like the bass pro Johnnie Morris: I have not owned one but read some decent reviews and its slightly cheaper


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## robertj298 (Feb 23, 2009)

mischif said:


> I own a tournament pro and it is by far my favorite baitcaster! Also, when it comes to the chronarch ci4, it just feels awkward in my hands and I really did not like it much when I was handling it. Shimano is my favorite spinning reel brand but to me, brands like lews and Abu Garcia blow their baitcasters out of the water. Shimano took a hit on quality on their baitcasters to lower their prices a couple years ago.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Your right they did cheapen them and started making them in Malaysia but I think they have learned from that because the new chronarchs are made in Japan again. There is no was any Lews or Abu will blow a higher end Shimano out of the water. I have 3 of the old green Curados from the 1990s that still work great today. Tell me 10 years from now how well your Lews is working.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

mischif said:


> I own a tournament pro and it is by far my favorite baitcaster! Also, when it comes to the chronarch ci4, it just feels awkward in my hands and I really did not like it much when I was handling it. Shimano is my favorite spinning reel brand but to me, brands like lews and Abu Garcia blow their baitcasters out of the water. Shimano took a hit on quality on their baitcasters to lower their prices a couple years ago.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Sorry..... there is no bait casting reel manufacturer that blows a comparable class Shimano bait casting reel out of the water. To say so is just ridiculous. 

If you want to count feel of the reel in your hand (and you should) in overall performance, that's cool. But lets not get crazy here. If and I emphasize the word IF...... IF Shimano's bait caster quality has taken a hit, then maybe Abu Garcia and Daiwa are on par with them now. It surely wasn't the case in the past. I have seen many many Daiwa and Abu Garcia reels fall to the wayside and break down, while the Shimanos I bought 10 and 15 years ago are still going as strong as the day I bought them.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

This is from a different site about the same Shimano/Japan topic...

I know everyone thinks Malaysia is junk but you would be surprised. The facotry there is actually the most advanced factory for Shimano. They have the latest machines and is staffed by several workers from Shimano Japan. The QC team, engineers and leads are all from Japan. We built the factory and it is not an "outsource" for us. 

Shimano Japan decided to move some production over there because they simply cannot keep up with the demand. Plus with the yen to dollar exchange rate the products would be more expensive. For example if the new Curado G was made in Japan the MSRP would be around $250 instead of $160. There is also the ever increasing costs of materials. 

The high end reels will still be made in Japan. Stella, Chronarch, Core, Calais, Calcutta, Trinidad, Talica and Tiagra. Several parts are made in Japan that go to Malaysia such as the gears. Some parts are made in Malaysia and sent to Japan for production reels. Car companies do this. Look at the "foreign parts content" label on the vehicle sticker for a Ford or GM. There are parts from Mexico, China, Taiwan, Korea, etc; Does this mean the quality is any less because of it?

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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

But I will comment, I've owned 1 Shimano baitcaster (curado E7) and traded it for a quantum energy PT. The reel performed o.k., but I just didn't like the feel, and it didn't feel as solid/powerful on a hook set with a flipping rod as I felt it should have. As far as quantum goes, it's definitely a "love it or hate it" brand. It's what I started with, and what I'm used to. I've never had any major issues with their higher end reels, but their lower end "Dick's specials" are pretty rough and weak. I have an Abu Garcia Revo Premiere, and though it's nice, smooth and light, it's not $300 worth of nice....

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## Talonman (Sep 12, 2013)

Wow...

Thanks for the input guys.

Lots to think about.


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## Talonman (Sep 12, 2013)

I am still at it...

I have recorded all left hand retrieve bait casters made by Lew's and Shimano, that have a 7.1:1 ratio, that is under $300.00 bucks.

I have noticed the Lew's give you more drag than Shimano, 14lbs -vs- 12lbs.
Not sure if the extra 2lbs of drag will matter.

Model - Retrieve - Gear Ratio - Weight - Bearings - Line Capacity (Test/Yd.) - Price

Lew's Laser MG Speed Spool Casting Reel - $79.99
LS1SHLMG -Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 7.2 --- 7SS + 1RB ---- 12/120 -------------- $79.99

Lew's Tournament MG Speed Spool Casting Reel - $129.95
TS1SHLMG -Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 7.9 --- 9BB + 1RB ---- 12/150 ------------- $129.95

Lew's BB-1 Speed Spool Casting Reel - $159.99
BB1SHZL - Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 7.2 --- 9SS + 1RB ---- 12/160 ------------- $159.99

Lew's BB-1 Pro Series Speed Spool Casting Reel - $199.99
PS1SHZL - Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 6.5 --- 9SS + 1RB ---- 12/160 ------------- $199.99

Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool Casting Reel - $168.88 to $199.99
TP1SHL -- Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 6.7 --- 10BB + 1RB --- 12/120 ------------- $199.99

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shimano Curado 200 G Series Casting Reels - $159.99
CU201G7 -- Left --- 7.0:1 ------ 7.2 --- 4SS + 1RB ------ 10/155, 14/110 --- $159.99

Shimano Chronarch 200E Series Casting Reels - $199.99
CH201E7 -- Left --- 7.0:1 ------ 7.6 --- 5SS,1SA-RB + 1A-RB - 10/155, 14/110 $199.99

Shimano Chronarch 150 CI4+ Series Casting Reels - $269.99
CH151CI4HG Left --- 7.6:1 ------ 6.5 --- 7S A-RB + 1S A-RB - 12/110, 14/90 - $269.99


So right now I am thinking:

Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool Casting Reel - $168.88 to $199.99
TP1SHL -- Left ---- 7.1:1 ------ 6.7 --- 10BB + 1RB --- 12/120 ------------- $199.99

or

Shimano Chronarch 150 CI4+ Series Casting Reels - $269.99
CH151CI4HG Left --- 7.6:1 ------ 6.5 - 7S A-RB + 1S A-RB - 12/110, 14/90 - $269.99

They are my current top two!
Guess I need to get these puppies in my hand for the final decision. 
That may be mission impossible, as Cabelas does not have them in stock. They are probably the best bet in Columbus for reels.
Might have to just order blind...


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Ha ha! Good job, and good luck!

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## Talonman (Sep 12, 2013)

Decision made...

I have now officially clicked buy.

(1) Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool Casting Reel has been ordered! 
TP1SHL -- Left ---- 7.1:1

The greater distance between the reel and the drag dial, made me lean toward the Lew's...

The extra 2lbs of drag made me lean toward the Lew's...

And the lower price made me lean toward the Lew's...

Lew's won this time.

This will easily be the best reel I own, and the most I have ever spent on a single reel. 

I am excited! 

Now I need to wait...

Is it here yet???


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## freshwater_newb (May 16, 2013)

Any contributions I may have made here are past due and I'm sorry I missed out on the discussions in this thread.

For any future searchers looking for info about Lew's baitcasting reels, OP has also posted to this thread where I post about my experiences with this reel after I had an annoying, but resolvable and not to factory spec, problem with my new Lew's tournament pro 6.4:1 baitcaster.


_*Disclaimer:* I am only posting this here because the OP has a more relevant post title than my own, but my experiences with this reel do help to add to the discussion at hand regarding this range of reels._


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## robertj298 (Feb 23, 2009)

Bad Bub said:


> This is from a different site about the same Shimano/Japan topic...
> 
> I know everyone thinks Malaysia is junk but you would be surprised. The facotry there is actually the most advanced factory for Shimano. They have the latest machines and is staffed by several workers from Shimano Japan. The QC team, engineers and leads are all from Japan. We built the factory and it is not an "outsource" for us.
> 
> ...


I'm wondering then if the Malaysian factory is more advanced then why would all of Shimanos top quality reels still be made in Japan? The curado G series reels are about the same price as the old E series but are more cheaply built with cheaper parts


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I don't know that I'd say the newer lower end Shimanos like the Curado, the Citica, and even the standard Chronarch are more cheaply built. The quality still seems to be there, but they're made with less expensive parts. But really the only difference seems to be in the bearings. In the older models of the aforementioned reels, they used to use all AR bearings. Now neither the Curado or the Citica have them, and the standard model Chronarch uses only 2 AR bearings out of the total 7 bearings. It's not until you step up to the new Chronarch CI4+ and above do you get all AR bearings. As long as the non AR bearings have the same ABCE ratings, I don't know that there would be a lot of difference between them and an AR bearing. That's assuming you maintain your reels, and don't use them in saltwater. 

They've also went to graphite side plates on all their model except the Calais and the Core. That probably makes them a little less expensive to build, but I don't know how much it effects their over all performance. Considering some of the other bells and whistles the newer models have over the older ones ... the SF for example..... it seems like they're priced right where they should be. I don't know how much more expensive the AR bearings are over a standard SS bearing is though. I guess it would just be hard for them to compete if their upper low, and intermediate level reels cost, say....... $20 - $40 more than they already do.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

robertj298 said:


> I'm wondering then if the Malaysian factory is more advanced then why would all of Shimanos top quality reels still be made in Japan? The curado G series reels are about the same price as the old E series but are more cheaply built with cheaper parts


I'm assuming it's more advanced in a "mass production" sense. More automation maybe?

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