Best low profile baitcaster

[dsiekman]

Check out the Daiwa Tatula they are great reels at about $150

It is certainly a nice looking reel. I thought I had seen that it was fresh water only, though?

[dsiekman]

If you go With Diawa I might try one of these. They both have about 11 lbs of drag. It wont take much more than 15lbs Drag to pull you off your kayak
The Diawa's have a thumb lever that will reengage when you push it back up with your thumb.


http://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Aird-Coa...sin=B00LDYI5UE

http://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-LEXA100H...sin=B008KVDA6C

I had seen the Arid Coastal at BPS (I think - can't say it was there for sure). Regardless, the guy I talked with thought it was a lower quality reel than the Lexa. I'm not sure if that is accurate or not.

[Mark]

I think most of the reels mentioned this thread and others in their price range are very serviceable.

Whichever one you choose will do the job for you and you'll become very comfortable with it.

I cast Shimano and Lew's. Both are nice. I just naturally adjust to the one I am using at the time.

[JohnE]

I like the abu revos. Probably will never know what the best low profile baitcaster really is since I'm not really willing to spend much over $150 on a reel unless I win the lottery or something.

[dsiekman]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the input and have learned a lot! I think we are down to the Lexa 100LP (I like the single crank, left hand retrieve, and price and don't need a super fast reel), and the Revo Inshore.

[dsiekman]

Just pulled the trigger on the Daiwa from Tackle Warehouse. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

[dsiekman]

So today I finally got a chance to play with the reel (Daiwa Lexa 100PL). One of the guys at BPS suggested spooling it with 14 lb mono until I get used to it, so for $4, that's what I did.

Per the owner's manual (which I would typically chuck in the trash), I started with the idiot dial cranked all the way to 10. I pulled a 1/8 oz jighead and a 2" plastic, cut the hook off to avoid hangups, and headed outside. I kept casting and dialing back the magnetic brake until I was getting pretty decent distance out of it. With the brake set on 4.5 and without any thumbing, I was able to cast without a single backlash. That says a lot for the equipment, not so much for technique. The jury is still out, but so far so good.