I just sent this to the pro staff board and realize I should've sent it here. Sorry about that!

Looking for a reel for under $200 and this reel was mentioned more than once. Generally I'm a trout fisherman but want to try bass. I was told to get a 6.2:1 reel speed and put on 10lb line but don't know why. Is that speed significant? I fish local parks and lakes. Occasionally I'll rent a boat. Any suggestions would be appreciated...I bow to the intellect on this board. I'm a new member. Thanks! DAN

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting... and you don't ever have to "bow" to anyone here, we're just a bunch of folks that are addicted to bass fishing and like helping people.

As far as the gear ratio of that reel you mentioned, 6.2:1 means that for every "1" turn of the reel handle, the spool will rotate "6.2" times. This would be considered a "fast" retrieve reel. So why is that good or bad? Well, if you are only going to be using 1 reel for a while, it's better to have a little more speed than not enough. As you get more into bass fishing, there are certain techniques that are better suited for a "slow" retrieve reel (like fishing certain crankbaits). Mainly folks like to use the slower speed reels to force themselves to slow down their retrieval. The down side is when a bass picks up your lure and races towards you, those slower reel speeds are not fast enough to catch up to the bass. I guess it’s a case of “sometimes more is better”.
Let me back up a minute though… before we would ever recommend you purchase anything, it would be good to know what you plan on doing with it. I know that you would like to start bass fishing and that you have been trout fishing already. Let me ask you a few other questions so we can try to help figure out what might be the best solution for you:
1) Where do you plan on fishing (what lakes/rivers) and from shore or boat?
2) Do you already have a good spinning setup for bass fishing?
3) Is there a reason why you want to start bass fishing with a bait-casting rod & reel setup?
4) What types of lures to you think you would like to start off with (spinner-bait, worms, etc.)?
We can discuss line size after…
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Brendan

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question...

1. I'll fish at local parks - Alondra Park is the closest. Then at Irvine lake and probably at Piru and Castaic Lake. I'll usually be fishing from the shore and once in awhile a rented boat.

2. My spinning set-ups are all Shimano Syetres ranging from the 750 to the 4000.

3. I do a LOT of casting and the line twist drives me crazy. Sometimes I rent a boat to fish and to drag line from my reels to get the line twist out!

4. For lures I'd probably go with a spinning reel for worms (and all plastics with a light weight) but for but for jigs and plugs, and swim baits I'd probably go with a low profile reel (or anything that had 10lb test and above).

I currently only have a 1994 Daiwa PS 1-Bi that I can now cast without dialing anything to slow the reel down on the dial on the side. It's all plastic but not used as I've been mostly fishing for trout. Thanks for your input! DAN aka Sandtrout

Brendan I picked up a Curado 200E5 this year for the exact purpose you posted to Dan.

To be honest I love the reel but man its like riding up a steep mountain on a 20 speed mountain bike with the speed set at a foot every 20 paddles.

I cannot throw a jig with it that would drive me crazy but I found it very good for crankbaits and slow rolling a spinnerbait. It seems like the lure is never going to show up at the boat.

so if you had to do it over would you still get the 200E5 or the 200E7? Or would you get the 300E series? I save up for stuff and want to be able to live with this reel for a long time.

Hi Sandtrout, Don'T misunderstand me I love the 200E5 and it is part of my tournament tackle and it has its place when the situation or pattern on any given lake occurs.

What I was posting to Brendan was that the 200E5 In my opinion is a limited reel, which with the 200E7 you can fish fast and slow as long as you retrieve your bait,jig etc.... accordingly.

The 300E series is a great reel to very similar it just can hold more line and I guess handles larger lures in my opinion I don't need the extra line and very rarely do I throw anything over 3/4 oz which the 200E series can handle and I think the 300's are about $50 to $60 more.

Hope I helped in any way Dan.

I would go with the 6.2:1 Ratio reel (200E7) for the same reasons I mentioned above. I think you be able to use the reel for more things.

Let us know how it works out for you Dan...

BC

The 2OOE7 only comes in 5.0 or 7.0. Did you mean the 7.0 or did you mean the 300E that comes in 6.2:1?

Hi Dan,

Sorry for the confusion... it should have read:

“I would go with a 6.2:1 Ratio reel (or the 200E7) for the same reasons I mentioned above. I think you be able to use the reel for more things.”