Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

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kikstand454
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Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by kikstand454 »

Hey all!

So....I haven't been on much I know, and I apologise. Truthfully, I haven't fished nearly as much as I would've liked (who does though. ??) In the time I've been absent.
That being said, I'd like to put an opinion/review out here to take with a grain of salt.

About a year ago, I had to accept that my old Shimano bantum greenies (201) were at the end of their rope. Constant maintenance wasn't helping the grinding and seizing. Hey..... They're 30 years old. Lol. So....being that I almost EXCLUSIVELY fish baicasters, I went on a (continuing) search for my next reel.

I had a brief affair with Acedemy sports' h2o "mettle". It was a great little reel, cast like a dream, and at the time, was dirt cheap. Perfect. Unfortunately, they jacked the price up to over $50, and with them only lasting about 8mos, I just couldn't justify them at that price anymore. They're great little reels for freshwater though, if you can find them on super sale (I got mine for $25 during Xmas 2 years ago......they didn't have them on sale this past year.).

This lead me to look outside the box. I simply can not afford the high end saltwater reels offered by the big names. Revo inshores are almost 200 bucks. No can do. So I started thinking about trying out some of those cheap Chinese knockoffs you see on eBay. I know you guys have seen them....$25 with 14 bearings and other such mess. Well..... While checking those out, I came across the KAST KING company, and remember that I have seen quite a bit if press about the reels lately on fishing forums. I looked through the selection, and this guy caught my eye.

KastKing Royale Legend 7.0:1 Right Handed Baitcasting Fishing Reel with 11+1 Shielded Ball Bearings and Oversized Handle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010MAVO0M/re ... 3zbYC5QN3Y



So....$40 with sealed bearings and a brass pinion/gear?? Sold.

It came to me, squeaky. This isn't surprising. Many factories either over or under grease their reels.....even high end ones. So I took it apart and greased/oiled it. The internals were solid and fit well. The braking system is strange. A mix of magnetic breaks and a weird friction system that looks like a centrifugal brake, but isn't. It works very well, time will tell on the frictions durability.
The reel cast like butta, and took my preferred 15# line with no issues. The drag is carbon and smooth. Very strong. If someone told me it was a rebadged carbonex system, I'd believe them.
So......after some freshwater trips, I took this baby into the ultimate reel torture test- inshore kayak fishing. Lol. Here's the thing guys, I did not baby this reel. I wanted it to fail. I submerged it twice. I locked the drag down on a 26+" red. I left it locked on a Spanish. Most importantly I REFUSED to rinse it when I got home. Not one time. Nor did I take it apart for maintenance after 6mos like I normally do.
Then I bought a second one. πŸ‘

Here's the thing....of both reels, being abused and never rinsed, this last trip the original one finally got a stiff reel knob. Not seized....but a tiny bit stiff. One drop of oil (which should've been done months ago) and it is like new. Still no actual maintenance on the original reel, coming up on a solid year.

The moral here? Hey.....I feel good recommending this reel if you're looking for a cheap baitcaster. I'm giving it 4 stars now....and if it keeps going to the full year..(about 6 more weeks)....5 stars it is. You can't beat that for $40. Trust me.

I have zero affiliation with KK. Though.....at this point, I sure wouldn't turn any down. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

I know only a handful of you even use baitcasters, but I thought I'd share my experience.

Jmho.

Thanks for your indulgence.
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Re: Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by salty gator »

I'm glad they are working out. There was a huge debate about those reels on another forum. 2 guys that I know and have fished with both bought the sharky spinner. One guy loved it and bought more, one guy hated it and thought it was cheap junk. I may buy one for my sabiki rod.. The one thing that stopped my was that Alan Hawk gave them a terrible review and recommend not buying them, I've never seen him flat out recommend not to buy a reel. Again, Glad they worked for you
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kikstand454
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Re: Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by kikstand454 »

Was this for this particular model.....or for kastking in general?? I have no experience with any other model. This particular one is kicking butt for me. πŸ‘
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Re: Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by salty gator »

He had of list of reels he would not recommend buying, they were top of the list.. scroll to bottom of page

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lists.html
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kikstand454
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Re: Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by kikstand454 »

That's pretty cool!

He and I have very different levels of commitment though. I do not know a world where a stradic would be considered a "budget freshwater reel". πŸ˜‚
Clearly he has a pretty serious level he is comparing things to. I did find his daiwa bg suggestion interesting at $100 give or take. I'll check into that for sure. I view spinning reels as an unpleasant necessity though...so a good ol Shimano Sahara normally does it for me.


Obviously the reels he recommends are like fine European automobiles...... I'm just saying that the honda Civic (kastking Royale) can get you to the same place for 1/10 the cost. Lol.


Cool read though, thanks!
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Re: Opinion- saltwater baitcaster.

Post by salty gator »

His reviews are extensive, but very thorough. He's supposed to be completely non biased, and not paid by any company. I take all reviews with a grain of salt, and I never read a kast king review, but he did mention that he didn't recommend them. But I'm glad you like it and it's working well. I know another guy that likes them a lot and is all in on them. The bg is a good reel for the money also. Got one as a back up grouper digger and I like it better than my sarogossa.
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