Time to buy a new bait caster for bass fishing. Been thinking of a Daiwa Tatula Elite 100. Like to keep the price under $250. I could spend a little more if the performance was worth it.
Thoughts?

I have a baitcaster I really like. I bought it at the Fisherman's Factory Outlet in Sprite Lake, Iowa,reconditioned, for under fifty dollars.

It's in Wabigoon, and I'm not.

What I like about it is, the release is thumb handy.

Take a look at the Shimano Curado . I got one for fathers day last year and love it , very smooth .

I'm a Lew's fan but there are lot's of good reels nowadays.

Big Diawa Tatula fan. Have 3 of them now. Great reel for the money

My two cents worth.....Reels begin and end with Shimano.

The good ones do! They just seem to outlast and out perform all the others. Some Shimano's are hard to find right now. I wanted a Tranx 200 or 300 with low gears but I was unable to find one online or locally. I was able to find a Curado 200K and hopefully it will be here in a few days.

I know it's not bas fishing, but you know how rough fishing for reds on the Kenai is on gear. I've been using a Tatula 200 for a couple years and it's held up beautifully. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.

You have posted to many pictures of your musky fishing for anyone to question your fishing ability and musky fishing is hard on tackle....

My musky reels while seldom used is......ABU GARCIA. The Abu Garcia round reels win the the European casting distance championships every year......in excess of 3 football fields. The round reels are heavily customized yet round reels just the same.

I'm not gonna knock Abu, but after 2 Revo Toros ( the HS, and the S model) that are marketed toward Muskie guys, I wasn't able to get a full season out of either. Both lost their smoothness within the first couple of months of fishing. And like I said, before the season was out they were in the shop. Maybe I got two lemons, but my arsenal of Calcutta's is still going strong; and I've asked 2x the work out of them that I ever asked outta the ABUS. I'd say for the casual muskie angler they are fine. But day in and day out use, I gotta go with shimano.

I love my Calcutta but for one thing. I bet I’ve broke 5 of the damn buttons off. They’re plastic molded around a steel stud and when you mash it there’s no support on the left side. Every time it’s cracked the plastic off leaving the steel stud in place. They’re not very expensive but kind of a pain to replace and I think it’s BS that they use something like that on a multi hundred dollar reel. SOB should be either supported on the offside or made of metal.

And yes KY221 is correct IME, Abu is nowhere near the reel as a Shimano. I blew up at least two per year before I gave up on them when I was salmon fishing. I have a couple I use for trolling and bass fishing but they’re not near as sturdy as they could be.

JMHO- I don't care at all for thumb bar reels
I prefer the one button on the right

For bass fishing ...

I bought a JDM Shimano Metanium for under $300. Same reel with a slightly different spool is $500 here.

https://fishing.asian-portal.shop/c...wgtr18AIVRRx9Ch2EfQC5EAQYAyABEgL-4PD_BwE

It’s been out on the lake 2-3 times this spring, but really I bought it to chase boiling stripers this summer.

Casts great with #30 Spectra but I did have to fine tune it on the water to prevent professional bird’s nests.

I’d do it again.

That is a very positive endorsement! Any reel, or rod, that can survive a couple of seasons of red fishing is built well.

Think I decided on a reel, Shimano CURADO DC, but the model I want is out of stock pretty much everywhere so it might take awhile to get it.

The Calcuttas are great reels.They last forever and so simple to maintain.I have five of them and they just won't die.

When I went back to using baitcasters for some bass fishing after years of using spinning reels for everything I had trouble re learning to cast them well with the first ones I tried. Someone suggested the Shimano Curados and problem solved. Don't know if the Curados were actually the difference but they seemed a lot easier to use. I've got three of them now, Two Bantams I've used for over twenty years and a 50E for over ten. I've cleaned and relubed them a couple of times and that's it. Good quality reels IMO.

Ended up ordering a Shimano Curado 150 DC with the "normal" rate of retrieve. It will be coming from Malaysia so may take awhile.

Enjoy it Snow!

Catch a few for me!

Curado is hard to beat.

Good choice. I have the DC and love it.

BTW I did receive my Curado 200K. Another nice reel.

I ordered a new curado this morning. I was fishing yesterday with a 15 year old curado and the centrifigul brake flew apart. I have fished it hard and it has given better service and lasted longer than any other I have owned.