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So I have a budget of about 300$ that I can spend at sail "some gift cards collected" I am going to put this reel on a Crucial worm and jig rod... For the 300$ price range what would you guys recommend in the baitcaster form.... and what gear ratio would be best? Just looking for opinions! I am thinking chronarch, revo, tatula??????? Thanks for your feedback in advance!

I would seriously look at the CI4+ Chronarch. It is a great reel but you may have to put a little money in for taxes. Not sure what that reel goes for at Sail but I have seen them other places for $299.99.

If you want to come in under budget, the Curado I would be a good choice as well.

As for gear ratios, I tend to stick with gear ratios in the 6:1 but bought the 8.5:1 ratio for my setup like this and couldn't be happier. I guess it all depends on how fast you want the retrieve at this point because even with the higher gears, it doesn't feel like anything is under powered.

New Curado I, Sail has both lefties and rightys in stock I'm super happy with mine, love the new breaking system. As far as gear ratio the Curado comes in 6.2:1 and 7.2:1, I always prefer the higher gear ratio unless it's being used for crankbaits.For a little over $300 you could step up to the Chronarch Ci4+. Sail is sold out of Tatula's and for Abu's only carry the Revo SX that would be within your price range.

Comparing the two, to me Curado seems more solid, like it could survive more abuse. It's buttery smooth, whisper quiet It balances well with my Champ Extremes I also have a METHG which is awesome, yet I still use the Curado's the most. The price difference $209 for the Curado $299 for the Ci4+, well, a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.

Chronarch CI4. I have it on a swimbait combo and I love it.

Curado + lures = Happy angler!

Or buy two Citica's LOL
They're great for the price.

If you are working a worm and jig rod and you want a baitcasting reel to go with it you will want to consider the application you are fishing.

Higher gear ratio would make sense (7:1) because it's going to let you get that slack reeled up nice and quick. This is good if:

A) You hook a LM Bass in the weeds and he goes in to the thick stuff to try and shake you off - You gotta pull him out fast and a 7:1 will do that.

B) You are fishing for SM Bass - many times when they hit your lure they will literally run STRAIGHT at you and you have to take the slack line up QUICK onto your reel as all the slack line is going to allow the fish to shake you off. A 7:1 is going to give you the line retrieve speed you need to get that Bronze Back into your boat.

Options:

Shimano Chronarch CI4+ - by all accounts, this Reel is the gold standard this year for baitcast reels at a "reasonable" price. By reasonable, I mean you are getting a lot of bells and whistles that may be found on a much more expensive ($500+) reel for around 300. Is it a lot of money? Yes, but guess what? With this purchase you can basically count on the reel for the rest of your life. I bought a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ and it spent a month at the bottom of a lake this summer and upon retrieval from its murky resting place, it is fixed up again and putting me in the top of the pack in Tournaments I"m fishing in addition to helping me pull in a personal best walleye, so yeah you get what you pay for and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Chronarch Ci4+.

New Shimano Curado - everyone is talking about it for a reason. A little less expensive than the Chronarch Ci4+ but with almost all the same funcionality. I would already have one in my possession but they were very hard to come by when I was in the market for baitcasters earlier this season, so I went with the Chronarch instead. It's nice to have problems like that in life...

Abu Garcia Revo SX 7:1. This is a good quality reel for about half the cost of the Shimano Ci4+ and while I'm not going to sit here and tell you it is in the same class as a Chronarch, it would still be a definite decent option. I initially bought this reel to use on my flipping stick but now it's actually on my Frog/Topwater rod and has been the backbone behind many a smallmouth caught this season- ridiculous numbers on that rod/reel combo (Abu Garcia Revo SX 7:1 + St. Croix Avid 7"9' heavy/fast.)

Last, you may want to look at Lew's. They have some really good reels at a very decent price. A few buddies of mine swear by these reels, in fact. I don't know what Sail has for this product, but I know Ed carries a very solid line of baitcasters out at Paddletales and frankly you should consider getting out to Winchester to check it out...

Well walked into Sail and all reels are 15% off Ended up getting the Shimano Chronarch CI4+ for 255$.... Then for good measure I destroyed my budget and got the Citica Crucial combo.... Oh well guess you cannot have to many rods and reels Guess I am going to need a bigger boat soon as I am running out of room and quick Thanks for all the feedback it helped greatly!

lvace wrote:Well walked into Sail and all reels are 15% off Ended up getting the Shimano Chronarch CI4+ for 255$.... Then for good measure I destroyed my budget and got the Citica Crucial combo.... Oh well guess you cannot have to many rods and reels Guess I am going to need a bigger boat soon as I am running out of room and quick Thanks for all the feedback it helped greatly!

Nice stuff! Did you get a 2015 Crucial??

Nice buy!

The Chronarch will take you a bit to get used to. It took me a few try's to figure out the new braking system but once I did, it hasn't let me down once.

Which citica did you get and like Jona asked, which crucial? Cork handle or EVA?

Sail has a sale going on for a Citica G paired with a last gen Crucial Worm&Jig, they haven't gotten the new Crucials yet and I don't expect them to be there till late this year/early next year.

lvace wrote:Then for good measure I destroyed my budget and got the Citica Crucial combo.... Oh well guess you cannot have to many rods and reels Guess I am going to need a bigger boat soon as I am running out of room and quick Thanks for all the feedback it helped greatly!

Congratulation. You are well on your way to becoming a TackleHoe.

It's a slippery slope Ivace,

Next thing you know, you have 10 rods and reels and a new boat. And just when you think you have it all figured out, some bew rod or reel comes out that you have to have!

It never ends. I am "hoping" I am good for the off season but I might have a combo or two that will make it into the boat for next season. If just never ends.

Ed has the new Crucials available

Well judging from my full SUV and garage I am well aware that I already am a tackle whore the combo I bought after my chronarch c14 was the crucial spinning rod with citica reel... Both of the crucial rods I now have are the 2014 ones .... The chronarch c14 reel was brought with me on the miss yesterday and it performed flawlessly. I instantly fell in love with it! Thanks for all the feedback!