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I'm with mhall on this one. Spend some extra coin on a solid reel. I think I'd opt for the $100 Shimano Citica or better. Buy from Tackle Warehouse and get free shipping with a $50+ order... For a beginner, spend the large majority of your budget on the reel, not the rod.
Bass pro qualifier. U can get them for 79 at certain times. Great reel for money!
I have fished my whole life (39 years) with a spin rod and last year I wanted to jump into baitcasters simply because I wanted to do more flipping and such. Read the reviews you can't go wrong with the BPS Extreme Baitcast reels. Actually they are on sale right now so you can't go wrong. I bought two last year and I LOVE them.
Here is the link:
[URL]http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Extreme-Baitcast-Reels/product/103926/-1535227[/URL]
Dont go cheap. The better quality baitcaster you get the easier it is to cast.
When h starts tell him to try braid its a little more manageable than mono and its alot easier to get out birds nests until he gets decent with it then switch to floro or mono
IMO for a beginner would be the BPS smart cast egnima, anti backlash I am pretty sure it is $79.99. For the money it would be great and never backpacking makes me want one but I have too many already, I have a couple black max reels and they work very well too!
I started off about 4 years ago with an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur series. I had never used a baitcaster before this and it was basically idiot proof. Its not as low profile as some of my newer ones but it is still my baby and you cant backlash her if you try. I think I paid somewhere around $50.00 and its still my go to reel.
[QUOTE=offdtop;457053]Tell him to seriously look at the new Lews speed spools!!!! you can find them for $89 and they have 10 bearings and they are casting machines!!!!! I have Curado's, and Revo STX and this reel casts as good if not better!!! Lews reels are historic for being workhorses and I have now bought 3 speed spools to replace the remaining Johnny Morris reels I have. JMHO[/QUOTE]
Wow I didn't know they were making them again. I cut my teeth on Lew's reels, still have three old ones and wouldn't trade them for nothing. Best cranking reel ever. Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna look into these, thanks.
[QUOTE=mhall;457414]Wow I didn't know they were making them again. I cut my teeth on Lew's reels, still have three old ones and wouldn't trade them for nothing. Best cranking reel ever. Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna look into these, thanks.[/QUOTE]
I have now bought 3!!! They said they have been working on this reel for like 7 years and did not want to put another on the market till they could hold up to the former glory of their previous reels - they even have the paddle type grips on the handles. I took Mark Menendez's class this winter and he is sponsored by them and had some that I could play around with..... awesome to say the least!
They have 2 different price ranges the "Tournament series" and the regular the higher priced ones are like $170 and the regular are $90 and the regular has 10 bearings and is as smooth as silk and just feel awesome in your hands... JMHO