My 2019 fishing gear review & 2020 initial thoughts

[BeastMan]

2019 was an interesting year for me as I caught the bass bug after never really caring for freshwater fishing. In ?18 I used shimano citicas and did not like them so I switched to Lews for 2019 and put them through the ringer of inshore and bass fishing. Also scooped up a KastKing reel to try during a flash sale they had. So here is the gear that I abused in 2019 and how I think it faired:

Lews Speed Spool Super Duty



Fishing from a kayak a lot really puts your reels to the test and my 2 Lews reels saw south la marsh from Hopedale to Grand Isle and freshwater from rivers to the Rez. Caught a bunch of fish and they perform today just like they did out of the box. They MSRP either $179 or $199 but I got them for $99 a piece in an end of the year sale in 2018.

The good- built like a tank. This reel feels bullet proof. I just cleaned them for the first time and there was not a performance issue to lead to the cleaning. Smooth reel all the way around. Cast well and smooth retrieve. Ain?t no plastic on this reel so you don?t have to worry about a gear failure for a bruiser red or bass. After a year with Lews I can say I really like their braking system. Also love the pin that holds the side plate on. I hate detachable side plates.

The bad- Bad is probably a strong word because there isn?t anything truly bad but it?s a touch heavy but I knew that going in. It?s a beefy reel. If you?re casting and winding all day sometimes I?d gravitate to other setups. It?s not going to be the best at any specific task but it?s good at everything. I don?t love the knobs. A dang near $200 price point reel should have better than cheap rubber knobs. They slightly improved them on the newer model but don?t love those either.

Overall- A high quality reel I?d have no qualms recommending. I think I?d select this reel for specific power fishing applications.

KastKing Spartacus





The good- Had been wanting to try one after a few influencers I follow started using them and they even have a tour pro or 2 now. They had a sale where the Spartacus was half off so I got like $39. Dirt cheap. It?s their heavy drag reel (20lbs maybe) so I got it thinking I?ll give it a run with the reds. It ended up on by frog/heavy rod despite being a little slow and I caught a ton of bass in heavy cover. I feel like the drag is as advertised. Never had an issue turning a fish. This reel is sexy as hell. It?s really light. I love the oversized eva grips. Feels really good in your hand. The spool break is the one that works well.

The bad- when you pick up a sub $100 reel and a $200+ reel, they just don?t feel the same. This reel feels like a $79 reel. The thumb bar button isn?t tight enough. I?ve accidentally pressed the bottom with my hand handling the reel. That?s irritating. Now the breaking system. This is partially my fault for being an idiot and not reading directions but I slapped line on it and started fishing only using the dial on the outside like my Lews and abu Garcia. I?d have more than normal amount of backlash issues. I?d also have the breaks squeel on long cast. Well then I popped it open and notice the internal spool break. Duh. Well that?s the one. I don?t think the external magnetic breaks do much of anything. So it?s not a bad breaking system per se but it?s all about the spool breaks. And those are under a detachable side plate which I hate.

Overall- As a price point reel you won?t find a better one cosmetically. There are certainly small things that remind you this is a cheap reel. If you find them for what I paid, I?d jump all over it. It?s probably still a solid value at the regular msrp.

Falcon HD rods:



I bought a 6?6 medium and a 6?6 medium heavy to go with the super duties. They were $69 a piece and are the price point rod on the falcon lineup. At time of purchase a was thinking more for inshore but ended up using a bunch for bass too.

The good- Really solid rod for the money. I like an exposed blank under the rod seat where my ring finger keeps in contact with the blank. The MH specifically landed a handful of reds over a few trips and it handled the bruts just fine. This was a good for me but it may not be for others but the rod wasn?t perfectly balanced if you held it at the seat. It?s weighted forward. So with it being shorter and feeling like the weight was front loaded I felt like I made more accurate cast. The reel seat is all plastic but it stayed on right. I never had the issues on constant tightening.

The bad- I prefer eva split grip but can deal with cork for a value. I fresh water rinse my rods and reels after every trip and after a year you can see the wear on the cork. It?s fine now and probably will be for another year or so but expect the cork to starts chipping and whatnot after heavy use. The cork cap on the butt of the rod fell off on a trip. I guess the epoxy job wasn?t stellar on that one. I super glued it back on and no problems since. I feel like the handle could be a little longer but I did buy a 6?6 so that?s on me.

Overall- It?s really not a bad little price point rod. I?ve put the 7? in my hands and I like it better than the 6?6s I bought. I?m happy enough with them but truth be told I probably wouldn?t buy again. Id wait for a sale price on a little better rod to hit $70.

Abu Garcia Ultra Max combo

The good- no pics but I bought this combo for $79 as a cheap beater combo. It cast better than the Lews by a little and it put my old citicas to shame. I totally abused it in salt and fresh for 2 years and never cleaned it. Figured when it broke down just get another. Actually got my best bass of 19 on it. After 2 years of abuse I gave the whole combo to my bil and after cleaning it?s still going strong.

The bad- it feels like a cheap reel in your hands. It?s plasticy.

Overall- I really just can?t say anything bad about the cheap Abu Garcia reels. I?m sure it?s 1 little plastic piece away from a failure but that little setup has caught reds and a bunch of bass and it still works fine. Defies logic at $79 for the rod and reel.