Lew's lite is the nicest reel I've ever had in my hand.

Even the $89 Lew's is better than anything Shimano makes.

 

Lew's lite is the nicest reel I've ever had in my hand.

Even the $89 Lew's is better than anything Shimano makes.

yep

 

Lews

If you can use a right hand reel then the Lew's BB1 Inshore Saltwater @$170 on Ebay I posted last week is a fine reel at a good price. BB1 and BB2 Inshores are not made anymore and very hard to find at any kind of reasonable price (under $200 would be my limit to reasonable). I don't know where a BB2 Inshore can be found except a few gougers have them.

 

If you can use a right hand reel then the Lew's BB1 Inshore Saltwater @$170 on Ebay I posted last week is a fine reel at a good price. BB1 and BB2 Inshores are not made anymore and very hard to find at any kind of reasonable price (under $200 would be my limit to reasonable). I don't know where a BB2 Inshore can be found except a few gougers have them.

Just an fyi.....quick search for "Lew's bb1 for sale" shows them very available for under $160 everywhere...No shipping even....get you some.

 

Team Lew's Lite Speed Spool is a great reel.

 

Lews

I am an Avid Shimano Reel User, but with all the hype ive seen about Lews I would like to invest in one of their reels to test it out and see how it compares to my Shimano baitcasters. My go to is my Curado Greenies so would want something similar.

What do you consider the "best" Lews reel on the market so I can give them a fair shot at possible future business.

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Tight lines.

I have 4 kids and a wife that fish with me on rare occasions so I have an "excuse" to buy a lot of reels. Odds are you won't buy a Lews you don't like. Personally, I'm not totally sold on their semi new 27 position casting system. They have this on almost all of their higher end reels now. 1) for some reason I can't get it set just right, it might just be the reel I got but it's kind of finicky 2) it can make a semi high pitched noise when casting. It's from the braking mechanism. It's easily remedied by making sure the brake "plate"? is clean and putting one or two drops of oil on it. I have a Tourney Lite that has the 27 position deal and I've had difficulty getting it set right. If you can get it set right it will cast a long way and the retrieve is smooth smooth smooth.

I have two of the BB1 Inshores, they are great reels that I've had going on 5 years. They cast well and held up great to saltwater use...but, they've been discontinued. I've had 2 of the $99 reels (you can get on sale for $79) for about 4 years now. Great reels especially for the money. I bought a Laser or Tournament Laser on sale at academy for $69 for son-Christmas 2 years ago. This is the only one I've been disappointed with because the drag crapped out on it after very little use. And, finally, I just bought the Custom SLP. Thus far, it's my favorite one but I've only had it a month..used it 3 times. It's white, has Winn Grip knobs and the old casting mechanism. Oh, my oldest son has the previous version of the Tournament Pro....another awesome reel.

After all this I say Custom SLP with the caveat that I've only had it a month. (and buy you one of the $99 reels for an extra rig....I bet you'll find yourself throwing it a whole lot).

 

Ive used a Lews tourney Pro for the last year and put it through some abuse. Hundreds of fish including a few monster reds and jacks and zero issues until recently. I couldnt get the side plate off to service it. I tried everything but it was just frozen on.. saltwater is a biotch. I sent it to Lews with the hopes they can get it off without breaking it. Its my own fault because I neglected it. That issue never interfered with the function of the reel. I could have probaby caught hundreds more fish with it. I liked it so much that I recently ordered 2 of the BB1 Pro Series. Time will tell if these hold up but I like them so far.

 

Avid Shimano guy here as well. I still love my Chronarchs. However, I just got the Lew's Tournament Lite G Speed Spool (LGG1H) and it is awesome. I haven't had the problems the other guys have had yet with the casting brake system. I set it to 2 with a 1/8th oz jighead and cast it a mile. Smooth like butter. First day I used it I caught probably 25 trout (mostly dinks released and 1 red) and loved the performance. The Lite G is also built more for salt water use with anti-corrosion materials and parts. Good luck hope this helps!

 

I have two pro g's and the team spool lite.
You need to fig your budget. The cheaper ones have one type of drag and break system and the expensive ones all have two different systems.

Heck of a sell on EBAY and some times Amazon Prime for the better reels back before Christmas but probably sales there now too.

Before Ch they had the team lite list 240$ down to ~180$ ish. Basically they dropped the price their reels down one level to the price and the next level down and some companies had free shipping too.

Be sure to look around before you buy.

 

I have a couple inshores, a speed spool and 5 tournament pros. That being said, the tournament pro is my favorite.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

For the BB1 and Tournament Pros you guys are recommending can you give me the model number? Just want to make sure I am searching for the correct one.

For example "IS1SH" etc. get so confused with the multiple models and near identical names. Appreciate the help.

 

For the BB1 and Tournament Pros you guys are recommending can you give me the model number? Just want to make sure I am searching for the correct one.

For example "IS1SH" etc. get so confused with the multiple models and near identical names. Appreciate the help.

http://www.lews.com/casting-tournamentpro.php

http://www.lews.com/casting-bb1pro.php

I'd still take a strong look at this one..

http://www.lews.com/casting-teamlewslite.php

I found the Lite on eBay brand new for $180. Not sure if it's still on there.

The only thing I would have to say about the BB1 is that the side plates are graphite, which don't hold up in saltwater well from what I've read off of folks on here

 

I have a BB! Pro (Still Available), Team Lews Lite, and the Tournament Pro. It's a toss up for me between the BB1 Pro and the TLL. Both awesome. The BB1Pro and the ProG will cast a tiny bit further with bigger lures but when casting smaller lighter lures like plastics its hard to tell and the TLL is lighter. Makes a sweet rig for that all day plastics grind.

About the noise and setting the external adjustment. Like above, make sure it's clean and has a very light coating of oil.. I probably clean mine with a clean microfiber cloth every 12 trips or so, more often if you are wading. I also make fine adjustments with the spool tension knob. What I've found is that these reels have infinite more control to barely adjust breaking. I might click up or down 1 click on the external adjust and make a cast then ever so slightly adjust the spool tension knob. Either way, I'm casting longer and have more range of adjustment than any reel i've owned in the past.

Over time the noise reduces more and more. I think that as the brakes wear a little against the side plate, they smooth out and make less noise. It's a much better design than the old click one or 2 brakes out deal; you have more range to adjust now.

 

{The only thing I would have to say about the BB1 is that the side plates are graphite, which don't hold up in saltwater well from what I've read off of folks on here[/QUOTE]

Why? I have Graphite Newells that are 20 years old and live at the beach?

 

{The only thing I would have to say about the BB1 is that the side plates are graphite, which don't hold up in saltwater well from what I've read off of folks on here

Any resin based graphite component should be non reactive.. otherwise fishing rods would have the same problem. its the Mg (magnesium alloy) frames that do not hold up no matter what brand they are.

 

IMO the Lews Tournament lite is the best and on sale at Cabelas for $119.00 online and instore at the Houston hwy45 store.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/LEWS...009.uts?searchPath=/browse.cmd?categoryId=734095080&CQ_search=lews+lite&CQ_st=b

 

I was quoting the post above mine ... the poster said graphite doesn't hold up well. I call bs on that. My graphite newells are 20 years old. If you copy my post next time copy the whole thing

 

Jeeeezzzzz... must not have been in "quotes" so I couldn't tell who said it... ...

well at least we still agree then. ;-)

 

BB1 Inshore

^ Those BB1's are not the inshore version. Gander MTN $199, $20 off and free shipping. http://www.gandermountain.com/search/bb1

http://www.overtons.com/search/bb1 10% off entire order

We pulled in a couple cobia last year on a BB2 Inshore. Pretty sweet reel's.

 

20% off order Gander Mtn

^ Those BB1's are not the inshore version. Gander MTN $199, $20 off and free shipping. http://www.gandermountain.com/search/bb1

http://www.overtons.com/search/bb1 10% off entire order

We pulled in a couple cobia last year on a BB2 Inshore. Pretty sweet reel's.

Update, Gander Mountain is now offering 20% off your entire order...so $40 off BB1 Inshore

 

Does anyone know if Lews is going to bring back their inshore series?

-SA

 

Lews

I emailed them a couple of weeks ago. They have the one $129 inshore and no plans at present to make any additional inshore models. They said they discontinued the bb1 and bb2 inshore models due to "lack of demand".

 

What model is the one for $129? I've seen one locally and it's been tempting me.

 

Guys, I've used the BB1 Pro and the TLL for over 2 years in the salt now with no issues. I wade a lot as well. The ProG is taking the place of the BB1 pro (that's different from BB1 speed spools alone).