Upgrading my bait caster set up and have come across Bates a few different times online. I've owned Lew's, Shimano's, and a Daiwa in the past. No issues with any one of them, although the shimano's aren't as good as they used to me in my opinion. But always willing to try to something newer, any feedback?

I have a Bates Salty Hundo. It reminds me of an old school Chronarch. Built like a tank and I can sling a lure farther than any other reel I own. Only downside is weight.

Nothing is built like it used to be
But if you haven't tried Shimano curado DC I would recommend it
We have several and fish all different waters and applications and they are great and have been using them for years
On latest reel purchase my son considered bates but still opted for DC. Not sure exactly what bates model but he said it was more than the DC and he didn't see any specs that made him think he'd be upgrading

I'll 2nd your comment on the Curado DC. It will flat spoil you.
And I don't know enough about Bates to comment anything on them.

Buddy of mine swears by the Hundo

Have 2 friends with Salty Hundos. They will cast a mile, but I do think they need lots of frequent maintenance if you wade with them.

Bates are maintenance pits. Not forgiving enough for imperfect conditions.....which is every trip on saltwater. Everyone i know that fish a lot raved about em at first....and quickly got frustrsted.

Lews for me.

I have a Curado DC and Daiwa Steez A and my son has a couple of Salty Hundos. He can outcast me by quite a bit.

I throw my Lew's primarily because I like a lighter reel, but I'm curious what maintenance issues you've heard. I've got plenty of casts on my Bates and it hasn't missed a beat

Simply that they arent holding up comparatively. And then needing cleaning more often. And seemingly more delicate and finicky internals.

Thats been a while as the 3 or 4 folks I know that tried em moved on a while back. These guys fish a lot and can be hard on gear. They weren't impressed. For the price they went back to Lews.

We are fishing the salty hundos a lot and so far it's the best reel I have used. No maintenance issues with any of them……yet.

For you guys with Bates...how long have you had them and how often fishing the salt with them?

Trying to understand sample size

I ended up buying the Bates Goat 150 and it got mounted on a sweet new Waterloo HP Lite. We're headed to POC on Friday. Will report back.

I have a place on the coast and wade fish a lot. I bought a Hundo over the summer and after half dozen or so trips got rid of it. I found it to be to finicky depending on wind speed and angle of cast into the wind. My goto reels are Lews Custom Lite and custom pro. As far as distance the Hundo was ok but not quite as good as Lew's. The rod plays a role in distance as well.

Rhodie88 said:

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I have a place on the coast and wade fish a lot. I bought a Hundo over the summer and after half dozen or so trips got rid of it. I found it to be to finicky depending on wind speed and angle of cast into the wind. My goto reels are Lews Custom Lite and custom pro. As far as distance the Hundo was ok but not quite as good as Lew's. The rod plays a role in distance as well.

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I have heard this same review a dozen times it seems....

FIDO*98* said:

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I throw my Lew's primarily because I like a lighter reel, but I'm curious what maintenance issues you've heard. I've got plenty of casts on my Bates and it hasn't missed a beat

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I've heard of brake issues right out of the box, level wind line guide falling out (press fit with no adhesive), bearing issues, and various corrosion complaints. I understand their customer service is very good. They are a new company working the kinks out of their reels, however I don't believe you should pay ~$400 for a product that is not fully developed.

Personally, I stick to Lew's. I bought 6 lightly used Custom Pro 2nd Gen reels and have a TLL and Tournament Lite. I will keep these reels until the frames give out. These simply hold up with minimal maintenance. I fish on average 1-2 times per week year round with at least 75% of that being wading.

I started this morning with my Lew's custom lite. 2nd wade grabbed my Bates. Went back to my Lew's for the rest of the day. Yep, Lew's just feel better

I got my Bates with gift cards so never thought much about the price point, but I'm in agreement that there are better reels for the $

Same here. I had some visa gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. I am taking my lew's set up as well tomorrow just in case haha.

Do you have the SLP or SS? I'm eyeing one for inshore red and trout wade trips throwing top water and soft plastics.

Get the SLP. The SS is a shallow spool model for flipping/pitching applications in bass fishing. The SS doesn't have enough line capacity for most inshore fishing.

Thank you.

dr_boogs said:

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Do you have the SLP or SS? I'm eyeing one for inshore red and trout wade trips throwing top water and soft plastics.

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Mine is the SLP. I have it on a Waterloo Ultra Mag which I like better than my Carbon Mag. It's about as light a setup you can possibly get and you can feel everything

Awesome thanks. I've got a Waterloo salinity spinner I've been happy with, will check out your rod suggestion. I don't wade often but when I do, I throw 1/16 1/8 and rarely 1/4 oz jig heads. Primarily 1/8.

Fished hard all day, no complaints on the Bates. My other two buddies on the boat each through it as well and liked it. First trip out for what it's worth.