Recommend a couple baitcasting reels - freshwater

I should have noted that I have always been an ABU Garcia person, but I will look into the Shimano.

Shimano Metanium. Very smooth.

Need a budget.

At any price point, a Daiwa or Shimano option is going to be a safe bet but at specific price points, one my outshine the other.

Abu Garcia has some decent reels too as does Lews. They both are likely using the same overseas manufacturer on their low profile reels.

Typically (except at the lower price points) Daiwa and Shimano reels are unique to them.

Bottom line - if youre only fishing freshwater and paying over $100, any baitcaster by a name you recognize is probably going to be fine.

Abu Garcia, Lews, Daiwa, Shimano, Sevin (st croix sister company), Bates and several more companies all make decent stuff.

Heres a some specific recomendations:

Shimano SLX (any variant) - lots of options in this lineup and theyre all good. Pick a price and go

Shimano Curado 150M - great overall workhorse reel with better cast control and distance than the SLX

Daiwa Tatula 80 - excellent smaller frame reel especially if you arent worried about line capacity

Shimano Bantam MGL - great reel for power fishing. Heavier but solid - if youre throwing cranks, chatterbait, or powering frog fish out of slop this is great

Daiwa Mangetsu - larger framed reel for chucking small swimbaits, a-rigs, etc..

Shimano Metanium and Aldebaran - met for power fishing, alde for finesse

I just picked up a Shimano SLX XT 150 and fished with it all day last Friday. I can say it is very smooth, will cast a country mile, and the weight is nice. Would recommend.

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This is easier than it seems. Find the size you want that is either named Tatula or Curado. I would avoid the SLX as the upgrade in gears to the Curado is truly worth it. I would also avoid Abu and Lew's as neither are reel manufacturers and the lack of transparency has always put me off. Not that Doyo can't make a good reel, it's just that what level you're getting for the money is a mystery.

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^agreed

If your budget allows, this is the KISS solution to my overly verbose answer.

I took a chance on an Alphas TW 800 for very light cranks and darn thing has turned into one of my favorite reels period. Generally, I prefer Curados a little over Tatulas, but this little thing is just fun, smooth and comfortable. I do not need any reels right now, but I still check the classifieds in case one comes up at a good price.

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Lew's Tournament Lite
Lew's Tournament Pro

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My two favorites in my arsenal.

Bass pro has their trade in right now. Get some money off new rods and reels if you trade in old stuff. You can give em an old crappy zebco and get big money off if you buy something expensive. Of course they are already marked up there

Love the Alphas. Thats a nice little reel. The Tatula 70 and 103 SV TW I have are fine but agreed the similarly priced curados generally outperform them. An uodated Curado 70 would be nice.

I picked up the Daiwa Alphas BF TW right before Thanksgiving and it blows my Daiwa Tatula BF70 out of the water. Much much much better reel.

Even with the crazy tariff situation, JDM Daiwa and Shimano offerings are the better buy in my experience.