lews vs 13 vs shimano ect

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i've always been a shimano guy with the occasional penn thrown in for aj/snapper. how do the lews and 13 fishing reels stack up for saltwater use?

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I was the exact same. All my baitcasters were curados, chronarchs, or Calcutta. I decided to get a new reel two years ago and went with 13 fishing due to all my friends newer shimanos continuously breaking or corroding fast. I bought a Concept A and it has been my go to reel. I don't think Ill buy another shimano baitcaster.

Did you check out the 13 fishing reel thread a few post down?

Apparently they have the concept Z that has zero ball bearings that is kinda designed for saltwater use. I use the Concept C (13 Fishing) and love it. I have had the Speed spool (Lews) and the Curado. I would take the 13 Concept C over all of them.

Been switching my speck rod setups from Calcutta's to Concept C's. And will be interested in the new ball-less Concepts when they hit the market in a couple of months.

Shimano reels have been good to me, but I recently acquired some Lews reels and love them. Time will tell how they hold up long term.

I haven't delved into the Concept reels due to all the horror stories I've read on fishing message boards. Also the guy I use to clean my reels said stay away from the Concept reels. He claims they have corrosion issues and he sees a LOT of reels. I see where some people love them and have had good luck with them, so maybe it's a quality control problem that is spotty.

In fairness, he also warned me away from specific reels produced by Shimano. Can't recall which ones right now. I usually get fresh info from him and go buy a reel while it's still fresh in my mind.

If you know anybody that services reels, call them up and ask their advice. Fishermen tend to fall in love with a reel and will recommend them despite having issues. One example is the Concept 13s. Not saying all models are bad, but I keep seeing posts where people admit to having issues but praise them because the nice people at Concept took care of the problem. Well I love good service as much as anyone, but i would prefer to never have to deal with the service department.

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TheOfficial

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yes, i did read it. that's whats prompting my questions

I have 2 Tournament Lite Lew's that I fish with in Salt Water, they seem to be doing just fine after 1 year. They are smooth casting and light. However, I do not feel like they cast any better than my Curado 70's.

I do not have any 13 fishing reels so I cannot comment there.

However, on Shimano's website it states their favorite reels for Saltwater use is the Curado, Casitas and the Metanium. However that was probably stated before the new Chronarch G that was just released.

If the reel is constantly being dunked in true saltwater a lot or constantly wet with Saltwater I think eventually it will malfunction. People that buy a $150-200 reel and then go surf fishing with it and wonder why it doesn't hold up are asking a bit too much of the reel IMO.

I do know that they new Curado's seem head and shoulders above some of the last few years Shimano models, but only time will tell.

I have fished with the following in my life.

Ambassador 5500/5600
Shimano calcutta
Shimano curado i
Lews tournament lite
Lews bb1
Quantum escalade

My favorite is the Curado. It just feels so solid and smooth in my hand. I know a lot of people knock it but it seems to be holding up well to saltwater so far. The tournament lite is my second favorite, but doesn't feel as solid, and I only use it in freshwater so can't speak to its saltwater durability. I don't really care for my bb1 and probably need to sell it. The Calcutta is awesome but bulky. And the ambassadors are my reel of choice to abuse surf fishing. Cheap and pretty durable. The escalade was my first foray into low profile reels. It did its job and got me to upgrade the curado and lews, but isn't close to the same level as them. Hope this helps you. I have no experience with concept reels so I will take others word for it.

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lsuson

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The curados suck

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mine have never seen saltwater, or even brackish water, and even my old 200B's are still going strong. only routine maintenance.

Lews, concept, and Abu Garcia buy their reels from mfg overseas and have no quality control.

Diawa and Shimano design their own reel, stock parts, and have better quality control over mfg. I personally like Diawa as I can get parts for my Japanese reels that go back 15 yrs ago even after saltwater use.

In saltwater I would use a reel with composite bearing or bushing.All the new concept reel has in it is a composite type bearing. You can measure your reel any brands bearings or bushings and do the same thing and order these bearings.

The best reels I found for surf fishing that are light are original Abu Garcia ambassedeur 1000. Brake plate (engagement system is plastic), has bushing so saltwater or cannot get in the bearing. Polish the bushing and it will out perform a bearing reel as the spool is a floating spool. The reel is also light and parts are cheap.

Another great standby is old Abu Garcia 5000 or 4500. You can get them on eBay or pawn shop for $20 to $30. You can rebuild them and even upgrade cog wheel to one with a bearing and lighten up the brakes, put Chinese aluminum handle with cork grips. You can replace the bearings in the spool with the original bushings or composite bushing or polish the brass bushing for surf fishing. That reel will outlast anything out there, cheap, rebuilt it for next to nothing, change cog wheel and brakes to throw lighter lures, and they last!