Lew's SuperDuty Wide Speed Spool Baitcast Reel

So far, this is a pretty nice reel. Its winter so I won't be able to try it out before the return date but its in working order so I'll risk it. Ill keep this update throughout the year as if I change my mind about the rating.Initial thoughts:- I ordered and recieved the correct reel. I'll be fishing out of a kayak this year and needed a versatile rig so I won't have to carry as many rods in a limited space. It had to be a left handed retrieve as I'm right handed casting and want to keep the rod in my right hand while my left hand can do other things like anchor trolly, one handed paddle, etc. and reeling. my other casting reels are right handed and its an awkward process to cast and then give the rod to my left hand. Its why spinning reels work best in a kayak.- I needed a reel for largemouth, occasional striper, but I will be traveling north this year and will be into small mouth, walleye, maybe lake trout, pike, etc. or similar sized fish. So, I reckoned I needed more drag and line capability. This model has a wider spool and 20 lb drag capacity on a one piece aluminum frame wich seemed to fit my needs.Pros:- Out of the box it is ready to go- its a wide spool but the body doesn't look or feel much different than any other "normal" capacity reel.- It has a solid feel as if it could handle the larger than expected fish - perhaps that accidental muskie or deep down striper - as long as my rod holds up the reel will.- I like the handle feel- The numbered brake adjustment side plate is not going to come off accidentally and fall in the lake as its pull pin is on the opposide side.- The color. I'm not a fan of multi colors, pastel greens, etc.- One piece aluminum frame (so it won't torque under extreme pressureCons:- I wish it had centrifugal braking as well as magnetic but I can't miss what I've never had.- I wish the brake side plate was aluminum (the reel side plate is aluminum)- The reel seat seems thin compared to other brands and models but because its painted I can't see the welds as I suspect if they were bad jobs would be obvious. I put a lot of thumb pressures and weight on mine and then checked for cracks in the paint but it seems very well done. I'm pretty confident the reel seat is stronger than the reel seat receiver/saddle (?) of my rod.- Braking numbers are too small for me to read without reading glasses which I don't take with me kayaking but you can feel and hear the clicks so thats good enough.- The cost for a left hand retrieve is $35 more!!! I understand supply and demand but this is almost price gouging in my opinion. Other brands practically give you a discount for their left handed model. They saw me and my kayak coming.After Thoughts:All in all I'm satisfied with this reel but I may be relying on the Lew's reputation more than I should. I need to catch a few heavy fish on it. I have some 40 year old Ambassadeurs and Shimanos (still in use) that have never failed me so I'm expecting the same or better from Lew's. I'll let you know.One last thing: I matched it with a MH fast action 7'6" 24 ton blank rod. Feels pretty good/balanced.

It took me longer than most reels to get dialed in...It comes with the left brake dialcompletely off. I would turn that up to five to start with! I have never thrown a huge swim bait or such a big rod. Im using it with 8' heavy swimbait rod and 8in Huddleston. After Cutting out a huge backlash and losing a fourth of my spool...I got it casting great.

This is my second one of these reels. They cast beautifully and I love the extra line that the wide spool holds.

Great reel. I am a novice to bait casters. No bird’s nest after three months of use. More compact then open face reels. Works well out of my Kayak!

I have bought many reels from LEWS from you guys and for one of a higher quality reel there are no extras handle being one thing that wide super duty was number 7 LEWS reel in less than 4 months want to return just because Just bought 300nseries got handle same price???????? kastking I bought there 300 for nothing 129 and got a lot for my money and LEWS not sure anymore and topper I haven’t even used the LEWS American hero and just spoool yesterday and now it want even engage haven’t even used it really I have spent a lot of money on there reels and poles from Amazon and lately garbage super mad want don’t work and never used it and other paid a lot and got nothing extra

Based on reviews and from reading on various on line fishing forums with rave reviews of the Lews reels, I decided to try one. I was looking for a good replacement for my old curado super free's... I bought this reel and a Diawa Coastal TWS and gave them both a good workout on the bay last weekend... That Daiwa was everything I was looking for. This Lew's was OK, but it is very sensitive to the spool tension setting and the magnetic cast control settings and balancing the two... Once it's all adjusted just right, this reel works pretty well casting and winding/fighting fish. The BIG deal is when I decided to change lures to a different type and weight, I had to start all over again with tinkering with the spool tension/magnetic cast control to get it to cast without an over run every cast...That Diawa, was just a simple increase or decrease in the magnetic cast control setting, and rare back and let 'er rip... I could consistently cast the Daiwa 20 feet or more on long casts as opposed to this Lews... I'm going to order another one of the Daiwa's. If I could find someone to unload this Lew's on, I'd get a 3rd Daiwa Coastal...

I have the 5.1:1 and it is my favorite deep cranking reel. It makes throwing XD10s an effortless joy. I will be picking up another for throwing big swim baits.

More than expected