Powerful low profile baitcaster l/h

[silver]

Hi all, as the title says i am looking for a powerful low profile left hand bait caster for offshore work - snapper, kingfish, salmon. It will go on a medium jigging rod up to 120 gram jig weight. The line weight will be 40-50lb braid. I would like something with minimum 10kg max drag.

I have borrowed a Curado 300ej before and really liked it, but these are too expensive and dont have the drag stopping power i am after. I would prefer to spend less than $300 on this reel.

At the moment, the Daiwa Lexa 300 is a front runner, especially as it comes with a power handle and a lot of drag. I also noticed the 13 fishing Concept A has a drag rating of 22lbs, and is the size of a curado 50, so is in consideration.

Are there any better options in my price range?

[thor]

Unless your pelagic species are different than ours, you are putting too much faith in reel specs.

Drags are important but so is capacity. Your budget will be the biggest challenge.

[Slazmo]

Plenty of Lexa's being offloaded on FB sales sites of late for around the $190 mark.

13 reels hmm... get the Lexa...

[silver]

Thanks ,Slazmo, the cheapest lexa 300 left hand i can find is around $230. Any tips on cheaper options would be most appreciated!

Also looking at the new Lexa HD, right on top of the budget but looks slick and has extra features.

I'd certainly like a ryoga bay etc, but can't afford a 5-600 dollar reel. Also, my experience catching decent size NZ kingfish on a Curado 300 indicates the new low profile reels are capable of the work I have in mind. They are a lot of fun to fish.

[scott1987]

Have you considering any of the bigger Abu Garcia low profile reels.. a few of them would have the sufficient drag pressure to justify running 40 lb braid and they have fairly good line capacity

[breambarron]

The 13 concept a is defentley worth a look comes in under your budget and being a brand new reel with warranty is always good to

[Piranha]

The 13 concept reels are known as not great quality. If you want cheap but with decent drag look at the abu range.

[silver]

Thanks all.

At the moment it comes down to ( all left hand)

Daiwa Lexa 300
Daiwa Lexa HD 300
Abu Garcia Toro NaCl
Shimano Curado 301
Okuma Komodo
13 Fishing Concept A

Haven't used all the correct names but you get the idea. Are there any others worth considering?

Ps I mentioned 40lb braid simply because I will be jigging so don't need to worry about casting distance. I could use 20-40lb with this reel, won't really affect which reel I choose (asaside from maybe the 13 Fishing given its so much smaller)

[nagz]

Second hand tranx?

[silver]

Ok choice made, i have one of the new Daiwa Lexa 300 HD 8:1 LH heading my way. It came in just under budget at $290.

[mrgbean]

if your going to be jigging and not casting why are you set on a low profile baitcaster just wondering if you want small and powerful have a look at an avet sxj they are small powerful and if you get the mag drive one they can be casted too if you feel the need and can be found sub $300 if ordered from the us
have a look at
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csrAvet.htm

[silver]

thanks, funnily enough I did in fact order one of these Avet reels two summers ago, but they sent me the right hand model by mistake. I had a play around with it before sending it back for a refund. It felt like the quality you would expect at that price point. Nothing specific, just didn't have the x factor I was looking for.

The other factor was the drag - the smaller Avets don't have the maximum drag settings I am looking for. I am basically after a small reel that can handle big fish
and that is why the Lexa 300 HD appeals.