KastKing Spartacus II Baitcasting Fishing Reel, 6oz Ultralight Baitcaster Reel, Super Smooth with 17.6 LB Carbon Fiber Drag, 7.2:1 Gear Ratio, 39mm Palm Perfect Lower Profile Design

Don't be like me and look for 2 months looking for the best cheap Baitcaster! This is THE BEST underrated Baitcaster on the market and comes in Green, Light Blue, and Black. Don't be sceptical like me and think you need a Shimano or Lew's this Baitcaster gets the job done for 50 bucks too. Not many backlashes (if set correctly) also don't look at the other 1 or 2 star reviews they are just rich people used to 2,000 dollar Shimano DC's. The Baitcaster feels very nice in the hand with a nice grip on the EVA handles. With this sleek look you will make all your buddies jealous. Definitely get!!!!!!

Nice lightweight casting reel. Paired with the same series rod which seems to have better tips than their combo deal rods. Easy to set up and dial in for bait weight. Definitely worth the price.

PROs:- Lightweight- Very Inexpensive ($36 on sale)CONs:- No Tension Knob Clicking control- Bad design flaw: Gap between spool and housing- spool control is hard to pinpoint and will constantly bird nest deep in the spoolI am a long time customer of KastKing products and have enjoyed everything I have purchased so far... until I got the Spartacus II reel. When I first received the reel I was disappointed to find that the spool tension know does NOT click like other models. This was one of the biggest let downs of this reel.The first cast out on the water I bird nested it to the point where I ended up having to cut off half of my new 12 lbs Fluorocarbon line. Even after constant adjustments to the reel I still ended up getting small loops in the line deep in the spool where I would have to pull off quite a bit of line to get to the loops. Plus some of the loops found it's way in between the spool and the housing wrapping around the spool shaft inside. Here is where the design of the reel made the biggest impact to its downfall for me. There is a big enough gap between the spool and the housing to allow for 12 lbs Fluorocarbon to slide in between... how can this happen. This is the first time this has happened to me on a KastKing reel, but then again I run braid on all my other reels except the Crixus bait casting reel which has 12 lbs Mono on it; it doesn't have this issue.Sad to say that this might be the last KastKing reel I buy. If I could return the reel I would trade it for another Crixus or a Royal Legend II (both of which I already own and have tension knob clicking controls)."Double Tapered Control Chute” Line Guide that reduces line friction for ultimate line control and birds nest reduction" - This is false. I continuously bird nested even after adjusting the reel multiple times. I have been using bait casting reel for well over 20 years so I would hope that I know how to properly adjust one.Suggestions: For the same amount of money you can purchase the Royal Legend II in either 5.4:1 or 7.2:1. It has a lot better specs then the Spartacus II reel for the same price. I would stay away from this reel.Also, not related to the product but to the company. KastKing used to place cards in their boxes for doing feedback on their products. I purchased four different items and none of them had the feedback cards in them only the Loyalty card which be warned is an unsecured website. Any information typed into that webpage is susceptible to interception due to no encryption being used. So I hope you don't going putting your personal information on it. I'm a Cyber Security professional with over 6 years experience in that field and these are things I look out for. Their site that they use to sell products on the other hand does have encryption so purchasing for that site is safe.Updated (18 Sep 2023): I have been using this reel for quite a while now and I do have to say that it has surprised me with it's smoothness and castability. After getting it all tuned in properly I rarely run in to the issue I was getting before with the line catching between the spool and the housing. I am updating my score since I am not having that specific issue anymore. I still continue to purchase KastKing rods and reels and will definitely recommend them to other anglers that are on a tight budget.

Good reel, works as it should

Super smooth baitcaster. This thing looks good in both black and blue! It’s super fast and has great performance

EDIT: Ok so I have been using the reel A LOT and randomly during a cast it squealed. Now it squeals every cast like the spool bearing is bad or something. It's weird because it still casts perfectly smooth.. I just took it apart and oiled everything, we will see it fixes the issue.I have been wanting to get a left handed retrieve bait caster for a while now just to try it out verses my right handed one. Didn't want to spend 100$+ on one and finally gave in to this one for 49$. Caught the bass in the picture today with it, not a monster bass but it wasn't tiny either. Great working reel!I'm actually surprised how nice it looks and material feels. The one I have is like a matte textured feel to it.The reel is very light weight and compact. Fits my hand perfectly. (Medium gloves for reference)I used it today for about 30minutes and it took me about 4 casts to get the brakes tuned in. I am by far not a pro caster but I know how set the brakes.It casts and reels very smoothly. Actually reels pretty fast too, I had to make myself slow down my reeling.When I first held the reel the cast button acted broken when I reeled. Then I realized it was because from factory the spool tention was completely loosened and it wasn't catching. I just tightened the spool up and it works perfectly.(To anyone who isn't sure how to do so), first loosen the spool tension to where the spool slightly shifts back and forth and then tighten it just enough to stop the shifting, then on the 1-10 magnet brakes set it at 10 make a cast and after each cast lower the magnetic brake until you start to get a backlash, once you start to get a backlash you know to set the magnetic brake slightly higher. Plus of course using your thumb to stop the spool.I would easily recommend this reel to anyone. It's cheap enough a beginner can learn on it, someone needing a new reel, or even someone wanting an extra setup.

The media could not be loaded. I bought that reel for a backup setup. The reel is light, cast a good distance. It doesn't seem that much sturdy. The more problematic is that the reel screams to death when you cast. I never had that on a lew's or a shimano. Overall it works correctly but for sure it won't last years.

KastKing is an awesome brand! They make high-quality products at a decent price. I own 5 reels and 4 rods from KastKing and they all work incredibly well. Seriously, I can't enough good things about KastKing and their products!