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

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.

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!

I got the Spartacus II in the “spindrift” color. I was kind of skeptical on the exact color because I personally find it hard to capture a “true color” on camera, but they NAILED IT! I love this color, it’s absolutely beautiful. Beautiful light, pastel blue.Pros:•It’s a bait caster for about $40, so that’s cool.•It’s perfect for learning the baitcasting type of reel without spending a ton of your hard-earned money.•The drag star *clicks* when you adjust it, so that pretty nice for a reel this inexpensive.•I’d be remiss not to mention the color again, it’s unique (imo)•Bird’s nests (Or “professional overrun”, I’ve also heard “Backlash”) are easy to avoid if the magnetic brakes are up all the way and you have the spool tension set correctly for what you’re throwing.•You can straight-up launch some bait with this thing. When I do my part I can throw some baits close to 70 feet with a 7 Foot MH rod. And I’m not even good at it, yet. That might not be the point for some of y’all, but it’s fun.•it’s nice if you like to palm your reel, I find it to be very comfortable, though, I don’t ordinarily palm reels, I rest my thumb on the side, which I also find comfortable on this reel.Cons:• My particular reel felt very rough out of the box, exactly how I imagine a dry, or scratched bearing would feel while reeling.• The magnetic breaking system seems to have a less-than-linear influence depending on power level. For instance, when the magnetic breaking is set to the max, I don’t have to put my thumb on the spool at all to keep a bad bird’s nest with 12Lb. fluorocarbon, so that’s actually good, I guess. If I take the brake to 8 I seem to be able to achieve ~6 feet more distance or so, but you have to pay attention or the ‘nest is coming for you. BUT if I turn it to anything below 6, its like all the birds on earth built a giant nest in my reel while I wasn’t looking...so that’s neat. I’m sure there is a trick to it I don’t know yet but it seems off to me.•Only after two days, the gears are making noise louder than my Royal Legend did after months of use (before my friend borrowed it forever,lol) so that’s alarming. I’ll buy some grease and oil as it calls for in the instructions, but I didn’t expect to be needing this soon considering my past experience with KastKing. However it could just be my particular reel.I might update this review it after I oil and grease it. But for now it’s getting a 3.75/5 I’d still recommend it, but I’d probably buy the Royal Legend before I’d buy another Spartacus II.Update: The rough bearing sound has worked itself out, so that’s good news. I also changed my line from 12# Florocarbon to 30# braid and all my bird nest issues are gone. Florocarbon is not a friend of mine. The memory in the Florocarbon line I used is just like mono...garbage.

The media could not be loaded. This reel is a great. Nice and smooth. The grips are very comfortable. It fits my hand well and casts light baits with little effort. The 7.2:1 gear ratio is great for all around techniques. And the price point makes it very affordable. The magnetic brake system makes it a breeze to adjust and fine tune for all your casting needs. Pick one up…. Not only will you not regret it… you won’t put it down… fish on

I’m an avid bass fisherman. Fished plenty of tournaments for several years. Had tons of high dollar rods and reels. This reel will go toe to toe with any of them. Great cast ability, smooth drag, and no backlashing as long as you know how to set it up properly. I will be upgrading the bearings to ceramic but extremely happy with the money I paid for this.

This thing is awesome it's light it retrieves properly and fast easy to use I love it absolutely love it

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.

Looks and feels nice, but I haven’t used it yet