KastKing Kestrel Elite Baitcasting Fishing Reel, Finesse Baitcaster Lightest, Easily Cast Lures Down to 1/32 oz, 11+1 Double Shielded BB, Available in 8.4:1 and 7.5:1 Gear Ratios

I have numerous other bait finesse casting reels and some that cost much more $ than this Kastking Kestrel BFS 2024 reel. I must say, this reel is impressive for the price point and has been a pleasure to fish with...mostly. I have one minor issue, but others may not have the same issue with these reels that I have had. The reel is very light and ergonomically it feels just amazing in my hand and it is a very smooth casting reel and has plenty of drag to fight larger fish and a real good looking reel too. However, due to the position of the external break dial on the reel and due to the way that I prefer to palm the reel I have noticed that in my particular case after I reel in and land a fish that my palm is turning the break dial and it tends to turn the dial which lowers the break setting to where the spool will speed up on the next cast and it has caused backlashing and line fluffing. I didn't figure the issue out right away so now after I reel in a fish I have to check at the external break dial and make sure it is on the same setting I had it on before and if it happened to turn the break dial and lower the break setting then I must readjust it to where I had it previously. Kind of a pain to have to check it as often as I have to now but otherwise it is a fantastic BFS reel and it can easily cast 1/16 oz jigs with 2 inch curly tail grub trailers and 1/8 finesse crankbaits 25 plus yards. I have landed several 1.5 to 2 + lbs bass with no problems at all. I have it paired up on a Handing Magic L ultralight 6 ft casting rod and it is a magical pairing in my opinion for BFS! I love fishing with this setup. You can get this rod on Amazon for under $40 and it is high quality and a beautiful looking rod too. I highly recommend both products. If you're still riding the fence on getting into to BFS game or you're just now getting into bait finesse fishing with a casting reel and you don't want to spend a lot then this reel is perfect. You can't go wrong. Good luck and land a big one!!! :-)

Updated Review:After submitting my original review, KastKing contacted me and suggested that I try the reel again. I am so glad they made this suggestion, and so glad that I did try it again. I must have just gotten a defective one the first time, because this reel is actually amazing. The casting is actually excellent and I am able to easily throw 1/32oz (or even lighter) without issue now. The retrieve is smooth, the fit/finish is tight with little to no movement on the spool, knobs, or anywhere else it shouldn't. Most importantly, the braking is excellent and easy to set up for a variety of lure weights. It's an absolute pleasure to fish.I was wondering why my opinion of this reel was so off from most others, but I think it's safe to assume that my first reel was just somehow the rare defect, because few others share my first opinion of this reel. It's a really nice confirmation of sanity to have this corrected because I own and really like about 1/2 dozen other KastKing reels and really enjoy them.Sorry for the misleading first review! I'm happy to be wrong.---------------------------------Original Review:Directly comparing this reel (which is the highest priced of the bunch) to KastKing Zephyr BFS, Soloking Acura HICC-50, and Soloking GKA 200 King Archer, I'm sorry to report that this reel would come in a distant last place. The reel is tremendously over-braked (even though this version was supposed to solve that) and I'm barely able to cast 1/16oz on it (and definitely not 1/32oz as advertised). All three of the reels mentioned above (at 1/2 to 1/3 the price) perform much better! I don't recommend wasting your time or money on this one.

Light weight, the drag clicker is amazing to have, and it’s smooth reeling. Casting? Not so much. I got it for crappie fishing but could not get a sexy tail shad to cast straight at all. Every time I would cast it would go far left and not straight where I was casting. Loosen the spool tension to get it to fly straight and you’re bird nesting every time or you’re thumbing it too much to where you get no distance

Love this reel! I paired it KastKing Kesterl Finesse rod. I’m new to BFS and this reel made casting small/micro lures effortless. The small size of the reel makes it easy to palm and control one handed but don’t let the small size fool you, this reel has plenty strength. A good drag is essential for light line fishing and I was impressed by how smooth the drag was.

Incredible reel for the money. I’ve been able to throw very light lures with ease. Nearly impossible to backlash