Lew's Speed Spool Opinion Wanted

plugneck · Post by **plugneck** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:31 pm

For those of you that have fished with these, what is your opinion of them? I have pretty much only owned Garcia 4600 - 5600's. How do the Speed Spools compare? Thanks.

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:50 pm

In reply, if I could have the ones back that were stolen from me, I would still use them most of the time..It is my personal opinion that the original Lew's were much better than the ones you see now..Probably one of the best reels ever made..

mac

RogerB · Post by **RogerB** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 12:20 am

I'll second that, mac. I have two of the older BB1N's that I'm still using. They are over 30 years old and they cast as well as or better than any of my other, newer reels, including Amassadeurs and Daiwas. My son has one of the newer models, a BB19GS, a couple of years old now, and he has the same opinion of it (and he's comparing it to his Shimano Curado 100 and 200, which he really likes).
My recollection is that the early Lew's Speed Spools were made by Shimano for Lew's. I don't know about the more recent versions, but whoever is making them knows how to make a superb casting reel.
Unfortunately, others may not share our opinion of them, since they apparently haven't sold as well as other reels, as evidenced by the fact that Bass Pro Shops has had them on sale for only $49.99 (oriiginally $129.99). Only the BB25SS remains in the inventory at BPS as of tonight.
They are available from time to time on eBay.

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 3:38 am

Roger, I think you are correct in that Shimano produced the first SpeeReels..I do not know that they still make those that you can get now though..At one time Ryobi was making them and they may still..Also believe it or not I think Casio actually had some production models..

mac

plugneck · Post by **plugneck** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 8:07 am

The BPS sale is why I asked. They are no longer listed on their site so I guess I was too slow on the draw. The BPS Extreme combo is also on sale. I am thinking of giving it a try instead. For the price it looks hard to beat.

Ken C. · Post by **Ken C.** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:22 pm

I just bought one of the BPS Extreme combo's for my son. 7' med/hvy action rod with a fairly fast tip on it. Feels real good for the Delta and heavier cover. The reel has a wiffle-type spool, is comfortable in my hand and casts very nicely. Feels like it has a smooth drag, although I have not had the opportunity to try the drag yet

! I got the reel with the curado style braking system on it as opposed to the magnetic one that is available. Only thing that I would consider a drawback is that I think it has a composite frame. I had to try it out of course on a couple of fish back in Texas where I bought it and it performed very nice. Hope to get it out there today on some bigger fish!