Anyone still use pistol grip baitcasters?

[Hybridfish7]

Recently got this. My new all purpose pride and joy. 13 fishing concept A2 + an ugly stik gx2 5'6. Line is 15 lb power pro spectra fibre braid. I personally would consider this a modernized "retro" setup, but that might just be a generational thing. Perfectly suits my style of fishing, short ish and precise casts, but I can punch it out farther if I need to.
Only downsides I've encountered are the fact that it's a little uncomfortable on the wrist with farther casts and heavier lures/the reel is a bit gritty with heavier lures, + the latch to open the braking system kinda digs into my hand and occasionally pops open from my hand bumping it during particularly hard casts, but other than that works fine. The beetle wing on the brakes opening + the spool itself subsequently flying out the side of the reel is an easy fix and I'm not too bothered by it. Caught me off guard the first time because I didn't expect it and tried pulling line out thinking it was a backlash, making the spool fly out and birdsnest a bunch of line inside the reel. Now I know what it feels like when it happens and catch it early, all I need to do is pull the spool out and make sure the line's coming off of it the right way and in one strand. Much better than spinning reels getting line sucked up under the spool, causing me to have to disassemble the entire reel and cut 3 different jumbled knots off. This reel only really has like 3 pieces to it and the inside has nothing for line to catch on once you take the spool out.
Line is smooth and I have not had any breakages. With appropriate sized lures it is a very smooth and potentially long cast. IIRC I have landed 6 fish on this so far, the first being a very big bluegill. Once custom parts come back in stock for this thing I will be switching out much of it to match the rod. May or may not keep the cork handle knobs, but they are indeed very comfortable. It comes stock with a very deep spool, I believe I originally spooled it with 150 yards of line.
Anyone else still using pistol grips?

 

[Matth05]

Had my A2 for about a year now. It’s a great reel. It can be a little finicky sometimes but when you get it dialed it’s impressive. The level of technology being put in these baitcasters now is insane. Just look Shimano DC.

 

[aussieman57]

Use a baitcaster exclusively. Daiwa & Shimano make the best baicast reels. I like the Daiwas but I "enhance" their braking systems. For those who want out of the box perfection Shimano is the way to go. You won't get that gritty feeling reel with Shimano & Daiwa and they have better ergonomics so reel parts don't dig into your hand. All the others like 13 fishing, etc. don't hold up to the rigors of fishing like Daiwa & Shimano and very soon start getting noisy, gritty and downright sloppy because they are not built to last. I put a lot of miles on my reels and like getting what I pay for. I'd rather pay more and get a reel that lasts many seasons as opposed to the many "Dixie Cup" varieties that crap out after 1 season.

 

[Matth05]

Use a baitcaster exclusively. Daiwa & Shimano make the best baicast reels. I like the Daiwas but I "enhance" their braking systems. For those who want out of the box perfection Shimano is the way to go. You won't get that gritty feeling reel with Shimano & Daiwa and they have better ergonomics so reel parts don't dig into your hand. All the others like 13 fishing, etc. don't hold up to the rigors of fishing like Daiwa & Shimano and very soon start getting noisy, gritty and downright sloppy because they are not built to last. I put a lot of miles on my reels and like getting what I pay for. I'd rather pay more and get a reel that lasts many seasons as opposed to the many "Dixie Cup" varieties that crap out after 1 season.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m fishing multiple times a week so shimano and daiwa are my go to reels. I think you can make an argument for Lews being a top quality brand as well. In my experience so far though, 13 makes a solid reel.

 

[Hybridfish7]

Had my A2 for about a year now. It’s a great reel. It can be a little finicky sometimes but when you get it dialed it’s impressive. The level of technology being put in these baitcasters now is insane. Just look Shimano DC.

I coincidentally have a DC, I don't use it as much, but I have caught some good fish on it. My first fish on that setup was a 19 inch channa (argus). Casting distance does leave much to be desired, hence why I chose to get the 13. Not sure if it's my setup on the DC or if I'm just not punching it out hard enough, but I knew 13 has extraordinary casting distance for the price, just running a hair short of some of the daiwas or shimanos coming in at triple the price. Not as smooth and not as much quality but I am personally happy with it. I wanted the casting distance to compensate for the yardage I'd inevitably lose casting one handed with a 5'6 reel. I can still surprisingly get 30 - 50 yard casts on it though. The whole gritty casting thing might be the fact that my line is probably made for fish smaller than the lures I'm using. I did find out that that snap I had recently was in fact because of my line, I tried to punch it out too hard and bumped something on the reel, making the button pop back up and snap the line with sheer momentum. I thought it snapped at a weak point because I double uni'd my line awhile back because of a bad tangle that I needed to cut and retie, but I ended up finding that double uni in my spool. I guess that's one thing with the 13, I don't think the curado is able to have the button pushed back up without reeling it. I do like the finish it has + the whole low profile thing it has going on. It is an extremely small baitcaster and is even slimmer, almost as wide as the grip on the rod itself. I like that it compensates with a deep spool. I go through a lot of line and cast short as well as long distances so I do need the whole 150 yard capacity. I'll see how it holds up on rockfish this fall. And that leads me to the other thing:

Use a baitcaster exclusively. Daiwa & Shimano make the best baicast reels. I like the Daiwas but I "enhance" their braking systems. For those who want out of the box perfection Shimano is the way to go. You won't get that gritty feeling reel with Shimano & Daiwa and they have better ergonomics so reel parts don't dig into your hand. All the others like 13 fishing, etc. don't hold up to the rigors of fishing like Daiwa & Shimano and very soon start getting noisy, gritty and downright sloppy because they are not built to last. I put a lot of miles on my reels and like getting what I pay for. I'd rather pay more and get a reel that lasts many seasons as opposed to the many "Dixie Cup" varieties that crap out after 1 season.

I keep hearing the 13 reels are made for all water, but I'm a little iffy about the fact that while it says it's corrosion resistant, it still has metal bearings. I'll be getting it ceramic bearings once I find a kit for sale. Basically going to be turning it into a concept z. Hopefully the new bearings add to my casting experience.

Oh also, I have run into a problem. With the breakage, I made the mistake of reeling my line all the way up. Lost the end of my line, ended up screwing up all the line trying to find it. I've probably lost about 50 yards of line, maybe more. I don't blame the reel though, though I do wish there was somewhere to hook my tag ends onto like a spinning reel, unless there is and I can't find it.

 

[Matth05]

I coincidentally have a DC, I don't use it as much, but I have caught some good fish on it. My first fish on that setup was a 19 inch channa (argus). Casting distance does leave much to be desired, hence why I chose to get the 13. Not sure if it's my setup on the DC or if I'm just not punching it out hard enough, but I knew 13 has extraordinary casting distance for the price, just running a hair short of some of the daiwas or shimanos coming in at triple the price. Not as smooth and not as much quality but I am personally happy with it. I wanted the casting distance to compensate for the yardage I'd inevitably lose casting one handed with a 5'6 reel. I can still surprisingly get 30 - 50 yard casts on it though. The whole gritty casting thing might be the fact that my line is probably made for fish smaller than the lures I'm using. I did find out that that snap I had recently was in fact because of my line, I tried to punch it out too hard and bumped something on the reel, making the button pop back up and snap the line with sheer momentum. I thought it snapped at a weak point because I double uni'd my line awhile back because of a bad tangle that I needed to cut and retie, but I ended up finding that double uni in my spool. I guess that's one thing with the 13, I don't think the curado is able to have the button pushed back up without reeling it. I do like the finish it has + the whole low profile thing it has going on. It is an extremely small baitcaster and is even slimmer, almost as wide as the grip on the rod itself. I like that it compensates with a deep spool. I go through a lot of line and cast short as well as long distances so I do need the whole 150 yard capacity. I'll see how it holds up on rockfish this fall. And that leads me to the other thing:

I keep hearing the 13 reels are made for all water, but I'm a little iffy about the fact that while it says it's corrosion resistant, it still has metal bearings. I'll be getting it ceramic bearings once I find a kit for sale. Basically going to be turning it into a concept z. Hopefully the new bearings add to my casting experience.

Oh also, I have run into a problem. With the breakage, I made the mistake of reeling my line all the way up. Lost the end of my line, ended up screwing up all the line trying to find it. I've probably lost about 50 yards of line, maybe more. I don't blame the reel though, though I do wish there was somewhere to hook my tag ends onto like a spinning reel, unless there is and I can't find it.

I actually sent mine to 13 to get the CZB bearings. It’s a really good reel. And I used mine frog fishing for bass. That’s about the toughest thing you can put a reel through and is just as smooth as it was out of the box. Try upping to 20lb braid. It may seem excessive for crappie and bluegill ( and it is) but I think it’s a lot more manageable. I have mine spooled with 20lb j braid on 6’10 medium rod this season. Mainly my Topwater setup Poppers, walking baits. For me this reel doesn’t skip a beat.

 

[Hybridfish7]

I actually sent mine to 13 to get the CZB bearings. It’s a really good reel. And I used mine frog fishing for bass. That’s about the toughest thing you can put a reel through and is just as smooth as it was out of the box. Try upping to 20lb braid. It may seem excessive for crappie and bluegill ( and it is) but I think it’s a lot more manageable. I have mine spooled with 20lb j braid on 6’10 medium rod this season. Mainly my Topwater setup Poppers, walking baits. For me this reel doesn’t skip a beat.

I may have to soon, I still have to mess with fixing the line on my reel. May just cut it all off and start over. My goal with this setup was an all purpose - multi role thing, most places I go to catch fish don't have anything over 15 lbs. For anything excessively small I have a that custom winn gripped ultralight 5'0 ugly stik with an okuma micro reel. That has got to be the most sensitive rod I've ever held, ultralight is an understatement. It's like a 5'0 hardwater rod.

 

[aussieman57]

I actually sent mine to 13 to get the CZB bearings. It’s a really good reel. And I used mine frog fishing for bass. That’s about the toughest thing you can put a reel through and is just as smooth as it was out of the box. Try upping to 20lb braid. It may seem excessive for crappie and bluegill ( and it is) but I think it’s a lot more manageable. I have mine spooled with 20lb j braid on 6’10 medium rod this season. Mainly my Topwater setup Poppers, walking baits. For me this reel doesn’t skip a beat.

Just curious how old is the reel and how often do you use it?

 

[Hybridfish7]

Just curious how old is the reel and how often do you use it?

I believe he said a year but I'm not sure how often it is used
I personally only go fishing like once maybe twice a week

 

[Matth05]

Just curious how old is the reel and how often do you use it?

I use it a few times a week right now. Any time I’m using a Topwater lure. I have way too many rods and reels to be honest so I’m constant rotating my gear. I got a lot more use out of it last summer, when it was my frogging setup, 40lb braid 7’5 heavy rod. Only one year of use isn’t crazy but so far no issues. Only time will tell really.