Today, even mid-priced reels are better than the state-of-the-art models from when I started and the best baitcasting reels—from Abu Garcia, Daiwa, Lew’s, and Shimano—are works of art.

Since I discovered Lew's baitcasting reels, I've parked my Calcuttas. The Shimano Calcutta baitcaster has been my favorite stream reel since 2006, when I began specializing in light baitcasting ...

The first generation of the Lew’s LFS Speed Spool was a phenomenal reel for $100. Digging through my old YouTube videos, I found footage of me fishing with that reel at least 12 years ago.