Welcome back to the battle of the budget baitcasters. The bass fishing reels being compared are the AC2000 for $13.50 vs HD200 for $10.50. This episode is covering the AC2000, so check out the previous video for the HD200! I test this baitcaster with a Texas Rigged Plastic Worm. I do a quit baitcaster setup and get to casting. This reel isn’t as good as I hoped it would be. I was able to catch a bass on it, but it had issues. I dont want to worry about my reel malfunctioning while I am learning to fish with a baitcaster. So I can’t recommend them. But if you want to buy a cheap reel just to mess with, its easy to find. #realistic #fishing
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Hi Mate, I watched your review on the AC2000. My one i just tried out seems to cast a 12 gram lure about 180 feet. as much noise as yours and seems to be a bit more forgiving than yours. I also took out the bearings in mine and cleaned all the grease of them and put some good oil on them . Reel works much better without all that grease. Cheers and Tight lines
I run Piscifun baitcasters and love them. I have the Torrent and the Carbon XCS.
slightly touch the reel with your thumb when you cast to avoid backlash
Those cheapos just fall apart from the first cast. I don't know how they could even sell them. At any price.
Thanks for the review on the baitcasters. A lot of us can't afford or don't want to pay for the high end baitcasters but also don't want a disaster with the cheaper ones. Mutiple backlashes on a baitcaster quickly ruins the fishing experience. Thanks for sharing. KiR!!!
Aren't you supposed to set the spool tension first for the drop test?
Those are unbelievably cheap and you get what you pay for. I have an Abu Garcia baitcaster that's very cheap and it's hard to get adjusted right too. I'm thinking about getting a Penn Squall because I have great history with Penn spinning reels and I need one for saltwater. I want the one that costs $189, the 300 size I believe. It has lots of line capacity and should be tough. I'm over using super cheap stuff, I buy Penns and Ugly Stiks for their toughness.
That’s junk
The affordable baitcasting market has many weird and cheap offerings. Only a few dollars more options like Kastking and Piscifun do better. But someone has to review these to tell the people what’s up.
Great honest feedback Alex. I love a good deal but these, although cheap, are not a good deal!
That Ozark trail Baitcaster is lookin like a Shimano compared to those 2 lol. I guess if your gonna go the budget route, Walmart is a great option. If something does happen to go wrong, they will accept returns on just about anything 🤣
That tension issue would drive me absolutely insane and the reel would probably wind up in the water as a result. I still think the best mixture of value/budget/affordability and quality would be Kastking. They have some sneaky good reels that aren't very expensive (about $30-40, sometimes in the low to mid-20's). Even a Quantum for like $20 isn't nearly as bad as these ones were, but for the sake of the video I think you got your money's worth.
I would also pass on both reels. It's interesting how each has different failing issues.
Frustrating. Can we get a director's cut that doesn't have all of the swearing edited out? There had to be more swearing… 🤣👍
Brother I gotta be honest I just laughed my way through this entire video! What a couple of turds 🤣🤣🤣 but God bless you for your service to the fishing community!
Awesome review brother. Now alot of rookies can avoid these two when making their first bait caster purchases. I don't think I could deal with either reel for more than a few casts. That tension knob would drive me insane by itself lol.
Great stuff, Alex! I'd love to see you give some of the 15 or 20 dollar ones on aliexpress a try just to see what you can realistically get out of there. I know there are decent options at $30 or so on there (kastking and that level of stuff), but if there really was a decent beginner baitcaster for $15 that'd be amazing to find.
Finally was able to get out and fish caught 3lb largemouth bass on none other than the baby brush hog Texas rig very excited bass are biting now…..then after that the rest of the morning= line snags, dogs, cobwebs walk on grass then sunk into the water headed home with muddy shoes and pants.. that's realistic fishing! Lol
I own the Ozark trail. And I have seen those cheep baitcasters. Thank you greatly you're expertise has saved me from ordering a mistake.
What Baitcaster do you normally use that works well and doesn't give you any trouble?
Fun video, and really useful! This is yet more proof of what a fantastic find your $30 Ozark Trail combo was.
Good 411 there Alex.
really got me laughing when the the handle was all jinky and thats realistic!!!
I know these reels were not wins for you but thank you so much for doing these videos. You bit a couple bullets for the team.
also on a side note. ive heard mono line has some stretch to it, and that may lead to more backlashes? I still backlash with braided so I don't know…I suck at bait casting. maybe im casting too hard…
im the backlash king! why is there no swimming Alex?
Boy, Alex, you're just never happy are you!? Loved the video and thanks for the reviews. After watching your videos, I'm going to pull the trigger and ride with the Ozark Trail for my first foray into baitcasters. Keep it Realistic!
Sometimes you get what you pay for. Not always though. Most of it is just brand marketing, but those reels are hot garbage.
Very nice how many shows actually let us see a huge backlash? None of them on the REALISTIC FISHING channel does. Great review Alex, you really put them thru the course and showed that these are both not work the money even that cheap. Nice catch worthy of a photo with the Realistic Boss Man.
Thanks for the review!!
Thanks Alex 😂
very cool dual review. i'd bet these were probably made in the same factory as abu garcia/lews/ozark trail/whatever but go through zero quality control and it shows. doesn't matter if the components are all there if they're not assembled correctly
I never go under 50$ for a important part of tackle (rod-reel). Everything else is negotiable. Nice to see quality of those cheaper ones for beginers. Great rewiew!
Great comparison….I agree I wouldn't want to fight those reels while trying to enjoy a day of fishing…KIR
Happy fishing Thursday night Alex 🎣👍 thank you for always keeping it realistic
Two of my favorite episodes from the start of 2023. And I was surprised at your pick. THIS is realistic fishing at your best because I believe this exact situation has happened to us all. I'm looking at several low cost combos I tried and they all sucked. I decided to spend just over $100 for decent gear and have had great results ever since. Thanks for two excellent episodes. But most of all thanks for Keeping It Realistic.
Nice you got fish for both of them, sad they had problems just like me and my bother's first baitcaster, luckily we switched and do better on the ones we have now.
Thanks for the honest review Alex, appreciate them.