Abu Garcia Max X Low Profile Baitcast Fishing Reel

I've been a spinning guy my whole life. When I recently decided to buy my first baitcaster, I went to all the online forums and tried to decipher what I should spend my money on. Well, I quickly found out that if I spent anything less than $150 on a baitcasting reel, it would be a complete waste. I might as well tie a string to a can opener, and fish with that! Fortunately, I've been through this before with other hobbies, so I decided to ignore the haters, and spend a measly $40 on the Black Max. And I made the right decision!If you're a beginner, trust me, the Black Max should be your first baitcaster. It's smooth, casts far, and has plenty of drag. Sure, it takes some practice to learn how to use a baitcaster. I used cheap mono for a while until I got comfortable with it. But after a few fishing trips, I made the switch to braid, and haven't looked back! Yes, you will get a few backlashes in the beginning. It's not as big a deal as you might think. Just start with a tight tension knob, and then loosen it up over time. You'll pick it up pretty quick.I now have two of these reels. They are on $40 Berkley rods, and guess what? I catch fish! And I mean, a lot of fish! Big fish, little fish, in between fish... they don't seem to mind that I'm using cheap equipment. My PB is currently 6 lbs, 2 oz, using my trusty Black Max.In all seriousness, if you're a pro, go ahead and spend the bucks on high dollar stuff. Or if you fish several times a week, I can see investing more. But for the weekend angler, this reel is perfect!P.S. if you are right handed, and you've spent your whole life turning the reel on spinning gear with your left hand... buy left handed baitcasters! You'll thank me later.Update: 4 months later, I now have 3 of these, they’re still awesome!2nd update: It’s been 8 months since my last update to this review. I’ve been using my 3 Black Max reels for everything... Texas rig, jigs, lipless cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits... you name it. All 3 reels are just as smooth and strong as the day I took them out of the box. I’ve performed minimal maintenance, and I’m fairly tough on them. But they are rock solid! If you’re on the fence about this one, don’t be! Just buy one and try it out. But beware, they’re so good, you might end up buying several more!Last update: I thought I would provide one more update... 2 years later! My Black Max reels are still amazing! I haven’t cleaned them, lubed them, or ever taken them apart to work on them. They are still smooth, strong, and work great. Still hands down, the absolute best beginner reel on the market. And experienced guys will love them too!

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Great reel for the price. Is smoother than other reels I paid twice as much for. Used for about a week solid on a trip to Northern Idaho and it started feeling a little more gritty towards the end of the trip but a little lube afterwards restored it. I have several of these and would buy one again. Great entry level reel or one to loan people who aren't familiar with baitcasters.

This was the second baitcaster I bought and paired it with a 6ft Medium-Fast St Croix Triumph. I use 30lb braid with a leader. I got this because it was cheap and had used the Max Pro before. I use this setup for fishing in a smaller creek near my house that has a lot of pike in it. I fish floating jerkbaits and size 75 whopper ploppers most of the time and this reel is perfect for what I use it for. I own several more expensive baitcasters that are much better, but for the money, this is good. It is easy to dial in and casts well. I think this reel works well for someone learning to use a baitcaster without spending large amounts of money. I learned how to use a baitcaster 2 years ago and I did it on the Max Pro and the Max X. Both are smooth, good quality.

This earns five stars because of the quality for the price. Obviously it's not a super high quality reel, but it is an excellent value. I prefer not to have super expensive gear, so I don't feel like I have to baby everything.This is my first low profile baitcaster. After it arrived, I paired it with a 6' rod and set to work learning how to cast with it. After about 50 casts, I had it figured out. After three short mornings of fishing, it has worn in appreciably so it casts further than when it was out of the box new.It's not the same "feeling" of quality as my Ambassadeur C3, but it catches fish just fine. I would say that you can make more casts per minute than a spinning rig, but fewer than with a fly rig.For the price it's a great rig. I'd rather spend my money on good line and good hooks than rods and reels. I feel like you can really go cheap with spinning gear because once the bail is open, there are no moving parts to limit the length of cast. For every other type of reel (except fly) the quality of the reel will affect cast distance. This reel is good enough quality that I don't really think about it when I'm fishing, and it casts really well.

My first baitcaster. I've since bought much better and obviously way more expensive reels. This got my feet wet in the baitcaster world. Does it perform like my Curado DC? Not even close, but it's a solid reel and perfect price to try out baitcasting to see if it's something you might want to invest more money into.

Haven’t used it yet but it’s silky smooth

Love this fishing reel, works great, totally matches the description that’s provided. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Excellent purchase by me!