THE RATINGS •Excellent •Very Good •Good •Fair
EDITOR’S CHOICE Shimano Calcutta CT200GTB
FINAL SCORE:Excellent Retail: $220 Performance: Excellent Design: Excellent Price/Value: Very Good
Classic roundreel with superb control. Wonderful antibacklash performance. Worth everypenny. 877-577-0600; www.shimano.com
Quantum TourEdition TE1170PT
FINAL SCORE:Excellent Retail: $230 Performance: Excellent Design: Excellent Price/Value: Very Good
Superiorcraftsmanship. Came close to taking Editor’s Choice. Fastest retrieve ratio(7.1:1). Casts so smoothly you’ll have to fuss a bit with the externallyadjustable centrifugal brake and spool brake to ward off overruns.800-588-9030; quantumfishing.com
GREAT BUY Bass Pro Shops ProLite Finesse FINAL SCORE: Excellent Retail: $100 Performance: Excellent Design: Excellent Price/Value: Excellent
Supremelycomfortable with its narrow, low profile. Silky smooth, and if the gearing isup to it, should be able to handle heavier-duty work than its compact sizemight indicate. 800-227-7776; basspro.com
Abu Garcia RecordRCN 50
FINAL SCORE:Excellent Retail: $135 Performance: Excellent Design: Very Good Price/Value: Very Good
Classic roundAmbassadeur with extremely smooth drag adjustable in small increments.Top-notch materials construction. A very high retrieve ratio. Good-lookingoverall. 877-777-3850; abugarcia.com
Bass Pro ShopsInshore Extreme
FINAL SCORE: VeryGood Retail: $100 Performance: Excellent Design: Very Good Price/Value: Very Good
Sleek reel witheasy-to-reach spool brake and large drag star. Aimed at casting light lures forinshore saltwater species but will serve fine as a general freshwater reel. Agood-looking design that casts very accurately. 800-227-7776; basspro.com
Pflueger SupremePFLSUPREMELP
FINAL SCORE: VeryGood Retail: $140 Performance: Very Good Design: Very Good Price/Value: Very Good
This low-profilemodel booms out distance casts. The externally adjustable magnetic antibacklashsystem is handy. Spool brake jumped in large increments and drag didn’t fullylock up. 800-347-3759; pfluegerfishing.com
ShakespeareAgility LP
FINAL SCORE: VeryGood Retail: $30 Performance: Good Design: Good Price/Value: Very Good
An economicallow-profile reel that cast far and accurately but with a slight vibration.Cranking from free spool was a bit rough. Has easily accessible antibacklashand drag controls. 800-347-3759; shakespeare-fishing.com