KastKing Spartacus II Baitcasting Fishing Reel, 6oz Ultralight Baitcaster Reel, Super Smooth with 17.6 LB Carbon Fiber Drag, 7.2:1 Gear Ratio, 39mm Palm Perfect Lower Profile Design

Don't be like me and look for 2 months looking for the best cheap Baitcaster! This is THE BEST underrated Baitcaster on the market and comes in Green, Light Blue, and Black. Don't be sceptical like me and think you need a Shimano or Lew's this Baitcaster gets the job done for 50 bucks too. Not many backlashes (if set correctly) also don't look at the other 1 or 2 star reviews they are just rich people used to 2,000 dollar Shimano DC's. The Baitcaster feels very nice in the hand with a nice grip on the EVA handles. With this sleek look you will make all your buddies jealous. Definitely get!!!!!!(Edit: already in the last 1 and a half of having this I have caught my new PB (5.78) and caught 6 bass)

Just got my Kastking Spartacus 2 it does what they say it will do no backlash none at all. And it throws like a dream. Can’t wait to try it on the water. Love the performance. Thanks kastking for a great product.

PROs:- Lightweight- Very Inexpensive ($36 on sale)CONs:- No Tension Knob Clicking control- Bad design flaw: Gap between spool and housing- spool control is hard to pinpoint and will constantly bird nest deep in the spoolI am a long time customer of KastKing products and have enjoyed everything I have purchased so far... until I got the Spartacus II reel. When I first received the reel I was disappointed to find that the spool tension know does NOT click like other models. This was one of the biggest let downs of this reel.The first cast out on the water I bird nested it to the point where I ended up having to cut off half of my new 12 lbs Fluorocarbon line. Even after constant adjustments to the reel I still ended up getting small loops in the line deep in the spool where I would have to pull off quite a bit of line to get to the loops. Plus some of the loops found it's way in between the spool and the housing wrapping around the spool shaft inside. Here is where the design of the reel made the biggest impact to its downfall for me. There is a big enough gap between the spool and the housing to allow for 12 lbs Fluorocarbon to slide in between... how can this happen. This is the first time this has happened to me on a KastKing reel, but then again I run braid on all my other reels except the Crixus bait casting reel which has 12 lbs Mono on it; it doesn't have this issue.Sad to say that this might be the last KastKing reel I buy. If I could return the reel I would trade it for another Crixus or a Royal Legend II (both of which I already own and have tension knob clicking controls)."Double Tapered Control Chute” Line Guide that reduces line friction for ultimate line control and birds nest reduction" - This is false. I continuously bird nested even after adjusting the reel multiple times. I have been using bait casting reel for well over 20 years so I would hope that I know how to properly adjust one.Suggestions: For the same amount of money you can purchase the Royal Legend II in either 5.4:1 or 7.2:1. It has a lot better specs then the Spartacus II reel for the same price. I would stay away from this reel.Also, not related to the product but to the company. KastKing used to place cards in their boxes for doing feedback on their products. I purchased four different items and none of them had the feedback cards in them only the Loyalty card which be warned is an unsecured website. Any information typed into that webpage is susceptible to interception due to no encryption being used. So I hope you don't going putting your personal information on it. I'm a Cyber Security professional with over 6 years experience in that field and these are things I look out for. Their site that they use to sell products on the other hand does have encryption so purchasing for that site is safe.Updated (18 Sep 2023): I have been using this reel for quite a while now and I do have to say that it has surprised me with it's smoothness and castability. After getting it all tuned in properly I rarely run in to the issue I was getting before with the line catching between the spool and the housing. I am updating my score since I am not having that specific issue anymore. I still continue to purchase KastKing rods and reels and will definitely recommend them to other anglers that are on a tight budget.

Nice lightweight casting reel. Paired with the same series rod which seems to have better tips than their combo deal rods. Easy to set up and dial in for bait weight. Definitely worth the price.

Good reel, works as it should

Super smooth baitcaster. This thing looks good in both black and blue! It’s super fast and has great performance

The media could not be loaded. I bought that reel for a backup setup. The reel is light, cast a good distance. It doesn't seem that much sturdy. The more problematic is that the reel screams to death when you cast. I never had that on a lew's or a shimano. Overall it works correctly but for sure it won't last years.

The media could not be loaded. Nice reel, doesn’t birds nest like a cheap one I bought a while ago. Nice high quality feel.