KastKing Spartacus I & II Baitcasting Fishing Reel Ultra Smooth 17.6 LB Carbon Fiber Drag, 6.3:1/7.2:1 Gear Ratio, Palm Perfect Lower Profile Design

The YouTube reviews on this reel are kinda of a false positive. At first you think you're getting a steal, and you are kind off. I went out today with this reel, and man talk about back lash. I had to cut my line at one point. It was frustrating. I tried adjusting the breaks about a hundred times and still got some pretty back backlash as well. I say you need to your shit a little, because you kinda do in order to set this reel up properly. If you're a beginner like me, either out doing research you'd just feel like you wasted 50 bucks. You have to adjust the the magnetic break, and the tension knob of course, but if you don't do research on this reel you'll forget about the third break. The centripetal break, or all hell will rain down on you, and you want to toss the reel in the water. After about 2, too 2.5 hours of casting this I remember the third break, and I was pretty frustrated my this point. But I set the centripetal break to 3 or half way. It was like magic. It went as gracefully as ever after that. Do I recommend this reel? Yes. But please make sure you do some research first if you're a beginner at baitcasting. Most reel and rod combos at the store will come mostly setup for you. This one does not come like that at all.

For reel that cost just around $45, I've been extremely impressed, so far I've only used it twice in the past couple days since I received it. Out of the box it was smooth and I took apart completely, greased and oiled everything accordingly before I even used it. From the factory they sufficiently lubricated it for out of the box use. First night out I caught three 1 1/2 lb+ bass and pulled them out of a whole lot of vegetation no problem. It seems like anything I throw on it between the centrifugal and magnetic brakes (centrifugal doing 99% of the work) everything cast pretty well and if you dial a men and have a fair bit of experience with baitcaster you can really lob them out there without any worries of backlash. Right now I have a spooled up with 12 lb seaguar invizx and paired with a 7-foot medium-heavy ride with an extra fast tip. It's not going to be a $240 Team Lew's lite speed spool LFS, but for $45 I'd say this competes easily with the $100- $120 range

I was quite impressed by this reel especially since I wasn’t expecting much for the price. No, I don’t think it competes with reels in the $150 and up range, but anything below that it compares quite nicely. I own a large number of reels from ABU-Garcia, Shimano and others and this is as smooth as any and better than most. I mean this reel is really smooth. Once properly adjusted its nearly backlash free. I’m impressed that it has a centrifugal braking system in addition to the magnetic system. In my opinion the centrifugal method is far superior at preventing backlash. For the money I don’t think this reel can be beat. Time will tell about it’s durability and longevity. Love the rubberized cork handles also.

This is a great reel and it is easy to cast. It was also easy to set up right out of the box. I spooled it up with 20lb KastKing FlouroKote. I will be using this reel as a 2nd setup for diving plugs such as squarebill, lipless crankbaits, and medium diver crankbaits. The magnetic braking system makes the reel easy to set up and cast. I didn't this I would like the cork handles that much but to my surprise, I do like the size and feel of them. I would defiantly give this reel a try because I do not think you will be disappointed.

This reel is so smooth!!I bought the KastKing Spartacus Plus for bass fishing in some local lakes around me. Holds a fair amount of 30 pound 9 strain braid. Super smooth casting and retrieval. Caught some nice bass pre spawn with this reel the drag help up very well. Overall I love this reel and will definitely be buying another one soon to replace a few crappy reels that I have!

The Spartacus Plus just takes the top spot for my favorite of all my Kastking reels. It has similar specs and features as the assassin, but is of even of nicer quality and looks. The dark blue and black with red anodized alum accents makes it look like a premium reel, the cork handles inlaid with dense eva foam sporting Kastkings logo are the icing on the cake. The biggest difference I notice vs. the assassin are it's tighter tolerances and better feeling cast thumbar. I also own the Speed Demon, Assassin, and the Spartacus Maximus.The only thing that could make it a bit better would be a slightly wider spool with more line capacity, other wise I have two and I'm ordering a third. They are that good. I do like all my Kastkings, but this one pulls my heart strings the most. It's a great reel for working plastics, spinnerbaits, jigs, and in that order, but it makes a great all round reel for everything really (so long as you don't need a lot of line). A more comprehensive review will be available on my new website soon..... @ addictedanglers.blogspot dot com

I just took this off my pole to put another reel on. At first glance this reel is going to get your blood running it passes the looks test no doubt! I have had it close to 8 months now and it is gradually starting to lose its performance as it is used. I have had to adjust the brake about every few outings with it. I have oiled when necessary and kept it covered when traveling. The retrieve has roughened up over the use and the frame does flex and bind when you catch a larger bass. This is a lot of money for the reel, I did not go into the purchase expecting shimano quality but for the price I expected more than I received. I think with a little bit of tweaking by kastking this reel could be a go too for a lot of casual anglers.

I've used many cheaper reels and this has to be the worst. To be honest, it's probably one of the smoothest reels I used, but when I change the cast tensioning knob to fit my lighter baits it makes this terrible vibrating sound/screech. Since day 1 it has been doing this and has seemed to get worse. Basically I have to use massive swimbaits to match the low tensioning knob because it screeches when I make it tighter. Not happy at all.

J'adore ce reel pour le prix ces un produit de grande qualité !!! Seul point négatif il n'est pas completement noir les cotés tire sur le bleu très foncé mais il y a une différence entre le centre et les côté quand on porte attention on le voit sur l'image

Update.. Just used it for 38" lake trout.. With 150 yds of 30 lb braid worked like a champ ! Getting another one !! ........First time using a baitcast.. With a little adjustment (more brake) I was casting with no backlash by the end of the day zero brake just thumbing and no issues.. Reels very smooth ! Trying next week with 30"+ lake trout.

I had to return my Spartacus Plus. Frame was improperly painted so a part is missing paint and another part is painted too thick and rubs against the spool edge. I had no options for replacement, only refund so that's the way I'll go. I own a few Kastking reels and they were all great except this one.

Nice reel, drag is smoothWaiting for spring to see how casting is