Lews BB1 Speed Spool Casting Reel

Here is an article written by TinBoats member Fender 66 about the Lews BB1 Speed Spool Casting Reel.

I promised to write a review so here it is from the perspective of a non professional fishing addict. I was able to get out on the water again on Tuesday of this week. Went to a lake to practice fish some plastics that I’m not comfortable with, but primarily try out my new BB-1 Lews reel that I picked up on a Black Friday Sale a week or so ago. If you’ve read any reviews about this reel….they are most likely dead on. It’s smooth casting was amazing. The increased casting distance they are claiming is dead on. I bet I was getting 20% more distance with every cast.

 

I have and LOVE my Lews TS1 reels (both of them) and put them up against my Abu Garcia STX reels and my Shimano Curados. When this new BB-1 was announced, I read all the hype (there is a lot of it) and caught the “curiosity bug” big time. I knew that I wanted another reel for fishing plastics and thought this might fit the bill. **Side note: I fish with left hand reels and don’t have the gear ratio options all the time that right hand reels offer. My Lews reels are all 6.4:1 and I mostly fish plastics or anything slow with them.

I paired this reel up with a Shimano Crucial, 7′ MH extra fast rod. It fit exactly like my other Lews do on the rod. The size was exact to my TS1s and I notice no difference in feel. I clicked off all the brakes except 2 and fine tune from there with the tension knob that has an audible clicker. My first cast was overhand and it sailed far enough for me to be impressed immediately. Every cast afterward was smooth and effortless and hit the target as best I am capable.
I fished it with a weightless and weighted senko (5 1/4 “) rigged Texas style. Every attempt at a long cast gave me more distance than any of my other reels would have. I was only able to land one fish from the 49 degree water and it was a small 12 inch Large Mouth, but it was still fun.
The one setback that I noticed was that it did not have an external adjustable brake like I’m use to. I did NOT have to open the reel to reset the internal brakes, so I guess it really didn’t matter. I had no backlashes and it worked as well as all the claims I’ve read, and better than I expected. I recommend this reel, as I do the TS1 reels and would buy more if the opportunity presented itself.

Lews Fishing Tackle

 

Fender66