Kast King Megajaws

LgMouthGambler · June 29, 2020, 04:08:31 PM

So LMG has decided to take a plunge into the Kast King market to see if they are even decent. Never owned a baitcaster that didnt have a metal frame, so this is a first on a few accounts for me.

I decided on the Megajaws series based on the specs. Bearing count is high, has dual pinion support, stout drag rating and components, and everything that you can adjust has the clicking feature. I went for the high speed version so I can see if 1) The gears will hold up/have a resistance issue, and 2) The color was pretty looking.

First impressions of the reel out the box: Feels pretty smooth and not a lot of "play" in everything (which really surprised me). The paint job on the reel is nice as far as the color, but there are many imperfections that can be seen. Knobs are nice cork style, and comfortable. Drag star is metal. Spool is light, and will hold plenty of line.

Im pretty sure this reel was made by Banax, as it has very similar styles of things to their options on the builds. Im gonna spool it with 17lb Sufix Advance mono and play around with it. I had purchased a 7ft H F Kast King Legend Royale rod a while back, so I might as well mount the reel on that rod.

Yeah, I know....what can I say? Just doing my normal "lets play" purchase to experiment. Lots of talk about the move to "composite" reel frames by many manufacturers, so I figured let me get one in my hands and see what happens.

LgMouthGambler · June 29, 2020, 07:17:01 PM

Got the Royale Legend rod from Kast King that I had ordered a while back out. Figured why not have a true combo?. They match pretty dang well actually.

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Pferox · June 29, 2020, 07:20:32 PM

So take another sip of the Kool-Aide.

Looks nice, hope it works as nicely.

I have a couple of their spinning reels around, they work pretty good IMO, I don't think I have caught anything big on em yet, so can't tell you how they flex. BUT

I have a lot of composite reels from both Penn and Daiwa, and haven't had any problems with big fish. Heck, my Penn level winds are composite, and have been around for years, still going strong.

bro_drey · June 29, 2020, 08:48:30 PM

I have the perigee 2 rod in 7'3" hf and I have no complaints it's honestly a great frog rod lol ide buy it again I'm picky with rods too I have rods from all price ranges this is actually my
Go to frog rod . You can even bomb 2-4oz swim baits on it with ease . The exact name is kast king perigee2 .

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ike8120 · June 30, 2020, 04:27:18 AM

I only have a few rods but a number of their reels. Haven't had any issues with them.

fishballer06 · June 30, 2020, 07:15:29 AM

I like those handle knobs if they didn't have that giant KK logo on them

LgMouthGambler · June 30, 2020, 08:34:53 AM

I took the rod and reel with me to work, and played with it this morning. It can cast pretty effortlessly, and adjustments with the magnetic brakes are pretty responsive. Pitching is really nice too. Spool control, and line control arent an issue with this reel. Time will tell on how it will hold up. Its pretty solid feeling in the hand.

LgMouthGambler · June 30, 2020, 12:19:44 PM

Caught a fish during lunch. Small fish, not too heavy of cover in the floating vegetation in the canal. Set the hook, and immediately noticed the flex in the reel. Never fishing with a composite framed reel before, it was obvious right off the bat. I landed the fish regardless. Let's see how the reel holds up given what I have learned about it.

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Smallie_Stalker · June 30, 2020, 02:34:24 PM

Quote from: LgMouthGambler on June 30, 2020, 12:19:44 PM
Caught a fish during lunch. Small fish, not too heavy of cover in the floating vegetation in the canal. Set the hook, and immediately noticed the flex in the reel. Never fishing with a composite framed reel before, it was obvious right off the bat. I landed the fish regardless. Let's see how the reel holds up given what I have learned about it.

.

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Thanks for the intel Matt. That would make it a no go for me. I've fished with graphite frame reels in the past but gave up on them about 20 years ago for this very reason.

I'll follow along and see how it holds up over the long haul.

Gwamba · July 22, 2020, 11:00:45 PM

Quote from: LgMouthGambler on June 30, 2020, 12:19:44 PM
Caught a fish during lunch. Small fish, not too heavy of cover in the floating vegetation in the canal. Set the hook, and immediately noticed the flex in the reel. Never fishing with a composite framed reel before, it was obvious right off the bat. I landed the fish regardless. Let's see how the reel holds up given what I have learned about it.

.

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I also was impressed with the KastKings... Royal Legend Elite...smooth and far...

merc1997 · July 23, 2020, 05:15:43 PM

i have 8 of the original royal legends. i just now cleaned all of them after 4 years of very hard use. i just lubed the bearings and level wind every few trips along the way. no failures, still smooth as silk, and i don't guess that i know what the hell is reel flex. whatever that is, i would say that these reels do not flex, and you are talking to someone that grew up fishing 5000 series garcias. those tanks do not flex, and if the legends are flexing, you could not prove it by me. i bought my wife some of the legend elites because the have better braking system, which they sure do, and sure seem to be a very good reel. of course, i do not hold onto the reel while fishing, but hold the rod in front of the reel. now i can sure put some flex in the rod on the hook set.

bo

rjn cajun · July 24, 2020, 09:52:31 AM

I'll be following this for updates. I actually looked at this reel yesterday but couldn't locate a lot of info.

bsrowlet · August 24, 2020, 02:42:01 AM

Looks very promising

Gwamba · August 24, 2020, 02:33:37 PM

Several of my local HS bass kids have them and I have worked on them...The mid to low price versions are a good bang for the buck but the Mechanical cast controls dont hold their setting throughout a day of casting...same issue with the older gen Concept Z reels.
The Megajaws and up the price range...Royal Legend Elite etc... which generally are under $75, are very solid, smooth reels. That being said...I'm not ready to give up my
Lews BB1s and BB1 Pros...