KastKing Rover Round Baitcasting Reel, Perfect Conventional Reel for Catfish, Salmon/Steelhead, Striper Bass and Inshore Saltwater Fishing - No.1 Highest Rated Conventional Reel, Reinforced Metal Body

KastKing Rover 60R Reel ReviewThe reel arrived in a nice box and a nice cloth bag for storage.Inside the box was a schematic and parts list. This is very good as parts wear out and often need replacement. The schematic was small but readable.The reel was larger and heavier than I expected but very sturdy. Size wise it is larger than an Abu Garcia Ambassador 6500 but not as large or heavy as a 7000.The line spool is solid and a nice gold color. It is wider and of larger diameter than the Abu 6500. I was thinking it would hold more line but I was wrong.The spool release button is larger and over hangs more on the KastKing. Attempting to fill the spool all the way up to its max results in the line hitting the spool release button.Both reels hold about 240 to 250 yards of 15lb Berkley Big Game Monofilament Line.I noticed that the level wind assembly was all metal and appeared durable. This compares to both the Abu 6500 C4 approx. $135 and The Abu 7000 approx. $149. Both run smoothly and track well although the Abu Garcia Reels lay the line a little more evenly across the spool.Comparing the level wind to a Abu Garcia 6500-S approx. $60 the Abu also lays down the line smoother but it has a nylon drive tooth that will not wear as well as the $52 KastKing 60.Then I decided to get down to business and get inside the reels.The good news is most of the drive gears and bearings are metal and strong on the KastKing Rover 60 and the Abu 6500 C4. I noticed the spindle size on the C4 to a little thicker but it appeared only a mm or so. I did not take the time to micrometer them.Comparing it to the Abu 6500-S there was more metal and the construction was much better. Comparing the KastKing Rover 60 to the Abu 7000 is like comparing a Ford F150 to an F350 Super Duty. There is no real comparison. It will not stand up to a 150lb bull shark on the other end like the 7000 could (at max).However I would have no reservations taking on a 25lb redfish with this reel.A spin test of just the spool on the spindle outside the reel body revealed that all three reels: KastKing Rover 60, Abu Garcia 6500 C4 and the Abu 6500-S could be made to spin 40 to 60 sec and appeared equivalent in speed. I ran this test to see how pimp able they were to modifications like installing ceramic bearings, removing the level wind assembly, and adding a magnetic brake cast control.The three reels mentioned above are all equivalent here. (The Abu 7000 spins longer because the spool is significantly heavier)Still inside the reels all of the Abu Garcia Reels come with six set able centrifugal brakes as well as one or two spool tensions knobs. The KastKing has only two and they are on whether you like it or not.The Abu 6500 reels come with 4 of the brakes set to the on position at the factory. I changed this to two for my cast test later in the review.Getting back to cast control the KastKing has two spool tension knobs like the Abu 7000. This is an advantage as the star drag gets in the way of your fingers on the Abu Garcia with only one on the right side.The clicker assemblies on all three reels were similar with neither really out shining the other. All were adequate to leave the spool in free spool and let the sound alert you on a quiet night bait fishing. None was loud enough to do this on the beach with the waves coming in.I put the reels back together and filled them with 15lb Big Game Monofilament Line. I mounted them on a Diawa Acculite 9ft Salmon/Steelhead Medium Action Rod.Attaching a fish scale to a loop tied in the line I tightened the drag all the way down and did three pull tests of one foot. The Abu 6500 claim 15lbs of drag but he C4 only delivered 14.6. The 6500-S claimed 15 but only delivered 11.3. The KastKing Rover Claimed 13.5 and delivered 13.8. The Abu 7000 claims 20 but delivered 27.7.The Abu 6500 reels and the KastKing were then set to 5lbs and pulled through a 20ft walk away. The KastKing and the Abu 6500 C4 had less than 0.5lb variance during the walk. The Abu 6500-S failed this test on the third walk.(The line broke) All three were pull tested three times over 20ft.Now we get down to the casting part:Three cast were made with the Abu 6500 C4, the Abu 6500-S and the KastKing Rover 60 using a 1oz pyramid sinker with a one foot drop down from the rod tip. This was repeated with a 7ft drop down and a Brighton Surf Cast and finally with a full blown Tournament Type of Pendulum Cast.All three reels were within the margin of individual variance for a single reel.The one foot drop casts went 70 to 75 yards.The Brighton Casts went 85 to 95 yardsThe Pendulum Casts went 95 to 125 yards.You will note that as I went to the more difficult surf and tournament casts the variance widened. This is due to my own operator error as I am not a tournament caster and the angle of release is not as consistent between each individual cast with these tournament techniques.The Abu 6500 C4 was quieter on the cast and the KastKing Rover made more spool noise but both beat the Abu 6500-S here.My final conclusion is that the KastKing Rover 60 at $52 compares very favorable to the Abu 6500 C4 at $135 and is a real bargain. Don’t waist your money on the Abu 6500-S at $60 it’s a turkey.I plan on using his reel of spotted sea trout, redfish, flounder, and other near shore species. I am happy with it.

I've always been a spinning reel kind of guy when it comes to catfishing but I've heard great things about this set up, So I figured at the price point this would be a great large profile baitcaster to try. Man I am in love with this thing, it caster about 20-30 foot farther then I expected! A friend of mine who was with me was blown away and he is a big A.G. fishing gear guy but said he's gonna have to make the switch to KastKing Rovers! The bait clicker was easy to use and worked great. Because of the Rover I think I'm going to use baitcasters for big game all the time now. Just ordered my second Rover today!

I've recently gotten into inshore fishing, and I'm an avid freshwater bass fisherman. With that being said, I recently bought a Kast King baitcaster reel for bass fishing. I enjoyed the reel so much, that I had to give them a shot for inshore fishing. This is my first reel for inshore fishing...and it worked phenomenally. I bought the Rippin Lips Supercat Series 8ft rod to match it, here on Amazon. At first the rod seemed a little much for the reel, but I was blissfully mistaken the moment I hooked into a 4 foot shark. Granted, a 4 foot shark doesn't weigh 200lbs, but it did weigh somewhere between 20-40lbs and given that it's a shark (black tip), it gave a hell of a fight. This reel and rod combo handled it with ease! My buddy had an Abu Garcia rod and reel and he actually enjoyed this Kast King / Rippin Lips combo better! You cannot beat the price of the reel / rod for the work you'll get out of it.We fished for about 5 hours this morning, catching a total of 6 sharks and 2 sting rays. The largest shark being about 4 1/2 - 5ft, and the largest Ray being about 3ft across. I had a blast using this setup...Sadly...as we went to put the boat on the trailer, my poles got caught up on the railing of the dock and snatched them out of the boat. The current was too fast, and my new setup was gone with the current. So besides the fact a $100 went down the drain for the setup....I just hopped right back on here and immediately bought another setup, and my buddy is using this excuse to ditch the Abu Garcia setup and grab himself one of these.

This is my second Rover Round 60 reel and I have a 70 model as well. They are definitely worth their price! I like the 60s better because of the push bar for casting and their regular handle. Very sturdy construction and excellent drag. I have no problem casting either as long as I set the tension right to the bait/weight that I'm using.I use these reels for flatheads and they are more than capable. I run braid but these could easily fit plenty of 30lb mono. I just spooled 250 yrds of 65lb braid on my newest one. The 70 model has more 40lb mono on it then I'll ever need.I haven't had any of the grinding issues on the 60s but the 70 makes a little noise when I reel. Does not affect how it operates though.Update: 1-19-19After a solid season of catfishing both the 60 and 70 series are quite noisy during casting and retrieving. I have disassembled them and lubed every moving part and bearing but the sound is still there. They still handle fish fine but the grinding noise is very noticeable- especially casting. It appears to come from the worm gear inside the reel on the side with the handle. Still acceptable for the price.

Wow! Tall about a smooth and powerful reel....and the price knocks me out! I cast a country mile with 60 lb braided line...the drag worked flawlessly as I dragged some big catties in...I have several ABU's and, this reel goes toe to toe with ABU....too early in the game to say who's better....Tell you like this, get yours now before they change how they make them...you know the game...UPDATE: not long after that raving review the reel failed to hold drag and has been sitting on a shelf ever since..."toe to toe with Abu" ....I owe you an apology Mr. Abu Garcia. This reel can't hold a candle to an Abu. I've got many Abu's now from 1500C all the way up to the 7000 C3 and I can rely on every one of them, even the ones I got from the 70's.... Save up for an Abu

Haven't used this reel yet , but it seems well made with good quality materials