Should I wait to get the reel I really want? Or is it not worth it?

Hello!

I’ve recently gotten into Muskie fishing, and so far, the reel I’ve been using is a Shimano SLX and it’s actually been doing surprisingly well, but I’d really like to use it for bass fishing again and not for baits that are way too big for it.

Anyways, I’ve been having a mental battle about whether or not I should wait for the reel I really want, a Shimano Tranx 400AHG to finally be back in stock somewhere, or just get a Daiwa Lexa 400HDHS, as those are actually in stock at multiple stores.

I’ve done plenty of research about each reel, I know that most people would choose the Tranx, I know that the Tranx has better gears and a different braking system that also is really good, but is it really worth waiting for potentially months, missing all of this fall’s Muskie, just to get a Tranx over a Lexa?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Let me know if you have any questions that need to be answered to be able to help me out.

I would go tranx 1,000 times over. I have the power gear and its awesome. I can cast super models all day no issue.

It looks like cableas has them ready to ship. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/shimano-tranx-300-400-baitcast-reel?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CGeneric%7CAllProducts%7CHigh%7CSSCCatchAll&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIreDT_4me8wIVyW1vBB2uwQsfEAQYASABEgLZafD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

What location are you set on? The website says that they’re still out of stock for me.

It was telling me east grand forks has them in stock.

Shimano reels have been hard to come by. I have been waiting for over a year for my reels to come back into stock. The 400 Tranx is a sweet reel and is one of the ones I am also waiting for. I think it is worth waiting for. The difference between us is that I don’t need it and have many other options to use. Good luck and I hope you catch a big one.

Thanks very much on your input sir. You’re probably the first person that has actually given your opinion on my situation instead of questioning other things.

I actually just ordered my Lexa yesterday night. I figured that I’d never really know which reel I prefer until I use both, so why not order a Lexa now, (so I can still Muskie fish this fall) use it and test it out, then get a Tranx when they’re available again, and really compare the two in person.

Again, thanks for the super helpful advice.

It is always a good idea to have a back up reel anyways. My buddy can tell you how much it sucks when you travel 8 hours and your reel blows up on you. It was a good thing that I had an extra one for him. But the rental cost hurt.

I hope the Lexa you ordered was the one with the TW design. I picked up one of those prior to my most recent trip to canada. That reel was great. It cast a mile. Real smooth and small enough to palm even though I have some real Small hands. I did replace the power handle it came with to a Large duel paddle style handle. That was just a personal choice as I’m sure the power handle would have worked just great. I went with the 6.3-1 gear ratio. The 33.5″ of line pickup per handle turn was more than enough and still able to slow it down when needed. if you end up getting a Tran X in the future I’d really like to hear your review on it. I can’t see how it could fish any better than the Lexa.

fishthumper wrote:

I hope the Lexa you ordered was the one with the TW design. I picked up one of those prior to my most recent trip to canada. That reel was great. It cast a mile. Real smooth and small enough to palm even though I have some real Small hands. I did replace the power handle it came with to a Large duel paddle style handle. That was just a personal choice as I’m sure the power handle would have worked just great. I went with the 6.3-1 gear ratio. The 33.5″ of line pickup per handle turn was more than enough and still able to slow it down when needed. if you end up getting a Tran X in the future I’d really like to hear your review on it. I can’t see how it could fish any better than the Lexa.

Sadly, I didn’t go with a TW model, but mainly because of the price spike between the two models. I also didn’t do a whole lotta research on the TWs beforehand, so I didn’t know if it was worth. I know how they work though, and they do look cool and like they work well, but the price was a little much for me. I did also get a 6.3-1 because I think it’ll be the most versatile choice for me.

Alex Weismann wrote:

Sadly, I didn’t go with a TW model, but mainly because of the price spike between the two models. I also didn’t do a whole lotta research on the TWs beforehand, so I didn’t know if it was worth. I know how they work though, and they do look cool and like they work well, but the price was a little much for me. I did also get a 6.3-1 because I think it’ll be the most versatile choice for me.

I sure the non TW design will still work great. This is the first reel I’ve had with the TW design and it really cast well and Far. Not really sure how big of a difference it makes. I have never been a big Diawa fan in the past, but really like this one. I’m not as big of a shimano fan as I use to be. Their newer smaller baitcasters are not anything like their old model ones. The old Green curado’s were the best. I still have 2 in use that are over 20 years old and still work great. I even used them throwing huge baits on my last trip to canada and these were the 200 size. Held up no problem.