Lexa 400/300

[bmercury]

I have been considering getting a lexa 400 and pairing it up with an XH phenix rod for some yoyo's and other large irons and possibly a 300 as well for some kastmasters, big spinnerbaits, larger swimbaits etc.

How are these things holding up to heavier use now that they have been around a while?

I really like the idea of using a large baitcaster for artificials rather than my conventionals. Thumbing the big heavy spool so carefully and winding the line on evenly like a a madman gets old. I held one of the lexa 400's before and it felt pretty solid if a bit awkward in my clearly small hands.

And for the 400 there is the question of the gear ratio. I usually go with lower ones when I can but I seem to see high speed reels being the most common now. The 7.1: is 37.7 IPT. The 6.3:1 is 33.4 IPT. And the 5.1:1 is 27.1 IPT(Still faster than an old penn 500 while burning that iron back towards you!)

And then the other part of me says you don't even have much time to fish just keep using the gear you already have! I have plenty of adequate conventional gear, and lots of small baitcasters.

Thoughts?

[alanw]

You should have at least one casting reel if your arsenal if you plan on doing a lot of jig/lure fishing. Like you said, evenly winding a conventional gets old fast. Get a spinning reel, lexa/curado baitcaster, or conventional with levelwind. Whatever suits your needs.

[Silbaugh4liberty]

Love my Lexa 400. Got it on a Daiwa proteus boat rod. Not sure about casting 100 yards sitting down. Standing up, yes, but not in a kayak sitting. I'm going to be investing in a shorter rod for yoyo though. I've gotten 4 yt yoyo with that, but I'm honestly going to invest in a shorter rod and a reel with a bigger spool diameter. No need for casting a yoyo jig! I'll keep it for big swim baits or light surface iron, or some slow pitch jigs.

[roby]

If you do get the Lexa 300, make sure it fits on your rod. The "foot" on the reel is on the small side.

[Irishman]

To the question first posted I'd reccommend contacting Fishaholic. Since your located in San Diego he is worth reaching out to. Great selection of gear and the setup we agreed upon was a significant cost savings over retail....significant savings.

[surfisher]

My buddy uses his Lexa 400 for yoyo and loves it. He has landed some solid YT on it up to 20lbs or so. Sure it might kick your ass a little bit, but it definitely works.

I have gone with the Saltist Levelwind 30ha .... love it. I had surgery on my hand and using a standard conventional fucks my hand up after a good hour of yoyo, so the saltist is definitely nice.

[taggermike]

I've talked to a few of the guys at Squid Co and they spoke highly of the Lexa 400 and 300. I'm thinking the 400 would be a pretty amazing reel for surface irons and smaller heavy irons. Put it on a 9-10 foot lighter jig stick like a Seeker baby ulua, seeker blue lightning, or phoenix abyss, and let it rip. For yoyo you need a reel with a good drag and tough gears cause you're going to grinding hard with it all day and hooking fish right near bottom. Since you're usually dropping on meter marks you might not need to cast at all. An old school yellow tail special is still hard to beat for yoyo but if you hate mending line on to the spool a Daiwa saltiest or seagate with level wind might be the way to go. The saltiest/seagate would also be a much better reel for slow trolling live baits in the summer. Mike

[Silbaugh4liberty]

When I went on the party boat a few weeks ago, aside from myself, there were several younger guys with a Lexa 400. One kid had it on a cousins casting rod 7 or 8 ft I think, another kid had it on a 9ft pinhead rod.

[YakDout]

Lexa 400s are the BOMB

[bmercury]

Any further thoughts on gear ratio for lexa? Decided I will get one for irons for sure. Usually I go with lower gear ratios on all reels but not sure yet.