I wanted to like the 13 Fishing Baitcasting combo but it just didn’t feel balanced/right for me. It was returned and replaced with a Lew’s Mach Pro baitcasting combo. This one feels better. We’ll soon see how it does in actual fishing.
Both came from Bass Pro Shops. They cheerfully accepted the return which worked to their advantage since the Lew’s combo cost more than the one it replaced but they didn’t know I was going to buy anything.
The 13 Fishing rod and reel were good products, they just weren’t for me. There is one other area where Lew’s outdoes 13 Fishing though. There was no manual for the 13 Fishing reel. It isn’t terribly complicated and anyone who is already familiar with baitcasting could figure it. But I’m new to baitcasting and a manual would’ve been very helpful to me. I wrote to them on their website and they wrote me back asking what reel I had — apparently they don’t know what reels go in what combos that they sell via Bass Pro Shops. Lew’s, on the other hand, has manuals on their website for all their reels. They even have right and left-handed versions of their manuals so the pictures make sense!
