KastKing Rover Round Baitcasting Fishing Reel, Perfect Conventional Reel for Catfish, Salmon/Steelhead, Striper Bass and Inshore Saltwater Fishing Reel, Reinforced Metal Body

KastKing Rover 60R Reel Review The 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 yards The 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.

Can’t beat this budget reel! I paired it with the Fiblink Moonsniper 9’ and it’s a great combo. I’m still learning to use baitcasters but I really enjoy using this one. Once you understand how to set up your kastking rover, it’s actually fairly easy to use! I have used this reel now for about a year.. I didn’t take the best care of it, by rinsing the salt water off every time I used it. Finally after all that time I decided to clean it and grease it and to my surprise there was little to no corrosion from the saltwater! The quality and durability, the look and feel of the reel is all great! The drag system works for me.. I see some reviews where they’re trash talking the drag system but it hasn’t failed me yet. Sometimes I even use my thumb to help slow the line being pulled out, instead of adjusting the drag mid fight.. The bait clicker is easy to use and I love it. The best thing about this reel? It’s affordable!!!!! It’s great quality for anyone! No matter if you’re on a budget or not! You will enjoy this reel, and if it just so happens it doesn’t work the first time, try it again! Just make adjustments as you go! If the first one you buy is defective (it happens sometimes with any product) in any way, return it for replacement.. I have so much fun using the rover40L! Update for the Rover 60: the reel handle knobs SUCK!!! Mid fight the foam grips popped off!! Not sure if it was because of the slight rain, or that I was pulling in a crab.. either way change the double knob to a power knob Asap!! I believe you can buy one already with it (70, 80, 90 sizes come with it I believe, if you select that option). The reel itself did a great job, just not the double handle.

This a smooth reel with a good line capacity. I was able to put on 220 yds of 20lb mono. Love the color. would like the retrieve, speed to be a little quicker. It spooled up very easy and even. The only reason for the 4 stars is the clicker is quiet. other than that, it functions well. Was surprise how little of a turn it would lock back after free spool.

I was skeptical about the brand at first. Now that I have the reel in hand I can say that it is well manufactured. Runs smooth. Only thing for me is the casting drag is a bit unrefined. Great for the price point. It will get sea action this weekend.

Just received the Rover 60 today. I'm blown away at the quality of this reel. I had to take it out and try it out. I had an old 7' glowstik and some cheap Mustad 20lb test laying around so I assembled it all together and tied on a 1.5 ounce sinker. Keep in mind this line was very stiff and has high memory so it's not what I intend to use but the reel handled fine it nonetheless. I plan on using it for catfishing and obviously the Abu Garcia C3 6500 has been the king in this realm. So I will compare the two even though this reel costs half what a C3 does on Amazon (both are sold at a great price on Amazon). Overall build quality is just as good. Lots of stainless steel parts on both. Casting and retrieving they are the same (smooth). The line guide does its job and lays line flat on both. The drag is a little smoother on the C3 6500 but the KastKing drag still operates very smooth. The KastKing at its price point, to be fair, should be compared to the cheap Chinese Abu 6500S models that actually cost about $15 more than the KastKing. But those two aren't really comparable because the KastKing Rover 60 beats the 6500S hands down in every way. I actually like the full thumb bar on the KastKing over the Abu's small thumb push button. The only thing I don't care for on the KastKing Rover is the grips on the retrieving handle are EVA foam. I personally would have preferred just a basic hard plastic but that can be fixed later if they wear out. Now tuning this reel seems complicated to those that are new to conventional reels but its actually very easy. Assuming you already have the reel mounted and spooled with line (hopefully of decent quality), this is all you have to do. 1. Rig the rod with whatever weight/lure you intend to cast. 2. Tighten the spool tensioner knob pretty tight (this is the silver knob on the same side as the retrieving handle). 3. Tighten down the brake knob somewhere around half way, maybe a little more tight than halfway. (This is the knob on the opposite side of the reel.) 4. Hold rod up at a 45 degree angle with your weight/lure hanging down about 12-15 inches from the rod tip. 5. Press thumb bar to release the line. The weight/lure should fall to the ground in a controlled manner and you shouldn't have any backlash or very little. If it has a lot of backlash tighten the brake knob more. Repeat this step till you get a controlled drop with little to no backlash.once you achieve this you are ready to cast. When casting press the thumb bar release and press your thumb against the spool to hold the line in place. When you cast just pull your thumb off the spool slightly. Just before the weight/lure hits the water apply pressure to the spool with your thumb again. If it backlashes tighten your brake a little more. Don't try to sling the lure/weight too aggressively. I was able to acveive 60 yard casts with a smooth throw. ***note*** a reviewer had claimed his reel wasn't working. When he tried to reel it the spool wouldn't turn. Mine did the same and scared me when I first received it. Tighten the star drag so.e and it should start retrieving/spinning the spool. Hope this helps. This is a great reel. Cat fisherman spread the word!

Within the first 15 minutes of use the caps that held the knobs on the handle fell off one at a time. It turns out they were plastic push caps, not actually attached in any way. I can’t believe this otherwise great reel was purposely made this way, it must have missed a gluing step when being manufactured. If not, Strike King really needs to rethink this design!

Bought a Rover 90 figuring to use it for musky fishing by throwing big heavy lures. The 90 is HUGE, meant more for ocean fishing. I held it in both hands with a hand on either side and my finger tips couldn’t touch. Definitely not for inland waters. I returned it and ordered a 50. The 50 is great. Loaded it with 80lb braid, mounted it on a 7’ medium action Ugly Stick and used a 1/2” combination wrench as a practice lure. It casts that wrench every bit of 150’. What I like is the line guide moves with the line on the cast. I paid over $300 for reels that weren’t as nice as this. I have 8 different makes of round bait casting reels and this is one of the best, and it costs the least. Time will tell how long it lasts.

This is an OK reel. Yes it is significantly cheaper than an abu. BUT, my abu also doesn't have play in the gears. I have had problems with the rover not wanting to keep the spool lock down unless the handle is in perfect position because of loose gears. It will also, occasionally on a hard cast, release the spool lock on its own. Potentially causing backlash and a "birds nest". And even more rarely it would disable itself just off a light bump while waiting for a catfish to hit. I have missed only a few cats to this as circle hooks will often set themselves under the tension. While it hasn't been a serious problem. it is frustrating. I also purchased an abu garcia catfish special around the same time and the differences between the two are *VERY* noticeable. However it is reliable under pressure. The rate that it brings in line is impressive, and it easily keeps the 6-8oz weights I use in the river for large live bait up off the bottom and out of the rocks on retrieve. The play in the gears is only noticeable when you aren't bringing something in. I caught many large catfish this year. From 8lb to 20lb channel cats and flatheads over 30lbs. The bait clicker is very loud, which is nice when you need to walk away for a moment. I mostly bought it for its drag discs. The zebco 888 it replaced just couldn't handle the big ones properly. If you want a decent reel to see if you enjoy catching very large catfish but are on a bit of a budget, I do recommend the kastking rover. If I get 2 decent years out of it before it falls apart, then it did ok. That being said, the abu replaced another abu that I got 15 great years of heavy use out of. But it was 2x the price of the rover.... Also these large reels are overkill if all you do is fish for 2-5lb channels. The rover40 with 15lb braid and a 10lb lead would be absolutely fine for that.