KastKing Sharky Baitfeeder III Spinning Reels with 5.5:1 Gear Ratio

This reel is an absolute beast! I’ve caught most of my personal bests with it. I paired the Sharky 6000 with a Penn Battle IV surf rod and Berkley Big Game 50 lb braid, and this setup has been incredible. My most impressive catch so far was a 10-foot shark. I’ve also landed several snook around 38 inches, and the 6000 has so much drag that you can really bring the heat and haul those fish in when you need to. I’ve had zero issues with it. It’s durable, smooth, and has some sealing against the elements, which is especially important for surf fishing. And honestly, for the price, the build quality is impressive. You get a LOT of reel for your money with the Sharky Baitfeeder 6000. If you’re looking for a powerful, dependable reel without spending a fortune, I highly recommend it. 🎣🦈

Edit: May 29, 2024 I purchased the KastKing Sharkie BaitFeeder III in the 4,000 series and paired it with a Shakespeare Big Water. Ladies and gentlemen, this is in my opinion the absolute best combination for pier fishing. Why do I say that? Well, most people's methods of fishing from a pier is what I call "passive" fishing, including myself. I use what's called a High Low Rig, or a Crappie Rig as Eagles Claw calls it (the famous brand that sells hooks at your local Walmart), so you basically tie your line to a barrel swivel and that barrel swivel has a thick line about 3 feet long maybe, with two hooks spaced equally apart, and at the end is a heavy sinker of your choosing. I cast out, let the weight hit the bottom, stick the pole in a holder and reel in until the line is tight and with a regular reel you would set the drag pretty light so if a fish takes your bait and runs, your pole won't get sucked into the water. The line will just strip. Now this presents a problem because if a big fish takes the bait and runs, you have to pick up the pole and sit there turning the drag up until it's tight enough that you can fight the fish. This wastes time right? Enter the KastKing Sharkie BaitFeeder III and it's ingenious design. Now with this reel you have a dual drag system that are independent of each other! You have your normal drag in the front that you would set as if you hooked a fish, so decently tight, but in the rear is another drag! So with this now, you cast out and let the weight of the rig hit the bottom, stick your pole in a holder, reel in until the line is tight and instead of messing with the main drag in the front, you flip the lever in the rear of the reel and that engages the secondary drag. You turn the knob on this end until the line is so light that if a fish took your bait and ran, it'll just strip line. Simply pull your pole out of the holder while the line is stripping and as soon as you begin reeling, you'll feel a slight resistance in the handle and the lever will click over switching and activating your main drag! No time wasting messing with the drag with this thing. Set your primary drag in the front to how you would normally fight a fish and then flip the lever in the rear and adjust the knob to how light you want the secondary drag. I never heard of such a reel until I got one of these and I loved it so much that I bought another one in the 3,000 series to pair with a Shakespeare GX2! These are fantastic reels and for a great price! I've had the 4,000 series since December 10th 2023 and have used both starting in January of 2024 and they've held up great so far. I did catch a double header with two stingrays and that was a pain to haul in from the height of the water to the railing. I'd estimate that to be at least 15 feet and maybe 10+lbs of dead weight dangling in the air and the 4,000 series handled it. That has been the heaviest haul so far. I put 30lbs Trilene braid on the 4,000 and 20lbs braid on the 3,000 and with the 4,000 I can easily cast about 80 yards underhand on the pier but again, that's about 15 feet up. Reeling in feels smooth and the only thing I hear is the tension of the line. A couple things I appreciate from KastKing is including a manual with actual part names which I assume can be used if you were to ever lose a part or break a part and need warranty work or something. If you look at one of the photos I shared, I tried to showcase how the handle mounts and I couldn't believe to see they added grease which speaks volumes to how they want their customers to have the best experience. They've also included stickers you can write on for the type of fishing string you're using and stamp it somewhere on the reel. I made a sticker for each of the spools and snuck them on the inside portion of each spool so in the future, like next year probably, I can see what type of line is on there and how old it is. I'm just saying, they didn't have to include that but it's nice they did. I also tried to show exactly how large these reels are and the only poles I have to compare them to are a Penn Fierce which is a 6,000 series and an Ugly Stik GX2 which I'd say is maybe like a 3,000 or 4,000. If you look at one of their images, they show the sizes of their reels and it appears the 5,000 and the 6,000 are the same size so I personally went with the 4,000 to pair with my heavy Ugly Stik Big Water and compared to the Penn Fierce, it is just slightly smaller but perfect for the Big Water pole I think. And the KastKing 3,000 is comparable to the GX2, which is one of the most popular poles/reels in America, is about the same size. So you can compare and hopefully see which one would suit your needs. I absolutely recommend these reels and I don't think you could find a better price. I will continue to update this review so long as these reels hold up. Oh yeah, and I'm fishing the Pacific Ocean which means saltwater and there doesn't appear to be any corrosion yet but like I said, I'll keep updating.

I’ve tore two of these up with monster fish but I sent to kastking and they replaced. I love this reel especially for the price and it lands big guys and I don’t even have pics of the sharks I couldn’t lift up sea wall. The bait feeder option is key and works perfect. I don’t have to guess on the drag because I can set it how I want and use bait feeder even with dead/frozen bait. Worth the money if you wanna try a bait feeder or want a versatile reel without having to spend 250 or more

Update 12/28/19: Something shifted in the back of my truck and this reel snapped off the rod it was on, right at the reel stem. Now, I am probably going to order it again but I might wait and see if they come out with a new version that fixes the flex issues. I still recommend it for the money but beware that it is weak at the stem. It is my fault the reel broke, but thats what you get when you buy a plastic reel. Update 5/4/19: So far so good. Reel performed well during the Spring striper run here in the northeast as a bait reel. I have not dunked the reel but it has been sprayed heavily on jetties and in the surf. With a light freshwater rinse afterward the reel has been just fine. For sixty bucks with the baitrunner feature you could do a lot worse IMO. I am considering ordering a second. I bought this reel because I wanted to try a liveliner/baitfeeder dual drag reel for throwing bait but did not want to take the plunge on a Shimano Baitrunner just yet. I bought these reel to do double duty as a catfish reel and inshore reel for stripers and bluefish. I have used it on four outings since getting it in the mail and it has performed as I would expect for a sixty dollar reel. I'll try to update my review somwhere down the line. Here are my observations for what it's worth. Size: I have the "6000" which is the largest size they offer. It is about the size of my Penn Slammer 5500. I would say it's about a 5000 size reel from most manufacturers. Gimmicky marketing, but ok. Why not just call it what it is? Fit and Finish: It's plastic. Yup made out of plastic but it's nice, it feels nice anyway. My copy had no flaws or defects from the factory. Heard horror stories about sharp edges around the anodized lip of the bail--- not so on mine. For a cheapo reel I'd say the finish is dang worth the money. Drag: I have caught about ten fish on it so far to around ten to twelve pounds. The reel performed very well. When fishing a pier with the rod just leaning up against the railing the secondary drag is a very nice thing to have. I can turn my back on the rod and know it's more than likely not going to get pulled over because the fish can run with the bait. The main drag felt great on the small sample I have to review from. There's a video online of a guy in UAE fighting Barracuda and Trevale with it no sweat... I think it's fine. Again I will update down the road. Line Capacity: I dunno sorry, was not paying attention. I spooled it off a 600ish yard spool of 30 lb Kast King Superpower Braid (wanted to get the full KK experience lol). I would imagine it's a tad overstated or on point. All manufacturers do that, including on my Slammer which was 3X+ the price. They give you a second spool for FREE. FREE. That is awesome. The second spool may just be intended for mono but you could rig it up with braid with a little tape or backing. That's a major plus for me to have the second spool because nobody likes having to leave early say if you get spooled by a ray/shark or experience line problems. The line lay on my copy was fair. It is not perfect but it is not lopsided either. Again, sixty dollars.... Saltwater Worthiness: This reel is supposed to be designed to withstand saltwater but I would not bet my sixty bucks on it, meaning I would not dunk it. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. It's not designed for that level of abuse. I fish off piers and jetties with it. Important Notes: Reel flex at the rod seat area. I knew about this going in and still bought it because I don't anticipate fighting gigantic fish with it (although I'm sure it would be fine). Believe the hype, it is a real issue (puns....). When I put the reel on a rod I can push down with force and make the reel move toward the rod. They need to fortify the stem a little better. That being said, I accidentally hook into rays sometimes while hunting other fish. If it breaks, I'll comment back. It doesn't really cause me much concern. It's a sixty dollar reel and to me the pros of the reel outweigh the cons. In Sum: Smooth reel out of the box. Fit and finish on mine was pretty great for the money. Drag systems work well. Reel flex is a legit issue and the stem needs fortification but that would probably drive up the cost. If it snaps off I'll be sure to update my review. Until then I'll be enjoying the reel. For my money, this reel allows me to try something normally only available on more expensive reels at a fraction of the cost. I think it's worth the money I paid for it.

I ordered 2 of the 5000 series for catfishing and I’ve never loved a reel more. Baitfeeders are nothing new for spinning reels but none are better executed. The clicker is loud enough to hear if you’re away from your pole. The reel is so smooth and it has no problem reeling in a heavy cat. The transition between bait feeder mode and reeling is seamless. If I may suggest a rod for this reel, the Ugly Stik Tiger Elite 7’ Heavy is excellent. Fav combos I’ve ever had.

I bought this baitfeeder reel for "bait and wait" kind of fishing. It looks really nice. Its instant anti-reverse function works fine. It lays down line on the spool evenly. The baitfeeder feature works fine. And the price is very very good. I initially bought a model 5000. I like it a lot that later on I bought a model 4000 and a model 6000 for my other fishing rods. There are three things that I want to point out: 1. We need to test the rear drag properly. The "tightness" of the rear drag is in the light side. And this is actually a good thing for "bait and wait" kind of fishing. The problem is that if I test the rear drag by using my hand to turn the spool, I cannot tell the difference between the lightest setting and the heaviest setting. My hand simply cannot tell the difference. Originally I thought the rear drag malfunctioned, and I sent it back to the seller for repair. When I got it back, I tried again and I still could not tell the difference. Finally I find that in order to tell the difference, I need to put line in the spool and test the rear drag by pulling line instead of using my hand to turn the spool. This is not a problem with the reel. This is just how the reel is designed. As mentioned above, the rear drag being light is actually a good thing. If someone prefers rear drag that is heavy, he may want to look into Okuma Avenger Baitfeeder 80 -- its rear drag is kind of tight, and I can tell the difference between lightest setting and heaviest setting using my hand to turn the spool. 2. All three model (4000/5000/6000) are almost exactly the same -- same size reel body, same reel handle, same size reel foot. The only difference is the spool and the bail. The consequence is that the small model 4000 actually looks too big, and the large model 6000 looks a bit small. Seem like only model 5000 looks exactly right. I don't particular concern about the "look". The only concern I have is the reel foot for model 6000 is a bit small. When I compare it with a Penn 6500 reel, the reel foot in this baitfeeder is like 1/4" shorter and a little bit narrower than Penn 6500 reel (the spool size is the same though). I have no problem mounting this baitfeeder reel on a heavy surf rod. Having said this if I want to mount it on a surf rod, I will get a surf rod that is narrower -- that will be a better combo than mounting it on a heavy surf rod. 3. I don't have a chance to use the reels for actual fishing yet. I bought the reels in preparation for next year fishing in early summer. Life it too busy for enjoying something simple. I have no idea how the reel will work in saltwater environment. Therefore, this review is kind of limited. Sorry about this. When I get some fishing experience with the reels, I will update the review.

Best Baitrunner reel. Smooth and weights good. Easy of use and cast pretty far. I enjoy using this reel..

Well, I rarely write reviews but today Im pawning off 5 stars to Kastking. Their direct-to-consumer model has mitigaes logistical expenses and makes quality reels affordable. After 2 years of abuse, and nbot mainting my fishing gear with fresh water, Im starting to experience problems as anticipated. But for 1/3 the cost of a baitrunner, Ill just buy 2 more- HA!

This was a gift for my fishing mad son, he is delighted with its smoothness, it's power, and robustness.

Preislich ist die Kastking natürlich super! Rolle rollt einwandfrei die Schnur ab und wieder auf. Die Bremse funktioniert einwandfrei. - Ich hatte noch nicht genug Zeit die Rollte ausgiebig zu testen, die bisherigen Angelausflüge hat sie aber mit Bravur bestanden und mir einen kleinen 3Kg Karpfen an Land gezaubert.

注文してすぐ届きました。北海道のサケルアー用に購入。 まずは課題から、説明書が付いてません。予備で入っていたワッシャーがどこの部品だかわかりません。とりあえず分解組み立て図があったので、スプールとドラグノブの間に入れました。リアドラグですがいまいちよく分からず、フロントのドラグノブを締めると、リアのドラグノブが効かなくなるので、フロントで調整してます。 リールとしての出来はいいと思います。 回転は滑らかです。各部骨太に作られてます。また、不用意にベールが返ったりしないので、キャスティング時のトラブルは少なく、使い易いリールです。 全体的にしっかり作ってあり、耐久性は高そう。ちょっと重いのが難点かも。替えスプールが付いてこの価格で、パフォーマンスはいいと思います。 使用開始後のインプレッション 特にトラブルはなく、十分機能を果たしています。ちょっと重量が重いことを除いて満足です。サケもこれで初めて上げました。

Excellent reel… I use this reel for salmon fishing and I’m into my 3rd season with no issues 👍🏻

Bought this as my Grauvell Zeus Z5000 started failing on me, I wanted a slightly smaller reel than the Zeus so I decided on this because off previous reviews. I was a bit worried about what the quality would be like because off the price but this kastking is as good as it better than any other reel I have bought, well designed and made, extremely smooth casting. Money well spent