A lot of people want to know if this affordable bass fishing reel is for real.
Good Gears and Still Lightweight
The Piscifun Phantom is the top model baitcasting reel in their Phantom and Phantom X bass fishing reel lineups. It weighs a remarkable 5.7 ounces with a carbon composite frame and body, hollowed out aluminum spool and carbon fiber handle.
It features hard anodized aluminum gears, 17-pounds of carbon drag system, both a 6-pin centrifugal brake and a 10 setting magnetic brake and 7 ball bearings.
Wiffled spool and smooth thumb bar operation
The Piscifun Phantom reel may be carbon but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how smooth it operates. It offers long smooth casts, a sturdy thumb bar and a very smooth retrieve.
Tight operation and smooth casting
Honestly I expected it to be sloppy and noisy at this price considering many composite reels behave that way. That has not been the case, however, for me with the Phantom. I have been very pleased with performance while roll casting around shallow cover as well as throwing heavier baits in deeper water.
I’ve been using the Piscifun Phantom since February. I’ve caught fish on 3/4-ounce paddle tail swimbaits, 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits, 3/8 ounce jigs and recently skipping weightless Senkos around with it without issue.
The reel has done well thus far with everything I have tried.
Dual Braking System
I noticed while reading some of the more than 200 comments on Amazon.com about the Piscifun Phantom that a handful of people had issues getting the reel dialed in. I was fortunate to not have any of those issues, but I’m a thumb guy and don’t use a ton of braking. And it appears most did not realize this reel has a dual braking system.
There are two braking systems, one inside and one on the outside, again a fairly impressive thing for a $69 reel. I set the inner centrifugal brake to 1 and then adjust my magnet brake to the wind, usually keeping it around 2.
Inner Brake System
But I think reels that offer these dual braking systems allow you to get them setup perfectly to how you cast. How I cast is probably a lot different than how the next guy casts, so each person can tweak it to their exact liking this way. Even changing what you are fishing with the reel can require a brake change.
My general rule is to set the inner centrifugal brake to the weight of the lure and set the outer brake to the amount of wind that will slow up the cast.
Phantom is Base Reel in Lineup
The Piscifun Phantom and Phantom X lineup of bass fishing baitcasters offers four reels. The Phantom, with the lime green accents, is the top model in the lineups. It’s a 7:1 gear-ratio reel with 17 pounds of drag, 2 braking systems and a big 105mm handle for $69.
Been a good reel for the money
I’m very happy with Piscifun Phantom. I’ve used it for about 3 months now, and the matte black finish shows just a tad bit of wear. But it has been on my deck and in my rod locker every trip this year. I’ve even taken it bank fishing a time or two already. So for that amount of use, I’m happy with how solid it still feels and how good it still looks and performs.
With these newer smaller reel companies popping up lately, it’s been a hit or miss for anglers getting good reels at a discounted price point. I was happy with my experiences with this budget baitcaster, and 200 of the 230 reviews on Amazon.com showed others had a similar experience.
Seems like the few who had a bad experience dealt with quality control issues with loose screws or nuts or a lack of understanding on the two braking systems. There is not much documentation included with the reel, so hopefully this review will help others have as good experience with the reel as I have had thus far.
You can find the reel at Amazon.com, the Piscifun website and a few other online retailers now.
