Piscifun Torrent Baitcasting Reel Review: A Budget Reel Worth Learning On

The first cast with a baitcaster usually ends with a backlash. Mine did. It was a Tuesday morning in late June, flat water, no wind, and I was on the front deck of my 16-foot aluminum jon boat on Lake Norman with a 3/8-ounce Texas rig. I thumbed the spool, loaded the rod, and let it fly without feathering the last few feet. The lure stopped at the end of the cast. The spool kept going. Ten minutes later I had a bird's nest the size of my fist, a cut thumb, and a lot more respect for a magnetic brake. I had been fishing baitcasters for years. I had just gotten lazy with an old one that finally wore out.

That is why I bought the Piscifun Torrent this past summer. I did not want to spend much on a replacement. I wanted a reel that would cast a soft plastic, hold up to a bass or two, and not make me fight it every trip. I bought the 7.1:1 right-hand model and mounted it on a 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod I already owned, a rod older than the reel by a good ten years. Five months and a couple dozen trips later, I have a clear picture of what this reel is and what it is not. It is not a high-end reel. It is a fair reel for the money, and for the fishing I do, that is enough.

How I've Used It

I fish two or three mornings a week since I retired, mostly on Lake Norman, plus most Saturdays, and this reel has been on the rod I reach for when I am working soft plastics around docks and laydowns. I spooled it with 30-pound braid, which is one of the capacities the reel lists at 120 yards. A 3/8-ounce Texas rig and a 3/8-ounce spinnerbait are the two lures I throw most. I have also thrown a small swim jig and a chatterbait, and the reel handled both without complaint. The rod is a 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod, and the reel sits on it at 8 ounces, light enough that the combo does not tire my wrist by the time the sun is up.

The first two trips were rough, and not because the reel was defective. I had gotten lazy with my old one and had to retrain my thumb. I started with the magnetic brake set high and cast maybe twenty feet, then backed it off a click at a time from the bank behind my house before I ever took it to the water. That is the part people skip. They take a new baitcaster straight to the lake, wing it as hard as they can, and spend the morning picking at a tangle. I spent about forty minutes in the yard over two evenings, casting a practice plug at a bucket, before I felt like I knew the reel.

By the third trip I could cast a spinnerbait into a crosswind without picking at a backlash every other cast. By the end of July I was fishing it the way I fish a baitcaster, thumb on the spool, paying attention, and not thinking about the reel at all. That is the deal with any baitcaster. You get out of it what you put into it, and this one rewards about an hour of practice.

I rinse every reel with fresh water after a trip and put a drop of reel oil on the bearings once a month. That is the whole maintenance routine. The Torrent has not needed anything else. It has been in the boat, in the truck, on the garage rack next to the spinning rods, and it still casts the same as it did in July. I have not had to replace a part or send it back.

The Magnetic Brake and the Backlash Learning Curve

The Torrent has a magnetic brake, and that is the part you have to learn. It is not a set-it-and-forget-it system. Small changes matter. On a calm morning, like most of the mornings on Lake Norman before eight o'clock, I can run it looser and get a little more distance. Into the wind, or with a light lure, I tighten it up and give up some distance for control. That is normal for a baitcaster, but a beginner should hear it up front. If you are expecting to tie on a lure and cast as far as you can on the first try, you are going to be disappointed.

The mistake I see people make is blaming the reel for a backlash. A baitcaster does not fix a bad thumb. It just makes you pay for one. The brake helps, but your thumb is still the main control. I had one genuinely bad tangle in August, on a cast where I got careless and did not feather the spool, and it cost me about fifteen minutes with a pick and a pair of forceps. That was on me, not the reel. I straightened it out, respooled the last few yards, and kept fishing. If you are not willing to pick out a backlash now and then, buy a spinning reel.

Once I got the brake figured out, the reel was pleasant to cast. It is not the smoothest reel I have ever held. It is a budget reel, and it feels like one in the hand compared to a high-end casting reel I have borrowed from a friend. But it is smooth enough for soft plastics and spinnerbaits, and it has not cost me a fish. The reel has six bearings, and it is not gritty the way a cheap reel with bushings can get after a season. That is the difference I notice most.

What the 7.1:1 Ratio Feels Like on the Water

The 7.1:1 gear ratio picks up 30 inches of line per turn of the handle. That is a fast retrieve, and it matters when a bass takes a soft plastic near a dock and runs at the boat. I had that happen in September, a fish maybe two and a half pounds that ate a Texas rig six feet from the boat and came straight at me. With the fast ratio I caught up to it in two turns, kept the line tight, and did not give it slack to throw the hook. On an old slower reel I would have been cranking and hoping.

What it is not good for is deep crankbaits or slow-rolling a big Colorado blade. The Piscifun listing says the 5.3:1 model is the one for crankbaits and slower presentations, and I believe it. If that is your main fishing, buy that model. I bought the 7.1:1 because I throw soft plastics and spinnerbaits, and for that it is the right gear ratio. The right tool for the job is still the rule, even on a budget.

The reel weighs 8 ounces and measures 5.7 by 4.7 by 2.8 inches. On a 7-foot medium-heavy rod it balances well enough that I can cast it all morning without my wrist complaining. That is about all I ask from a reel that is not a tournament reel. It is light enough to hold all day and heavy enough that it does not feel like a toy in the hand.

Drag, Line Capacity, and the Details I Checked

The drag is rated at 18 pounds. That is more drag than I need for largemouth bass in Lake Norman, but it is nice to have when a fish gets into the pads along the bank. The drag has been smooth on the fish I have hooked, and I have not had it stick or slip. I set it by feel, pulling line off by hand, not by a scale. The listing calls it a carbon drag system, and whatever is in there has behaved well under load. I care about behavior, not the parts list.

Line capacity is listed as 10-pound mono at 120 yards and 30-pound braid at 120 yards. I use braid, and 120 yards is plenty for the fishing I do around docks and laydowns. If you fish heavy cover and need more line, you may want a larger reel, but I have not been spooled and I do not expect to be. I check the spool every few weeks and I have not lost meaningful line to a backlash.

Other details worth knowing: a three-year manufacturer warranty, which is longer than I expected at this end of the market. The reel is right-hand retrieve, which is what I have always fished. I have not had to use the warranty, so I cannot tell you how that process goes. I can tell you the reel has held up for five months of regular use, which is more than I can say for a couple of reels I have owned.

Five Months Later: Durability and Small Annoyances

Five months is not a lifetime, but it is long enough to know if a reel is going to rust or loosen up. The Piscifun Torrent has done neither. I rinse it, oil it once a month, and keep it on the garage rack with the other rods. The brake still adjusts, the drag still works, and the reel still casts. That is a low bar, but plenty of budget reels fail to clear it. I have owned reels that were smooth in June and gritty by September. This one is not that.

The annoyances are small but real. The brake setting is sensitive, so if you bump it against a tackle box in the boat you may need to reset it, and I have done that twice. The reel is not as smooth as a high-end baitcaster, and you can feel the difference when you turn the handle under a load. And it will still backlash if you get careless. None of those are deal breakers at this end of the market. I would rather tell you about them than have you find out on the water.

A baitcaster does not fix a bad thumb. It just makes you pay for one.

Who This Is For

This reel is for the angler who wants to learn a baitcaster without spending much, or for someone like me who wants a second baitcaster for soft plastics and spinnerbaits and does not need a tournament reel. It suits a 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod, and it is a good fit for bass around docks, laydowns, and grass edges, whether you are fishing from a jon boat, the bank, or a friend's dock.

It is not a good fit for a child who is still learning, unless you are willing to sit with them and pick out backlashes. My grandson Tyler is ten, and he is not touching this reel until he has more time on a spincast. He has his own rod for the neighborhood pond, and that is where he should stay for now. A baitcaster takes patience, and ten-year-olds have plenty of energy but not always plenty of patience.

Who Should Skip It

Skip it if you want a reel you can set once and forget. A baitcaster requires attention, and this one is no exception. Skip it if you mostly throw deep crankbaits, because the 5.3:1 model is the better choice for that. Skip it if you are looking for the smoothness of a high-end reel. This is a budget reel and it feels like one. Skip it if you are not willing to practice in the yard before you take it to the lake.

I only fish freshwater, so I cannot tell you how it would hold up in saltwater. I rinse it after every trip and oil it once a month, and that has been enough for the water I fish. If you fish saltwater, rinse it more often and keep up with the oil.