Retrieve: Spro's Jason Christie Elite MG casting reel is targeted as your everyday, go-to reel. It's obvious, because this affordable magnesium framed casting reel is offered in four different retrieve ratios to cover a broad range of applications. Turning the handle on this reel reveals a very solid feeling machine. There's no plastic feeling hollowness you get from some magnesium and graphite framed reels.

Knobs are round and textured

Unfortunately, I find them a tad large for my delicate grip

If there is one area I did not like about this reel, however, it was the knobs. They're just a hair large for my preference. It probably doesn't help that they're round instead of flat either, but mostly the diameter doesn't agree with my apparently delicate grip. I do appreciate the texture on the knobs. It helps to reinforce a positive grip.

The handle is carbon fiber

That touch gives the reel a bit of an Enthusiast appeal

Power: I fished the 7.4:1 retrieve ratio Elite MG and experienced zero issues with regards to power. The reel's primary role in my testing arsenal was as a frogging reel pulling fish from thick weedbeds, so from my experience, it has good leverage and torque. This despite the main gear being made of aluminum though I suppose material speaks more to durability than actual power. Unfortunately, I don't have years on this reel, only months, so I can't speak to durability but it has lasted all Summer as a frogging and flipping reel on the California Delta.

A look inside reveals porting along the main shaft to save weight

The reel's main gear is an aluminum alloy

Drag: Inside the Elite MG's aluminum main gear likes a standard stack of metal and carbon matrix washers that deliver a rated maximum drag of twenty two pounds. I had zero issues with this drag system and for once, had it set as close to maximum as possible because that's what conditions on the California Delta call for when fishing the thick weeds. You need to be able to pull the fish out of cover quickly - or at least turn their heads towards open water, and that's difficult to accomplish if your drag isn't set close to max.

The drag stack is rated to 22lbs of max pressure

Design & Ergonomics: Spro's Jason Christie Elite MG reel comes in at a respectable six point three ounces (6.3oz). That's a little on the heavy side in today's world of magnesium framed reels, but certainly not cumbersome in any way, shape, or form. It is a comfortable reel to palm with a profile similar to or maybe a little smaller than say my Scorpion 151MGL. Line capacity is somewhere between a 100 and 150 size as well.

Both the drag star and cast control cap feature micro-click adjustability

The reel is outfitted with a nice, comfortable one hundred millimeter (100mm) handle made of carbon fiber for an enthusiast level touch, but the its overall, black/dark gray motif is definitely more stealth than flashy. In fact, the only bit of color on this reel are the coded knob caps and rotor which you can't see unless you remove the non-handle sideplate. Even SPRO's logo on the spool tension knob lacks the usual swipe of green.

The non-handle sideplate is secured via this switch on the underside of the reel

Country of origin - Korea

Price & Applications: The favorite aspect about this reel for most anglers will be its price. At $229.99 retail, this is among the most affordable magnesium framed reels on the market today (most affordable prize goes to Okuma's Hakai at $149.99). Of course, that's really the only way a second or third tier reel manufacturer is going to make any noise with a magnesium framed reel is to bring it in at a price that will thoroughly out compete something similar from a tier one.

At $229.99, for a magnesium framed reel, SPRO's Jason Christie Elite MG casting reel is a relatively low risk proposition

Conclusion: With more manufacturers diving into the casting reel market, decisions of which reels to try become a little daunting. Do you base your decision on price? features? reputation? If it's a new to the market manufacturer, reputation will be mostly hearsay as well as, to some extent, features. There's no way to prove something is worthwhile without stepping out on a limb and giving it a try. Experience, after all, is the best educator. So really, with new reels from manufacturers expanding into the reel category, it often comes down to price and whether or not that threshold of the reel you're eyeing is worth the risk.

SPRO's Jason Christie Elite MG casting reel is the manufacturer's latest example of affordable reel options that perform well

At $229.99, for a magnesium framed reel, SPRO's Jason Christie Elite MG casting reel isn't all that much of a risk. What my experience with the reel has taught me is that it's reliable, casts well, has good line capacity, a stout drag, and, for the most part, is comfortable to fish for extended periods of time. Believe me, I was working that SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65 hard this Summer and this reel did not let me down one bit. I'm a little tempted to pick up the 5.6:1 variant and pair it with my SPRO KGB B79H for some wakebait action. SPRO is making an effective push into the rod and reel market with affordable options that, so far, perform very well. Their Jason Christie Elite MG casting reel is the latest example.

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