October 30, 2024
By Shane Beilue
The Lew’s Custom Pro Series has been a popular baitcaster among anglers for years, but the new “Gen 3” Custom Pro is their best yet. As a Lew’s pro staffer mentioned to me in their booth at this summer’s ICAST trade show, we’ll see a lot of these reels on the various professional circuits in 2025.
The centerpiece of the reel is the ParaMag ITB (Inertia Transfer Brake), a unique technology that Lew’s hails as offering longer casting distances while reducing the fear of a backlash. The ParaMag ITB is a fully magnetic frictionless brake, meaning no brake shoes or electronics are employed to regulate spool speed during the cast.
After putting the new Custom Pro to the test over the past several weeks, I can state without reservation that the ParaMag ITB does its job extremely well. It’s one of the most hassle-free casting experiences I’ve had with a baitcaster, even when casting into a stiff breeze. Casts with an assortment of lures had impressive distances, and the reel required minimal, if any, thumb pressure during the cast.
As mentioned, the mechanics of the ParaMag ITB are unique. Within the side plate of the reel are a series of radially aligned magnets that deploy according to spool speed and work to control spool speed without coming into physical contact with any part of the reel. Additionally, there is a small gold disc on the palm side of the spool that is inertia-driven to extend slightly toward the magnets during the cast. While I have a limited understanding of exactly how the disc and the magnets interact to control the cast, the result is an incredibly simple and enjoyable casting experience. (For further detail on the mechanics of the ParaMag ITB, check out this “Beilue’s Best” video from ICAST 2024.)
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The new Custom Pro has a distinctive bronze finish that pops as you unbox the reel. Taking the reel in hand, the incredibly light 5.6-ounce frame is on par with some of the lightest Bait Finesse baitcasters on the market, yet the new Custom Pro shouldn’t be classified as a “finesse” reel. Instead, it’s a very powerful reel in a compact package.
The reel holds 90 yards of 12-pound fluorocarbon and boasts a powerful 95mm cranking handle. A strong 20-pound drag proved its mettle when I foul-hooked a 15-pound gar over the summer, which indicates the reel can handle gamefish of any size. The Gen 3 Custom Pro is offered in three retrieve ratios—6:1, 7:1 and 8:1—enabling it to handle any technique you want to throw at it, from tossing crankbaits, working a jerkbait or flipping a jig.
Lew’s has also included small but important features such as a line reminder on the cap of the spool tension knob, as well as a “Speed Knot” slot in the spool, allowing quick and easy spooling of line onto the reel.
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The MSRP of the latest Custom Pro is $279.99, which is in no way unreasonable for a reel of this caliber. The release date for the Custom Pro Gen 3 is slated for November 2024, and I predict this reel will be waiting under many a Christmas tree this holiday season.
