Kastking Sharky 3 Review : The good and the Bad

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Introduction

The old saying is true, third times the charm. This article is an in depth and complete Kastking Sharky 3 review, and for good reason. The Kastking Sharky 3 has gone through a few revisions, and this is their 3^rd model of it.

The Kastking Sharky 3 came out in 2018 and the goal of Kastking was to improve heavily on the prior two models.

This reel is a great reel that won’t break the bank and is light enough, strong enough, and overall performs very well on both the river and the lake.

This is one of my absolute favorite reels, and one that I have come to love over the past few years.

It is hard to beat a reel that has great features and is a great price.

This article will walk you through the things to consider about the Sharky 3 and then will go into detail about general things to look at when buying a reel.

If at any point you feel confident in your knowledge about the Sharky 3, then click one of the buttons and head on over to Amazon and get it sent to your house.

Lets get to it.

Summary Table

Kastking Sharky 3 Review: The components

Drag

Drag is an increbily important aspect to consider when it comes to fishing reels.

The Kastking Sharky 3 has multiple different sizes of reels, and such has some different drag settings.

Drag is the pressure or pull being put on the fish when you aren’t reeling in the line.

This is important because it will allow the fish to pull the line out, but not just be able to pull the line freely.

The drag will pull back on the fish and wear it out, while you get some rest from reeling.

The Kastking Sharky 3 has 2 different max drags available.

In the lower 3 weight sizes it has a 33 lb max drag, and in the upper two weight sizes it has a 39.5lb max drag.

Meaning that the fish will either experience 33 lb or 39.5 lb of back pressure when it pulls out your line while you aren’t actively reeling.

Weight

Overall the weight of the Kastking Sharky 3 is relatively light.

It weighs between 7.4 and 10.6 oz depending on the model that you get.

We will discuss why it is so important to consider weight below, but quickly, it is because you don’t want to be casting and reeling a heavy thing all day right? That would wear your arm out.

Compared to similar reels, the Kastking Sharky 3 comes in at an average weight.

K.I.S.S

This stands for “Kastking Intrusion Shield System”, this is a unique protection system for the reel that keeps the spool, body, and rotor free from water damage and excessive amounts of dirt getting into the internal reel components.

This is a unique aspect of this reel, that is only seen with the Kastking line up of reels.

Having this protection is sure to increase the longevity of the reel for sure.

Construction Material

The frame of the Kastking Sharky 3 is made of graphite.

Graphite is a very common and popular option when it comes to fishing reels, simply because it is strong, durable, but doesn’t add a lot of weight to the reel in general.

Spool

The spool of the Kastking Sharky 3 is braid line ready and has a unique design to it to help prevent slipping of the line.

Having a braid line ready spool makes your life easier, because then you don’t have to attach monofilament line to the braided line and that helps avoid the swelling that comes with monofilament line.

Bearings

When it comes to bearings, I think we all are familiar with the adage of more is better.

Typically, more bearings will make the operation smoother.

The Kastking Sharky 3 has 10 ball bearings in it, and then 1 roller bearing.

Gear Ratio

When it comes to gear ratio, it is typically reported like this 5.2:1.

This means that for every 1 turn of the reel handle the gears inside will turn 5.2 times.

All of the Kastking Sharky 3 sizes have a gear ratio of 5.2:1, which makes the line retrieval rate fairly good.

Anything near 5.0:1 is a good option for the gear ratio.

Grips

The grips on the Kastking Sharky 3 are made of EVA material. This means they are comfortable and durable.

Retrieve

This can be interpreted as both the line retrieve rate as well  as left vs right handed retrieve.

The Kastking Sharky 3 has the ability to be both left and right retrieval, and it has a rating of 27.8-33.8 inches per turn on the handle.

This means that there will be between 27.8-33.8 inches of line that is reeled in per turn of the handle.

The range is based on the sizing of the reel. The smaller reels have a lower line retrieval rating, and the larger reels have the upper end of the range.

Kastking Sharky 3 Review: What the People are saying on Amazon

“I was very surprised at the quality of this spinning real. I have compared it to my name brand, more expensive reels, and wished I would have known about this brand when I was paying three times for the same quality of gear”

“Smoothest Spinning reel I have owned at any price”

“Don’t buy the expensive reels anymore!”

“One of the smoothest reels with the greatest value”

Reel Buying Guide

Gear Ratio

Gear ratios are read like this: 6.0:1, meaning for every 1 turn of the handle the spool will turn 6.0 times.

When it comes to gear ratios there are slow, medium, and fast ratios.

The slow gear ratio is typically below 6.0:1: These ratios are usually used for those fishing deep diving crankbaits, slow rolled spinner baits, and big swim baits.

The medium gear ratio is typically between 6.1:1 to around 7.0:1: This range is the sweet spot for bass anglers.

The fast ratio is typically above 7.1:1: These faster ones are useful for fishing in areas where the bait needs to be moved quickly and precisely through areas of cover.

Bearings

Typically the more the better, but this isn’t always true.

If you compare a $50 reel to a $500 reel sometimes it is better to have 5 bearings in a $500 reel than it would be to have 10 bearings in the $50 reel.

The majority of reels will have both ball bearings and roller bearings. Both bearings are important to the overall function, and the more reels you look at you will begin to see that reels usually only have 1 or 2 roller bearings, while it is the ball bearings that differ in count.

Drag

The drag in a reel is simply the amount of resistance that the fish has to fight against when you aren’t reeling it in.

When it comes to reels, usually the smaller reels have a lower drag and the larger reels have a higher drag, as is the case with the Kastking Sharky 3.

Construction Material

Most fishing reels are made out of graphite. This is important because graphite is super lightweight and it is also strong.

The tough thing about graphite is that under a lot of pressure it can twist and warp. So, like the Kastking lineup of reels many reels have stainless steel components on the inside, and the spool is typically aluminum, this helps avoid any warping or twisting that can happen from the pressure of fighting the bigger more aggressive fish.

Sealed system

Having all those nice bearings and gears inside a fishing reel doesn’t mean much if water and dirt get into the gears, bearings, and shaft easily.

That can lead to the inner parts of the reel breaking down a lot quicker then they would otherwise, and lead to you having to buy a reel sooner than you have to (instead of just sooner than you need to).

The Kastking Sharky 3 has a very unique aspect of sealing to it. It has a completely sealed system that protects the spool, gears, and rotor.

This is called the Kastking Intrusion Shield system, or the K.I.S.S. which keeps the internal components completely sealed and protected.

Weight

Weight is so important to consider when it comes to purchasing a new reel, and that is why it has been mentioned a few times in this review of the Kastking Sharky3.

Having a reel that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10oz or less is ideal. This is important because it allows you to be out on the water for longer without wearing your casting arm out.

Another important thing to consider with regards to weight is exactly how it feels with the rod that you plan on putting the reel on.

If it is so heavy that it causes the set up to tilt back then that is going to lead to a lot of stress and strain on your arms and shoulders throughout the day while casting.

If it is too light, then it is possible that the tip of the rod will be pulling forward and that will also lead to wearing out your shoulder and arm quicker then desired.

Ultimately, you want the rod and reel to be balanced as best as they can be.

Other FAQ’s

Are Kastking Reels any good?

When it comes to the quality of Kastking Reels, they are among the highest in quality for the price point.

There are different categories of reels when it comes to price point, just like there are different categories when it comes ot price point based on almost all thigns we can purchase.

The lower price point reels are usually deemed to be of “lower quality”, but that is absolutely not the case with Kastking reels, and definitely not the case with the Kastking Sharky 3 reel.

These reels are high quality reels, that are priced affordibally.

Where are Kastking Reels Made?

Kastking reels are manufactured in the USA.

It is crazy how this company can produce such affordable reels while manufacturing in the USA, but because of that fact I am a Kastking purchaser for life.

These high quality, low price reels are made right here and they support our citizens and help our economy right here at home.

Kastking Sharky 3 Line Capacity?

This varies based on if it is braided or monofilament line and also on the size of the reel.

Kastking Sharky 3 4000 vs 5000?

The difference between these two reel isn’t that much.

The main areas of difference are

•  that the 4000 is about 0.4 oz lighter
• The 5000 has about 2 extra inches of retrieval per handle turn
• The 5000 has a slightly heavier line test rating than the 4000 does

Conclusion

When it comes to finding a high quality reel at a good price, you should give the Kastking Sharky 3 a chance.

The purpose of this Kastking sharky 3 review was to really do the reel justice. The material out there just didn’t go into enough detail when it came to the Kastking Sharky 3, and that is what I wanted to do with this article.

I really hope this article has been beneficial and helpful to you in your decision to buy the Kastking Sharky 3 or not.

I honestly think you can’t go wrong with this reel, it is so smooth and nice in its operation, and for the price point, you really can’t beat it.

Check it out on Amazon by clicking the button below

Good luck out there

Sean