Shimano Calcutta

[tjsker]

I'm thinking about buying a Shimano Calcutta 250 baitcasting reel. Has anyone used this reel? What do you think of it? Do you prefer another reel? BTW - I plan on using it for northerns, and white bass down here in Nebraska and Kansas.

[red bricks]

I have owned shimano reels for 15 years and after every time I buy one I swear that I will never buy one again. I have finally become so frustrated with #@*#mano!! I have only owned their spinning reels. On all of my reels on the bail the line gets caught just before it gets to the roller. That part is made of plastic. Then the line forms a groove in the plastic and frays all the line. Brutal!!! They now are making the bail with metal instead of plastic which solves that problem. I tried to get @#*#mano to replace the part on reels and they said "gladly for 15$" Someone told me that my reels were the cheap kind of Shimano. I paid 60 bucks and I don't think that is too cheap. The reels are totaly unusable now. Another ploblem I have had with Shimano spinning reels is that the line somehow gets caught under the spool and wraps up inside there. You don't notice it until it binds up the whole reel. Now the line is totaly screwed. I got my cabelas catalog the other day and saw a Shimano reel for $459 I couldn't believe it.
Does any one know of a great reel that is problem free?? I think I would spend up to $175 to eliminate my frustrations. (no shimanos please)
I feel better now that I was able to vent.
For your baitcaster get an Ambassaduer 5600 made by ABU Garcia. I have owned them for years and they never dissapoint. Great for all types of fishing.

[Guest]

I've owned and used Shimano for over 15 years. I will say the higher end reels are much better. You get what you pay for. I have three Calcuttas and have never had a problem. They are a really smooth reel. Good Luck.

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[uffdapete]

Red Bricks - Thanks for the recommendation on the baitcaster. That'll be on my shopping list. I've got a Shimano Corsair that's been a good reel so far.

I've owned Shimano, Penn, Silstar, Quantam/Zebco, Diawa, Garcia/Mitchell and Fin-Nor spinning reels over the last 30 years. The Fin-Nor is a cut way above any of them, except maybe the Diawa SS Tournament. Among several reel repair folks I know, the Diawa SS is one reel they rarely see due to malfunction or even wear. But the Fin-Nor is still a smoother, better casting reel and several guides who use them will use nothing else. I'm talking about the Fin-Nors that run above $100 - they've entered the $30-40 dollar market now too and I don't have any experience with them, but would guess they had to sacrifice a lot to market a reel for that.

[smallies24]

The calcuttas are good, but Abu Garcia has a better model of baitcaster in the same price range. It's the Morum. I like it because more of the interior parts are metal. The calcutta has a lot of graphite or plastic. They're a little harder to find than calcuttas, but their worth looking around for. I like most of shimano's spinnning reels, but I've had a few problems with their baitcasters. You can't beat Abu garcia baitcasters, for the money.

[NotoriousBLM]

Have to agree with the "crowd" on the Abu Garcia bait casters. You might want to check out the 5500 Tournament for northerns and white bass.