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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | <p>Now that they have been out for awhile, I was wondering what people thought of the TICA line of reels on the market right now. I see there are several models consisting of different ball bearing numbrs(6, 12, etc). does anyone have any positive/negative feedback on these units? I'd like info from people who really pounded on them for a long period of the season if possible. The recomendations here will go a long way in determining my next reel purchase. I wanted to get some info. on these before I bit the bullet on another TE this winter. Thanks in advance!!</p><p /><p>Jason D. Schillinger</p>
Edited by Reef Hawg 12/4/2004 8:06 PM
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Posts: 686
Location: Tomahawk, Wisconsin | Hey Jason the difference between the TE and the regular 400 Calcutta is minimal as far as guts of the reel goes, save your money and get 2 regulars!!!! If you think that there is a 200 dollar difference between the internal components, guess again.:) Dave |
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| the buddy i fish with most often bought a Tica Caiman this spring on a promotional deal.
the first fish he caught (a tail-hooked carp) stripped the gears out.
to their credit, Tica replaced the reel quickly and without question.
the replacement reel has started screaming on every cast.
he's taken to calling it "Tic-of-crap" and only using it for a sucker rod.
i just smile and point at my easy-to-work on Abu 6500s or my problem-free Calcutta.
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Posts: 138
| I picked up the Tica Caiman 6 ball bearing reel a couple of months ago and used it everytime I went out with no problems other than it started to scream I put a little hot sauce on the worm gear and all was fine in fact it seemed to be smoother.
I like them more than the Abu's in fact I plan on replacing all my Abu's with Ticas but I will go with the 12 ball bearing models.
Jeff
Edited by jyoung 12/5/2004 8:31 PM
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | The Tica Caiman CM 200's are great reels. I have used them since June and have had ZERO problems with them. Super smooth, great drag system and easy thumb bar. I am harder on reels than anyone and have not blown one out yet. I am on the water a TON and only throw jerks, gliders, dawgs, ect....
Just like most reels, you need to lube them once every other week or so, and they are fine. No problems on my end. The Pices are more of the lower end reels and would recommend the Caiman CM 200's.
These reels are great reels and if I haven't blown one out yet, they have to be good.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about Tica and their product. |
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| I don't know anything about TICA reels, but will make a comment here anyways.
I see a lot of people talking about ball bearing in this post.....so here goes.
The number of bearings means NOTHING. If there are 20 JUNK ball bearings in a reel, it's still a cheap piece of junk.
There are reels that cost $1000's.....and have 3-4 bearings. It's the quailty of the bearings and gears, not the quantity.
Just thought you all want to know.....because reel manufactures want the consumer to jump on the "our reel has more ball bearings" band wagon.
Steve Hulbert |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | <p>Thanks a ton guys. I have been less than satisfied with my ABU's the past two seasons, having blown up my 4 UC's twice this season. seems I am constantly sending in a reel, and opening up a box with a fixed one. garcias service is second to none, but I wonder why my reels do not last the way they used to. Fishing 30-40 hours per week, I require something that is dependable each day. I do take care of my reels, and feel I should be able to get a full season out of them as I had in the past. That surprises me that the regular 400 has the same guts as the TE. I never had a regular that lasted like my TE has, but maybe I just got lucky. At any rate, I don't really care about the ball bearing thing either, just noticed some of the Ticas were more expensive with more bearings. I just assumed the rest of the reel was higher end as well on the higher dollar jobs.</p><p /><p>Couple more questions, any difference in the different color TICA reels? I see some black, some gold in a few different models. Has the screaming issue been addressed with TICA? I had a couple shimano Curados(great reel) that did that after a while and it was annoying, and really shortened up my cast distance. Lubrication did not fix the problem either, and I was told to quit using musky lures on a bass reel, as I was bending the spool shaft which eventually threw the bearings out. Could this be what is happening on the screamers? </p> |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Hey Reef Hawg,
Go to your Control Panel, and select no in the use rich edit box, all that extra stuiff in your posts will disappear in the future! |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I think that is better. Thanks. |
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| I have the 12 ball bearing model..bought it in May on a promotional deal..had it since opener..fish about 4 days a week,,absoulutly the "best" reel ive ever used,,Ive used this thing and beat up on it so much this year that the finnish on the top of the reel is worn off from holding and palming it...its never skipped a beat once and landed my personel best fish on it |
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Posts: 425
Location: Elkhart, IN | I'd definately second what Steve said, quality far overrules number of bearings.
What model of Abu's did you have going bad? |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | my UC's. Not a really big deal, as ABU's customer support is awesome and get em' fixed for me right away. Just notice them not lasting quite as long as before. I won't quit using them though, just looking for another reel so I don't have to scramble for spares when one goes down. I'm gonna go with the TICA!! |
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Posts: 827
Location: Minneapolis,Minnesota | RH,
I've got two lightly used Tica's on the board right now. They are the large size Caiman 400 12 BB models. After using Jonesi's Calcutta TE's last weekend I'm going with two of those next year. |
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| PK, you should just cast better.
Reeling in you've got down cold, but casting...   |
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| what's the difference (functionally) between a Calcutta 400 and a Calc. 400 TE ??? |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Lambeau, I couldn't tell you in part numbers what is different, just how they feel. I know the drag in my te is the smoothest I've ever felt, way more so than the standard 400. I know the instant anti reverse has not failed as it did so many times on my 400. The bigger handle, gives me more leverage, and the deeper narrower spool design makes the reel easier to palm. The line guide also seems beefed up and should last longer. worth the extra money? I don't think any reel is worth 350 bones, and I got mine through trading in my 400 and a couple new corsairs in addition to 40 bucks out of pocket. i won't buy one outright as I feel they are way overpriced. That said, it is the nicest reel I've used, and one that has taken cosiderable abuse this season and does not seem to need maintenance as most off my other reels do. I'm gonna try the TICA though and see how it goes! |
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TICA reels