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Posts: 516
| Hey All,
I own 4 Calcutta TE's and it always seems one is in the shop. I am not a guide and probably only fish 40-75 days and "days" qualified as normally for a 3-5 hours.
While I love the TE's smoothness, I have not loved the breakdowns.
I know all reels require maintenance, yada yada yada, but are there some reels out there that others have found to be more reliable than others?
I also know that there are some new reels on the market such as:
from Shimano:
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Calcutta TE Conquest
Calcutta TE 400 LJV Lucanus
New Curado
from Daiwa:
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Pluton
Black Sheep
from Abu:
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Toro
I will also further qualify my search in saying that for Double 10's and burning large bucktails, it's been made very clear that something like a Trinidad or similar reel would be best so while comments specific to those needs are also welcomed, I am basically looking for reels which will cast the basic musky cranks & bucktails or the basic musky gliders.
Lastly, while I have read some of the other posts regarding reels, I did not find one specific to high-end reels combined with reliability and since there are new reels coming out, I decided to post this topic.
Thanks
Edited by tmag 1/27/2009 2:12 AM
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | I think all those reels mentioned are great options. The only reels that have given me no troubles so far have been Daiwa Millionaires. I did change the drag washers to carbontex though. My Curado 300DSV has been great so far, but its only been 2 seasons. My next muskie reel will be a Toro 50. I have been using the Revo series for bass fishing and love them. |
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Posts: 516
| How much was the carbontex change?
Please post after you try the Toro  |
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Posts: 24
Location: Skellefteå , sweden | The IAR roller bearing seems to be a weak link in all reels strange that no one can make one that holds up.
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | My Abu is great and no problems form any of them yet but I do like my TE.
I will be curious to see how well the new Red Isis works after they get done with the overhaul. I wish Shimano would change to some more durable parts in the TE. It is a hard balance between durability and weight though. They need to get some of that SR-71 scrap metal and make some fishing reels! |
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| All reels break, no matter if they cost $100 or $400.
Daiwa Millionaire's were one of the first to break on me. Anti-Reverse out in one day. Daiwa Luna, same problem. Garcia's drag and anti-reverse is out in 1-3 days of hard fishing.
I have been through about every reels out there, and the Calcutta 400 TE last me the longest. I usually can get a good 30-40 days out of a TE before it needs some fixing.
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | The carbontex washers are around $10 I believe. Go to smoothdrag.com My millionaires are 8 years old now and smooth as they were on day 1. I only fished 6 days last year, but in the past I had fished 30-40 days a year. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | I've been running TE's for 4 years now and have never had one "break" as in it stopped working. I've sent them back 1 time for maintenance, but that's not bad IMOP. I've had a Luna and have had the same experience.
Abu 6500's on the other hand were a different story. I had 2 sets of reels because one whole set was usually in the shop or in some state of disrepair.
Note, I don't use any of these for D10's. That's a special bait that needs a special reel.
At the end of the day they all break, but I've found that my TE's last 5-10x longer then Abu's. |
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| I have 3 400 TEs and a 700 and I Find that if you keep the gunk out of the pawl area. relube frequently and don't engage the reel til the bait is in the water, they go forever. My 400s are probably 8 years old now and in that time I have replaced parts on only one of them (comped by Shimano). I tear all of my reels down, lube and check for damage every winter. The TEs are not too easy to pull apart and reassemble the first time out. I fish 3-4 days per week from season open to close and rarely if ever have a te out of service. If you want a tank to abuse though, the Abu 7000 Big Game can really take abuse and a trained chimp can fix it in the dark if you have a problem. |
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Posts: 366
| They need to get some of that SR-71 scrap metal and make some fishing reels! ;)
Now that's funny. Nothing is cooler than the SR-71s. A little Blackbird trivia: What did they used to use to start the SR-71 J58-P4 jet engines?
A pair of twin 455 c.u. Buick Wildcat Big Blocks.
And that scrap metal would be mostly titanium if I remember right.
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Posts: 375
| i totally agree with muskmelon, my luna 300's are going on 5 years young now with absolutely no problems whatsoever...lube frequently, keep pawl clean and don't engage prematurely...maybe the unknown key is that any reel put together in the factory on a monday or a friday is doomed  |
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| I have broken nearly every reel I have tried. I have broke every TE and Big game I have owned. I still use the Big Game because I can get it in a lefty.
The most durable I have found is the Shimano Tekota. I have yet to break one. I have been gradually switching most of my reels to the Tekota.
I broke a TE within 4 hours once. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | I'm not trying to be a smart ass but if you break a 400TE in 4 hours, I think you should take a look at how you are casting, and what oz bait. |
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| Pikemaster, I must have gotten a lemon of a TE..as I don't backlash...or rarely, and I don't engage the spool before I stop it with my thumb or lure hits the water, and my new TE broke after 2 days of using it ....and I wasn't throwing pounders or anything heavy in those 2 days...
for the money, the best reel that I have owned for durability has been the Trinidad 16N...threw it a ton last season and it never once had an issue. but i only used that reel for d10s during the day.
Penn 975's have held up fairly well but now that the parts are made in China they have gone down hill imo
if you can find them, imo, the old Morrum 6600s were well worth the money as I still have 4 or 5 that hold up VERY well to the abuse i put them thru.
as has been said in countless threads, they all break, and imo there is no reel that is going to last the abuse we put them thru for a season.
that's why it's best to carry spares...lots of them. |
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Posts: 921
Location: Apollo, PA | guest,
what left handed model of the tekota do you use?
Thanks
been looking for leftie options other than 7001 |
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| They do not make Tekota's in lefties. I use the 7001 for that.
I love the power handles on the Tekota.
I am quite hard on equipment and the TE's just didn't hold up for me. I have yet to break a Tekota.
In reguards to the 7001, I had one last year that nearly made the whole season. When comparing the 7001 with another one that didn't seem as durable I noticed that my good one was very tight. My bad one had a lot of play on the gears even when new. From now on I will be checking them over carefully when I buy them.
While I do not own one I have heard the Penn's are good also. |
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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | How long guys get out of their reels has alot to do with how they fish. Those guys that like to slack-line pop 10" Jakes are going to go through reels faster. I'm not sure it matters how much you pay, reels will fail faster when harder loads are exerted upon them.
My advice is to buy a nice, smooth reel like a Luna and use THAT reel for casting bucktails and topwaters. Then, if you are an aggressive ripper and popper, purchase a more disposable reel for those applications b/c ANY reel will fail when these put under extreme load factors. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | I started paying more attention to how I was working baits to see why my reels were breaking on me.One thing I realized is when ripping,twitching baits to use the rod and not have your hand on the reel handle so you don`t turn the reel while ripping/twitching the bait.I think that puts alot of uneeded pressure on the reel,all reels break but somethings will make them break faster and thats what I`m trying to avoid. |
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Posts: 135
| If you are a ripper and twitcher like me, you're going to get alot more mileage out of any reel if you get in the habit of thumbing the spool when you rip. By doing so, you minimize the pressure and "slam" that you're subjecting the Anti-reverse to. No reel can put up with this for very long, even a $350 TE. This goes for 5" Cranes, Super D's, Big cranks, whatever. Once I got in the habit, and it only took a couple of hours with a 10" Jake, I haven't had to replace an AR bearing since. I do still carry extras for my Lunas and my Records, because they will still wear out and fail eventually, but mine held up all last year, and I replaced them in all reels over this winter. |
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Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana | i have 7 calcutta's 400b's and they still crank and work verry well for me. even with the 10's all you have to remember is aim the rod at the lure and not to the side and it puts less stress on the reel and you. i have clients that have ben amazed on how easier it is to throw those baits when doing it the right way.. i also have a ton of extra reels that get used some of the time. and they are ok. i had alot of abu's go bad but i can say that abu(pure fishing ) have fixed them and resent them back at no charge many times. heck i have 4 pete maina reels that 2 have finally conked out after years of abuse.. all i can say is i dont care how much you spend on a reel they will all have problems but just make sure that its from a good company that will stand behind their product. and with the way that the economy is going you wont see that too much longer, not without you paying for parts or the labor for their costs.. as for guides most company's wont even give us work for free, we all usually have to pay. but make sure you keep them clean and lubed up and work certain baits the right way and most of them will last a long time....bill |
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New High-End Reels and Durability?