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Posts: 66
Location: North Central, Indiana | I have 1 of these reels and if i put a magnum bulldawg or even a smaller lure on the line with the cast control knob tightened down as far as it will go the lure still goes down when you press the thumb bar. Does anyone else have this reel and have the same problem' I emailed Shimano and they said musky baits are big and heavy, hence it will be difficult to tighten the cast control cap enough to make the lures to slow down. My other reels do the job. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem.
Thanks
Dennis |
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Posts: 37
Location: Freedom, WI | I have the same problem with my Cardiff and magnum bulldogs, but not on smaller lures. Usually I just thumb the spool harder with the magnum bulldogs then. |
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Posts: 337
Location: Watersmeet, Michigan | I had the same reel and tried travesty's solution for a while. Big pain.
Then I found a better solution: buy a Calcutta.
Fr. K
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Posts: 483
Location: NE PA | what is your concern with the lure still going down? as long as you have some tension on the spool and can thumb the spool you shouldnt see too many backlashes. |
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | yea, one of my cardiffs can tighten down, the other one cant. pretty easy reel to wear out, but there is really no reason to need to tighten the cast control nob that far down, consider putting more breaks on if you are getting backlashes with those big lures, just focus on really getting a good, round lob of a cast in.
the best solution is unfortunately retire the Cardiff for other purposes, like a spare reel for an idiot friend who you don't trust with any of your better reels. |
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Posts: 37
Location: Freedom, WI | bigfoot - 5/29/2014 12:50 PM
pretty easy reel to wear out
I would hope it isn't worn out considering I haven't even used it a full season. It was like this when I bought it. I'm on the water now and it seems like even on the regular sized lures it only slows them down. Only on small bucktails and really small lures can it completely stop them from going down, everything else it can only slow them down. |
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Posts: 66
Location: North Central, Indiana | Mine wont even hold a dcg. Are these reels really this bad. |
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| Keep in mind that a 400 Cardiff retails right around $120. It is a solid entry-level reel but naturally has limited capabilities. They aren't designed to handle the abuse put out from large rubber or big blades and consequently shouldn't be used in these applications. The reel will shine for smaller lures in the 1 - 4 oz. range. Attempting to throw Mag Dawgs or 10s will ultimately make these reels wear quickly.
I personally put four seasons on mine and my father used another for three. In this time 6- to 8-inch (2 - 4 oz.) gliders, dive/rise jerkbaits, and topwaters held majority of the duty. Each reel performed well with no problems in this time. |
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Posts: 127
| Honestly, I wouldn't run any musky reel with the cast control knob down that far! I wouldn't even think of setting my cast control knob that tight on a Tranx or Calcutta!
Cardiff's will handle plastic and blades just fine - are they the right tool for ripping and burning? No. But they will get the job done for anything else. Just don't abuse the reel.
Simply use your thumb and set your spool brakes. Spool brakes assist in preventing overruns during the cast while the cast control knob only assists with overruns at the end of the cast. Your thumb is your friend in perfecting your cast. |
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Posts: 146
Location: Alsip, IL | Musky fishing is an expensive sport. Cant expect a 100 dollar reel to hang with the 250 to 400 dollar reels that dominate the market. My first two reels were lefty Cardiffs and I burned one up in two days with double 8s and 10s. Shimano was awesome and replaced it in 10 days but I learned my lesson and now only use them when I fish with friends if they dont have a musky setup and in the fall as sucker reels. They are great for that, solid bait clicker and seem to have enough drag for hard live bait hooksets. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I agree that the spool knob should not be that tight. What reels do you guys have that can slow the spool down with a Mag Bulldawg? I wouldn't have even thought that was possible.
If you are getting backlashes, turn on extra spool brakes. Tighten the spool tension knob just enough to take left/right play out of the spool and then leave that one. Adjust centrifugal brakes as needed.
I think the advice to tighten the spool friction knob comes from the bass world where using baits in the 1/4-1/2 oz range, not for musky baits in the 2-16 ounce range. Besides, the heavy baits like Dawgs don't slow down as quickly as light baits, and don't tend to cause backlashes that easy provided a somewhat baitcaster educated thumb.
Good luck,
Tucker |
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Shimano Cardiff 400A Reel