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| Has anyone had problems with the Cardiff 400A holding up this year? I bought 2 of them and both are worn out. They screach and scream at me when I cast. I mainly throw Mag Dawgs and Cowgirls and they just don't hold up. What reels will hold up, other than the Calcuttas? I only fish muskies about 4-5 weekends a year. I really hate to spend 350.00 on one for how little I fish for them.
What recomendations on reels are out there? I need one to throw some heavy baits.
Thanks |
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Posts: 32884
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I'm betting those reels are not worn out if new this year and used only a couple weeks, just in need of some maintenence. We have a ton of information onsite about what to do to make those reels work like new, do a search on the keyword 'reel' and look through the information that comes up.
The lures you describe are BIG, so I'd look into a reel designed to handle big baits. |
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| I've been running the gamut of baits on my cardiff 301's for 2 years now.
the key to not ruining ANY reel is stopping the spool from spinning with your thumb just b4 the bait hits the water.
mainenence wise, pop the side carriage open and take a look in there.. not really too complicated. if something looks worn or like it might need greased or oiled, hit it up.
good luck, i have 4 301's and 3 401's that i love. i'll say it again, i've said it b4. you DONT need to spend 300 dollars for a good reel...if you feel the need to, by all means do so. a 100 dollar reel, if cared for properly is going to give you some good use. just my opinion. |
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| Thanks for the replies. First off one of the reels is already sent back to Cabelas, they said that they would warranty it. It locked up on me in mid-cast and wrecked something internally. I took the cover off in the boat and then put it aside and grabbed another rod. I wasn't happy at that point. I do believe you guys saying that they shouldn't be worn out. But they both screamed at me when I cast. Almost every time until I realy tighten down the free spool. But then it's a pain to cast long distances. I'm baffeled. But I will take my other one apart and look at the guts of it. I like the reels. Just hate the screaming they do.....
Thanks again. |
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Posts: 32884
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Chuck addressed that squealing noise issue at the Rhinelander Spring Outing, anyone remember what he did to stop it dead? |
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Posts: 358
Location: London, England | Oiling the spool bearings, levelwind and idler gears should cure any squeeling you're getting during the cast unless there is some grit or something between the spool and the reel housing which needs cleaning out. |
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| I found a guy on Ebay that sells the Calcutta 400b for 150 bucks, no tax and free shipping, ive bought 7 of them this year from him and all good, cant beat that real |
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| something i was talking to some friends about last night too Arno.
some of them said "yeah, he burns out any reel he uses", he "fishes hard".
i said define fishing hard.
"well, with jerkbaits and stuff....the reel takes a beating"
how is that possible you'd ask?
i guess if you're not in the habit of stopping your baits b4 they hit the water and just engaging the reel......you can expect your reels to explode during casts.
if you're using jerkbaits without your thumb on the reel during the presentation, thereby taking some of the pressure off of the drag system and reel mechanisms....its going to probably wear out faster.
just like people who downshift when driving, then use the brakes going down a hill, or people that just ride the brakes. more wear and tear on the brakes....less spread out to other areas that can handle it.
so, if you don't thumb your spool a lot during presentations....is it safe to say you can expect your reel to wear out faster? i know after a weekend of fishing, especially in colder weather, my thumb takes a beating....but after a few years, all my reels still work well.
i guess it's personal preference. i'd prefer not to buy a new reel every 2 weeks cuz i keep blowing them up.
Edited by The Yeti 9/20/2006 1:25 PM
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| Thanks again,
I do know I wasn't using my thumb to stop the bait. I started doing it and I did notice a difference.
I'll see what happens when I get my new one back. I'm going to take the other one apart tonight
and see what's making the racket inside of that one. Hopefully I can fix it. I like the reels and
really don't want to dish out another couple hundred bucks. This hobby is to expensive the
way it is........
Thanks agian. |
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Posts: 723
| I have had a lot of issues with the cardiff, mainly, after a month or so of use, I start to feel some grinding, upon taking the sideplate off, I find small shavings on the side of the big gear, I have been through 5 of these now, 2 of them Rollies replaced no Q's asked, just handed over a new one. and the others I have sent back to Shimano, they replaced them at no cost, but, they keep wearing out. I oil, grease, clean them, but, the issue still is there, the only thing I can figure out why this is, is throwing heavier baits, or cranking bigger baits, its when you put the strain on the spool, is when you feel the grinding, If I put a smalle bait on it, or something with way less drag in the water, it is fine, but, anything with a lot of pull or weight to it, and, it is very rough. Shimano told me to just invest in a calcutta, well, I have one of those, and, it has a few issues of its own, but, still is very comfortable to fish with, on top of flawless drag system. The only issue I had with it so far is the anti-reverse. kinda weird,
I would send them back to shimano. and maybe combine the cost of replacement, and see if shimano will give you that credit towards something like a CTB400, not $350, but I think they are something like $210. better than the cardiff for big baits and cranking, but, a step below the 400TE. Just my 2 cents worth.
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Posts: 8772
| If you pull the spool and put a drop of oil right on the end of the shaft (and where the shaft makes contact with the side plate) that will almost always stop your reel screaming problem.
I did have to take a toothpick and clean some crud out of the recessed part where the shaft sits on one of my reels, but on all the others as soon as it starts to scream on a cast all it takes is one small drop of oil.
It seems to happen the first season more than anything, maybe it's because I always take my reels apart, clean them, and re-oil them after the lakes freeze. Seems like the reels come with grease all over everything and the grease collects dirt, dries out and starts to solidify all over the parts that should have oil on the instead. |
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Posts: 757
| If your a shimano fan, especially throwing the large baits, check out the calcutta 700b. Yea I know its big and heavy but so are todays musky baits. Ten years ago, the large musky baits were 8-10 inches long weighing 2-3 ounces. 400 shimanos and 6000 size abus were able to handle these baits. Now musky baits are getting bigger and much heavier and the standard size musky reels of the past are being made of cheap parts from the orient. See a problem here? Being an abu fan, I've gone to abu 7000's almost exclusively. Penn's 975 model also fits the bill here. When throwing baits that are suitable for the North Atlantic, we have to adjust as well. Kdawg |
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Posts: 24
| Thanks for all the advise. It is going to help.  |
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| I wore my Cardiff 400 out in 60 days of fishing - I wont buy another |
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| If the Calcutta is more than you can afford or more than you want to pay, and the Cardiff has issues that you feel need to be addressed. Ther is an in between model called the Catala this might do the job for you. Don't take this wrong way, but reels screaming and whining are generally caused by improper operation and setup. Yes believe it or not, even 350.00 reels have to be "setup". I own about 10 Shimano reels and I have yet to have problems with them. As far as reels are concerned they are about the best you can buy. If you are interested in the Catala I think you can find it at Smokey's or Pastika's. I am unsure of your experience with baitcasters, but if I can be of any help leave a message. |
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