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Posts: 70
| is the calcutta 400B dependable and comfortable enough for musky fishing??
i'm looking for a good casting reel that is mid light and fits my paws to work glide and jerk baits and the odd crank bait
i presently use a Record 60 and a 6500 and just purchased a curado 300
i would like to switch all my reels but know little of the shimano or daiwa line
someone mentioned to take a look at the calcutta
thanks
bob
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Absolutely. I'd not say it's a good dedicated reel for 10's but for glides and jerks, absolutely. I've had a couple and they were great. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | For me it has been the best and most dependable reel. Have used lots of other brands with all of them failing fairly quickly.
My reels do take a pounding with the constant jerking of cranks I do. The Calcutta is one of the few reels I haven't had issues with the anti-reverse kicking out. |
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Posts: 260
Location: Lockport, IL | Awesome Reel! |
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Posts: 196
| I just got a Calcutta 400B before our last trip and absolutely love this reel! We only cast and fished for 2 1/2 straight days. We were fishing big cranks, double 10's, bulldawgs, 14" tubes, big topwater, and about everything in between. I landed a 44 inch muskie on this reel during the trip and it never even flinched! So, I would highly recommend it! My buddy did the same with his curado 300 E with no issues. If you are going to pull anything very heavy, I would recommend the calcutta over the curado. If you want something to pull pounders and double 10's alot, or double 13's at all, I would recommend the diawa saltist 30LW. I have the saltist 40LW and love the reel, but it is rediculously big and uncomforatble to fish often. They say the 30 has the same power, but is a smaller reel. Hope this helps. |
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Posts: 196
| by the way, trust me, that curado will blow away that record 60, my buddy had one and didn't like it for muskie fishing, he went to the curado. As for the 6500 c3's......well that is what we started with and quickly changed those out as my buddy caught the our first muskie on one, a 51 inch muskie, and it stripped all of the gears! He managed to land the fish, but by the end the reel was nearly destroyed. |
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| For me, the Calcutta 400B is a top quality reel for most lures. Some people say it's not the best for double 10s, but mine has worked well for me. Although, I haven't used a lot of other reels to compare it to. If someone can elaborate on why the Calcutta is not as good as the others for double 10s, it would be appreciated.
Brian
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Posts: 70
| now all you calcutta owners , did you change the handle or are you using the packaged handle??
bob |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | get the power handle...works well on all applications and makes Double 10's very comfortable on a good rod |
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Posts: 1270
| Cajun, the Curado is a great reel, there is no doubt about that and it better be better than the Record because it's $100 more! It's not fair to compare reels that are way different in costs. And your buddy did not strip all the gears on his 6500C3! I have repaired literally thousands of Abu reels and I have only seen 4 or 5 with actual stripped gears! |
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Posts: 260
Location: Lockport, IL | I use the paddle handle and throw practically anything in the box. I don't own the power handle for the 400B. I use it if I am pulling 10's at a slow or medium pace. Otherwise I use a different reel for burning. |
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Posts: 366
| I have 4 Calcutta 400's although they are pre-400Bs and are just CT-400, but the first one I bought almost 15 years ago, and the newest of the bunch is at least 10 years old. If you are even slightly mechanically inclined or don't mind paying someone for occasional maintenence and repairs, then there is no reason that these reels won't last 10 years with average use. I don't fish as much as a lot of guys that live on the water, but they've thrown plenty of baits since I've purchased them. The only real problems I've had is the anti-reverse freezing up in the late fall and winter time, fishing in below freezing temps, which is somewhat expected. I twitch big cranks pretty much non-stop in the fall. I've thrown Dbl-10's with them quite a bit, and they do fine, but I do prefer the Toro Winch I bought at the beginning of the summer to throw them instead. Of course the Toro is the first muskie reel I've bought since my 4th Calcutta that is 10 years old. I just like the low-profile and the power-paddle handle after having used it a while. Will the Toros replace buying anymore Calcuttas? Probably not, but time will tell how the reel holds up compared to the Shimanos. Although, I will say that one of my best friends bought a 400B a few years back, and on the first trip he took it to LOTW with me he bent the little tab that assists the spool engaging lever on his first 50"er. The reel made a little clicking noise with each crank and had issues engaging then. He took it back to Reed's in Walker and they gave him a new one that has had zero issues since.
Ryan
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Posts: 540
| i got a 400 te and it awesome quality, going from many abu's over the yrs to that was some getting use too though because of the gear ratio being lower. the quality is much much better, I burned up a record 60 this yr in three wks throwing dcg 10's, and I can throw dbl 13's and it brings them in without working hard at all. I actaully like a quicker ratio more but the quality makes up the difference! |
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Posts: 315
| shimano=the bomb!!! Love them...all I will use. |
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Posts: 582
| The 400b is a great reel. I use mine for most all my lures except the large dbl 10's and bulldawgs. For that i have a revo winch which i think it better suited for that work. But the calcutta is a solid reel for musky fishing. I would say it's the perfect musky reel for most baits. Mine has been used alot in the last 3 years and as long as you take care of it, it will last. |
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Posts: 81
Location: Toronto, Ontario | I have a 400b, very good reel. I use a 700TE for big blades and a Curado 300E for jerks and twitching cranks. Frankly, if you're thinking of buying a 400b, just get a Curado. More comfortable in the hand, holds plenty of line and it has the TE gears in it. Just my 2 cents. |
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Posts: 196
| well, yes a 200 dollar reel should be better than 100 dollar reel, that's not what I'm saying....what I am saying is that the curado is worth spending the extra money on. I have a 100 reel that is about as good as some 200 dollar reels, making them not worth the extra money. As for the 6500.....it was a 51 inch muskie 33 pounds, and the reel was quite trashed afterwords, even the spool is out of balance or bent, can't tell which at this point...... those reels just weren't meant to pull large lures and fight fish that fight as hard as a skie. Don't get me wrong they are good reels for normal applications, but I will outpull, outfight, and outlast that 6500 all day with an okuma induron id400, I have both and they cost the same. |
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Posts: 717
Location: Grand Rapids, MI | My CalcuttaB has been perfect for 2 seasons now, with only routine maintenace. Haven't done a thing to it otherwise. My next reel will probably be another one. |
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | the cardiff is the best bang for your buck- 110.00 cant beat that with a stick- ive switched mostly to the revo toro line because its easyer to palm the reel- but ive used one of my cardiffs for tarpon and snook down south inshore and snapper offshore- and even in the salt it works well- I just put a power handle on my cardiff for plastics and it is flawless- well as flawless as 110.00 gets you- you always get what you pay for- been using them for 5 yrs now |
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Posts: 540
| cajun84 - 9/11/2010 6:53 PM
well, yes a 200 dollar reel should be better than 100 dollar reel, that's not what I'm saying....what I am saying is that the curado is worth spending the extra money on. I have a 100 reel that is about as good as some 200 dollar reels, making them not worth the extra money. As for the 6500.....it was a 51 inch muskie 33 pounds, and the reel was quite trashed afterwords, even the spool is out of balance or bent, can't tell which at this point...... those reels just weren't meant to pull large lures and fight fish that fight as hard as a skie. Don't get me wrong they are good reels for normal applications, but I will outpull, outfight, and outlast that 6500 all day with an okuma induron id400, I have both and they cost the same.
I caught a fish about the exact same size this year on a 6500 c3, it's about a yr old and it performed fine, I catch fish on it all the time, works fine. I do like my calcutta better obvouisly but for $75 I'll beat the snot out of a c3 and usually they just wear out eventually, I've never seen one thrashed by a fish, and to say there not made for fishing skies is silly, that is exactly what they are made for. |
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Posts: 339
Location: Denmark | cajun84 - 9/9/2010 12:34 PM
by the way, trust me, that curado will blow away that record 60, my buddy had one and didn't like it for muskie fishing, he went to the curado. As for the 6500 c3's......well that is what we started with and quickly changed those out as my buddy caught the our first muskie on one, a 51 inch muskie, and it stripped all of the gears! He managed to land the fish, but by the end the reel was nearly destroyed.
Hmmm, I simply don't believe that has something to do with the fish, the C3 or any other ambassaduer reel for that sake. Ambassador reels inferior to the 6500 has landed everything from Tuna to smaller sharks since this construction came on the market in the late fifties, I think to be honest that the source of your problems are lack of skills. |
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Posts: 203
Location: Alexandria, Minnesota | If you are going to be using it a ton, I would recommend that you upgrade to a Calcutta 400 Te. I use these for my client reels and believe me they are bullet proof. I have had some for 3 seasons that have experienced 100's of backlashes and have been thrown in the lake a few times but they just keep on working.
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Posts: 582
| The 400b is a very good reel. I have used it for all sorts of lures and it holds up well. i would buy another tomorrow if i needed one. |
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| if you're looking at the calcutta. take a minute to check out the daiwa luna's there are everybit as nice, in my opinion, and way cheaper. have a calcutta and a luna and the luna has held up as well an dis as smooth as the calcutta. |
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Posts: 692
Location: Pelican Rapids, MN | Calcutta 400B is a great reel. The only qualm I have with it is in my experience, you have to check the body screws often as they seem to loosen up quicker than the ones on the TE. Just something I noticed. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | Guest - 2/3/2011 5:59 PM
if you're looking at the calcutta. take a minute to check out the daiwa luna's there are everybit as nice, in my opinion, and way cheaper. have a calcutta and a luna and the luna has held up as well an dis as smooth as the calcutta.
I disagree. Luna's tend to have anti-reverse problems, and I had one that the bearing went out on in a month...Diawa didn't cover under warranty! 
My Calcutta B's have held up much, much better! I would be willing to trade you my Luna for your Calcutta! 
Calcutta B is about the same price as the Luna. |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Wait, your Daiwa anti-reverse bearing broke in a month, and it wasn't under warranty? Why not? |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | Daiwa has a 1 year parts and service warranty, U must have a paid sales slip with a date. The Luna is a good reel but it has limits because it does not have a backup pawl on the anti-rev bearing, so when you rip baits KEEP YOUR THUMB on the spool as backup. Also from the factory the A-R bearing is packed with grease, anyone with a new Luna clean out the grease and just use any reel oil, like Hot Sauce, and that will help out alot. On the 300Luna it has a 8 disc drag system, no other reel has 8 drag washers, most only have 6. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | Jsondag - 2/3/2011 8:59 PM
Calcutta 400B is a great reel. The only qualm I have with it is in my experience, you have to check the body screws often as they seem to loosen up quicker than the ones on the TE. Just something I noticed.
Because the inner plate is plastic on the 400B, on a 400TE the plate is metal.
The 400B is a great reel, bit the TE is one of the best reels made today. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | sworrall - 2/4/2011 8:01 AM
Wait, your Daiwa anti-reverse bearing broke in a month, and it wasn't under warranty? Why not?
Steve a good question!!! Part of my fault was it broke in Oct. I sent it in the next April. They claimed the bearing was rusted (not the anti-reverse one but a different one). I questioned defective bearing since they were suppose to be corrosion resistant. They said that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t rust, and I went on about that I knew that being a mechanical designer, and that also I don’t fish saltwater. They wouldn’t budge. That bearing issue was different than the anti-reverse. So two different issues with the reel.
I posted my experience with them on here but you or slamer pulled that post in the past. It was taken as I was bashing them but I was simply explaining what I went through. I guess I should have sent it in right away although it was still under warranty and it shouldn't have mattered that I sent it in a couple of month of initially being broke. Purchase in Sep I believe.
In the end I had a reel that broke down very shortly after having it. Sent it in, and they would not cover anything under warranty. $50 bill, and cost to ship. Once getting it back I found a different issue with the reel right out of the box. While servicing they bent something in the reel. Back it went. It then took them a month to get it back to me, and that was only after calling several times asking where it was at. Since the anti-reverse bearings slipped again but I just fixed myself.
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