what did you think about these reels? have you had any problems with them?

I have three calcutta's (1-200 and 2-250's) and love them. They cast beautifully and after two years of fishing fireline drifting for kings I had to have one rebuilt. John's Sporting goods in Everett only charged $28.00 and it cast almost better than before. I can't say enough... awesome reel!

I have a 200,251, and a 400. These are great reels, but you would be smart to learn how to service these reels your self.
The drags, although smooth can get very sticky if they get wet or to dry.
Part of the drag assembly is a thick/soft cloth like material drag washer. This is what makes these drags so smooth, and so damn sticky when damp or to dry. You need to take this washer out and dry it out under a lamp, then you need to gently massage into the washer, shimano star drag grease. Do not try to use a sustitute for this process, and dont use to much of this grease. Then reassemble, and you should be fine.
You will also need to periodically take the two bearings out of reel and douse with lighter fluid and spin bearings until all residual oil is removed, then add one drop of shimano bearing oil and spin until it is dispersed through bearing. Dont do this to the roller anti reverse bearing, this requires a grease instead of oil, and is quite fragile.
Learning to do this myself has saved me a lot of money over the last three years.
hope this helps.
Derek

That sounds like a lot of work to me. Had my Abu Garcia 6500 C3 since 1994 (wedding present from the wife). Caught over 300 salmon on it in salt and in rivers, and all I have ever done is made sure was rinsed off after each trip. My main rods, 2 Kunan graphites, I have had for over 12 years.

Sorry to sound like a newbie, but some of you guys spend huge bucks on some of your gear, and then have to fiddle with it all of the time. Is it really worth it?

I can remember three backlashes on this reel, all my fault, as I forgot to adjust the tension specific to my lure. Other than that, I have never had any failure.

When any other Abu Garcia/Berkley/Fenwick products of mine ever had ANY problem (tip broken because of my stupidity, twice, etc.), they always fixed them for free (I paid a minimal shipping charge), or they replaced the item with a similar item. I even bought an old reel without a crank handle at a garage sale once for a buck, sent it to them to get a new replacement handle, and they sent me a brand new reel.

I guess I won't know until I try one, but what is SOOOOOOOOO good about some of this equipment?

Thanks for your patience,

Andy

Dogfish,

Do you know if Abu still makes that model, or what would be the equivalent? How much does a reel like that cost? I'm looking to get another river reel.

-N.

Had a calcutta for springer season and didn't like the sloooooow retreive. Traded it (at a 70.00 loss) and bought a curado instead. Duck In The Fog

I have 2 Calcutta's A 251 and a 151. Both reels have performed flawless. mainly use the 151 for mylight steelhead fishing. The 251 sees both steelhead and salmon duty. Yea the gear ratio is a little slower than a Curado, But the Calcutta is a heck of a lot more durable. Both my Curados are all messed up.
The Shimanos are better reels than than 6 Abu's I have. I have 3 5501s 2 6501s and 1 5001. All my 5501s have had major problems. The springs wore out, The level wind gear popped out of the end of the spoolwhile fight a fish. On the 6501s the nylon gears that work the level wind have stripped.
Go with a Calcutta you wont be disappointed.

I have had the 150 for steelhead and silver fishing for about 4 years now and it is my favorite reel. So far its only gotten sticky once, but the reel was very easy to disassemble and clean up. I also have a 6500 C3 (Chinook and Plug Rod) and a 4600 C4 (Float Rod). I can easily outcast both of those reels with the Calcutta.

I have (2) 151's & (2) 251's along with 8 ABU's.Hands down the calcutta's out cast and have ten times the drag system's as the others,but I prefere the ABU's in some of the fisheries over the calcutta.They need to come out with a 351 & 451 for us lefty's.All in all if you can afford the calcutta then go for it.Just remember that you can get two
ABU's for the price of one calcutta.Good luck
STRIKE ZONE

Have any of you used the Penn International's, like the 965? If so, how do you think they compare to the Calcuttas or Abus?

-N.

Hey Stormin,

My dad just got a 6500 C5 for about 70-80 bucks. Not exactly sure on the price, but I think he got it a Fred Meyers. It has all of the same features as my C3, and other than the color, I don't see much of any difference. Both of these reels have a clicker feature which is nice when setting them on downriggers so you don't have to monitor your reel while lowering, you can just listem to it.

These reels have more than enough power to crank in the biggest fish you can catch. Used it on an albicore trip out of Westport and it was one of the few reels on the boat that could stop a 30 pound tuna, the captain had a pair of HIGH priced Penn rells that could have stopped a truck. These are some powerful fish that fight twice as hard as a king of the same size.

Killer warranty and great service support, much cheaper, and it works great.

Hope this helps,

Andy

I have the 250 and love it .Casts great has a great drag. Have never had a problem with it. I do take it apart once a year and clean it. I have always used powered teflon from dupont when lubing my reels works great. If you want to spend the money I would say buy one.

I have 4ea Calcutta 400's that I use for springers and fall kings when using quick fish and Alvin's.These reels have also spent time on the Kenai and have held up really well. I also have acouple of 700's that I use for Sturgeon fishing in June when the giants are in. As far as for silvers and steelhead when drifting bait etc... I prefer a low profile reel like a Curado. I don't think you can go wrong with any Shimano product although they are pretty expensive.

I own an original Calcutta 1st year 90 or 91 and I love it,the past season I've been fish a Curado and for the money I like it ,but I'll be switching back for the fall to my old favorite.....Os

If you have drag problems with the reel go with a Teflon drag washer. Bob at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks makes them and will install them for a small price. No more sticky drags and you will never need a new drag washer agian.

I've been veryy happy overall with the ones I've run as boat reels for steelies the past 5-6 years. I have since switched to Curados for one reason only .... they seem to backlash a little less and easier to adjust the spool tension for not-so-skilled casters.

Drags are great when in good shape, but do need some work. I bought a punch kit and now make my own teflon drags for them as well as many of my other reels as well