I'm currently using Shimano Corsair 300's and 400's Golds. The original Silver style had at least one particular deadly fault that appears to be cured. Haven't had any problems yet with the Golds...but want to hear from the crowd. I use to fish Ambasseudors exclusively until I realized I had a whole shoe box of parts and pieces! Anyone using the new Eon? Other makes and models?...I'd love to hear about them. Also does anyone know of any maker of truly direct drive reels? There's a bunch of us would love to find them ...even used.

Cove RV Park & Tackle Prostaff(1)
Always FishOn!
Gooose

goose,I am using the Calcutta with no problems to report-very smooth. However I am looking into the Team Diawa reel, it is like new model of the old procaster. It's a low profile reel that is very ergonomic, smooth, and light. I am looking for a place that knows how to work on older reels-any ideas?
I like the 250, 251 Calcutta and the old 5000-6500s.

The two Shimano Corsairs that I have used were pieces of sheeyat. Should be renamed Shimano "Corvair". The supposedly rebuilt the Corsair but still have'nt gotten it right.
Stew

[ 09-23-2001: Message edited by: Steelhead Stew ]

Goose; I bought a left handed EON and after one trip I sent it back to Bass Pro. I then got a Shimno Curado BFS and love it, It probably isn't big enought for a Chinook hog but great for Steelhead, Silvers etc.

The Quantum PR 600 8 ball-bearing reels are a delight. I now use them exclusively for casting. Smooth as silk.

Steelhead Stew yeah the first run of Corsairs were a miserable experience...but I haven't experienced any problems with the new versions. If you've had any headaches from them I'd sure appreciate knowing what to expect . I haven't fished big kings yet with my current batch.....that's usually the test of any reel...but so far I haven't had any problems. I'm going to test a couple of the newer Quantums and Daiwas and forget about the Eon.

Cove RV Park & Tackle Prostaff(1)
Always FishOn!
Gooose

Goose here is what I experienced with the "A" version of the Corsair. The drag wouldn't function correctly. The level wind kept slipping out of the guide slot and when I tried to tighten the retaining set screw(plastic) it stripped out. I opened up the side to see if I cold tighten up the guideslot and was amazed at the amount of plastic they used to construct this reel. For $5 more the Ambassadeur 6501 is a better choice for me. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

i also had the same problem with the corsair,lots of plastic.i have a couple daiwa procaster series baitcasters and they are very nice reels.scott

riverdog,
i've used that new ergonomic diawa that your talking about, man it fits the hand like a glove, but i have two issues with the reel. the first one is, the drag dosen't seem to get tight enough on it. it will only sinch down so far, i used it for silvers last year for a couple of different trips and after experienceing that i wouldn't buy one. the second complaint about it was it was hard to access teh spool if you get a birds nest, now i know your not supposed to let this happen but, you guys know as well as i do that it does happen. number two is more of my own little pet peive. anyway, see if you can try one before you buy one, might change your mind. just a head up for ya.

I've fished a 200# Calcutta for over 10 years now,no problems,last year I bought a Curado and it was smooth,but got my rearend kicked by some Satsop fish
But for summeruns it was fine,I'm using my Calutta again.....My next upgrade will be to the GT-TE Calcutta WOW nice reel........Os


[ 09-24-2001: Message edited by: Osprey ]

I am sure I am in the minority here, but I really like the Quantum 1311's. I have handled everything from kings to steelhead on them and never had a problem. Too bad they dont make them anymore. Anyone else like these?

hey randy,
those are pretty good reels, not a lot of money and seem to hold up pretty well. little sticky in the drag, but for the price they were pretty hard to beat. good choice for not spending a lot of money.

IMHO,

For the money, it's awful tough to beat the Ambassadeurs. Calcutta's are awesome, Curado's are cool too, But for $55 to $65 the 5501's and 6501's are the best overall value.

I have a couple corsairs,and think they are great.the drag is as smooth as you can get.As with the other 7 or 8 shimanos of different types I have.I don't think you can beat them for the price.
I had a couple ambassador 5500s and don't care for them any more.They use to make an excellent reel but think they just arent of the same quality the last 3-4 years that they used to be.
The Quantums I think are made by Zebco.That should give you an idea of the quality there.I havent used them personally,but a friend of mine bought one for plunking.No matter how tight you set the drag you could watch your spool back off and feed line.He took it back and got another.It did the same thing.Thats really the only experience I've had with them.Didn't want any more.

I'm a firm believer in buying good stuff and having it for a lifetime. I've got a Penn International 965. I love it. It was my first levelwind reel, it took me a while to figure out how to cast it, not sure if it was me, or trying to get the internal anti-backlash weights figured out, but it took a while. No problems now, though.

I've used it in the salt, too, trolling, its drag handles big fish just fine.

The only complaints I could ever have with that reel is first, its weight... it's a little on the heavy side, and second, that it's bright gold... maybe I'm just paranoid, but I wish it was a subdued color, no need to spook fish with a bright gold thing reflecting the sun.

I've asked here a couple of times what other people think of the 965, but it seems like not many have ever used one. I'd like to get another reel, but I'm not sure I want to spend the $175 that a 965 costs.

I recently used a Calcutta (don't remember which model, it was gold colored) while on a guided river trip. I didn't like how narrow the spool on the Calcutta was, it took a little while to get used to how much more force it took to cast that reel. Other than that, it seemed fine.

-N.

This how I rate my baitcasters.
1. Millionaire (30 yrs old, copy of 5000C)
2. 5000 C (original black one, also 30 yrs)
3. Curado (very smooth, but I don't like thumb bars)
4. Calcutta 400 (a little big for steelies)

Hey goose, I've got an Ambassadeur 2600 direct drive (thumb brake) level wind (they stopped making then over 25 yrs ago) good shape, neat little reel for summer runs and light rod. I'll swap it for a Penn 955. Interested??????/

I've tried most of the reels mentioned here and some that haven't been, my favorites though would have to be the Calcutta or Chronarch, I have never had problems and only do minimal amounts of maintenance. As much as I love these Shimano reels you couldn't give me a Corsair

Geez you guys are great! First of all my current inventory are all version 2 Corsairs and yeah I expect they won't meet the test when I start layin in to the kings...but so far they've performed well and they were affordable. One thing that I may be doing differently from a lot of you guys is fishing with a loose drag...just enough to retrieve my gear for another cast. I prefer to burn thumb skin on the initial run or two and only tighten up the drag as the fight progress'. My experience is based on nasty fresh from the salt(tidewater) Humptulips Kings and Steelies and no drag on this planet is going to save your @$$ if they decide to leave the hole. Seen too many people trying to fight powerful fish place their faith in their drag. So I don't experience the drag faults that others do.
My recent experience is that I won't trust Ambasseudors to make it thru more than one or two seasons. Does anyone need parts? I'll probably invest in a Shimano upgrade but some of the others like the Procaster sound interesting. Periwinkle I don't have the trade you want right now but am very interested. Thats a small reel as I recall. What's the max line capacity for 12 pound test?

Cove RV Park & Tackle Prostaff(1)
Always FishOn!
Gooose

My favorites would be:
steelhead- shimano calais and chronarch, there's nothing smoother!
salmon- calcuttas, and the 6500's for heavy water.
silvers- the same as the steelies.
I must say that the whole line of shimanos are great other than the corsair, I've owned a few and would rather fish a 6500. The corsair drag sucks and burns out too easy, whereas the 6500's I have are 3-6 years old and have never needed work on the drags.
Don't forget about the new curado that's out it's a doozie also.
Keith

NEW Curado? Huh? What? Am I missing something here?

Tell me more.

John