So I get my buddy a Corsair--a cheapie I know but he's a newbie and willing to keep me company at my accustomed riverside haunts. And we're fishing a small river furtively for a few hours with nothing but a few chunky dollies to put a wiggle in our lines. And then--SPLASH--and there's my buddy standing there with a limp line and his jaw in the sand. Something big hit him and ran, and he complained that it was impossible to grab his reel handle, because it spun too fast. This perplexed me, and we traded rigs for a while, and sure enough...after only four or five hours of use, the anti-reverse on that Corsair was out. I'd cast, and retrieve a little, and when I took my thumb off the spool it's let out line, with the handles spinning.
Well, I took the reel back to the shop I bought it from (can I mention their name on this board? It was Holiday Sports, on the 20 just off I-5) and the gentalman there informed me that as with all rod and reel purchases I must have received a half-sheet of paper dissolving them of any and all responsibility for malfunctioning products(I didn't)and that he couldn't help me...sheesh. So now I'm stuck with a nonfunctioning Shimano in the box...
I bought my buddy a new Ambassaduer, so I have no use for the Shimano. My questions to you run thus: do I (a) go whine and complain to the various employees of Holiday Sports, (b) try to exchange the reel at another location, or (c) contact Shimano in hopes of recompense? What's my best bet? I live on Orcas, so it's not like I can swing by the store any time I please (not that I would, ever again, after this fiasco...)
Thanks.

[This message has been edited by fishkisser99 (edited 12-12-1999).]

2 weeks ago my curado gummed up due to my lack of cleaning after a long fall of egg tossing so my buddy let me use his corsair, first cast I noticed the same problem, the handles spinning while line was going out, he's never used this reel so I know it isn't from abuse, sounds like a design problem to me..

Johns Sporting Goods in Everett is the closest warranty dealer. There is more info at www.shimano.com.

I've got an Ambassaduer that did the same thing. The reel is 8 or 9 years old and only used twice. I did figure out though, that if you hold the spool tight and turn the handle backwards about 1/8 of a turn it tends to lock up. I'd like to find the part to fix it for another spare.

[This message has been edited by Erik (edited 12-12-1999).]

I had the same problem with my corsair, but only after about a year and a half of hard abuse... Still works most of the time though.. Waiting for a screw post for it to get in, but my dad's corsair started doing that the other day... and it's been WELL taken care of and used only once or twice a week only a couple of months out of the year.. Who knows.. I'll tell you what though, as long as you keep that little plastic bushing on the end of the spool clean and free of oil and grease (graphite is a good lubricant) they are a smooth casting reel.. definitely! Just I think they need to be slightly redesigned...

Tom

I also made the mistake of picking up a couple Corsair's last spring to get me through the last week of the spring steelie season, BIG MISTAKE. One of them got half way through a fish and the drag completely seized (snap), and shortly after that the other one started freewheeling intermittently. I took them back on my way home and got them replaced, only to have the exact same thing happen the next day. So I figured I would just cut my losses and I threw one in the crapper at the take out, and conspicuously planted the other one along the river for a "special" friend to find. Robbo not like Corsairs.

I have three corsairs that I use for my spares and for my kids to use and abuse. My brother also has a few and we have had this problem also. It seems that they put too much grease or silicone on the anti-reverse dog and mechanism. Take it apart if you are the mechanical type and wipe some of it off and try using a lighter type of lube.
One of the things that I dislike about the corsairs is the hard plastic paddles on the handles. I have a Shimano Chronarch with the same type of paddles, but they are made of a softer type of rubber. My probem is that when I use eggs that have been cured with the sulfite based cures, they cause my hands to really dry out...to the point of cracking. My fingers slip off the handles easily when I am wound up from hitting a fish. Just a minor problem though.
Need a day off and some fishing friendly weather soon! See ya fishing.

------------------
Steve Ng....The FishNg1
99 F-350 4x4 SD, 18ft Alumaweld Formula Vee Sled, 115 Yamaha.

[This message has been edited by Steve Ng (edited 12-13-1999).]

Send it back to Shimano with a note. They used to be very good about replacing things. Years ago I bought a shimano rod and broke the tip off. I had nothing to lose so i sent it to them. They not only sent me a new rod but it was the better, more expensive, version.

As much as I like many of the other Shimano products ... all I've heard are horror stories about these reels; haven't even bothered to give them a close look as a result. My 2 cents

I've benn fishing shimano's for 15 years have an old bmx 250, bullet proof bought a calata the first year it came out no complaints , have a friend with the same problem as you guys send it back till they get right tight Lines