Your recommendations for a round baitcaster for big swimbaits and inshore fishing

[WRB]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

Cardiff CDF300A!

Same reel as the Calcutta, will handle any size swim bait, & will land anything that swims in inland waters.

I have 2 of these reels and they are good choice for swimbaits. Cardiff is not the same reel as Calcutta, a lot less expensive, different drag system and frame, just not sure how well they will hold up in salt water usage. I have used my older Calcutta's for both swimbaits and salt water use for over 15 years without any issues in salt water or big strong fast salt game fish.

Tom

 

 

 

[WRB]

22 hours ago, freelancer27 said:

Thanks guys for this overwhelming response!!!


I narrowed my search down to the following options and would love to get your thoughts on those:

* Daiwa TD Luna Casting Reel (TDLUNA253L) - Smallest line capacity

* Calcutta B Series (CT400B) - Seems to be great for big swimbaits and saltwater

* Calcutta D Serioes (CT401D) - Almost 160USD more expensive than the B series. Would it be worth to save a bit longer in order to get this reel?

Thanks again.

Best,
Seb.

The B series Calcutta offers little over the Cardiff, stronger frame  and isn't a popular reel for that reason. Big fast salt water fish make long hard runs and you need a reliable drag system. Fresh water bass don't make fast runs and have little stamina compared to salt water game fish. The concern I have is corrosion when used in salt water and that comes down to materials used to make the reel. Machined 7075 aluminum vs die cast aluminum, what series stainless steel hardware and brass gears, bearings etc, etc.

Tom

[Dan_the_fisher]

I like the feel of my Calcutta b way more than my Cardiff, if you want a Cardiff 400 I got one basically new in box if sell you for a good deal. If I was gonna buy one I get a 400d, they can be had for 260-270 nib on the bay

[Catt]

40 minutes ago, WRB said:

I have 2 of these reels and they are good choice for swimbaits. Cardiff is not the same reel as Calcutta, a lot less expensive, different drag system and frame, just not sure how well they will hold up in salt water usage. I have used my older Calcutta's for both swimbaits and salt water use for over 15 years without any issues in salt water or big strong fast salt game fish.

Tom

Exact same reel & Drag system!

I've taken both apart & put them on CENTROID's Digitizing machine which will automatically copy any 2D or 3D contour and will automatically create the G code program for a CNC Controls for Milling machines, Lathes & Routers.

First let's clairfy some thing, when I did this comparison it was not to establish interchangeability of parts. It was to determine why two reels with similar specifications could have $100 difference in price.

Being a manufacturing engineer in the aerospace industry I had access to every nondestructive inspection known and digitizing equiptment capable of finding tolerances to 0.0001".

This data was feed into a computer program that compared the two and found no significant differences other than number of bearings (Calcutta 3+1 & Cardiff 4+1). I'm not sure what process was used to test drag but our data showed the Cardiff lacking by 0.331 lbs.

The only real difference is the Cardiff is Die Cast while the Calcutta is Cold Forged, both have the same structural rigidity. Cold Forging requires less machining if final surfaces but the process is more expensive thus the price difference. To farther explain this look at the outer surfaces of the reel frames, the Calcutta is smoother than the Cardiff. That's Cold Forged compared to Die Cast!

[WRB]

Die cast aluminum alloys contain porosity and metals that perform poorly in a corrosive environmemt, relying on the chemical coating used to protect the metal. I knew the side plates are die cast and avoided using the Cardiff in salt water for that reason. The drags are different design than my Calcutta's and haven't caught any fish on the Cardiff to stress the drag system, it works good catching striped bass and should hold for must inshore salt water fish with the exception the Jacks like Yellowtail Amberjack.

If the Cardiff works in salt water it would save lots money, been good reels over the past 5 years and recommended the 300A several times for swimbait reel.

Tom

[Catt]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Die cast aluminum alloys contain porosity and metals that perform poorly in a corrosive environmemt, relying on the chemical coating used to protect the metal. I knew the side plates are die cast and avoided using the Cardiff in salt water for that reason. The drags are different design than my Calcutta's and haven't caught any fish on the Cardiff to stress the drag system, it works good catching striped bass and should hold for must inshore salt water fish with the exception the Jacks like Yellowtail Amberjack.

If the Cardiff works in salt water it would save lots money, been good reels over the past 5 years and recommended the 300A several times for swimbait reel.

Tom

Both reels are made from the same 6061T6 marine grade aluminum & have the same conversation coating.

I use a Cardiff 300 to catch Red Snapper in the gulf of Mexico.

[WRB]

10 minutes ago, Catt said:

Both reels are made from the same 6061T6 marine grade aluminum & have the same conversation coating.

I use a Cardiff 300 to catch Red Snapper in the gulf of Mexico.

If you have experience with the Cardiff in salt water that answers my question.

Die cast aluminum alloys are 360, 380 etc. Wrought cold forged or hot rolled like 6061-T6. I may be retired but not retarded, my Cardiff has die cast aluminum side plates.

Tom

 

[Catt]

53 minutes ago, WRB said:

 I may be retired but not retarded, my Cardiff has die cast aluminum side plates.

Tom

 

The lower cost 6061 Al attains typical values of 310MPa, which is also superior to, for example, A356 (or 601 type) Al casting alloy whether that alloy is semi-solid cast, squeeze cast or gravity cast. Further fabrication by welding is also available with 6061 aluminium, opening the opportunities for many other applications.

The frames are what is die cast!

[WRB]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

The lower cost 6061 Al attains typical values of 310MPa, which is also superior to, for example, A356 (or 601 type) Al casting alloy whether that alloy is semi-solid cast, squeeze cast or gravity cast. Further fabrication by welding is also available with 6061 aluminium, opening the opportunities for many other applications.

The frames are what is die cast!

You are right the frame is die cast, thought it was investment cast from the surface texture however there are ejector pin marks evident, really high quality tooling!  The closer I look at the Cardiff the quality for the price is very high. The frame appears to be hard anodized with a dichromate seal.

We are the only ones looking at this through engineering eyes. The company I retired from was the largest user of 6061 bar stock on the west coast, very familiar with this alloy after 50 experience designing and manufacturing millions of parts from it. The bottom line is the Cardiff should be OK in salt water if not abused.

Tom

[Angry John]

the luna is a wonderful reel and i have both the 253l and the 300l.  If i were fishing offshore and i needed the line capacity for large runs i would choose the 300.  It is smaller than the shimano's of the same size.  They did a great comparison on TT if you can't find the comparison im me and i will send it to you.  I use the 253 with 20lb YHB for bass and i use the 300 for salt applications.

[Chrisran99]

On August 21, 2016 at 5:17 PM, Dwight Hottle said:

The shimano Tekota is a trolling reel. It was not designed as a casting reel. As a rule of thumb Shimano has named all casting reels starting with the letter C for casting. All the trolling reels start their names with a T. 

I've never put the Shimano naming convention together, that ingenuous. Thanks for the tip.

I used the Tekota on an eight foot steelhead rod throwing big jigs and bottom fishing in the mouth of lake Ponchartrain, can't say it casts that great but it chunked the heavier baits fine. 

 

Isn't there something different in the thumb bar between the Cardiff 400a and the Calcutta?

 

[Catt]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

You are right the frame is die cast, thought it was investment cast from the surface texture however there are ejector pin marks evident, really high quality tooling!  The closer I look at the Cardiff the quality for the price is very high. The frame appears to be hard anodized with a dichromate seal.

We are the only ones looking at this through engineering eyes. The company I retired from was the largest user of 6061 bar stock on the west coast, very familiar with this alloy after 50 experience designing and manufacturing millions of parts from it. The bottom line is the Cardiff should be OK in salt water if not abused.

Tom

Cardiff & Calcutta is like Ford LTD & a Mercury Grand Marquis!

Both are rock solid, one is just a little more refined!