Shimano stuff

[Bankbeater]

I'm currently only using a SLX-150 right now.  I've got a Bantam 100 from the 80's and a Curado E7 as part of the collection in the drawer.  I've also owned a Sahara and a Sedona.  All good solid reels. 

[Basswhippa]

8 hours ago, Hulkster said:

 Thats one thing I hate about all these 150 size reels they are coming out with. 200 size spools are much better IMO. 

I don't ever want to get rid of my 200's!

[msgf91]

On 1/20/2023 at 9:12 PM, msgf91 said:

When I was a little kid, like kindergarten or 1st grade age I caught my first bass with a lure.  My dad was so proud he got me a Bantam Bass One Mag reel for my birthday.  I caught so many fish on that reel and used it for years.  Up until we went striper fishing one year and blew it up.  I went years never hearing of another Bantam, just Curados.  Then they came out with a new Bantam in 2017.  So to make a long story short I just ordered a 22 Bantam and hope to make new meories with it.  

My Bantam showed up today.  Can't wait to try it out. 

[Fishingmickey]

44 minutes ago, msgf91 said:

My Bantam showed up today.  Can't wait to try it out. 

You'll love it, I have three 18 Bantams and a 22 Metanium.  They are all rock solid great reels that are a pleasure to fish with.  I also love my Zillions that I bought when the yen was down.

FM

[jigheadworm]

2 hours ago, msgf91 said:

My Bantam showed up today.  Can't wait to try it out. 

You will love it got a  22 bantam last week and fished a 7 hour tournament Saturday throwed a football jig and didn't want to put it  down.

[ska4fun]

Latest Shimanoing from Brazil.

 

A friend of mine contacted me, complaining about his new Curado 150. The drag washers aren't carbon ones,  the reel unable to be used on Amazon, on his trip later this year.

And I told him: Welcome to Shimano extreme quality fishing gear.

 

His  audio itself is somewhat funny, because he brought an Alloy M reel for the purpose. He is complaining about the ''plastipol'' washers on the Curado  150 and the decent carbon ones on the chinese reel.

[FishTank]

8 hours ago, ska4fun said:

Latest Shimanoing from Brazil.

 

A friend of mine contacted me, complaining about his new Curado 150. The drag washers aren't carbon ones,  the reel unable to be used on Amazon, on his trip later this year.

And I told him: Welcome to Shimano extreme quality fishing gear.

 

His  audio itself is somewhat funny, because he brought an Alloy M reel for the purpose. He is complaining about the ''plastipol'' washers on the Curado  150 and the decent carbon ones on the chinese reel.

It's a cross carbon drag on all Curado Ks. That is all they have for a part. The knock offs sold on Amazon and Ali Express will have a wire felt.

 

Below is the correct and only part Shimano has for this reel. 

 

[islandbass]

Very nice and impressive stables!

 

My stable is humble, in order of acquisition:

 

Curado 201BSF

2500 Symetre

Cardiff 301A

Curado 201D HEG

Curado 101D

 

With the exception of the 101D, my reels need to handle bass and salmon so hence, the 200 size. I will use the 101D against salmon in a pinch, that’s not the issue, but if I get the line snagged in rocks or submerged wood from  a good distance from me twice and I have to break off, the reel due to low line, is no longer worth using. Of course I bring extra line but re-spooling in the field and worse in cold weather is not fun. 

 

 

[jigheadworm]

I had my 2 curado 150 mgls apart for cleaning and they both have cross carbon  drags but hey what do i know.

[FishTank]

I have had my own issue with a Shimano reel (Metanium) but I was sent a new one and it has been flawless. My first reel had a stripped level wind cap and piece of unfinished plastic on the cap itself that would cause monster backlashes. 

 

 

 

[FishTank]

I had an Icon. I bought it clearanced out for $40. I returned it because it was made of plastic and felt like a coffee grinder. It was not up to my standards. 

 

Here is another one though.....

 

The side brake plate on Vapor came like this (the pics below show two different parts they sent me). It sat about 1/8in above the frame of the reel. On the other side and I do not have a picture, you could  fit a credit card between the gap in the handle plate and the frame.  I contacted Quantum (Pure Fishing) and they sent me, over the course of months, 2 new reels and 4 of part number #VA423-02. The first one they shipped was for a right handed reel.  In their part system both the right and left brake frame part have the same number. How's that for quality? So at one time I had 3 reels with problems (2 replacements and my original) and 4 side plates. I disassembled all of them and made one reel that was perfect and I still have it. It is actually one of the smoothest reels I own and I have had no issues since.  

 

Just in case, I do have a Smoke as well and it has been great minus some clicking noise. 

 

[ska4fun]

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

I had an Icon. I bought it clearanced out for $40. I returned it because it was made of plastic and felt like a coffee grinder. It was not up to my standards. 

 

Here is another one though.....

 

The side brake plate on Vapor came like this (the pics below show two different parts they sent me). It sat about 1/8in above the frame of the reel. On the other side and I do not have a picture, you could  fit a credit card between the gap in the handle plate and the frame.  I contacted Quantum (Pure Fishing) and they sent me, over the course of months, 2 new reels and 4 of part number #VA423-02. The first one they shipped was for a right handed reel.  In their part system both the right and left brake frame part have the same number. How's that for quality? So at one time I had 3 reels with problems (2 replacements and my original) and 4 side plates. I disassembled all of them and made one reel that was perfect and I still have it. It is actually one of the smoothest reels I own and I have had no issues since.  

 

Just in case, I do have a Smoke as well and it has been great minus some clicking noise. 

 

So my plastic-made Icon landed a 120lb Araipama and none of the full metal Shimano 150-sized reels are clearly unable to do the same?

 

I believe you used and older model, before the PT series approach, before Quantum got senses and stopped selling only crappy stuff. My Icon is metal-framed and with very decent internals. The only problem I had with it was the ceramic in the level wind, when I filled it with a very abrasive line and it cracked. Got a replacement one from Pure Fishing. A feat of laziness, I filled it without a rod and the line entered the spool in a 90 degree angle, delivering too much attrition.

 

Quantum needs to be understood under its corporative policies:

 

In-house made reels - superb quality

Doyo-phase (early 2000's) - decent quality

First Banax phase  (mid 2000's) - Loss of quality

Second Banax - They got some decency and started using Banax high-end portfolio, the PT series.

[FishTank]

50 minutes ago, ska4fun said:

So my plastic-made Icon landed a 120lb Araipama and none of the full metal Shimano 150-sized reels are clearly unable to do the same?

 

I believe you used and older model, before the PT series approach, before Quantum got senses and stopped selling only crappy stuff. My Icon is metal-framed and with very decent internals. The only problem I had with it was the ceramic in the level wind, when I filled it with a very abrasive line and it cracked. Got a replacement one from Pure Fishing. A feat of laziness, I filled it without a rod and the line entered the spool in a 90 degree angle, delivering too much attrition.

 

Quantum needs to be understood under its corporative policies:

 

In-house made reels - superb quality

Doyo-phase (early 2000's) - decent quality

First Banax phase  (mid 2000's) - Loss of quality

Second Banax - They got some decency and started using Banax high-end portfolio, the PT series.

 

I need to fix something from above.... I didn't return the Icon. I sold it to a member here but it was repaired by Quantum before it was sold. It was the PT version. It was purchased from a Quantum Authorized seller.  And I also need to add that I have a Quantum Tour PT. It also has been great but has seen limited use. It has been sitting on a 7' St. Avid MH Fast that I use to test new reels, reels that I have repaired and sometimes new lures. 

 

When I spoke to the very nice lady from Quantum, whom has worked there for years (if you have called them you know who I am referring to) about my Vapor. I asked "how can I get three bad reels and 4 mismatched plates" and she said that they do not produce reels in house at all. They do however test samples and do make or suggest engineering changes. That info is relayed to a factory in China, which they have little contact with. My case was an ongoing problem with their factory and she apologized.  Now, this may have changed since it was purchased by Rather Outdoors. I have not contacted them since my reel issue 3 years ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ska4fun]

58 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

I need to fix something from above.... I didn't return the Icon. I sold it to a member here but it was repaired by Quantum before it was sold. It was the PT version. It was purchased from a Quantum Authorized seller.  And I also need to add that I have a Quantum Tour PT. It also has been great but has seen limited use. It has been sitting on a 7' St. Avid MH Fast that I use to test new reels, reels that I have repaired and sometimes new lures. 

 

When I spoke to the very nice lady from Quantum, whom has worked there for years (if you have called them you know who I am referring to) about my Vapor. I asked "how can I get three bad reels and 4 mismatched plates" and she said that they do not produce reels in house at all. They do however test samples and do make or suggest engineering changes. That info is relayed to a factory in China, which they have little contact with. My case was an ongoing problem with their factory and she apologized.  Now, this may have changed since it was purchased by Rather Outdoors. I have not contacted them since my reel issue 3 years ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But no plastic-framed reel is sold in Quantum PT series. That's strange.

 

The factory in China is Banax. If paid accordingly, they will deliver you a reel as good as the superb Okuma Komodo. If not, the usual Kastking and glorified Kastking (13 Fishing) quality.

 

I'm testing the Kastking Kestrel elite BFS and the quality is superb, even more so in the price, under U$100 (got a very discounted price). Banax made.

[Dogface]

2 hours ago, ska4fun said:

I'm testing the Kastking Kestrel elite BFS and the quality is superb, even more so in the price, under U$100 (got a very discounted price). Banax made.

 

Have you seen or tested a KastKing Valiant Eagle II? They are supposed to be the same as the Kestrel except for the frame and half the price. 

[ska4fun]

12 hours ago, Dogface said:

 

Have you seen or tested a KastKing Valiant Eagle II? They are supposed to be the same as the Kestrel except for the frame and half the price. 

No. But a friend of mine is using and absolutely loving it. The only difference I seem between it and the Kestrel is the frame. 

[A kid from Canada]

I'm a Daiwa guy and have been wanting a Shimano for a while but there's always something that turns me off. The Antares DC has me really excited but the gear ratios are at opposite ends of the spectrum either 26 IPT or 33 IPT with nothing in between. The Curados are accented in green and yellow which I don't like either. Might get a bantam and just upgrade the short handle to something a little longer. 

 

The 16 Scorpion looks decent and comes in 28 IPT but im wondering how it will perform next to reels 7 years newer. What would you all recommend to get into the Shimano world? 

[TN bassmaster]

1 minute ago, A kid from Canada said:

I'm a Daiwa guy and have been wanting a Shimano for a while but there's always something that turns me off. The Antares DC has me really excited but the gear ratios are at opposite ends of the spectrum either 26 IPT or 33 IPT with nothing in between. The Curados are accented in green and yellow which I don't like either. Might get a bantam and just upgrade the short handle to something a little longer. 

 

The 16 Scorpion looks decent and comes in 28 IPT but im wondering how it will perform next to reels 7 years newer. What would you all recommend to get into the Shimano world? 

I would say the curado 150 but the scorpions are nice the 21 dc and mgl are cool the bantam seems great metaniums are cool too on YouTube tactical bassin has experience with a lot more reels I’m in the opposite end I’m looking to get into daiwa by picking up an alphas sv 

[Dogface]

6 hours ago, ska4fun said:

No. But a friend of mine is using and absolutely loving it. The only difference I seem between it and the Kestrel is the frame. 

 Thanks!!

[ska4fun]

You're welcome.

 

Latest update from Brazil.

 

A friend of mine used a MH setup, with a 17lb rod and a Brazilian OEM brand (Marine Sports) reel (Lubina GTX), made by Doyo.

 

https://www.marinefishing.com.br/produto/lubina-gtx-black-widow-7839.html

 

The highspeed, aluminium-geared reel fought a mid-sized Tarpon. When they were putting it in the boat, the dip net teared and it escaped. Later, it fought and landed a BIG Crevalle Jack, after more than 30 min of fight. I have the picture and videos of this fight. The Tarpon was caught when trolling (he is insane!) but the Crevalle Jack was using micro-jig, lift and drop.

 

The reel performed flawlessly, in a very unfavorable situation. I have a footage from the fight with the Crevalle Jack.

 

Decent gear supports an occasional abuse. Dealt with it...

 

 

 

 

[PhishLI]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:24 PM, ska4fun said:

But no plastic-framed reel is sold in Quantum PT series.

The Icon PT has a metal frame. I have two, my brother has two, and my friend has two. No fitment issues at all, and no glitches. The plastic side plate even has a brass insert embedded into it for a machine screw. One of mine is mounted on a heavy rod with 50lb braid for throwing 5"-6 1/2" soft baits with Owner Beast hooks. The other on a swimbait rod throwing wake baits. My brother throws frogs on his. They aren't now nor have ever been geary, and are still reasonably smooth given what they've been through. Brass gears and NMB bearings in all the right places too. Quite good drag. Zero regrets.

[NoFroFishing]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:24 PM, ska4fun said:

But no plastic-framed reel is sold in Quantum PT series. That's strange.

 

The factory in China is Banax. If paid accordingly, they will deliver you a reel as good as the superb Okuma Komodo. If not, the usual Kastking and glorified Kastking (13 Fishing) quality.

 

I'm testing the Kastking Kestrel elite BFS and the quality is superb, even more so in the price, under U$100 (got a very discounted price). Banax made.

How can I get my hands on that reel for that price?