New technology reels vs older

[shackman]

I have both old and new Shimano reels.Shimano is all i use but that’s just me. I have 2015 aldebaran’s and Metanium 20’s on expride rods but find myself fishing with the good ol tried and true 6 pin centrifugal braking system on OG Powell max rods that I’ve fished for years. 7 ch50 mg’s and 6 curado/citica 100 D’s. I just like the footprint of those reels and just set spool tension where there is no side play, set brake pins and forget em. Also if I do have to adjust brakes, don’t have to worry about side plate falling off cause they’re hinged unlike Mets and Alde’s. Who else finds their self fishing with older tech reels more than your newer tech reels? 

[RB 77]

I fish the Shimano "E" series of Curados, Citicas and Chronarchs in 50's, 200's and 300's almost exclusively. Set it and forget it. I have fished many series before and after them and this series just does it for me. Got that footprint and that "mojo" that works well for me. The series was introduced in 08'. 

[ATA]

I am old enough to use older reels when I start fishing by mid 2000, But back then I always had round Abu reels only, When about 10 years ago I start bass fishing I bought two Abu Garcia one spinning and one bait caster , because that's the brand I knew from before in Asia (Philippines and Thailand and Malaysia), And then after fishing few months more and watching two channels Bassresource and tactical bassin, (Do I need to say more?) I start with metanium 15DC and since then I always use new reels and use Shimano brand most of the times. So I am more fan of new gear and new tech, And I enjoy them. old tackle are good and I respect people using them, But I am happy and enjoy more when I use my fancy new tech gears.

[new2BC4bass]

Was easier to dial in my E-series reels than the SVS Infinity reel.  Also feel the older reel is less finicky once both styles are set.  Although I have a couple MGL reels, I've yet to use one so I can't comment on them.

[DaubsNU1]

All of my casting reels are either Shimano Curado or Citca's from the 1990's. I like them so much, resorted to pickup up used ones via eBay. Love the performance and feel. 

 

Most of my spinning reels are old Shimano's, but I do have some newer Shimano reels. 

 

[F14A-B]

I think the Shimano “D” series were the best casting.. I also loved Daiwa Zillion the original. Built like Tanks and great casters.. I like the 22 Bantam really well, I have a Shallow edition Metanium it’s a great lightweight caster that’s more to my liking than the BFS reel. The 23 Met is really finicky I won’t buy another one..still easily bombs 1/2 but struggled with 1/4 which is weird. 

[shackman]

19 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

All of my casting reels are either Shimano Curado or Citca's from the 1990's. I like them so much, resorted to pickup up used ones via eBay. Love the performance and feel. 

 

Most of my spinning reels are old Shimano's, but I do have some newer Shimano reels. 

 

Yes sir, I’ve used those as well over the years. They are tanks! I still use a chronarch 100A that I converted to 5.0:1 for deep cranks. The drive and pinion gears came out of 200B5 curado. They will interchange with no problem 

[shackman]

6 minutes ago, alonerankin2 said:

I think the Shimano “D” series were the best casting.. I also loved Daiwa Zillion the original. Built like Tanks and great casters.. I like the 22 Bantam really well, I have a Shallow edition Metanium it’s a great lightweight caster that’s more to my liking than the BFS reel. The 23 Met is really finicky I won’t buy another one..still easily bombs 1/2 but struggled with 1/4 which is weird. 

Yes that is weird..should throw a 1/4 with no problem.Don't get me wrong cause I do like my Metanium 20. I have a JDM Met 20 and USDM Met 150b and I prefer the JDM version more because I don’t really like the deep narrow spool on the 150b and I prefer the 85mm handle but I like the spool on the JDM and also have a shallow spool that I can change out with it too. 

[casts_by_fly]

I far prefer the lower profile of the modern reels. I started with the original bantams back in the early 90’s.  I’ve got a mid 2000’s chronarch bantam 100 in the basement and it will absolutely fling a lure.  It’s smooth as silk and with the 29” IPT or thereabouts is makes for a great spinnerbait or crankbait reel.  I just don’t like how high it sits off the reel seat since I like to palm the reel with a pinkie behind the trigger and an index finger and thumb on the top edge of the reel. It’s just too high for that. 
 

I have a 200e chronarch downstairs and it’s better in profile. It’s not a better reel. The bantam 100 is a smoother reel. The 200 just has a better profile.  I can fish it, but I don’t love it. 
 

In the modern generations, I have a pair of chronarchs, a bantam, and a met (plus a zillion to compare to, but we’re talking shimano). All three are better than the 200e. All three have a good profile for me.  The met is smaller since it’s a 100 sized reel and the others are 150. But the other two are just fine for me. All are MGL spools and I won’t have a shimano that isn’t. 
 

[MAN]

Ive gone back to buying the old abu's off of ebay. Finally got me a 4000 size last week for chunking lures.  I am soooo tired of going through reels that have a shelf life of <5 years. (which most now are designed for).  Even these old abu's I am buying that were built during my grandpa's era ...I will be able to hand down to my kids. 

Only thing I don't like about them is the small handles.  Currently looking for a 90cm replacement handle for them. 

[bulldog1935]

@MAN you can count on finding Ambassadeur parts and upgrades as long as you want to fish, and yes, your reels will be heirlooms that will fish for generations.  

Easy to replace with a 90-mm handle, but 5.3 gears may be too slow to use that long handle.  My. 6.3-geared Express has a 90-mm Haneda Craft "power" handle

My 5.3 geared Ambassadeurs, these are both '77 4500C, get 70-mm H/C handles.  

Only C3 and C4 (Ultracast) offered 6.3 gears, and are easy to swap on U/C models.  

Avail and Valleyhill offer 6.1 and 7.1 gearsets for small-frame Ambassadeur (2500C), but no one offers gear upgrades for older mid-frame Ambassadeur.  

[ABU is overpriced]

How old are we talking? Reels from the early 2000's like the alphas, pixy, tdz, etc, they're as good as what's on sale from daiwa and shimano, and if you tune them with additional bearings, carbontex, handles, spools and so on, i would take them over almost everything that's still in production. I don't have anything from the 90's and earlier, tho, and their looks are a bit ancient to me.

[Boomstick]

Imo I don’t really consider a 2015 and old tech reel. I mean yes it is an older designed reel but they also had some real nice reels at that point too.

 

Old to me would be like 80s or 90s or older.

[papajoe222]

I feel that the majority of 'advancements' in newer baitcasters are user friendly ones and their target group is new anglers. I mainly fish older Daiwa reels; Sols, Alphas Vientos and my workhorse Advantages. . They perform exceptionally well and the Sols and Alphas are buttery smooth.  Newer reels have nothing more to offer for me.

[Mobasser]

My oldest reel is my 23 year old ABU 4600C. I've done basic maintenance on it, and it's been a great reel. I'm still using it. I have newer low profile Quantum and Lews LFS also. I like them too.

[Catt]

I absolutely perfer my older Calcuttas over my newer Lew's.

 

Why?

 

Solid as an anvil, versatile as a pair of Channellocks®, & dependable as a 30/30.

 

With old age comes physical challenges which is why I now use Lew's. They're a lot lighter than the Calcutta.

[Hulkster]

for baitcasters I have a curado 200i which I believe came out in 2015 and its amazing. 

 

I don't really understand all the DC hype these days. Seems like every reel that comes out from Shimano is DC.  Is it mainly for beginners to baitcasting? 

 

I think the whine would drive me insane lol 

[Mobasser]

4 minutes ago, Catt said:

I absolutely perfer my older Calcuttas over my newer Lew's.

 

Why?

 

Solid as an anvil, versatile as a pair of Channellocks®, & dependable as a 30/30.

 

With old age comes physical challenges which is why I now use Lew's. They're a lot lighter than the Calcutta.

Catt, same for me. I have some hand pain, probably from gripping tools so much over the years. The Lews LFS helps this, being smaller and lighter. 

[bulldog1935]

@Hulkster I will always say DC is a band-aid until MagForce patents expire and Shimano copies them - no accident their complex variable mag brake is named SVS - get the trademark secure. 

 

@Catt while it's expensive, aftermarket parts will get the weight of a small-frame Ambassadeur down to 6.0 oz.  

  

[gim]

On 5/14/2024 at 9:05 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

All of my casting reels are either Shimano Curado or Citca's

 

I would estimate that I have about 5 of these still currently in use.  I take them in about every 3 seasons for complete disassembly, cleaning, and lubrication.  As long as they continue work, I'll continue to use them.

[Fishingmickey]

On 5/14/2024 at 9:30 PM, alonerankin2 said:

     The 23 Met is really finicky I won’t buy another one..still easily bombs 1/2 but struggled with 1/4 which is weird. 

Try setting all of the brakes to on and give it a try.

FM

[Flyfish-mt]

I started using baitcasters back in the late 80's and still own a couple Chronarch's (100A, 100SF), Curado 200E7 and 200B (Green) that have been outstanding reels and still perform great.  Just the other day I ordered a Tatula 100 TW from Amazon/Japan and have high hopes for it even though it's a sub $125 reel.  I'm not sure it be built as well as the old Shimano made in Japan reels.  Hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised. 

[Catt]

@bulldog1935  my entire Powell setup ain't but 8.0 oz.

 

Been down the Abu trail, ain't going back.

 

[bulldog1935]

@Catt

this one gives any new tackle a run for its money

I built it with full-ceramic bearings, zirconia micros throughout the LW, and full-silicon nitride spool bearings.  The new Smith SPX graphite rod and magnesium offset grip are also a step up from the old days - the rod blade is so light, the balance is completely in the offset grip.  

 

Dock fishing Arroyo navigation channel in March, the 6-1/2' rod was 2-hand casting 3-g micro-jigs to surface slashes 150' out

[Catt]

@bulldog1935 no doubt they're outstanding reels. That picture above is what I started tournament fishing with.