New Carbonlite Reel

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Ok, soit's been a while but I finaly got the new Carbonlite out of the box Yesterday. It's spooled with 8# Zo-Yuri and is on a 7'M Crankbait rod.

I'll have to say I was impressed! It casted GREAT. I turned the mag break off and set the other one to 1 and it never even tried to backlash.

It is a little bit noisy on the retrive but hey let's not forget it's a CHEEP reel compared to everything else I use.

I'd rate it a full five stars!

I opened mine and well they didnt use much grease at all plus it didnt seem like too good of a grease. I greased it nice, no full blown cleaning, Man what a difference just doing this made, much much better. Its a great reel now awesome caster KVD 1.0 with ease and 1/8 SK buzzbaits. Im wanting to use it more than my 50E of which Ive left home on a couple outings took the JMC/Smoke combo

[Hooligan]

A little update on this. I've been fishing two of them as testers for about a month and a half, give or take. I've gone through two of the 7.1:1 reels, both had major malfunctions that caused the reel to be wholly inoperable. From what I could find in the process of tear down and postmortem the pinion gear wasn't meshing properly, and was basically stripped. BOTH reels suffered the same fate. The 6.4 reel has been no issue whatsoever, but I've not fished it nearly the amount as the 7.1.

[Jason Penn]

A little update on this. I've been fishing two of them as testers for about a month and a half, give or take. I've gone through two of the 7.1:1 reels, both had major malfunctions that caused the reel to be wholly inoperable. From what I could find in the process of tear down and postmortem the pinion gear wasn't meshing properly, and was basically stripped. BOTH reels suffered the same fate. The 6.4 reel has been no issue whatsoever, but I've not fished it nearly the amount as the 7.1.

i've got to replace 1 of the 7:1 reels i've got. i greased the main gear but it's still got that hump. i had changed out the gears in an older model carbonlite last year with a pq pinion gear and a revo premier 7:1 drive gear and it basically did the same thing. i don't know what's up there. maybe switching out for a set of pq gears would work, and it'll still be just over 6 oz with the brass gears, if they will work.

i'm actually thinking about returning both of these 7:1's for 6:1 and just dealing with it. the 5:1 i have has no problems at all.

[Goose52]

I have two 6.4s. One is still NIB - that one is smooth without the rough spot once per turn. The other 6.4 has the rough spot and that's the one I've been fishing. I don't notice the rough spot during retrieves so that's mostly a non-issue for me. I only have a couple hours on it so far so I have no idea of how the 6.4s will hold up. The reel DOES cast very well.

[craww]

I've returned mine twice...The first time was due to the you guessed it, pinion issue. The 2nd time I was given a reel with Hydrilla in the friggin line guide. Didnt catch it in the store. Also there was a 1/16'' gap between the handle sideplate and frame. Apparently somebody fooled with it and didnt put it back together right? I dunno. My little brother was also given a used reel when he purchased his combo. Was told by the manager that it was impossible this could happen. Well it did, twice.

For what its worth, I returned my 7.1 and went with a 6.1. This thing is MONEY. Casts amazing. I'm very happy with the performance of the new reel.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I've returned mine twice...The first time was due to the you guessed it, pinion issue. The 2nd time I was given a reel with Hydrilla in the friggin line guide. Didnt catch it in the store. Also there was a 1/16'' gap between the handle sideplate and frame. Apparently somebody fooled with it and didnt put it back together right? I dunno. My little brother was also given a used reel when he purchased his combo. Was told by the manager that it was impossible this could happen. Well it did, twice.

For what its worth, I returned my 7.1 and went with a 6.1. This thing is MONEY. Casts amazing. I'm very happy with the performance of the new reel.

No doubt in my mind BPS sent me a used reel once. The plactic bag was torn the nut that holds the rotor on had nicks on the corners and a scratch about 1/2" long.

About JMC reel I was casting just nightcrawlers yesterday size 4 hook. Dont know how much a real crawler weighs but it worked fine. I wasnt getting 100' casts but 30'-40' or so.

[BigMoneyGrip]

I got a left handed one when they were on sale a couple of months ago. I had to return it because the drag was messes up. The store didn't have any in stock so I had to settle for a refund. A helpful guy that worked there told me it would be best to order online and have it shipped to the store. BPS was out of stock for a few weeks and when they finally became available, I ordered another and had it shipped to the house. I was nervous from hearing of the stories from others about the rough gears.

I got the reel yesterday and the new one is as smooth as greased butter. No roughness of the gears what soever. Maybe the new batch was corrected? Anyhow, the new reel is super smooth and I am happy.

[mmoritz11]

i bought one a couple weeks ago and dont have any complaints. smooth casting and i agree that the gears mesh well together.

[21farms]

i received a new 7.1:1 JM CL a couple of weeks ago. i was absolutely shocked how rough and grindy it was. i have bought a ton of new reels over the last few years and this was the worst...i'm not kidding...you could feel the vibration through the handle as well as hear it audibly. i took it back to my local BPS and the display models were only slightly better than mine. the salesman let me go through a few boxed ones and they were all rough. i finally picked out the best one i could find, a 5.4:1 but even that one is not close to what i'd consider "smooth". but, i was pretty determined to have one so i brought it home with the hope that a good lubing and some break-in time fishing it would help smooth things out. well, it didn't...i used it extensively on a 11-hour trip and, while it casted fine, it is still rough and grindy. i also had one incident where i got hung on a log and the boat was drifting the opposite way so fast i couldn't push the spool release button so i loosened the drag all the way and it still would release line...the spool was stuck and the line broke. after i was finally able to press the thumb bar and then re-engage the spool, the drag started working again. i really don't know what to make of people saying theirs are smooth...i tried out about a dozen of them from new stock and they were all rough.

[craww]

i received a new 7.1:1 JM CL a couple of weeks ago. i was absolutely shocked how rough and grindy it was. i have bought a ton of new reels over the last few years and this was the worst...i'm not kidding...you could feel the vibration through the handle as well as hear it audibly. i took it back to my local BPS and the display models were only slightly better than mine. the salesman let me go through a few boxed ones and they were all rough. i finally picked out the best one i could find, a 5.4:1 but even that one is not close to what i'd consider "smooth". but, i was pretty determined to have one so i brought it home with the hope that a good lubing and some break-in time fishing it would help smooth things out. well, it didn't...i used it extensively on a 11-hour trip and, while it casted fine, it is still rough and grindy. i also had one incident where i got hung on a log and the boat was drifting the opposite way so fast i couldn't push the spool release button so i loosened the drag all the way and it still would release line...the spool was stuck and the line broke. after i was finally able to press the thumb bar and then re-engage the spool, the drag started working again. i really don't know what to make of people saying theirs are smooth...i tried out about a dozen of them from new stock and they were all rough.

Sorry to hear that bro. Sounds like you may need to just go with a different model. I would have myself, but BPS didn't have anything in store for a comparable price I wanted. If they'd had a righty in the older model I would have went that route.

[Sherlock 60]

This thread make be happy I decided to add two more Pro Qualifier reels to the ole' arsenal (a 6.4:1 and a 7.1:1) when they were on sale for $79 instead of going for the shiny new stuff.

[Diggy]

Mine is still rocking, the 7:1 with no grinding as of right now. I did oil it but no grease. It did cast farther once I oiled it. Time will tell. I would like to repurchase the older model in left again. I miss it

[MrSwimJig]

My Carbonlite is still going strong. No noises or grinding just super smooth and a very amazing drage system. So far I am very impressed, but will post more as it gets more and more use.

[BassingNick]

You guys should have gone with the Carbon Black, little heavier but absolute butter smooth and will chuck a lipless crank half way across Okechobee.

[Goose52]

For sure the Carbon Black is a nice reel. I have two of the older Rick Clunn (blue model) reels that are part of the same gene pool as the Carbon Black and they're nice. But, at 9.4 ounces - about the same weight as the Carbon Black, they just don't see much use any longer. I've got lots of 6- and 7-ounce class reels to play with now and you get sorta spoiled. I think the whole point of many of us buying the new JCL reel is because of the exteme light weight and to see if BPS could successfully make a durable 5-ounce class reel at such a low price point. Even as a BPS BC reel fan, I have to say that the jury's still out on the JCL...

[Packard]

Glad I snagged an older model carbonlite on sale while everyone was scrambling for these.

[BigMoneyGrip]

For sure the Carbon Black is a nice reel. I have two of the older Rick Clunn (blue model) reels that are part of the same gene pool as the Carbon Black and they're nice. But, at 9.4 ounces - about the same weight as the Carbon Black, they just don't see much use any longer. I've got lots of 6- and 7-ounce class reels to play with now and you get sorta spoiled. I think the whole point of many of us buying the new JCL reel is because of the exteme light weight and to see if BPS could successfully make a durable 5-ounce class reel at such a low price point. Even as a BPS BC reel fan, I have to say that the jury's still out on the JCL...

Goose, it seems like it's luck of the draw. Mine is as smooth as any of my Shimanos. Others say the grinding is horrible.

When I got my second one, BPS was out of the for several weeks. Maybe this second run was fixed. I know I was nervous waiting on this one, reading some of the other reports had me skerd I was gonna get a "grinder".

[FlipSide]

Mine sucked, the drag system just stopped working after 2 fishing trips. I returned it and got a Pro Qualifier.

[Hi Salenity]

Mine sucked, the drag system just stopped working after 2 fishing trips. I returned it and got a Pro Qualifier.

Braided line?

[FlipSide]

Braided line?

Nope, mono.

[Diggy]

So I decided to use the reel today and noticed the plastic bezzle around the line guide is was falling out. The Johhny Morris name plate and gold piece fell off. Some glue will fix but I shouldnt have to be rigging up new gear that hasnt been abused. The heat from my car may have loosened the adhesive up but still crappy if you ask me. None of my other reels are falling apart and Ive had them/used them longer

May return it in for a lews once I get my money back and go elsewhere

[21farms]

well, looks like three time's a charm. i took my second JM carbonlite back to BPS to exchange today as i decided i just could not live with the grindiness. the very first one the salesman let me open was smooth and quiet! it was like night and day compared to my first two. even with the cast control knob tightened down to normal fishing setting, it was world's better and finally one that i would characterize as "fairly smooth". the spool will free spin for close to 20 seconds compared to about 3-4 seconds before.

[Diggy]

Mine is officially gone. Need a lh goldie again. One of my biggest regrets was getting rid of it besides picking what was behind door #3 on lets make a deal

[jj'sbassinforfun]

I picked up 2 CL's(1 rh 7.1:1 and 1 lefty 6.4:1). The lefty was smooth, But the righty was draggy. I tore it apart and did a clean and lube. Bearings were packed full of grease. So I tore into the lefty JIC!

For the money? I would go with the PQ's or the Lew's TSS for few $$ more. But I wanted the EVA grips. Next time I'll just add them or the CL handle to a PQ!