New Shimano Caenan, Reviews?

[LgMouthGambler]

Anyone got one of these reels? Satisfied with it? I am going to get a new reel during this Classic sale, and figured might as well trifect the Shimano line. Since I have a 200E7, and a Citica G6, might as well try this new piece to add to the artillery. Its got 6+1 bearings, so it must be pretty smooth right?

[webertime]

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocaenan.html

Get a PQ, Carbonlite,or Citica for similar $ during the sale.

[Diggy]

I know a few people with them that love them, there also a few reviews on tw.com. Id try out the new JM Carbonlite with that discount as the dude above said

[LgMouthGambler]

Have the Pro Qualifier, and the Citica. Not impressed with the Carbonlite.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

Seems to me that with the caenan you are paying for those 7 letters (s.h.i.m.a.n.o) instead of quality components like their other reels have . Just my $.02..

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I believe this is a graphite frame reel. If that's the case, it's one more argument for one of the other on-sale reels.

[Hooligan]

The Caenan is a GREAT reel design. On paper. In production, it's a low price point reel, and that's all it is. They put some plastic parts on a plastic frame with cheap components and call it a Shimano. It's not worth the money you pay, particularly when you can get a Citica for a little more. I'd take the new Carbonlite over the Caenan. It's the one very dark spot in Shimano's current line, for me.

[The Rooster]

Citica is the bottom of the line of Shimano reels that I'd consider. Caenan is a complete waste of money. Any reel is that doesn't have an aluminum frame or better for that matter. Graphite is for rods, not reels. Spinning reels might be the only exception to that rule but I always try to get aluminum frames there too.

[webertime]

With the Classic sale you could get a Citica (with reel trade and their rebate) for $74.99... That would be the same price as the Caenan with a trade in (they don't offer a rebate for that model).

[tugsandpulls]

i have one and love it cast nice drags nice dont know why everyone so hard on them i tried a carbonlite and ddint like it

[Bassyak]

I have a Caenan on my topwater rod (an older model Compre, 6'6" M/MF), and it's been a great combo for walking spooks and poppers. The reel is an excellent caster (on par or better than with my Curados and Citicas) with the 10 lb mono spooled on it and, despite what others have said, I like the EVA knobs. An an engineer, I understand the implications of the graphite-framed reel, and if I'd done my research beforehand, I probably wouldn't have bought it for that reason. But I didn't discover that fact until after I'd already bought it and after a couple seasons of use, it has given me no reason to doubt it's abilities. I have been reasonably impressed with it's performance, features, and appearance, as well as the initial cost. Granted, I haven't caught anything on it that exceeds five pounds thus far, but then again, most of my reels have never handled fish bigger that big, and I don't catch them often enough to be able to compare reel frame flex under load. All that being said, if you can get the Citica at the same price as someone posted above, I think the aluminum frame of the Citica is a better long-term investment than the bearing count in the Caenan.

[LgMouthGambler]

I have the Citica, and its pretty good, but want to try the Caenan. Im going to use it for what you use it for, my spook. Gonna put mono on it too, figured it would be good for it.

[Bassyak]

That's cool...like I said, I've got no beef against it. It's a great reel for what I use it for, though, as you've seen above, you probably won't find many others that'll agree with that.

[piscicidal]

Anyone got one of these reels? Satisfied with it? I am going to get a new reel during this Classic sale, and figured might as well trifect the Shimano line. Since I have a 200E7, and a Citica G6, might as well try this new piece to add to the artillery. Its got 6+1 bearings, so it must be pretty smooth right?

If you want the Shimano trifecta, you might want to go up rather than down from your Curado/Citica reels...

I just got a Chronarch 50E at the Davie BPS store for (net) $129. If you participate in the reel trade in, you get a better trade in towards the Chronarch ($30) than towards the Caenan. I'm not sure if the Caenan qualifies toward the $30 Shimano trade in, either.

You might want to run the numbers...you might find that there is not that much difference between the Chronarch and the Caenan at the reel trade in.

[LgMouthGambler]

If you want the Shimano trifecta, you might want to go up rather than down from your Curado/Citica reels...

I just got a Chronarch 50E at the Davie BPS store for (net) $129. If you participate in the reel trade in, you get a better trade in towards the Chronarch ($30) than towards the Caenan. I'm not sure if the Caenan qualifies toward the $30 Shimano trade in, either.

You might want to run the numbers...you might find that there is not that much difference between the Chronarch and the Caenan at the reel trade in.

I already have the Chronarch (200E and 50E, haha). Trying to keep the $ down. Just need something for my new spook reel, so a non metal frame will do for a mono setup.

[Packard]

Well if you aren't going to listen to others opinions then you might as well just get it! Save yourself the argument.

[LgMouthGambler]

I just want to know who has one, and how they like it. Not looking for "get another reel, but i dont have one"

[smalljaw67]

If you fish more than 30 days a year then the Caenan isn't for you, it is a graphite framed reel that will not hold up to regular use and it isn't just that reel but pretty much any reel made with a graphite frame. Graphite side plates are a little different, I don't care for them too much but it isn't as critical as the frame. Once the frame flexes a few times the gears won't mesh together as tight and it will get rough and once that occurs it is done, you can't fix it because the frame will always flex and all it takes is a few good hook sets or a few snags. A Citica is the lowest priced Shimano reel that is worth the money, and if you like the price point add 10 bucks and get a Lews Speed Spool, not the laser MG but the normal Speed Spool, they were 89 dollars but now they are 99, anyway it is an aluminum framed reel that performs really well for a budget priced baitcasting reel.

[piscicidal]

I already have the Chronarch (200E and 50E, haha). Trying to keep the $ down. Just need something for my new spook reel, so a non metal frame will do for a mono setup.

That's cool...I understand your point. I have several graphite reels in the rotation and they've served me well. I've got never used the Caenan so I can't comment on it. I saw some Caenans at BPS yesterday, so they should still be in stock.

[LgMouthGambler]

If you fish more than 30 days a year then the Caenan isn't for you, it is a graphite framed reel that will not hold up to regular use and it isn't just that reel but pretty much any reel made with a graphite frame. Graphite side plates are a little different, I don't care for them too much but it isn't as critical as the frame. Once the frame flexes a few times the gears won't mesh together as tight and it will get rough and once that occurs it is done, you can't fix it because the frame will always flex and all it takes is a few good hook sets or a few snags. A Citica is the lowest priced Shimano reel that is worth the money, and if you like the price point add 10 bucks and get a Lews Speed Spool, not the laser MG but the normal Speed Spool, they were 89 dollars but now they are 99, anyway it is an aluminum framed reel that performs really well for a budget priced baitcasting reel.

this I was not aware of about the graphite frames. Good info, thanks for the explanation.

[Dave P]

Not exactly. Like anything else the more expensive a graphite framed reel is (generally) the sturdier the frame. The 20 dollar Shakespere, yes. One good snag or hookset, I can see it flexing beyond recovery. The one that I've got left in the rotation (Pfleuger) is going strong after 3+ years of getting used up to 3-4 times a week. I've used it on one of my plastics rods up until this year, so it's had a lot of snag abuse and the last fish it landed last fall was about 6 pounds. No issues. It's moving over to my spinnerbait rod this year. YMMV. I've been replacing mine with aluminum frames a few at a time as they come on sale.

[Diggy]

If you fish more than 30 days a year then the Caenan isn't for you, it is a graphite framed reel that will not hold up to regular use and it isn't just that reel but pretty much any reel made with a graphite frame. Graphite side plates are a little different, I don't care for them too much but it isn't as critical as the frame. Once the frame flexes a few times the gears won't mesh together as tight and it will get rough and once that occurs it is done, you can't fix it because the frame will always flex and all it takes is a few good hook sets or a few snags. A Citica is the lowest priced Shimano reel that is worth the money, and if you like the price point add 10 bucks and get a Lews Speed Spool, not the laser MG but the normal Speed Spool, they were 89 dollars but now they are 99, anyway it is an aluminum framed reel that performs really well for a budget priced baitcasting reel.

My friends caenan is almost on a year and still rocking with no noticeable wear. He uses it for everything including inshore fishing. Maybe he is lucky

[jdw174]

I've used a Caenan for a couple of years now. After a couple of trips it got very noisy on the cast. If I had it to do over again, I'd have opted for the BPS Pro Qualifier at only $10 more retail.

[LexBass]

Can someone tell me the details of this trade in sale? What store and when?

[retiredbosn]

Every spring Bass Pro Shops has what it calls the Spring Classic sale. It is a nationwide sale all the stores participate. I think its the last part of March through the first part of April, you need a circular from your store as they take trade ins on different days, they can't run that promotion for a month, you can find the circular online at basspro.