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Subject: "Shimano Reel?" Previous topic | Next topic
Mike.B (Guest)Tue Jan-16-01 06:19 PM
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#1330, "Shimano Reel?"


          

Hello everyone,
I just got a float tube for chirstmas and was wondering if a Shimano Corsair 300 would be good to use for halibut and wsb?
Don't forget I'm new to float tubeing! I also heard that the price of the Corsair 300 wasn't to bad!
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!

  

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Replies to this topic
RE: Shimano Reel?, brian, Jan 16th 2001, #1
RE: Shimano Reel?, Mikeb, Jan 16th 2001, #2
      RE: Shimano Reel?, Amish Ed (Guest), Jan 16th 2001, #4
           RE: Shimano Reel?, brian, Jan 17th 2001, #7
                RE: Shimano Reel?, The Fishin' Magician (Guest), Jan 23rd 2001, #15
RE: Shimano Reel?, jchapluk, Jan 16th 2001, #3
RE: Shimano Reel?, Leapin' Bass, Jan 17th 2001, #5
RE: Shimano Reel?, mikeb (Guest), Jan 17th 2001, #6
      RE: Shimano Reel?, brian, Jan 17th 2001, #8
           RE: Shimano Reel?, Leapin' Bass, Jan 17th 2001, #10
RE: Shimano Reel?, tree (Guest), Jan 17th 2001, #9
RE: Shimano Reel?, Amish Ed (Guest), Jan 17th 2001, #11
RE: Shimano Reel?, Mikeb, Jan 18th 2001, #12
Rebates!!!, fongster, Jan 22nd 2001, #13
RE: Rebates!!!, swimbait, Jan 23rd 2001, #14
RE: Rebates!!!, jchapluk, Jan 23rd 2001, #16
RE: Shimano Reel?, Dan, Jan 23rd 2001, #17
RE: Shimano Reel?, brian, Jan 23rd 2001, #18

brianTue Jan-16-01 07:28 PM
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#1331, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

Corsairs are crap. Get an Abu Garcia.
-Brian

  

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MikebTue Jan-16-01 07:40 PM
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#1332, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 1


          

The Corsair 300 is what pete at Wilderness Outfitters recommended to me!What size Abu Garcia would you recommed? or any other brand and size would help!
THANKS

  

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Amish Ed (Guest)Tue Jan-16-01 09:36 PM
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#1333, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 2


          

Get a Abu 5500 or 6500 C3. The 5500 for 12#, the 6500 for 15# maybe 20#. The 5500 should cost about $65, and $10 more for the 6500. If you want a thumb bar, get a 5600 C4, they are about $85. The new Shimano Catala might be worth looking at, but the Corsairs while redesigned are still not as good as the Abu's. The Shimano Curado 200 is a great reel, but they cost $124 and won't fit much 10#, let alone 12#. The one thing about a Shimano is that they stand behind their product pretty well. The problem is, you shouldn't have to know that. Get an Abu, clean it every few trips w/ Corrosion X, add a single drop of oil to each bearing, and it will last you a long time.

Amish Ed

  

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brianWed Jan-17-01 09:32 AM
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#1334, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

I just remembered the Catala, and was comin to post it, nice heads up ed. If you're gonna seriously fish (once a week or so...), the corsair WILL crap out on you within a year. At least the old ones did, my new gold one seems to be holding up a little better, but we'll see. I don't think they replaced any plastic parts with aluminum, so it'll probably be the same deal. Go with Ed's abu suggestions, or the new shimano catala.
-Brian

  

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The Fishin' Magician (Guest)Tue Jan-23-01 07:23 AM
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#1335, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 7


          

The guys that complain about their corsairs are the ones that don't maintain them properly. They're awesome reels for 70 bucks that will put up with a ton of punishment IF you take care of them. (I fish it once or twice a week from a kayak and that's as hard on reels as tubing)

They are built much like freshwater reels and are susceptible to corrosion. Clean them regularly and lube with the correct lube, but don't overlube. I take mine apart after every 2 or 3 trips and clean it and lube it. Like with my other reels, I spray it lightly with fresh water, wipe it dry, then loosen the side plates so it will dry inside. I had the problem with the old corsair (after fishing it hard for 2 years) where the anti reverse bearing began to slip backwards. I took the reel apart, cleaned the bearing, and re-lubed it. After that, I had no problems at all. I heard they were replacing the old ones with new ones so I sent mine back. Had the new one for a year and after recently cleaning the bearings and re-lubing, it casts like new.

I've caught hundreds of barracuda, calicos, and a some yellowtail on the reel and the drag is still as smooth as butter. That's the reel I'm going to use next summer for trying to land a yellowtail on 2# test.

So if you're like me and don't have $160 to spend on a Calcutta I'd suggest going with the corsair. I don't have any experience with the abu, but I'm not sure you can beat the drag on a shimano. I also have an old quantum iron IR3 which is about 10 years old. It still works great. Only problem is that the line guide pin is worn so the levelwind occasionally gets stuck.

Whatever reel you get, you'll have to maintain it much more than if you were fishing from a boat. Tubing and kayaking is very hard on reels. I'm not sure I'd want to bring a premium quality reel out where it would have to put up with such abuse.

TL,
Adam

  

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jchaplukTue Jan-16-01 08:57 PM
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#1336, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

I have corsairs that I use float tubing. They were decent reels but they lasteded about 8 months before they started turning to crap, but shimano replaced them with there modified corsairs(dont think they came out with a redisgned 300 only the 400). They seem better, but I havent had them all that long, or exposed them to much abuse, so the jury is still out.

Jason

  

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Leapin' BassWed Jan-17-01 05:20 AM
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#1337, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

There's nothing like a Calcutta. I know they are pretty expensive but if you can justify it in any way it's well worth the money. I started off using a low-profile freshwater bass type reel (Quantum E600ti). For inshore halibut/white seabass I think they are plenty large enough for up to 15 lb. test. It said something about corrosion resistance which drew my attention. I have two of them. They are great reels but a pain to work on where as Calcuttas are probably the easiest reel I've ever worked on which is important if you are going to subject them to salt water. I now use Calcuttas (50 for 6 lb., 150 for 10 lb., and 250 for 12 lb.) and will never go back or use anything else. I have heard Corsairs are junk also but have never had first hand experience. Shimano and Quantum are very good with customer service.

If I couldn't afford a Calcutta I'd probably go with the Quantum E600ti or the Curado that Brian mentioned.

I also have a Quantum IR410CX. It's a little on the large size (the size of the Calcutta 400) but it's an excellent reel. They make smaller "Iron" reels but I'm not sure if they are the same quality as the IR410CX.

***********************

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

  

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mikeb (Guest)Wed Jan-17-01 06:00 AM
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#1338, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 5


          

Thanks to everyone for all of your helpful advice. It seems like the Corsair is not the way to go. I really do appreciate any other information you could give me. (How about Rod and Rod size?) Thanks again

  

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brianWed Jan-17-01 09:40 AM
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#1339, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 6


  

          

Well, I'm assuming you'll be fishing light line (10-15) inshore plastics and stuff, so I'd suggest one of Pete's loomis' that he likes. He'll have to fill those in, cause I don't know the models off the top of my head. They're popping rods I believe. I use a castaway STH7 for a lot my float tubing, look into that. I bought mine from Pete, see if he's got any in stock, or if he'll order one for ya. They're pretty cheap too ($125 or so). A 300 size reel may be too big for this rod (what are you gonna fish on that reel? 20?) so if it's a 20# stick you're after, look into some calstar models. The 800XL will work nicely. Some folks don't like fishing long rods from the float tube (I prefer my bass rod just cause it's easier to deal with), so if you don't want the 8 ft. stick, try the 700xl, or the best of both worlds, a thin diameter, long loomis rod. It's long, but not as beefy at the butt, so it's easier to handle and stuff (I'd imagine). Check the swr108-20C. Also, I recently found on bad-fish.com that they have a sweet blank called the swr 114 or something. Apparently Jamon (remember that guy...) has one and it's a sweet stick. There's another one to look into. As a general rule, for a 20# stick, look at calstars, seekers, and loomis.
-Brian

  

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Leapin' BassWed Jan-17-01 12:30 PM
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#1340, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 8


          

For plastics I like the Loomis Hot Shot rods and for crankbaits I like the popping rods. Check out my float tube tackle (http://www.leapinbass.com/fish_on/float_tubing_index.htm) and custom rod orders (http://leapinbass.com/orders.htm) pages for more details.

***********************

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

  

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tree (Guest)Wed Jan-17-01 11:16 AM
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#1341, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

If you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to a Calcutta and something better than the Corsair, I would reccomend the Quantum IRC410 Iron. They have that cool Calcutta look and I have found mine extremely dependable. Drag is strong and smooth and have caught a lot of big fish on this reel.



  

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Amish Ed (Guest)Wed Jan-17-01 07:25 PM
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#1342, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

Since you still haven't stated what # test you'll be using, I'll assume it's 12# since you've looked at the Corsair 300. It seems you've leaned clear of the Corsair, good job, just saw another gold one bite the dust today. It was only 4 months old. So, my recomendation would be a Abu 5500 C3, Shimano Curado 200 or a Catala. Put the one you like on a couple different rods and see what you like together. I assume you don't want to spend big $$ on your combo, and wouldn't recomend it anyways. More money, more maintenance.

For a rod look at the Shimano Convergence and the Compre, and also the Quantum Irons for the lower priced stuff. For higher priced ones look at the Allstar Inshores and the Seeker Inshores. I personally don't recomend the Loomis'. They are expensive, but more importantly, they must be treated very well. Many Loomis' break because of small nicks. I actually prefer the Quantums for tubing. I like the actions and they are light and sturdy. The main reason I take them over the Shimanos though is length.

You asked about length and this is very personal. I started tubing w/ a 6'6" Bill Dance Quantum rated something like 12-20#. And I then added a 7'6" Quantum Iron rated 8-17#. What I found out was this. The added length added casting distance (obviously), but it also allowed for more control over the fish. The control comes from the lighter tip, it allows you to bring the rod up higher (thus the fish closer) and still manuver the fish. So, now I use the 7'6", and another Quantum that's a 7'9" Steelhead rod rated 8-17# also. This one is even easier to control.

So, descide what you like, then figure out what you need. If you need the distance and want pulling power also, get something like the Seeker or Allstar (longer and quicker action). If you want distance and finesse, go Quantum, or maybe Fenwick (longer w/ backbone and a lighter tip. If you just want something to fish in tight areas or have limited space, go w/ something like the Shimano (shorter w/ a quick action).

I'll tell you what, once you get the longer rods you'll probably stay there. You gotta love those long casts. Oh yeah, the swing on hook sets is shorter too w/ the longer rods.

Sorry for the long post, but I guess if you made it this far you weren't too bored.

Amish Ed

  

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MikebThu Jan-18-01 04:45 AM
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#1343, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 11


          

Thanks ED all that helped me out alot! THANKS!

  

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fongsterMon Jan-22-01 08:28 PM
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#1344, "Rebates!!!"
In response to Reply # 0


          

If you buy a Corsair (probably not), a Catala (possibly), or a Calyx (a f/w bass reel) you can get a $20 rebate from Shimano thru March 31. Just go to their website and download the rebate coupon. I just got a Catala 300 for 15#, haven't fished it yet though. I was strictly a Calcutta guy until now. Bought the Catala on Ben Secrest's (famous Aftco guy) recommendation.



  

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swimbaitTue Jan-23-01 05:01 AM
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#1345, "RE: Rebates!!!"
In response to Reply # 13


  

          

fongster
thanks for the tip, that's pretty decent to get any money off on Shimano stuff. I would love to hear how the Catala fishes for you.

-Rob

  

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jchaplukTue Jan-23-01 07:54 AM
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#1346, "RE: Rebates!!!"
In response to Reply # 13


          

Had an interesting thing happen concerning rebates. Sent in 3 slips from my corsairs to get free owners pack or something like that and got nothing for 6 months then last month about a week apart each I got them and in each was a slip saying if I bought another I would get a $20 rebate, but that it expired in August 2000 which was 4 months ago.
The address was written perfectly on the envelopes so I have no idea why this happened kind of funny though.
They came with a cool reel cover thing that also fits over my calcutta so I was happy

jason

  

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DanTue Jan-23-01 08:46 AM
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#1347, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 0


          

prsonally i dont like the corsair too much. i would use an Abu Garcia.

  

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brianTue Jan-23-01 09:23 AM
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#1348, "RE: Shimano Reel?"
In response to Reply # 17


  

          

How bout the catala Daniel??? Just to let ya know, the corsair is rated very low on this site, so don't worry about pissing anybody off by saying CORSAIRS SUCK.
-Brian

  

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