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Hmm. I'd say all of them were pretty rough when spin testing them dry. Are these just poor quality bearings that really loosen up once the caked in grease is cleaned out? I'd be surprised if they had all gone bad, especially the JM Carbon Black I really noticed it on, since that reel hasn't seen much use. Perhaps I'll order a few Boca abec 5s, those are pretty cheap, give me an idea of the performance I should see.

So this is my first go at cleaning/re-lubing my reels. So far I've cleaned 4 PQs and a Johnny Morris Carbon Black, I've had these reels 1-3 years and this is the first time they've been cleaned. I've only cleaned the side plate spool bearings as I don't have spool pliers to get the bearing on the spool off. On each one of them, the palming side plate bearing is considerable louder and feels less smooth(worse free spin) after cleaning. My routine has been to take all of the ball bearings out of the reel and put them in a jar of acetone. I put them in the ultrasonic for either 3 or 5 minutes. Then, I take them out of that jar and put them in a new jar of clean acetone and run them in the ultrasonic again. Each time, the acetone has been clean after the second run in the ultra sonic. I then pull them out of the acetone and let them completely dry. On a few of the reels I put the bearings in 92% isopropyl and put them in the ultrasonic for a minute, then pull them out and let them dry again. After they are dry, I put the bearing on a pencil tip, put a drop of Ardent Reel Oil on the gap between the center and the shield, and spin it a little on the pencil to work the oil in. Then I re-install them in the side plate. Am I doing something wrong? I can quiet the bearings down by adding more reel oil, or adding some of the thicker Reel Butter Bearing Oil, but performance slows down as well, and they are still noisier than they were before. Anything I should do differently?

I think that might vary from company to company. The shimano rep said they don't count knob bearings, but I don't know if that's true as I have never taken one apart.

I was apprehensive about split grips at first, but now I love them and look for them on all of my rods. I find being able to have a finger or two on the blank pressed against the top of the butt gives me a much better grip to maximize my flinging power. Weight and sensitivity aren't really a factor for me.

I think the two most interesting reels at that price point from bass pro are the Daiwa Tatula @ $150 and (a little higher) the Curado I @ $179.

I threw a-rigs with 5 1/8 oz heads on it with a 7'6" H bps extreme this year. I don't know if it was an ideal setup, but it worked ok for me.

Funny, I bought a 35 a couple years ago and now wish I had gotten the 30 because I find the 35 kind of bulky and heavy. I guess its just personal preference.

I believe both the Pro Max and Caius have graphite frames. Its not necessarily mistreatment, but just general flex of graphite under load that will lead to failure sooner than a metal frame. If you don't have a BPS near you, then it's not quite as good of a deal, but if BPS has any shipping deals going on during the classic sale, $79 for a Pro Qualifier is a great deal. It looks like Academy has their Mettle reel on sale right now. I've never used it, but have read it is a great reel for such a low price. Personally, I'd start my searching with whatever you can find in your price range with an aluminum frame.

In that price range, I'd wait until the BPS spring classic and pick up a Pro Qualifier when they are on sale. At least that has an aluminum frame for that price point.

Thanks guys. I guess I just have bad luck with Shimanos, its only my second Shimano reel and my first one was a Symetre fj that had binding that I had to exchange as well. Oh well, at least this happened in winter, hopefully the next one is better.

I just received my Chronarch CI4+, and I think there is an issue with it, I want to confirm with those that have it. When I first pulled it out of the box, it was not very smooth, sounded like something was rubbing in the gear area(could be too much grease, not sure) and had some resistance to turning the handle. After a few minutes of that, a slight grindy feel and sound appeared that is most noticeable when reeling slowly. I can feel vibrations from it throughout the reel. Then, one time when I engaged the spool it made a different click than normal, and the handle and spool would still turn, but it had a ton of resistance, clearly not operating normal. This went away after pushing the thumbar and re-engaging the spool, and I haven't been able to recreate it again yet. This isn't normal right? I should exchange this out? I see guys mentioning how smooth this is supposed to be and I am not experiencing that.

Seems all Shimano and Daiwa reels and rods are on sale for 25% for anyone that is interested. I haven't found anything else with that sale.

Thanks!

Their site has been flaky for a few weeks now. Returns internal server errors randomly throughout the day.

What is BTD?

I just went through this selection process myself. I ended up with a 6'9" m Fenwick Elite tech smallmouth rod with a Daiwa lexa 2500 reel on it. I haven't been able to fish it yet but it balances great and the reel is really smooth. I also have a Symetre that I like a lot but I went with the Lexa to try something new.

Can you elaborate on this opinion about dual breaks? Up until now, all of my reels have been dual brake, and I like them because I can set the centrifugal where I want, then make minor adjustments with the mag. I am hesitant to get something that isn't dual, what is it you don't like about them?

Interesting. Since I mostly throw baits that I move with the rod, I like my spinning reels to be a little faster. I also like it faster for reeling fish in on a drop shot. It seems most of the reels make you move up in size to get a decent IPT. I find that rather annoying. I'd like to give the higher end Pfluegars a try but you have to move up to a 40 size to get the same IPT as a 2500 Shimano or Daiwa.

I'm curious. Generally, baitcasters come in one size but several gear ratios/retrieve speeds, but Spinning reels generally come in different sizes(which may have different speeds). I know there are 50/100/200 sized baitcasters, but for the most part a specific model of baitcaster will have 5:1, 6:1, 7:1 all in the same size, but the only way to get different retrieve speeds on spinning gear is to move up or down in spool size. Why is this? Is it a mechanical reason?

I like the split grips for everything. I feel I get a better grip on the rod for harder flinging ability.

BPS Tourney Special rods have done me well. Only $39 when they are on sale.

Just talked to a Shimano Rep at a show. He didn't have one with him, but it sounded like he had used it. Told me it was going to be $180, have the braking system of the chronarch ci4, and casts better than the Chronarch E. Sounds like its going to be a really nice reel.

I bought a mojo spinning rod online, but when I finally put my reel on it(Symetre 2500), I did not like it and returned it. It was very tip heavy, didn't like the balance at all. I ended up grabbing a *** and a Fenwick elite tech small mouth that balance much better, feel like they will be just as sensitive, but haven't fished them yet.

I used spinning reels with my left hand reeling, and when I got my first baitcaster, I went through the same decision. I found reeling a baitcaster with my left hand was awkward, so I went with righty reels and have been very happy. I read on here that with a spinning rod, you use the rod to bring the fish in, so having your power hand on the rod makes sense. But for baitcasting, you use the reel to winch the fish in, so reeling righty puts your power hand on the handle. Seems to make sense. Either way, go with what is comfortable for you. The only benefit of going with right handed reels is generally reel companies offer more reels with different options in right handed than they do in left handed because right handed is more popular.

I think he used a generator for that image, it was a joke.