funny after all these yrs. I have yet owned a reel that can "beat" the distance I can cast with the old Lew's Speed Spool .... coming close or even is the Daiwa Zillion "crazy cranker.

I know kinda what you mean. It's probably not my longest caster, but I can still bomb with my old school Daiwa TD1SH.

I'm with you. I still have 5 BB1n's but retired them. It's strange how a reel with thee bearings and such a simple design can cast so well. I taught my children to cast with them before they were 10 years old. I think they are the most forgiving casters ever produced. No magnets, just brakes.

I have a 50 year-old Ambassadeur 5000 that really zings it out there when I get a bit skippy and back off the spool tension, especially right after I service the reel and there is fresh oil in the spool bushings. It's crazy the distance it gets with the line guide zipping back and forth across the worm shaft. AND, there are exactly ZERO bearings in the reel...

I have a 50 year-old Ambassadeur 5000 that really zings it out there when I get a bit skippy and back off the spool tension, especially right after I service the reel and there is fresh oil in the spool bushings. It's crazy the distance it gets with the line guide zipping back and forth across the worm shaft. AND, there are exactly ZERO bearings in the reel...

Maybe I should dig mine out now that I can cast a b/c reel. I knew nothing about using one when I bought it, didn't know anyone using a b/c reel, and never heard of the Internet at that time. Being somewhat young (early 20s I think), I didn't have the patience to learn on my own. Doubt I tried using it more than 3 or 4 times.

I have 2 baitcasters that I can really fire out there. Both are older Curados, one is a regular 200B that I had super tuned, the other is just a plain stock 200BSF. I have no idea what the actual distance they cast but I normally use them for fishing traps or spooks and I can easily dump half the spool on a cast.

funny after all these yrs. I have yet owned a reel that can "beat" the distance I can cast with the old Lew's Speed Spool .... coming close or even is the Daiwa Zillion "crazy cranker.

I have a bunch of higher end reels to compare against, and mostly agree with you. My Curado E's, STX and Premier's don't give up much, if anything, to most of them. A steez can really send a lure downrange pretty well in ideal conditions, but can be very fussy about it.

The game changer is my Calais DC, though. Nothing else comes close.

I have an old 5000 and a 5600 C3. Both reels send the baits out like a shot. Especially crankbaits.

I have a bunch of higher end reels to compare against, and mostly agree with you. My Curado E's, STX and Premier's don't give up much, if anything, to most of them. A steez can really send a lure downrange pretty well in ideal conditions, but can be very fussy about it.

The game changer is my Calais DC, though. Nothing else comes close.

I got to play with a Calcutta TE DC quite a bit when I worked at Cabela's and the casting ability and distance of those things were incredible. I don't know of many real uses for being able to cast that far other than to impress your friends or reach schooling fish but it's always better to be able to cast to far instead of not far enough I guess.

I have a bunch of higher end reels to compare against, and mostly agree with you. My Curado E's, STX and Premier's don't give up much, if anything, to most of them. A steez can really send a lure downrange pretty well in ideal conditions, but can be very fussy about it.

The game changer is my Calais DC, though. Nothing else comes close.

Amen.....

I have a bunch of higher end reels to compare against, and mostly agree with you. My Curado E's, STX and Premier's don't give up much, if anything, to most of them. A steez can really send a lure downrange pretty well in ideal conditions, but can be very fussy about it.

The game changer is my Calais DC, though. Nothing else comes close.

X2 on this and the amen. Into the wind, downwind, these reels don't care, they just let fly!

I'm with you. I still have 5 BB1n's but retired them. It's strange how a reel with thee bearings and such a simple design can cast so well. I taught my children to cast with them before they were 10 years old. I think they are the most forgiving casters ever produced. No magnets, just brakes.

remember the manual learning the "educated thumb" and I agree those "big" brakes than ran the "raceway" inner spool. "a black bass reel that must be fished to be appreciated" .... very true.

I got to play with a Calcutta TE DC quite a bit when I worked at Cabela's and the casting ability and distance of those things were incredible. I don't know of many real uses for being able to cast that far other than to impress your friends or reach schooling fish but it's always better to be able to cast to far instead of not far enough I guess.

I have the Calcutta TE250DC, too. A good reel, but even it is not up to the ability of the Calais DC. The 4x8 DC system that is only installed in the Calais is just superior.

The super long casting distance and accuracy that the DC system brings to the table has caught me more than a few fish. As you say, schoolers are a good example. Long crank bait casts aid in keeping the lure in the strike zone longer, too. I fish mostly clear waters, so max distance can be important. For sure not all the time. But this thread was about casting distance. And the DC is king of that hill, at least in terms of stock USDM reels.

whatever reel and rod i have a 1/2 oz redeye shad tied onto. lol. That bait just casts like a rocket. My Revo Premier casts like a dream though.

I'm with you. I still have 5 BB1n's but retired them. It's strange how a reel with thee bearings and such a simple design can cast so well. I taught my children to cast with them before they were 10 years old. I think they are the most forgiving casters ever produced. No magnets, just brakes.

No it's not...

It has always been the simple designs like that and educated thumbs, that kick butt...

Tight Lines!

I have the Calcutta TE250DC, too. A good reel, but even it is not up to the ability of the Calais DC. The 4x8 DC system that is only installed in the Calais is just superior.

The super long casting distance and accuracy that the DC system brings to the table has caught me more than a few fish. As you say, schoolers are a good example. Long crank bait casts aid in keeping the lure in the strike zone longer, too. I fish mostly clear waters, so max distance can be important. For sure not all the time. But this thread was about casting distance. And the DC is king of that hill, at least in terms of stock USDM reels.

not only long casts with old speed-spool, but you could "target" close areas with ease also...... seems the "cast-control" knob was infinite.

My new STX will flat out sling it, and that's with over lubed factory bearings. Cant wait to give them flush and see what it can do then.

I can't afford reels in the DC price range. My longest cast to date was with my Zillion 50th Anniversary.