Does anyone have experience with the current version BPS Johnny Morris Carbonlite baitcast reel? Specifically does it still suffer from the universal rough spot problem?

 

This version

 

 

I don't have personal experience with the newer JM-CL - just the 1st gen black ones (of which I have two). Both of mine have the grindy feel - one more than the other. Both of my reels were purchased from the initial production run. The grindy feeling was caused by a manufacturing problem early in production (reported to be caused by the hole in the main gear being drilled very slightly off-center). The folks that bought 1st gen JM-CLs from later production runs haven't been reporting this grindy feeling.

 

Perhaps the owners of the 2nd gen (white) JM-CLs will chime in to confirm...

Great information, thanks goose! So this white one is considered the second generation?

Yes - the white one is the 2nd gen JM-CL - coming out in early 2015; the black one was the first gen, coming out in early 2012.  I got my black reels from that first run in early 2012.

 

Then, of course, there was the earlier gold-colored Carbonlite - but that was a completely different reel that didn't use the "Johnny Morris" prefix...

I can only speak to the Charcoal/Black Gen 1 JB Carbonlite. Initially I purchased the 7:1 model and it worked well at first but got progressively more grindy. I took it back to BPS and they exchanged it for a new reel also the Charcoal/Black version. Well it is as bad or worse than the other and has been sitting on the shelf. I even sent into a Reel Tech and he thought he could make it better and smooth it out but to no avail.

While I know there are always bad runs of reels at times for various manufactures this really turned me off from reels that didn't say Daiwa or Shimano on them.

 

Perhaps the White reels are completely fine and not plagued with this issue...