I just became aware of round reels as opposed to Baitcasters.  Other than the obvious what's the difference?

 

I am interested in the Calcutta Conquest.  Does it make a good bass reel?  What are the pros and cons?

36 minutes ago, Jeffrey Walker said:

I just became aware of round reels as opposed to Baitcasters.  Other than the obvious what's the difference?

 

I am interested in the Calcutta Conquest.  Does it make a good bass reel?  What are the pros and cons?

A reel is a reel.  Different styles have pro's and con's.  I would say a round reel in general will be heavier, hold more line, and is more rigid.  

 

Any reel can be a good  bass reel.  It just depends on what you plan to do with it and how you pair it with a rod and line.

 

For me, I do not have one but if I did it might be on my swimbait rod.

  

38 minutes ago, Jeffrey Walker said:

round reels as opposed to Baitcasters.

 

   A round reel IS a baitcaster. At one time, it was the only style baitcaster. Perhaps you're thinking of low profile baitcasters, which are a different design from round reels.

   The Calcutta Conquest is an excellent bass reel, although the sizes go up to 400, which is musky size. 300 size would be swimbait and A-rig size. 200 size is exactly the same as Curado 200K size.

   There are two other Calcutta reel families, at lower price levels compared to the Calcutta Conquest. They are Calcutta B and the Calcutta D.

   ANY Calcutta is a good reel, even the lower priced ones.  The only cons that I'm aware of are the greater relief from the reel sitting higher on the rod. For some, that's a problem. For others, it's not. You'll need to try the reel on one of your rods to find out if it bothers you.

      Good luck!           jj

  

I don't have a Conquest, I do have several Calcuttas - a few of the TEGT 10 ball bearing models.   The thing you need to know about these reels is that if you take care of them, 20 or 30 years from now you might need to buy another one.  These reels are tanks and will last forever with reasonable maintenance.  Mine haven't been anywhere near salt water and most likely never will.  My only issue with them is that they are a little heavier than many of Shimano's low profile reels.

I replaced a Curado 200e7 with a Cardiff 100A several years ago, and never regretted the decision. Shimano's smaller round baitcasters are still fairly low-profile, so it's not quite the same as mounting an old Abu Ambassadeur 5000 to your rod.

 

I added a stock Curado 200e handle/knobs, Carbontex drag, and flushed/lubed the bearings. Butter-smooth, casts just as well as the Curado it replaced, and feels great in my hand.

6 minutes ago, Stasher1 said:

I added a stock Curado 200e handle/knobs, Carbontex drag, and flushed/lubed the bearings. Butter-smooth, casts just as well as the Curado it replaced, and feels great in my hand.

This is a really nice upgrade.  I did exactly the same thing to my Calcuttas.

 

I think round bait casters would make a excellent deep cranking reel. In fact when I get ready to put a deep cranking rig together that is what I’m going to use 

Round is where it's at ~

A-Jay

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

This is a really nice upgrade.  I did exactly the same thing to my Calcuttas.

 

Me likes!

We use calcuttas a lot for salt inshore, so a 200 feels great when throwing larger spinnerbaits and swimbaits. It palms well too.

18 minutes ago, BassWhole! said:

We use calcuttas a lot

My primary musky reel is a Calcutta D

11 minutes ago, gimruis said:

My primary musky reel is a Calcutta D

they are on discount here:

https://www.tackledirect.com/shimano-calcutta-d.html

4 minutes ago, ATA said:

they are on discount here:

https://www.tackledirect.com/shimano-calcutta-d.html

Now that's a price that can excite The Bait Monkey ~ 

A-Jay