Hello, I purchased a Shimano Curado MGL from Cabellas 2 days ago and took it out for the first time yesterday. While trying to calibrate it I noticed that after 10 casts or so my reel would catch and click about 3-4 times before it felt normal again. After paying closer attention I noticed that my line guide would catch on the left or right side of the worm gear. I checked the pawl to confirm that it wasn't damaged and it looks to be in good shape. What else could be causing this issue? For clarification, This DOESN'T happen every single cast. It will run smoothly for a few casts and then start snagging up. 

 

This is supposed to be a brand new reel however when I got home and took a better look at it, I noticed that the spool had a few scratches on both the left and right sides of the spool and that had me wondering whether or not this was a returned item being sold as new or maybe it was just a slight defect. I've been using Baitcasters for about 5 years and have never had any issues like this before. Since this is a brand new reel, i'll more than likely return it but I figured I'd try to get some insight on what could cause this issue. 

I would exchange it for another and ask for new one in a sealed box (with uncut clear tape), it shouldn't be doing any of that.

Yes, exchange.

Beyond making sure the pawl cap is tight, you’re looking at a bad pawl and or worm gear. Warranty it. 

Thank's everyone, I returned it with no issues. I ended up going to Digitaka because they didn't have another one in stock, their system was down, and they couldn't order another one lol.