I recently picked up a JDM Metanium 2020 for my jerkbait fishing. I read that it has amazing casting distance and that I would be able to bomb lures with this reel which is why I picked it over the zillion. (I fish from the bank mostly)

Instead I’m on the verge of backlashing every single cast and my maximum casting distance with this thing is maybe 20 yards if I’m lucky.

I run 10lb fluoro, spool doesn’t wiggle, 2 brakes are engaged and SVS brakes are between 3-4. I mega backlash if lower them to 2/1 and get 0 casting distance when upping them.

Why?

I have used bait casters for a long time and know how to cast. Is the reel a lemon or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!

Soft jerks or hard & what is the size you’re throwing?

19 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Soft jerks or hard & what is the size you’re throwing?

Hard jerks, expride 1610M, onetens and oneten jrs.

58 minutes ago, Hedgehoe said:

I recently picked up a JDM Metanium 2020 for my jerkbait fishing. I read that it has amazing casting distance and that I would be able to bomb lures with this reel which is why I picked it over the zillion. (I fish from the bank mostly)

Instead I’m on the verge of backlashing every single cast and my maximum casting distance with this thing is maybe 20 yards if I’m lucky.

I run 10lb fluoro, spool doesn’t wiggle, 2 brakes are engaged and SVS brakes are between 3-4. I mega backlash if lower them to 2/1 and get 0 casting distance when upping them.

Why?

I have used bait casters for a long time and know how to cast. Is the reel a lemon or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!

Are the two brakes that are engaged at opposite ends of one another? That’s one potential issue.

You can also try putting some reel oil on the raceway (via Que tip) where the brakes ride against. If you google Shimano reel maintenance you should be able to find a video tutorial of this.

Those are only potential fixable issues I can think of. If you bought it from a retailer and not second hand I’d probably just do an exchange. It’s possible there could be a bad spool bearing thats limiting distance - had this happen in one of my 2020 Mets and had to send in to Shimano.

1 minute ago, Jerkbait22 said:

Are the two brakes that are engaged at opposite ends of one another? That’s one potential issue.

You can also try putting some reel oil on the raceway (via Que tip) where the brakes ride against. If you google Shimano reel maintenance you should be able to find a video tutorial of this.

Those are only potential fixable issues I can think of. If you bought it from a retailer and not second hand I’d probably just do an exchange. It’s possible there could be a bad spool bearing thats limiting distance - had this happen in one of my 2020 Mets and had to send in to Shimano.

They are…

I can’t really exchange it as I got it from digitaka.

1 hour ago, Hedgehoe said:

They are…

I can’t really exchange it as I got it from digitaka.

They will exchange it. I got a bad reel from them once (spinning reel was making a grinding noise) and they exchanged it no questions asked. They covered the shipping expenses.

Is it because it’s back lashing or is something wrong with the spool where it won’t spin? Earlier today I was throwing a jerk bait on a curado 150, and I had to turn 4 internal brakes on and 5 on external dial. With 3 on inside it would backlash. 14 lb supernatural line. After I added the brake it was casting well. I have the 2020 met and it is spooled with varivas 8x pe 1.5. I have only used it once, but I was on kayak with wind so I set the brakes to 3 on inside and 4 on external dial and it was absolutely bombing them father then I could imagine. By the way, does your reel have play in the knobs?

Is it backlashing at the beginning or end of the cast?

You say there is no side to side play of the spool- is there more tension on the spool than “just take the play out”?

How do you have your other baitcasters set up to eliminate backlashes- with brakes or with spool tension?

There's no reason to use 2 braking blocks on if its still too low. Try 3, or even 4, but lower the braking on the braking dial. I've had something similar with the Aldebaran MGL 30.

Start off work 4 brakes on and play around with the cast control knob... Slowly decrease braking as needed.... All my metaniums have no issues with casting distance....

Sometimes the spool doesn't seat all the way. Try backing the tension and drag way off and reinstall the spool.

The Met is like a racecar, very touchy and unpredictable, but absolutely bombs when it's dialed in and seems to live on the edge. It also seems to hate any notion of a snap in your casting stroke. Good luck!

scott

I notice I back lash more when the line gets a little loose on the spool. I am referring to the top however many yards you cast off. The mets seem to not enjoy that at all. When I am reeling down current is when this happen.

Try either letting a bunch of line out in current and reeling it in or tie it to something at home. (You’re going to look weird) than reel in using the reel to pull you so to speak to where you tied. You will have to do this outside so some neighbors might do some head scratching.

Btw OP you can fix all of this by buying the 24 Met DC😊

17 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Sometimes the spool doesn't seat all the way. Try backing the tension and drag way off and reinstall the spool.

My best guess is the same. If the spool wasn't installed correctly, it'll have a lot of tension, seriously hindering the rotation and casting.

29 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

My best guess is the same. If the spool wasn't installed correctly, it'll have a lot of tension, seriously hindering the rotation and casting.

Its happened to me a few times when I engage/disengage the brake shoes on the water. I pay more attention to not dropping the side plate than I do the position of the spool. Its only a few mm difference, but you know right away. When the spool isnt seated completely the brakes and tension arent working correctly and the spool wants to blow up right away.

More than likely your problem is going to be that the spools not seated properly. I bought a met 100 a few months ago and I couldn’t cast it without it blowing up. Fiddled with the brake settings and cast control knobs and nothing seems to help. I noticed that the reel seemed to have some resistance when reeling in line also. So I took the spool out yet again ( back off the cast control knob all the way before removing the spool anytime you remove a spool ) I had to put the spool back in the reel two or three times to get it to seat properly. When it finally went in correctly I felt the difference immediately. ( though it didn’t seem like I’d done anything different than the previous times I’d put the spool back in but something was obviously different bc the change was very noticeable and immediate when cranking the handle to reel in the line ) this cured the backlash issue as well. Now with two brakes on internally and the external dial between 3&4 I can launch a 3/8 oz bladed jig a mile. By far my farthest casting reel that I currently own.

8 hours ago, Ilikebigbass72 said:

More than likely your problem is going to be that the spools not seated properly. I bought a met 100 a few months ago and I couldn’t cast it without it blowing up. Fiddled with the brake settings and cast control knobs and nothing seems to help. I noticed that the reel seemed to have some resistance when reeling in line also. So I took the spool out yet again ( back off the cast control knob all the way before removing the spool anytime you remove a spool ) I had to put the spool back in the reel two or three times to get it to seat properly. When it finally went in correctly I felt the difference immediately. ( though it didn’t seem like I’d done anything different than the previous times I’d put the spool back in but something was obviously different bc the change was very noticeable and immediate when cranking the handle to reel in the line ) this cured the backlash issue as well. Now with two brakes on internally and the external dial between 3&4 I can launch a 3/8 oz bladed jig a mile. By far my farthest casting reel that I currently own.

I have a few jdm mets for over 4 years now and never ran into any of this until last week post spooling x-braid pe 2.5. My fix was definitely related to how the spool was installed and how side plate interacted with the spool when fully closed, ie free spool movement when the sideplate was only 2/3 closed, but choked off fully closed. Backing off the drag and spool tension completely were also in "my fix." It now bombs like no other reel I have tried, just like it used to.

scott