Has anyone had any experience with the Shimano Catala conventional reels they seem like a good buy and good quality?

I used one last year in the canal quite a bit and it held up pretty darn good, fish up to 35", it did crap at the end of the year though, not a bad deal, im going to send it back, they are great bout repairs. Go with an abu7k.

They aren't worth it. I had one get a serious bath and the anti-reverse bearing rusted up and stopped working. I sent it back and asked for a retro fit repair with the new ARB bearings. Shimano sent me a new Corvalus instead. Happy to get a new reel but the bearings are of the same type. The reel is even cheaper than the Catala. The new Cardiff seems to me to be the better deal. It has more saltwater friendly features. Besides I wonder if they haven't discontinued the Catala. They work ok but ......for sure don't get the Cabelas baitcaster thats in that price range, stripped on its first fish.:af:

I have not fished one but I checked one out and it didn't seem too much improved over a Corsair which I blew up. None of these are an inexpensive replacement for a Calcutta - of which I have several and love.

If you need a good quality convench for decent dollars, get a 6500C3 and swapped out the drag washers with smoothies. A 6500TCST with the Smoothies is probalbt the best value for bigger bass conventionals as it has the bearings and the power handle and is under $100...

The catala has an solid aluminum frame the corsair does not. I use both of them for fluke fishing on the boat and they are good for that and have not had any problems but I personally would not use them for striper fishing unless I was going after schoolies. I use the Calcutta for striper fishing but much more expensive. I think they both are priced right for what I use them for. P.M.

i was going to use it for surfcasting this spring in the canal and cape but i dont know if shimano will take the abuse. i like abu garcia beacause they are simple to service and tough. do they make the abu trophy series in lefty?

Got 2 Calcutta 400s. Caught several fish mid to high 20s last year with them. The newer one seems to have a better anti-backlash system but both have performed without problems for years. I must add that neither one has ever been submerged.

My 2 400 Calcuttas have caught several fish in the high 30s from the surf after being dunked and with sand in the worm gear. It's actually kinda forgiving with a rinse. But it does need to be broken down and cleaned. The Calcutta also has a nasty habit of wearing out the clutch arm prematurely which prevents the spool from easily being engaged after the cast. Shimano replaced one of these for free when I had shipped it in for service... Was veryt happy with them.

It's a pretty good surf reel but I have not found any conventionals that can be repeatedly dunked and not serviced semi-frequently. One of the reasons I'm going to fish spinning more this year under certain conditions.