I'm looking for a recommendation from guys who use Shimano Calcutta reels n salt water. Last year I splurged and purchased two Shimano Calcutta reels model 400 CTE. I'd been using (often struggling with) vintage Penn Squidders, Model 145 and 146 and vintage Penn surfmaster 200 reels and the Calcutta 400 reels came highly recommended. They certainly cast more easily than my Penn Squidders reels but the Calcutta's seem very fragile, better suited to boat than surf fishing. Both of my nearly-new Calcutta's had to be sent back to Shimano for factory repairs (no cost to me, other than one way shipping costs). On one Calcutta, I was testing the clkicker knob and it stuck in the "on" position. Reel had been used just twice in a local pond for practice casting. The second reel accidentally dropped from the tailgate of my truck and hit the pavement below. Reel handle would not turn after that fall. If these were my vintage Penn reels they'd be scratched but still operative.
Am I expecting too much from a Calcutta reel? Are these reels too fragile for saltwater use? Maybe I purchased the wrong model Calcutta's. I don't need a levelwind device. Is there another model Shimano Calcutta reel I should be looking at? I usually cast 3/4 oz to 2 oz jigs and lures using a 7-foot rod from a boat and 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounce plugs and jigs (using 9 to 11 foot rods) from the surf (sandy beaches) in the spring and fall.
If you have any suggestions, I'd be grateful. Thanks, guys.

Bill Brett

The 400Te is more reel than you need for plugging from a boat or sand beaches. The 400/400b are plenty of reel and simpler inside than the TE's and a lot cheaper and easier to work on. Better ergonomics, too. Certainly for boat plugging they are one of the best options out there. I can't speak for sand exposure (I mostly fish in rocks) but I've not had trouble with them when I am on sand. From a boat/rocks the levelwind is worth it and has not given me trouble.

I will say that I find I have to tear them down about twice a season, even from the boat. Conventional reels spray saltwater when you cast them and eventually this gets inside. I probably replace one bearing (usually the right side) every year or two, clean the drag 1-2x a season, and need to replace the anti-reverse bearing every 3 years or so. To me this seems normal.

I will say that my experience with levelwind reels on 11 ft rods has been humbling. If you are throwing hard for distance, any flaw in your cast will cause a few line loops. With non levelwind reels these spin out, but with levelwinds they snag the loop and cost you a plug. Shorter rods don't generate the spool velocity to make this such an issue.

Working on your reels is pretty easy and, I think, an absolute necessity if you fish often.

Thanks for the sound advice. I will try a regular Calcutta 400 reel. I probably bought the wrong reel. The Calcutta 400 CTE version is too tempermental for the type of fishing I do.

Thanks also for explaining why I found it much easier to use a Squidder 145 and not a levelwind Calcutta reel with an 11 foot surf rod. I thought it was just me!

I have three calcuttas, use em hard in the ditch and have had no problems

For nearly twenty years I quit on spinning tackle and fished conventional. Even now I don't think I could cast a squidder without opening it and using high viscosity oil to slow it. This is another reason to work on your Calcuttas.....changing the oil viscosity on your bearings is a big part of using conventional reels.

More good advice! Thanks. My friend in Connecticut/Rhode Island and a long standing member of this website told me to use 3-in1 oil, not the red can but the blue can, which is 20 weight oil, I think. I did that and it seemed to work fine, but I didn't know the reason why he suggested this particular oil. Now I know why. It's a little heavier than some oils and makes the Squidder reels better behaved.

I'm comfortable taking apart a Squidder reel but not (yet) a Shimano reel. I've only ben fishing conventional reels for the past 3 seasons and I think they're great. I don't know why I stuck with spinning tackle for the previous two decades. I much prefer conventional rods, too. Never too late to learn, I guess. Thanks again for your advice and encouragement.

There ain't much inside a calcutta 400A or B.
This link gives you an idea (although I disagree with the need to change the washers, he uses WAY too much drag grease on the washers he puts in....t the regular ones only need a very thin film....and the corrosion block in the bearings seems strange to me.....I use rocket fuel yellow (or red in the TEs used with big plugs). Of course the guy fixes reels for a living so maybe I'm wack instead.

calcutta 400a (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=29.0)

There are also links for the TE although that reel is a bitch to get all the way down. ReelSchematic - Shimano Calcutta TE Maintenance (http://www.reelschematic.com/content/view/348/28/)

I have a 700 that I have used hard for ten years fishing the canal and some back beach's,this is the first year Im sending it back for a serious cleaning and some repair(my own fault:smash:)
but great reels.