Review: Shimano Calcutta 50B

[Railroader]

I recently began using this little reel in the kayak, on a St. Croix Tidemaster 6'6", rated to 5/8oz. Here is what I think so far, after a few trips.

First off, this is one FINE little piece of equipment. It is extremely well made, fit and finish is above the bar, and with care, this is one that ought to last a lifetime.

Loaded up with 14# Fireline, it casts small lures like the house is on fire, and with the 6 pin brake, anyone can find the right combo for them. My chosen setting is two brakes engaged, with a hint of side-play in the spool.
With no brakes, it's near uncontrollable.

I fought seven nice Trout in a very short time, with the drag set light enough for them to run, and it seems very smooth. I have not "put the heat" on a big fish yet, but I think it'll be up to the job.

I have two complaints with the 50B, and they are both minor. The first is the 5:1 retrieve. I'm used to fast reels. I remember a time when a 5:1 WAS fast, but Shimano should bump this one up to modern speed. Nothing I can't live with, though, as it encourages thourough fishing.

My second complaint is not really a complaint at all, more like an observation. This reel is a MAINTENANCE PIG. The bearings are wide open, with no dust covers, so new oil is necessary after each trip. Also, the thing came PACKED with grease, so that had to be cleaned out of the worm gear, and gearbox. It took nearly a whole can of Gumout to get it all out, so now the worm gear and bearings get a little 3&1, and the gears a TINY bit of grease. This is NOT the reel for you, unless you LIKE taking reels apart for upkeep.

Overall, I really enjoy the small size and light weight of this reel, when making 1000 (literally) casts a day. And it's performance makes the upkeep well worthwhile...

Great reel, 8 outta 10.

[Seymore Bootie]

Nice, honest review. Thanks!

[Lipyourown]

That is a good review. I have the 200B that I use from boats for stripers and have it on a 7' fast action rod rated to 1 ounce.

The 200B does have the fast retrieve (6.1) which is an improvement over the older 200-250. The other big improvement from the older model is that it also has the side plate that disengages by turning one hand screw. This is just like the TEs and makes brake adjustments very easy. It takes 30 seconds to change the settings. Basically I can change from a 1 ounce bucktail to a 3/4 ounce topwater and adjust the brakes in 1 minute. I'm guessing the 50 doesn't have this since you didn'y mention it. The thing casts like a dream. Since I use it on a boat I don't think I have a need to take out the grease for max distance. Would this hurt the reel in the long run?

[Railroader]

I've always took the ol' can of Gumout to new reels, and removed ALL of the grease the the factory spooges in. They put WAY too much in there, I guess because most folks don't fish all that much, and never bother to open it up. Those "grease globs" catch every bit of dirt, sand, mud, salt, etc. that comes along, and will quickly gum up the works.

Starting from a CLEAN, DRY mechanism, I put a TINY amount of grease on the gear teeth, and any moving parts. To look in my reels, you'd think there's no grease at all.

But it's in there, and it's plenty...;)