Shimano Caenan.

I received this reel a week ago Saturday and I have been itching to spool this thing up and let 'er rip.  Yesterday, in spite of a blizzard and 16" of snow in the backyard, I took a little time give it a go.

First the specs:

It's got a 6.5:1 gear ratio so it'll likely be a general work horse reel for me, though I plan to match it up with my crankbait rod to start next season and we'll go from there.
7 bearings which are smooth out of the box.
Quickfire II Clutch Bar which will be odd to me because having used the Abu Garcia Revo, I'm not used to having half a clutch bar.
The reel is aluminum and light at 7.2oz.


Now for the performance:

The first thing I noticed is the single line feed on the spool, dead center. Being my first Shimano reel, I'm not sure if that's a standard thing or what, but I'm used to dual line feeds on either side of the spool, which can make things a tad messy at times.  Anyway, I liked that since it made it easy to get things going and I had her spooled up in a few minutes.  I paired the reel up with a 6'6" Medium action rod and a 1/4oz casting plug.


Once it came time to brave the elements, and I mean the word brave to every extent reasonably allowable, I adjusted the tension and let 'er rip.  And that she did, right into my neighbors tree about 100 feet away bucking a 16mph head wind the entire way.  So making long casts with light baits shouldn't be an issue with this reel. 

Next I tried pitching, which is a real challenge in 16" of white stuff, but we made it.  Again, with the 1/4oz plug the reel sang perfect.

The reel is comfortable to handle, being both light and super easy to fit in the palm.  The EVA grips are very comfortable compared to the grips on my Revo STX which can be kind of a pain to work with after a while, especially if they get a little wet.

As for the half clutch bar I mentioned earlier, I never knew the difference.


Overall, I have no complaints with the reel and I'm looking forward to some open water next May so I can give it the real workout.  Until then, she'll be back in the box.  You can tell that Shimano took their time with this reel and made sure they got it right the first time.  And at $89, it's the perfect price for the Casual Basser.