SHIMANO — UNEQUALLED ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

The Shimano company motto of unequalled engineering excellence is ably demonstrated in its latest crop of overhead reels.

Shimano’s revolutionary CTE 200DC baitcaster has a Digitally Controlled Brake, where a program within an electronic circuit works out the correct time and the amount of brake needed to prevent an overrun.

SHIMANO CALCUTTAS GET AN UPRGADE

Shimano’s evergreen Calcutta baitcasters — the 50, 100, 200, 400 and 700 — have been given an upgrade for the 2005/2006 season. Designated the ‘B’ series, these latest baitcasters have a number of new features that make them even better performers.

All have a richer gold anodising on the one-piece frame and sideplates, then there are larger style handles with rubberised grips like those found on the Calcutta TE series (with the exception of the 700B), Super Stopper, Assist Stopper, and it all purrs along on 3 of Shimano’s patented A-RB Bearings plus one roller bearing.

Another handy feature on the 100B and 200B is the quick release mechanism and drop-down side plate that gives access to the adjustable VBS casting brake blocks for when an angler’s casting improves or if casting into the wind — no more juggling with the spool or sideplates and risking dropping them in the dirt!

Given its intended use on big, bulky fish, the 700B has a new style Septon power handle, a super strong manual release clutch system, and a ratchet for live baiting located under the left-hand side plate. The 400B also has a ratchet.

Basically, there’s a Calcutta B series reel to handle everything from ultra light Squidgy work on bream, bass and estuary perch, right through to muscle fishing on big jewfish, snapper and kingies.

CALCUTTA CTE 200DC BAITCASTER

Amongst other features, the Calcutta B series baitcasters have heavier anodising, one piece frame and sideplates, plus a drop-down sideplate system to access the VBS. The 400B and big 700B both have a ratchet for live-baiting.

Awarded the Baitcaster Reel Of The Year at the Australian Fishing Tackle Association’s trade show, Shimano’s Calcutta CTE 200DC has a 1-piece forged aluminium body, a super free-running aluminium Lo-Mass drilled spool, 10 A-RB bearings and a stainless steel roller bearing.

The CTE200DC also has High-Efficiency Gearing, with a large diameter Super Duralumin Drive Gear, Super Stopper and Assist Stopper anti-reverse, Quickfire 11 casting assistance, graduated click adjust drag settings, Power Grip knobs on the handle, and a snappy 5:1 gear ratio.

The reel’s most remarkable feature, however, is its Digitally Controlled Brake. A program within an electronic circuit works out the correct time and the amount of brake needed to prevent an overrun, which is assessed at 1/1000th of a second intervals. There’s a choice of 8 settings and braking power can be adjusted to suit short or long casts. Thanks to a Super Free Bearing and supported pinion gear system, maximum spool speeds are increased by as much as 70 per cent, but without producing an embarrassing backlash at the end of the cast.

The CTE 200DC holds 115 m of 6 kg line, making it suitable for use on a number of fish species from bass to barra.

TYRNOS 20 AND 30 OVERHEADS

The Tyrnos 20 and 30 are versatile light/medium tackle game reels capable of tackling a variety of bluewater tasks.

Shimano’s new Tyrnos 20 and 30 lever drag overheads are the ‘bigger brothers’ of the company’s hugely successful TLD series. They’re a full metal light/medium game reel series that fill a niche in the lever drag market between the graphite TLDs and the upmarket Tiagras. In effect, anglers get all the performance advantages of the TLDs in a metal reel, but without a major increase in weight or stepping too far up the price scale.

Both reels have HEG High Efficiency Gearing, which sees the gear teeth meshing better with no backplay or sloppiness when winding, an oversize ergonomic power grip handle for increased leverage, and 5:1 gearing and alternating twin pawl anti-reverse design that makes the Tyrnos ideal for jigging as well as trolling. The graphite drag system has a precision ratcheting drag lever quadrant with a stop-strike button to prevent too much drag being applied on the strike. An oversize clicker button for the ratchet is strong and super loud.

The 1 piece die-cast frame features an open crossbar design for better line control and it’s a handy spot to thumb the spool if extra pressure needs to be applied.

Four of Shimano’s patented A-RB bearings and 1 roller bearing keep the internals operating smoothly.

A handy feature is the presence of harness lugs for when that quick fight starts to stretch beyond the hour mark, or just as an easily accessible place to attach a safety line.

The Tyrnos 20 and 30 hold 700 m of 10 kg mono and 600 m of 15 kg respectively. Match it with a Tyrnos 10-15 kg or a 15-24 kg TCurve jig/troll rod and you’ll have a deadly and versatile outfit.