Shimano Bantam 201SG

     Once the hot reel for pacific northwest steelheaders, the Shimano Bantam 201SG is wonderful, light bait caster, ideal for throwing light weight lures and lead.  201 signifies a left hand version of the iconic fish killer.  I don’t know about you but I have always held the pole with my right hand and […]

Newell 332 Fishing Reel

Just a disclaimer here, this is my first Newell reel.  I have never fished one or serviced one. So this will be a new adventure for all.  After some research and guidance from the Newell Nut on Atlantani.com I secured a no letter Newell 332 reel off eBay.  Please also note that this is by […]

Abu Garcia 5501 Super Tuned

At first glance this appears to be a stock ABU Garcia 5501 C3.  However, looks can be deceiving.  We have all seen the  plain old car that has a 454 under the hood!  I start with a straight stock eBay Abu 5501.  Very capable little reel that is very popular.   At a list price at […]

Shimano Calcutta CTE 101 GT

The Shimano CTE 101 GT reel is butter baby!  13 bearings, upgraded drags, this reel is nothing but smooth.  I have used it for the past 8 years on my Steelhead rod.  Loaded with 10b Maxima Chameleon it has landed small Pinks and the occasional king up to 18lbs.  Everything about this reel screams quality […]

Shimano Calcutta 251

Shimano Calcutta 251 For years I used these in the drift boat on plug rods for salmon and steelhead.  Now I have moved them to my salmon bank rods and have been so impressed with their performance.  They are my go to King, Silver and Chum reels loaded with 30lb PowerPro these fish don’t have […]

Greasing Carbontex Drags

Upgrading your standard factory drag washers with Carbontex is a simple upgrade that delivers superior results.  The benefits are more drag pressure and smoother drag performance.   Old drags start with a jerk and get sticky throughout the whole range of pressure.  This can lead to lost fish and broken lines and dreams. Carbontex drags […]