Beautiful reels everybody! I'm sad to say that I missed out on a new in box '01 Calcutta Conquest 50. A guy on another forum had it at a near giveaway price, so I was going to buy it and do all of the Avail stuff to it. He sold it but never updated the ad, rats! To wipe the tear from my eye, I bought a Calcutta Conquest BFS XG. In the long run, I probably came out better as I spent $320 and not the $700 I would've had into the 50 had I got it. Anyway, since my last reply, I also got a nice 2600C IAR. The price was too good to pass up and the seller on Yahoo Actions had it BIN for $380. I don't think I've ever seen one of these for less than $500 with most falling in the $600 to $800 range. I ended up doing the Avail pinion bearing, 2540R spool, 1540 mag brake w/ two 3mm magnets, Valleyhill cog wheel w/ ceramic hybrids, Valleyhill LW w/ ceramic hybrids, Avail line guide, Haneda Craft 60mm, and some silicon nitride spool bearings. I decided to keep the factory 5.3 gears intact since I will be throwing mostly crankbaits with this one. I have yet to fish it, been too busy lately but hope to be out there soon. I will say, the thumb bar models are in a way different league than the pushbutton reels. The brake plate is more like a Morrum and it's just so smooth and precise feeling compared to the pushbutton reels. It's a shame they were only made a few years. Dang you Pure Fishing, you had a winner on your hands and took the reins from Abu at probably the most important time in their recent history.



Much of what makes it better is the design of the brake plate. The pinion yoke rides on pins like a modern low profile baitcast reel and it utilizes a kick lever and clutch return plate. The brake plate was patented in 1998, the year after these reels first saw the market. The pinion yoke does an outstanding job of keeping the pinion gear centered, making for an exceptionally smooth experience.



Here it is next to its "little" brother, my 1600C IAR. That one has a 1520R spool, Avail 2BB level wind, Avail line guide, Avail 6.1:1 gears, Avail 1520PE brake with a single 3mm and a pair of 2mm magnets, Avail cog w/ ceramic hybrids, and Hedgehog Air BFS bearings. I use that one for skinny creeks.

Fresh from the bench; Daiwa Millionaire SW 103 built for fishing the piers that dot the Detroit River near me. My target species are white bass and smallmouth plus the inevitable big freshwater drum that prowl around. I'll be fishing these species on thread line with lures ranging from 5g to 10g or so, needed for the very fast current in the river.

A little rundown of parts; SLP SV Boost PE 1000 spool, TD Sol bronze 5.8:1 gears, Alphas pinion shaft, Alphas Air handle, nut, and spool cap, PX68 star wheel, SLP micro bearings, RCS knobs, Alphas SV105SH worm gear, and finished off with a drag clicker. Just in time for the white bass run on the Detroit River that's coming up quick.