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[Big Steel]

Have you thought about a Diawa Luna at all.  Cheaper and a better reel in my opinion.  I had a Calcutta TE for 4 years and thought it was a great reel, but then I got the Luna and was amazed at how smooth and strong it was.  Has nice sleak looks and is working better then they day I bought, now having 15 trips on it.
The Luna 300 has a price tag of somewhere around $340 and the Luna 253 I believe is around the $300 mark as well.

[flatlander]

Hey DMW, no haven't looked at the Luna.  Searun recommended this reel.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

[Eagleye]

There seems to be two model lines the TE (total efficiency) and B series.  Also a GT model is these two series.  I believe the differences are more bearings in the TE and a machined vs forged frame and the GT is the freshwater Would the CTE 200GT be a suitable replacement for the 250?

Thanks for the help.

The main advantage of the TE over the B series is that it has oversized gears which = a fast retrieve without sacrificing torque.  The Luna is a smooth reel but it lacks the torque (fish pulling power) of the TE.  tacklewarehouse.com is a reputable online dealer with good prices.  They have the Luna for 229 and the TE for 300-350.

[charles]

If you are looking for a smaller reel and don't mind using braided line, take a look at the Revo STX abu low profile.  The power of that reel are rated higher than both the shimano and the Dawia.

[Eagleye]

Where is it rated higher?  I would be surprised if a 6.4 : 1 gear ratio reel has more torque than the TE's 5.0 : 1.  I've found that just going up a couple points (4.7 vs 5.0 vs 5.3) makes a huge difference in the torque (and of course retrieval speed) of a reel.  If this is true then the Revo sounds like a great reel as it comes with Carbon Fibre drags and a titanium levelwind.  Otherwise I would find that high of a gear ratio to be far too weak for salmon fishing.

[yamadrifter]

Hey rob.l I've got a 250 for sale in the buy & sell section of the forum. New price. Check my post out. The reel is in excellent condition. New price.

[charles]

Max drag...

STX Revo = 24lb

CT400B = 17.5lbs
CT700 = 16.5lbs  (another example of bigger reel does not mean higher in max drag)
Conquest 400 = 7kg

Luna300 = 15.4lbs
Luna253 = 11lbs

[Eagleye]

That is probably due to the fact the reel uses Carbon Fibre drags which is a cheap upgrade for any reel (about 10-12 bucks).  I would not recommend this reel for salmon fishing as the gear ratio is too high.  In order to finesse a fish in you need a reel with torque to gain line on the fish without having to max out the drag.

[charles]

Shimano Curado 300 is used for inshore salt water... fighting fish just as hard like Blue fish, Barrcuda, football size tuna...  It has the same ratio at 6.2:1 and with a max drag at 15lbs.

Revo STX is also used and tested with striper bass, and also tested fishing for either marlin or sailfish (forgot about which one)...  They can run just as hard like salmon...  And this year in ICAST, the inshore, saltwater verison of STX was shown...  And better yet, it comes with the regular handle and the power handle for cranking...  Not many low-profile reel can match that...

If you want low ratio gear, then why not look at the zillionaire reel from diawa.  It has a max drag of 6kg which is more than the 253 LUNA.  You can have a choice of getting 4.9:1 ratio, or 6.3:1, or 7.1:1 ratio...

[charles]

Just so you know:

For the zillionaire:

4.9:1 ratio = 6kg max drag
6.3:1 ratio = 6kg max drag
7.1:1 ratio = 5kg max drag

So, with that reel, the gear ratio and max drag did not change all that much.

[Drunker]

Charles is right.
I have a conquest 401 (JDM Version of the TE) and i have the Antares AR(JDM of calais) and personally, they are both really good reels.  But the downside to the round baitcasters is the weight.  i could cast all day with the low-profile without my wrist hurting.  But how many of you could say that the round version is light enough for the whole day of casting.  And if you say finesse, the amount of weight to start the intial rotation is much higher than a low-profile.  The technology nowadays, they are making low-profiles that could hold even more line capacity than your regular round baitcaster.  Don't get me wrong, when i go for sturgeons, i would use the conquest, but other than that, low-profile all the way.  The new shimano low-profiles are really good in terms of line capacity and weight, from light lures to heavy, no problem.

Drunker

[Eagleye]

Shimano Curado 300 is used for inshore salt water... fighting fish just as hard like Blue fish, Barrcuda, football size tuna...  It has the same ratio at 6.2:1 and with a max drag at 15lbs.

Revo STX is also used and tested with striper bass, and also tested fishing for either marlin or sailfish (forgot about which one)...  They can run just as hard like salmon...  And this year in ICAST, the inshore, saltwater verison of STX was shown...  And better yet, it comes with the regular handle and the power handle for cranking...  Not many low-profile reel can match that...

If you want low ratio gear, then why not look at the zillionaire reel from diawa.  It has a max drag of 6kg which is more than the 253 LUNA.  You can have a choice of getting 4.9:1 ratio, or 6.3:1, or 7.1:1 ratio...

Sorry but you are talking about apples and oranges.  The reason why a high gear ratio is beneficial for the fish you mentioned is because they are known for taking fast runs (from what I've heard), sometimes toward the angler therefore a fast retrieve is needed also those anglers are probably using strong braid with high test leader therefore maxing out the drag to haul a fish in is not a problem.  When river fishing for salmon it is sometimes necessary to use lighter leaders if conditions dictate so therefore cranking down the drag in order to gain line on a fish because the reel has low torque (ie > 5.1) will snap your leader or else rip the hook out.  IMO 24lbs drag pressure is overkill for salmon as a good rule of thumb is to use approx. 1/3 of the # line rating in drag pressure to avoid break offs.  And if you want to add more drag pressure (and smooth too  ) than what the Calcutta  and Luna offer you can go to Mikes reel repair and have him install Carbon Fibre drags for cheap.   Also when comparing retrieval speeds it is the inches per crank that determines the speed of retrieval not the gear ratio.  So therefore a round reel with a larger spool and same gear ratio as a low pro with small spool will retrieve line faster and also cast farther when using sufficient weight (because it takes less revolutions of the spool to pay out line.)  A smaller spooled reel is beneficial in casting lighter weights but there are also round reels that fit this criteria.  I find the gear ratio number helpful in determing the reels cranking power but with newer oversized gear reels it becomes more confusing. 

Just so you know:

For the zillionaire:

4.9:1 ratio = 6kg max drag
6.3:1 ratio = 6kg max drag
7.1:1 ratio = 5kg max drag

So, with that reel, the gear ratio and max drag did not change all that much.

When I say torque (fish pulling power) I am referring to the ability to gain line on a fish WITHOUT increasing the drag pressure.  I am not say there is a correlation between max drag and gear ratio they are completely unrelated.

Charles is right.
I have a conquest 401 (JDM Version of the TE) and i have the Antares AR(JDM of calais) and personally, they are both really good reels.  But the downside to the round baitcasters is the weight.  i could cast all day with the low-profile without my wrist hurting.  But how many of you could say that the round version is light enough for the whole day of casting.

First of all you are comparing a large round reel (400 size) to a small low profile.  Again apples and oranges.  If you are worried about your wrist hurting check out the Conquest 50S round reel, it weighs less  than your Antares.

And if you say finesse, the amount of weight to start the intial rotation is much higher than a low-profile.  The technology nowadays, they are making low-profiles that could hold even more line capacity than your regular round baitcaster.  Don't get me wrong, when i go for sturgeons, i would use the conquest, but other than that, low-profile all the way.  The new shimano low-profiles are really good in terms of line capacity and weight, from light lures to heavy, no problem

When I said finesse I was not talking about the start up of a reel I was referring to playing a fish.  The only difference between a round and low profile reels in general is the shape of the side plates.  More specifically round reels are predominately tailored (the innards of em) to our fisheries and low pros are for Bass et al.

[charles]

I am not talking about cranking down the max drag to fish.  This is only a test to show what the max drag a reel has.  And that is one of the comparsion from a reel to reel.

How is that a cruado 300 compare to a 300 calcutta to a 253 luna not a apple to apple comparsion?  They both have the same size spool.  Although the gear ratio is 6.2 : 1 with the curado and 5.0 : 1 with the 300TE, both reel behave the same... 

I am surprise a salmon has never charged back faster than you can reel before...  I have that experience with Chum...  and open sea Spring...

And when I fish Blue fish and striper, we don't crank the reel all the way down to gain line.  We fish the same as here; let the drag, the smoothness of the drag to fight the fish instead of our thumbs or fingers...

If the fish is pulling at 12lbs...
How will a 300 calcutta with a drag set at 10lbs with higher torque (like you said) be able to gain line?
How will a Revo STX (just for argument sake with lower torque) with a drag set at 10lbs gain line?
Both reels will not gain any line.
But if both reels set at 15 lbs...  both reel should gain line on the fish regardless of the torque. 

And lastly, I already mentioned about the braided line.  Because of the lower line cap. for the Revo STX, you need to use braided if you want to up the poundage on your fish line and still have lots of line. 

Just sharing some information about what I experience.  Low profile has been one of those stereotype reel.  It is not only for bass fishing.  Anglers have asked and asked company like Diawa, Shimano, Abu to come up with inshore low profile, or heavier low profile cause it is just lighter, more comfortable, and preform just the same if not better in some sitituation than the traditional round reel.  Hopefully with our discussion, the OP can determine what is good or what is not...

[Eagleye]

I am not talking about cranking down the max drag to fish.  This is only a test to show what the max drag a reel has.  And that is one of the comparsion from a reel to reel.

How is that a cruado 300 compare to a 300 calcutta to a 253 luna not a apple to apple comparsion?  They both have the same size spool.  Although the gear ratio is 6.2 : 1 with the curado and 5.0 : 1 with the 300TE, both reel behave the same...

When I said apples and oranges I was talking about the comparison between river fishing (what the OP wanted the reel for) and the type of fishing you said the Revo had been tested on. 

I am surprise a salmon has never charged back faster than you can reel before...  I have that experience with Chum...  and open sea Spring...

And when I fish Blue fish and striper, we don't crank the reel all the way down to gain line.  We fish the same as here; let the drag, the smoothness of the drag to fight the fish instead of our thumbs or fingers...

If the fish is pulling at 12lbs...
How will a 300 calcutta with a drag set at 10lbs with higher torque (like you said) be able to gain line?
How will a Revo STX (just for argument sake with lower torque) with a drag set at 10lbs gain line?
Both reels will not gain any line.
But if both reels set at 15 lbs...  both reel should gain line on the fish regardless of the torque. 

The way I "finesse" a fish in is by giving it line when it wants it and only increasing drag pressure if neccessary (obstruction, end of bank, etc.) you then make your way down river while reeling in the slack to gain line on the fish with the lessened pressure they will usually stop running, if you are able get 90 degrees of the fish then slowly pump them in using the bend of your rod (a slower action rod helps here) to protect your leader from snapping.  By slowly pulling up on the rod then dropping it and reeling in the slack you can successfully bring in a fish weighing much more than the rating of both your line and drag.  Otherwise if you are asking how I would pull in a fish when he is making a running and exerting more than 12lbs of pull on the spool I would tell you that I use the drag to slow down the fish and tire him out quicker not try and reel him in against the way he is going.  The above mostly pertains to landing large salmon like springs but others as well.

And lastly, I already mentioned about the braided line.  Because of the lower line cap. for the Revo STX, you need to use braided if you want to up the poundage on your fish line and still have lots of line. 

I am a big fan of braid I use it for most applications, but I don't use 72lb leader approx enough to withstand a big spring etc. running against 24lbs drag pressure (maybe slightly over stated but you get the picture.)

Just sharing some information about what I experience.  Low profile has been one of those stereotype reel. 

I feel the same in that round reels seem to have a stereotype of being heavy but in my opinion the only major difference in the two reels is the shape of the side plates as there are round reels that can stand up against just about any low profile in every category except that some people like how the low profile sits lower down on the rod for plaming but not me.  The Pixy would be a small exception in the casting of light lures but I bet a tuned up Conquest would give it a run for its money.

It is not only for bass fishing.  Anglers have asked and asked company like Diawa, Shimano, Abu to come up with inshore low profile, or heavier low profile cause it is just lighter, more comfortable, and preform just the same if not better in some sitituation than the traditional round reel.  Hopefully with our discussion, the OP can determine what is good or what is not...

I agree but I think the OP i getting more info than he bargained for... 

[Eagleye]

I am surprise a salmon has never charged back faster than you can reel before...  I have that experience with Chum...  and open sea Spring...

It happens once in a while but I have never found the retrieval speed to be lacking.