Shimano Metanium baitcasting reel review

Started by Mike Cork, August 30, 2017, 11:43:47 AM

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Mike Cork

Well I never thought I'd ever own a reel worth over $400. But it ended up happening and instead of selling it to turn some quick cash, I kept it and decided to share my experience.

Check it out on the front page

www.ultimatebass.com

After reading, let me know what you think and what is the most expensive baitcaster you've owned. Did you like it, did you feel it was worth it, did you buy more?

Fishing is more than just a hobby

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LgMouthGambler

What was your time frame of using this reel?
My wife says she is gonna leave me if I go fishing one more time........lord how I will miss that woman.

Lipripper

Great read Mike and I have never owned one that cost that much. I only have one Bait caster a Johnny Morris Elite Series that I've had for a few years and I think it was around the $200 range at the time. It works just fine for me. One day I might like to try one of them more expensive reels.

Kats Rule And Bass Drool.Viet Nam Vet

AzBoonda

Very nice read indeed. Since I am fairly new to the baitcasting game I just got my most expensive reel last week Tatula CT.

rockchalk06

I owned 2 at one time. Keyword "owned"

I purchased both of mine (XG's) new in the box from the same retailer about a month apart. One I tricked out and even had Lee design and build a custom rod for. No issues with the reel. Not a single hiccup. I had about a year's time on the water with it. 3/4 oz jigs, 1 oz topwater and all the way down to 1/4 oz jigs. 30# braid, 65# braid, 10# Fluoro and 12# Fluoro. Again, not a single hiccup.

I had been following discussions on 2 other forums about this reel since it was released. Still following it today. You have two crowds. Those who wanted to love it/had it fail, those who had zero issues with it. I fell into the 2nd category and honestly loved the reel. Tried to convince our resident "Shimano newer than E series hater" to try one and he wouldn't budge.

After the 20th or so report of issues with it I started to doubt it. I mentioned earlier that I had two. The other one was still new in the box. I don't think I even spooled the thing. The bottom started dropping out on prices so I put mine up for trade or sell. I couldn't find a buyer to give me even 275 for it. When I found a good trade, I took the reel out of the box to shoot a video of it to prove it was new etc. I lost my collective shat when all I heard was geary noise and grinding. I probably spent 3 days going over every inch of that reel and could never find what the issue was. I took it back.

Used the money and bought a NIB Core 100MG7. What I should have bought in the first place. At that point I flipped the tricked out one too. Went to a Chronarch MGL XG and flipped it for another Core.

Lesson learned. I came out good, as I never paid more than 295 for either of the two Metanium MGL's though. I'm probably the biggest Shimano fanboy I've ever known. There isn't another reel in my house that doesn't say Shimano on it. I'll never own or recommend another MET MGL to someone. Those that I did recommend it too, my apologies and I owe you a beer.

Mike, it looks like you got one of the good ones. Watch the main gear on that reel close. The material they used obviously has some issues as that's generally where the problem lies. Guys sending them back  to Shimano or replacing the gears are getting a few weeks out of them before they have the same issues. Both spool bearings are lower quality as well. Not horrible, but not what Shimano has been known for in their high end stuff.

Since the release of the MET MGL, Shimano has produced two new baitcasters. Both the Chronarch MGL and the Curado 200K. Both have the same Micro Module Gearing as the MGL, but both are brass. They have used a better quality bearing in both the CH and CU too.

Something else that doesn't sit well with me. There is a forum that is known for its detailed reviews of all the major players stuff. They generally review every Shimano made from the 500 dollar Antares to the cheap 50 dollar stuff. Why has the MET MGL not been reviewed? Not even a preview review.

Capt. BassinLou

Good article Mike. The most $$ reel I own is a Metanium DC XG. Similar to you, the majority of my reels are Shimano's and the majority of them are Curado's, and Scorpions that spin off the E model. I have been very fortunate that all these reels perform well. The Met is sweet. Always has, since I bought off LMG. Will I ever buy a reel in that price point again?? No. If cost wasn't an issue,..... sure, but, there are so many nice reels out presently that are in the lower price points (sub $250) that you really can't go wrong choosing one.

Mike Cork

Quote from: LgMouthGambler on August 30, 2017, 12:11:19 PM
What was your time frame of using this reel?

I've got about 6 months on it. I would call my 6 months somewhere between a year and a year and a half normal angling usage. The majority of it with a frog, so I'm very impressed. Most reels I've tested with my frog fishing have disintegrated in this time frame. Even a Curado C, D, and E model needed new gears after my standard season. So this Met has about 6 more weeks to be a full season test.

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

Mike Cork

Good info Rock and sorry you had trouble. I have not and I'm brutal on equipment. Our shallow lakes are extremely full of debris. This also brings moisture back to the reel. I've fished in rain several times...

The only thing I don't do that I see many anglers do is leave their reels on deck while driving home. Road grime will kill any reel. I get tears in my eyes when I see boats being towed in the rain and the angler didn't want to waste time putting the rods away. They just took years off their reels. I'm not saying this is an issue that lead to your reels demise or that of the forum folks you talked too. Just that it's out there and about the only abusive thing I haven't done to this reel and it's still firing like a rocket and quite as a church mouse on retrieve.

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

LgMouthGambler

You managed to keep that thing pretty spotless, Im impressed.  lo
My wife says she is gonna leave me if I go fishing one more time........lord how I will miss that woman.

Mike Cork

You know that's true... It must be that protective coating they are using :-\

I know that the greenies protective coatings didn't last very long, so it is something I'm watching. So far so good in the Louisiana heat, but two years is more of a test.

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

LgMouthGambler

No protective coating. They are very susceptible to scratches actually, which is the reason I was impressed.
My wife says she is gonna leave me if I go fishing one more time........lord how I will miss that woman.

Mike Cork

Hum, the directions talk about it? maybe it's only on the reel seat?

The only place you'll find scratches on my reels are from hooking baits to them, this has been used as a frog frog rod mainly and I hook it to the rod for storage. Funny, I won't hook a bait to my Dobyns Rods bait keepers unless it won't scratch the rod but I'll hang a treble on a reel in a heart beat  ~roflmao

All rods are kept in a slotted rod box and in covers, so if I am the original owner, it's going to be pretty scratch free. I did wipe it down for the photo op :surrender: it was actually kind of green and had chunks of salvinia stuck to it.  :shocking:

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

Mike Cork

#12
If you look close I missed the line guide ~b~ To be honest I'm very impressed at how well the metanium badging is holding up :-\ these labels usually go quick in my hands.

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

Smallie_Stalker

Very good read Mike. I'm with you on how a reel functions being more important than it looks. But it never hurts when it looks good too.

I had 2 Shimano Core 101 MG reels, Even though they were both gifts and I didn't pay for them myself they are were the most expensive reels I've ever owned I think. I owned the ABU MGX but I didn't pay full price for those so I'm honestly not sure which was more expensive. But I far preferred the Cores over the Abus, and I still think that selling them was probably the biggest single mistake related to fishing gear that I ever made.  ~b~

Quote from: Mike Cork on August 30, 2017, 04:21:24 PM
it was actually kind of green and had chunks of salvinia stuck to it.  :shocking:

Those are the best kind of rods.  :)
Dobyns Rods   Titan Tungsten   Abu Garcia  Berkley  Pflueger  Spiderwire

cortman

That's really a shame Rock. I've had my MGL for just about a year now. I fish for about an hour every day, 5 days a week. I miss maybe a dozen days out of that schedule every year. Probably every weekend I get in at least an hour or two, sometimes a half or full day as well. So while I'm not out on the water 24/7 or taking a lot of long extended trips my gear gets used constantly. I use my Met for jigs and texas rigs so that reel is almost always out with me too.
Thankfully I've had zero issues. It's absolutely as smooth and solid as day 1. Only one very small blemish in the finish too, after all that bank fishing and such. The MGL is one of my most expensive reels and definitely one of my top favorites.

rockchalk06

Quote from: cortman on August 30, 2017, 06:21:47 PM
That's really a shame Rock. I've had my MGL for just about a year now. I fish for about an hour every day, 5 days a week. I miss maybe a dozen days out of that schedule every year. Probably every weekend I get in at least an hour or two, sometimes a half or full day as well. So while I'm not out on the water 24/7 or taking a lot of long extended trips my gear gets used constantly. I use my Met for jigs and texas rigs so that reel is almost always out with me too.
Thankfully I've had zero issues. It's absolutely as smooth and solid as day 1. Only one very small blemish in the finish too, after all that bank fishing and such. The MGL is one of my most expensive reels and definitely one of my top favorites.


It was bud. The one I tricked was a gem. I think more than anything I started loosing faith in it with the issues I had on the 2nd one and what I'd been reading. When the prices on used models started dropping I kinda thought better now than not. I made a profit on both and wound up with a couple of Cores. I'll take a Core over just about anything.

Down4ttown

My most expensive that I paid retail for is the Shimano Aldebaran. Reel is still pushing the limits and impressing me.


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cojab

Quote from: Down4ttown on August 30, 2017, 09:04:42 PM
My most expensive that I paid retail for is the Shimano Aldebaran. Reel is still pushing the limits and impressing me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just had the chance to fish one of those. That is a bad azz reel.
TTK has spoken.

caddyjoe77

Quote from: cojab on August 31, 2017, 09:18:32 PM
I just had the chance to fish one of those. That is a bad azz reel.

And I forgot to let you use the old and new metanium but I also didn't want to melt your brain in my boat and nothing really beats the exsence  for pure casting lo
BeerMe

TWBryan

Wow. I don't have anything near that expensive.The most expensive baitcaster I bought was an Ambassadeur 5500c,which cost about $50 way back when. I paid a similar amount for the Pflueger President spinning reel.

For me the 5500c3 was a type of lifetime investment as it's difficult to kill an Ambassadeur and they can be tuned,repaired, parts replaced,etc. So yeah it was worth the money. Seriously considering a Daiwa Tatula ,probably for Christmas,though I have to question myself now and ask if a Tatula will outlive an Ambassadeur? ;)
Enjoy yourself now,for you'll be a long time dead.

Kurt L

Hello everyone! my first post here from a Salmon guy in Alaska/formerly N. Cal.
I have been running a couple of Metaniums 13 & MGL for three seasons and found with my Mets. they live and dye by the grease used. The standard ACE 2 will kill them in short order I have found Shimano DG06 works very well on the Aluminum gears, but you have to make the switch before the gears are damaged and they will run for as long as any of my brass geared reels before service is required and remain buttery smooth. DG06 is listed for use in spinning reels and is much thinner and oilier than the ACE 2, you will feel the improvement instantly after reassembly, no more gritty course feel. I bet the Mets are coming out of several factories and some are lubed correctly and others not. I ran My XG side by side with a Tat. CT Type R for most of Silver season (both new in July/17) the Tat is ready for new gears, the MGL is just as smooth as it came out of the box! I was unfortunate enough to ruin a buttery smooth Met 13's gears in about 4 hours using ACE 2! (when the river is stacked with fish you don't stop because your gears are getting gritty  ~sweat) so there is a good alternative until everyone gets there brass gear sets!

Kurt

Smallie_Stalker

Hey Kurt. Welcome to the Ultimate Bass family! Pleasure to have you with us. Pull up a chair, make yourself right at home and jump in wherever you feel comfortable. 

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Looking forward to seeing you around the boards and to learning from what you share with us.

In the meantime, if you need any help with anything at all please don't hesitate to contact me or any other staff member.

Once again, Welcome!

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Mike Cork

Thanks for a great informative post Kurt ~c~ Awesome first post :toot:

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

SteelHorseCowboy

Hold up now...

Some of y'all are wearing out gears? Please explain how.

I tossed my Black Max in the trash after salvaging some parts off of it. I believe the frame warped, trashed the gears.
My Ambassadeur  Frankenreel needs new gears, but that's ONLY because I somehow dropped a piece of debris in it the last time I serviced it. It got wedged between the side plate and drive gear, came to a sudden lockup, buggered a few teeth.
Just a while back I bent the frame on my favorite Ambassadeur, the gears didn't like that but I quit using it immediately. I replaced the frame, put some Flitz metal polish on the gears, and spun the handle for a while then cleaned and relubed. Buttery smooth, no slack, no play. And I believe I'm mentioned several times I've had it for quite a while and it's seen some damn hard use hauling in some big azz catfish.

So... what in the heck are y'all doing to wear out gears? I honestly never knew they COULD wear out. Get damaged, yes, but wearing out? I've worn out a plastic cog wheel, but that's a plastic cog wheel that takes a high speed beating.

coldfront

Quote from: Mike Cork on August 30, 2017, 03:36:13 PM
The only thing I don't do that I see many anglers do is leave their reels on deck while driving home. Road grime will kill any reel. I get tears in my eyes when I see boats being towed in the rain and the angler didn't want to waste time putting the rods away. They just took years off their reels. I'm not saying this is an issue that lead to your reels demise or that of the forum folks you talked too. Just that it's out there and about the only abusive thing I haven't done to this reel and it's still firing like a rocket and quite as a church mouse on retrieve.

learned that one the hard way mike.