The Shimano Caenan, a Mainstream
Contender (continued)
Casting:
The Caenan is quite a competent caster and I found I was able to sling both
heavy and lightweight lures consistently using both 10-12lb. lines. The Caenan
doesn’t have “Super Free” and yet it casted almost as far as the Citica E in our
distance tests. The Caenan does have a higher bearing count, though a number of
those bearings are actually used in the knobs so don’t impact casting in the
slightest.
The two tone finish gives the reel
a more sporty look
Fishing for Stripers I was
able to bomb ripbaits over huge distances and cover a lot of water in an attempt
to get the fish to chase. The Caenan makes use of Shimano’s VBS cast control
system, which while simple in design, is probably the most consistent and
reliable cast control system on the market.
The reel features a more rounded
shape than the E-Series baitcasters
Retrieving:
The Caenan casts like other Shimano higher end baitcasters but it doesn’t
retrieve the same. While still reasonably smooth the Caenan lacks the refinement
of the Citica and Curado and when it comes to power if falls well short of the
higher-end reels. I first noticed this when I set into a 4lb. largemouth and the
gearing immediately felt stressed and I really had to crank the reel
aggressively to muscle in the fish, not something I’m used to having to do
thanks to being spoiled by Shimano’s HEG gearing, but as it would turn out it
was more than just efficiency at work here.
Plenty of spool access here
At the California Delta
when fishing ripbaits for Striper I finally got the strike I was looking for and
hooked into a double digit fish on the edge of a school in open water. The
second I set the rod and started cranking I could discern an abrupt loss of
power, a result of the flex in the reel’s frame. The graphite frame, while
lightweight, simply does not do as good of a job holding all the gearing
together in the necessary tight tolerances. This loss of power is noticeable and
with a Curado E reel I would have had no problem winning the tug of war with
this particular fish in half the time it took me to land her.
The reliable VBS cast control
system is accessed under the 1/8 turn sideplate knob
The Caenan lacks the power
necessary to turn bigger stronger fish, requiring a little more work and lot
more finesse. Because the battle took so long the fish was able to get into the
weedline and I had to more carefully work the fish to make sure it didn’t get
hung up and throughout the tests there was also some noticeable backplay in the
Caenan’s handle as well.
The VBS system just plain works
After this test I’m very
interested to see just how the new Citica and Curado G reels will stack up with
the same form factor and gearing placement within the new aluminum frames, hopefully
they will do a better job locking the gearing together and translating the
winding power from the handle to the spool. Over the long term the Caenan
gearing has held up well, in fact it has held up better than the Daiwa Exceler
which started to get pretty rough just after half a season of use and required
additional lubrication on the master gearing.
The metal cast control knob is a
nice touch
Drag:
The Caenan makes use of a standard drag that delivers 9.8lbs of drag counter
pressure in our lab, just shy of the 10lb. factory spec. We did notice that the
drag was not as smooth as Shimano baitcast reels that make use of the company’s
higher end Dartanium drag system. Even though the drag only consists of a single
washer sandwiched between a steel disc and the brass gearing in the field the
straightforward drag system was still smooth enough to release line under
pressure, this helped prevent break-offs when trying to turn Stripers and keep
treble hooks pinned.
The Caenan features the Quickfire
II clutch bar
Ergonomics:
The Caenan weighs in at 7.2oz. and feels light and is easy to balance with most
rods. One of the benefits of using graphite versus a metal is that it is lighter
and more corrosion resistant. In comparison the Daiwa Exceler weighs in
8.8-9.4oz. depending on retrieve ratio version. The Caenan feels lighter than
the Citica E which weighed in .6oz. heavier but somehow it just doesn’t look it,
the design of the Caenan appears wider than the E-Series models.
The Caenan palms reasonably well
In hand I still prefer
palming the E-Series reels and feel like they more easily rest in hand providing
direct access to the line. While I liked the EVA Power Grips on the Stradic CI4
I quickly tired of them on the Caenan. When fishing spinning reels I typically
fish lighter more finesse applications and find myself pinching the knob lightly
when retrieving, here the round knob feels natural.
The reel makes use of high density
EVA power grips
On baitcasters there are
more applications when I really require more leverage, especially when power
fishing, and I will mash down on handles not just with my thumb and finger but
gripped in the center of my fist. It is during these circumstances where I find
the standard Shimano barrel knobs and especially the Power Grip II knobs vastly
superior in terms of grip and comfort.
The lighter silver finish on the
sides gives the reel a larger look, we are surprised how much smaller the new
Curado G looks with the darker color
