Retrieve: What's also familiar with this reel is when you click it over from freespool, and turn the handle, the feedback is buttery smooth. To experience anything else in this platform would be a major disappointment. Shimano has just about perfected the blend of gear material (brass) and bearing placement (11 plus the anti-reverse bearing) in this platform for vibration and flex free performance as you turn that eighty eight millimeter (88mm) handle.

The main gear is brass

The one thing I do question, however, with regards to the 23 Antares MD DC and this category, is the available options in retrieve ratio. In today's market, where available retrieve ratios span at least five full numbers (5-10), why is this reel only available in two ratios that differ by only four tenths of a point? If the options are going to be that close, why even bother?

The 23 Antares DC MD is equipped with Shimano's Micro-Module gears

Power: It's not as if the XG model, or 7.8:1, lacks power. This is the model I fished during the review process and I had little difficulty cranking baits like The Donkey Slayer and Toxic Baits' Whippersnapper, so it's difficult for me to understand the need for the 7.4:1 option. I'd have preferred if the XG was more of an eight to something ratio like all of Shimano's other low profile casting reel platforms.

The reel has plenty of power to pull these oversized squarebills also known as crankdowns (3 OH Custom Lures left, Lanciotti Lures right)

Reportedly, aiding in the reel's power and stability, is the addition of an extra bearing at the base of the main drive shaft as if the shaft is being held by two hands instead of one. I'd think spreading those hands out and placing the bearing somewhere, further up the shaft would be more beneficial, but then again, there's probably no good hand hold for such a placement.

Bearing placements for the Antares DC MD. Red shows the location of the two bearings at the main drive shaft. Orange is the anti-reverse bearing

Drag: Where unseasoned big bait throwing anglers in pursuit of big fish might complain is the 23 Antares MD DC's maximum rated drag. Specified at just six kilograms (6kg), this is the rough equivalent of thirteen pounds (13lbs) of drag pressure. I used the term "unseasoned" because as anyone who has hooked into a peacock bass knows what's more important than stopping power in a drag is how smooth and consistent that drag performs.

Not a peacock but the Antares MD has more than enough stopping power for bass, which is what most anglers stateside are using it for

If you hook a good sized peacock and try to muscle it in with a buttoned down drag, one component or more in your connection to that fish will fail - plain and simple. Rod, line, reel, bait, hooks, it doesn't matter. Something will fail. The best method to subdue a powerful fish is to have your drag set to tire the it out so it can be safely landed.

Shimano remains consistent with their single washer drag

This is how Shimano designs their drag systems, to be smooth and consistent. While, sadly, I did not have the opportunity to fish this reel against any truly, hard pulling game fish, the 23 Antares MD DC does perform as designed in this respect. I rarely have my drag buttoned down even in the pursuit of largemouth, so I was able to experience some drag pulls here and there. Enough to know the drag performs as it should.

The 23 Antares DC MD sits just low enough in the reel seat, but would be ideal if it were just a tad bit lower

Design & Ergonomics: One factor that has historically kept me from consistently reaching for my Antares reels has been their overall weight. This goes all the way back to one of my all time favorite reels, the Antares AR. I may or may not still have one, but that reel was a top performer in every aspect a reel could perform. However, in the end, despite it being a 100 sized reel, its weight, at eight and a half ounces (8.5oz) was just too uncomfortable for me to fish when compared to the likes of something like Daiwa's TDZ (~5.9oz).

Shimano's iconic, cone shaped line guide in the Antares

That was an early 2000s product and Shimano has since made improvements to the Antares platform shaving off a little weight here and there culminating in the 2016 Antares DC that weighed in just under eight ounces (7.8). This current Antares MD DC tipped our scales at eight point two ounces (8.2oz). Keep in mind, unlike the Antares AR, we're now talking about a 150 to 200 sized reel with similar line capacity to Abu Garcia's Revo5 STX (7.8oz) and Shimano's own 21 Scorpion 150/151 DC (7.9oz). This reel weighs more than either of those platforms, but actually it's barely perceivable. Somehow, I've grown more accustomed to eight ounce reels. I'm not sure how or when that happened, but it probably has a lot to do with the size of baits I'm slinging with this reel too.

The "XG" model features a 7.8:1 retrieve - I'd prefer that number to be in the 8s for this model

Beyond that, the 23 Antares MD DC's lucky double eight (88) millimeter handle, and oversized, I-shaped knobs make for a solid combination. Zander also likes the knobs but does feel like the handle should be longer, and closer to 100mm, for working big baits and especially when fishing swimbaits that are best fished with a reel bump style retrieve.

The view up front...

The reels profile, however, though low and comfortable enough to palm, could be just a tad lower for my taste. My hand did grow fatigued grasping the combo towards the end of the day. Not sure if that was due to weight or palming profile, but maybe a little of both. Oh, and for those who still pay attention, the dragstar features micro-click adjustments, but the spool tension knob is silent as is the reel's outgoing drag.

... and at the back.

Price & Applications: As for the cost to acquire, I have both good news and bad news. The bad news is retail for the 23 Antares MD DC is 84,100 JPY. The good news is with the exchange rate at a historically good number (if you're on the dollar side) at the time of this writing, that translates to roughly $560. Don't get me wrong, this is still an expensive reel, but if the exchange rate was pr just five year back, this reel would be closer to $800. This is all subject to change of course, because exchange rates are volatile.

Shimano's 23 Antares MD DC is built for more than just big baits

Application wise, the 23 Antares MD DC may be marketed as a reel tuned for big baits, but really, it is a perfectly capable tool in support of just about any technique save finesse. Interestingly enough, though there is a 70 sized Antares (the A), there is no Antares BFS. For a high end option in the Shimano lineup in support of BFS, you need to look to Conquest.

Next: Customizing the Antares DC with enthusiast handles