Shimano Tranx 200

[Flukinit]

I see these reels are starting to make their way into local shops. Anyone have one or get to hold on yet? Looks like a nice little reel i will look to stop down by J&H while on vacation but will hold off on a purchase till i can see if i move a few reels i have for sale 1st.

 

[Savvy18]

Joe, let's get together next week and go to J&H and look at those 200's.

 

[Leprechaun]

What am I, an orphan? I know some smokin' good eatin' joints out there too! (Hint, hint!)

Just had lunch with Capt. Neil and Capt. Bady in that neighborhood yesterday. Little Necks on the
half shell, broiled Bay scallops, a couple of black and tans, and a shot of Jamie to wash it all down and
toast the passing of 2018 - what's not to like?

Anyway, I have seen and fondled that reel - clearly the best of the breed in powerful LITTLE SW baitcasters.
Wait til you see how small it is, relative to the Tranx 300. I also like the new Daiwa Coastal - the blue reel,
very much. But not loving the 7:1 gear ratio that Daiwa put in that reel. An immediate gear change to something
in the 5:1 range would be called for, IMO.

Off to haul the boat now. If you want more info, you now know where to find me!

Pete

 

[buddha162]

I see these reels are starting to make their way into local shops. Anyone have one or get to hold on yet? Looks like a nice little reel i will look to stop down by J&H while on vacation but will hold off on a purchase till i can see if i move a few reels i have for sale 1st.

The tranx200 is based off the Curado K frame, with some sealing around the clutch and I think core protect (a coating) for saltwater. My friend Nick aka Tackle Advisors on youtube has the Tranx and my K sitting on his bench now, a comparison video will be forthcoming.

I can say that the curado K is by far the finest sub 200 dollar reel on the market today, imho. It feels and performs like a 400 dollar reel from yesteryear...I really disliked the i series curados, and the K went above/beyond all expectations on what 150ish dollars can buy you on the lowpro market these days.

 

[Savvy18]

Of course you'd be welcome to join us! You are my reel guru...Didn't know you were off from work! Hey, if there's a gear upgrade to do on that 200 Tranx, I would make it happen in a heartbeat! I would love to use it for my next tog rod that is in it's infancy stage. It's gonna be a shiny green CTS BS702...A silver 200 Tranx would look INSANE on that stick!

 

[Koz]

I have (two) Tranx 300 reels. Phenomenal all around reel for the Sound. My only slight knock is that while great for blackfish and jigging bass, it was a tad 'too much' for fluke fishing.

Looks like I'll be off to J&H soon to take a peek at the 200!!

 

[Savvy18]

Koz, I'd wholeheartedly agree. The Tranx 300 is WAAAY overkill for fluke fishing!

 

[Koz]

What am I, an orphan? I know some smokin' good eatin' joints out there too! (Hint, hint!)

Anyway, I have seen and fondled that reel - clearly the best of the breed in powerful LITTLE SW baitcasters.
Wait til you see how small it is, relative to the Tranx 300. I also like the new Daiwa Coastal - the blue reel,
very much. But not loving the 7:1 gear ratio that Daiwa put in that reel. An immediate gear change to something
in the 5:1 range would be called for, IMO.

Now that my interest is peaked about the Tranx 200, I see it is available in three different gear ratios. My preference would be the 6.2:1

Tranx 200 specs

My second wonder is if the paddle handle is large enough, or will I have to find a suitable power handle?

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

So, here it is, the 200 tranx with power handle, love how this reel feels, I coupled it to a Nexus spiral wrapped rod.
Nice addition to my arsenal of fluke slayer combos.
Only 5 months to go.
Hoping this coming season will be better than last year.

 

[Leprechaun]

A VERY nice reel indeed!

Please keep us informed about how the "Micro-mesh" gearing holds up thru the coming season.

 

[Savvy18]

VERY sweet reel Fluke Whisperer! Got my eye on one too. Just not sure it can do the job I intend for it to do.

 

[kenscot]

Just waiting on an informed report of a tear down of this piece to know what it will take maintain it before I bite on it

 

[Leprechaun]

Ehhh, no different than every other Shimano low-pro to pull apart. Its really a Curado K- clone with improved bearing corrosion resistance and a few other minor ups. What it is NOT, is a downsized Tranx 300. But still, a very nice piece. No "Winch-like" power ratio available though. A shame.

I really do like the Bantam MGL over the Tranx 200. A FAAAR superior design. The Bantam's frame is just a gorgeous piece of reel engineering and manufacture. More than strong enough for "our" purposes. But it'll take considerably more jing to put one of those instead of a Tranx 200 on your fancy CN custom Hydra. I guess you pays your money, you takes your choice.

Me? The new Gen 4 Revo Winch is my choice. Also a really nice piece.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

Ehhh, no different than every other Shimano low-pro to pull apart. Its really a Curado K- clone with improved bearing corrosion resistance and a few other minor ups. What it is NOT, is a downsized Tranx 300. But still, a very nice piece. No "Winch-like" power ratio available though. A shame.

I really do like the Bantam MGL over the Tranx 200. A FAAAR superior design. The Bantam's frame is just a gorgeous piece of reel engineering and manufacture. More than strong enough for "our" purposes. But it'll take considerably more jing to put one of those instead of a Tranx 200 on your fancy CN custom Hydra. I guess you pays your money, you takes your choice.

Me? The new Gen 4 Revo Winch is my choice. Also a really nice piece.

Gen 4 Revo is on my radar, right now with 8 outfits, it's kind of hard to justify another one, but who knows.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

VERY sweet reel Fluke Whisperer! Got my eye on one too. Just not sure it can do the job I intend for it to do.

I have no idea as to what you expect of this reel, but I have 4 of the Quantum Accurist PT LP Baitcast Reels
with power handles, we have fished them in deep water up to 100' and up 6 oz plus ss jigs, these rigs I give to guest on my boat if they don't feel like bringing their own, or don't have fluke outfit, I know John Skinner uses them along with jigging jerks, I always liked the quantum baitcasters, but this one has a feature that no one else has, free spool lever that lets you free spool line without having to turn the handle to engage the reel, quite handy when you start scoping out or drop to deeper water.
I'm sure the 200 tranx will be up for the task, again I will let everyone know when the time comes.

 

[Leprechaun]

The issue with most of Quantum's stuff is the unavailability of parts after a few seasons - just as you begin to need them. I can't tell you how many times I had to give a Quantum reel back to its owner unrepaired - because I just couldn't get the parts.

Also, many of their bait casters use an aluminum main gear, in order to save weight - though I can' say for sure the Acc PT does have one of those nasties in there. Anyway, that's exactly what Abu did with the Gen 3 Revos - now they're back to hardened brass in the Gen 4 reels. I speak from experience when I say that aluminum main gears are NOT the hot tip. I blew two teeth off my own Gen 3 Winch’s main gear. Now I stock a pair of those gears, so to not have any down time waiting for parts, just when I most need that reel up and running.

Quantums in general are OK reels, I guess, just not for me. This is my order in baitcasters: Daiwa/Shimano>Abu>Lew's>Quantum>Everybody Else. First and second place cost roughly the same as third and fourth (matching like features, reel-to-reel), so why bother? Oh, in my "pecking order? Honorable mention to Okuma for some of their more recent lo-profile reel entries, like the various Komodo iterations. Those are really nice pieces!

FYI, that "flipping switch" system was available for many, many years on several Shimano, Abu and Diawa low-pro reels. Handy as it was, I don't believe any are offered by those three companies these days. So, I gotta ask why? Who knows? Maybe they just weren't that popular. Or were problematic. I guess the key is to keep a more complex free spool/flipping mechanism clean and well lubed. That should help immensely.

P.S.: John who? Jigging What?

Pffft!

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

The issue with most of Quantum's stuff is the unavailability of parts after a few seasons - just as you begin to need them. I can't tell you how many times I had to give a Qantum reel back to its owner unrepaired - because I just couldn't get the parts.

Also, many of their bait casters use an aluminum main gear, in order to save weight - though I can' say for sure the Acc PT does have one of those nasties in there. Anyway, that's exactly what Abu did with the Gen 3 Revos - now they're back to hardened brass in the Gen 4 reels. I speak from experience when I say that aluminum main gears are NOT the hot tip. I blew teeth off my own Gen 3 Winch. Now I stock a pair of those gears, so to not have any down time waiting for parts, just when I most need that reel up and running.

Quantums in general are OK reels, I guess, just not for me. This is my order in baitcasters: Daiwa/Shimano>Abu>Lew's>Quantum>Everybody Else. First and second place cost roughly the same as third and fourth (matching like features, reel-to-reel), so why bother?

FYI, that "flipping switch" system was available for many, many years on several Shimano, Abu and Diawa low-pro reels. Handy as it was, I don't believe any are offered by those three companies these days. So, I gotta ask why? Who knows? Maybe they just weren't that popular. Or were problematic. I guess the key is to keep a more complex free spool/flipping mechanism clean and well lubed. That should help immensely.

P.S.: John who? Jigging Jerks? Huh?

Pffft!

:cool:

lol,I know right.:cool:
They amuse me, I like watching them, helps kill time at work, because according to one source, I do nothing all day.

I'm not sure what's inside the quantums, not had one apart but will do so tonight, I got a really good price for the 4 reels that's why I bought them, their good enough for my grandkids and friends who do an occasional trip with me, My main go to setups are Daiwa TWS coastal 200 2 setups , SHIMANO Curado I also 2 setups and now the tranx 200, some older Daiwa excelers that I feel are very reliable and with the 4 to 1 gearing are cheap work horses.

After looking up the Revo Gen 4, I'm going to purchase one next month, really like the reviews and I know you have personal experience with the Revo family. Time will tell how good these reels are, the shimano's and daiwas have always been good to me.

 

[buddha162]

What's funny to me is that JS just happened to have an old accurist lying around when he started making those videos. Next thing you know Quantum is looking at their stock of accurists fly off the shelves in the northeast. They probably have no clue wth happened...

 

[Leprechaun]

Oh, I'm fairly sure you're not correct on that one Buddha! LOL!

No one does nothin' for nothin'. :cool:

Except me, naturally!

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

What's funny to me is that JS just happened to have an old accurist lying around when he started making those videos. Next thing you know Quantum is looking at their stock of accurists fly off the shelves in the northeast. They probably have no clue wth happened...

I know he's getting compensation from Quantum, how much I don't know, only reason I bought the ones I have is because of a promotion from amazon,I paid 45$ ea.
I give the guy credit for doing something very few people do about their passion, Pete you should write a book on your vast knowledge of reels and your fishing experience, I was going to do a book about Party Boat Tuna fishing in the Northeast Canyons, way to many books out there on that subject.