Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2024

Diggy reply :

On the site but not ready to ship yet, comes in l+R 6.4:1 in Left and 5.4,6.4,7.1 in right

Weighs just 5.9 ounces
One-piece machined aircraft-grade frame
Duralumin gears and shaft
V-grooved, ported, machined Duralumin spool
10 stainless steel, double-shielded ball bearings
Dual Braking System™
Titanium nitride-coated line guide
Carbon fiber Recurve handle
Drag system with six alternating carbon fiber and stainless washers

Weighing in at less than 6 ounces, the Johnny Morris CarbonLite reel fuses carbon-fiber construction with machined aircraft-grade aluminum, but weighs little more than an average apple! Built on a one-piece aluminum frame, with Duralumin gears and shaft, this bantamweight fighter bristles with pure power. The CarbonLite baitcaster is packed with features, including a V-grooved, ported, machined Duralumin spool; 10 stainless steel, double-shielded ball bearings; our time-tested and tournament proven Dual Braking System™; titanium nitride-coated line guide to virtually eliminate line friction; carbon fiber Recurve handle; and our smooth, powerful drag system with six alternating carbon fiber and stainless washers to help you tame the most vicious fish in the water.

Goose52 reply :

Now I know why BPS has marked-down the previous Carbonlite to $89.

The naysayers will be along shortly...but this is really a significant achievement for BPS, a reel in the 5 ounce class at this price point. And to be offered in 3 gear ratios to start. Carbon fiber drag as well. Increased bearing count (handle knobs and worm shaft? - or better - somewhere in the driveline?). Anyway, LOTS of value here.

I see they've changed their centrifugal brake set-up from that used on the PQ and earlier CL. Some of the weight savings is there (and you have a lighter spool weight of course). It will be interesting to see where the rest of the weight was saved.

I've already got 13 BPS BC reels (including a NIB CL), but it looks like I have to add a 14th reel to my collection!

Jim_M reply :

That lefty looks very tempting.....

Diggy reply :

On 12/8/2011 at 6:18 AM, Goose52 said:

Now I know why BPS has marked-down the previous Carbonlite to $89.

The naysayers will be along shortly...but this is really a significant achievement for BPS, a reel in the 5 ounce class at this price point. And to be offered in 3 gear ratios to start. Carbon fiber drag as well. Increased bearing count (handle knobs and worm shaft? - or better - somewhere in the driveline?). Anyway, LOTS of value here.

I see they've changed their centrifugal brake set-up from that used on the PQ and earlier CL. Some of the weight savings is there (and you have a lighter spool weight of course). It will be interesting to see where the rest of the weight was saved.

I've already got 13 BPS BC reels (including a NIB CL), but it looks like I have to add a 14th reel to my collection!

Do you like the Carbonlite reels alot? Im in the market for a new reel and I may pick one of these up and possibly the regular one for my friend

Goose52 reply :

Sure - the CL is a great reel - I have one mounted on a Loomis MBR842C GLX. I have another NIB that I got for $80. The only negative about the previous CL model is that it's available only in a 6.4:1 gear ratio and many folks wanted a 7.x ratio model.

If I didn't already have a bunch of PQs and other BC reels, including a total of 7 BC reels in the 6 ounce class, I would have bought a few more CLs over the past year.

I expect that the old CL on the Loomis rod will be replaced by one of these new CLs in the near future...

Diggy reply :

On 12/8/2011 at 7:22 AM, Goose52 said:

Sure - the CL is a great reel - I have one mounted on a Loomis MBR842C GLX. I have another NIB that I got for $80. The only negative about the previous CL model is that it's available only in a 6.4:1 gear ratio and many folks wanted a 7.x ratio model.

If I didn't already have a bunch of PQs and other BC reels, including a total of 7 BC reels in the 6 ounce class, I would have bought a few more CLs over the past year.

I expect that the old CL on the Loomis rod will be replaced by one of these new CLs in the near future...

I prefer lefty reels but I can use either. I may pick up the 7 ratio version in righty since thats the only one they sell in that ratio. We will see what happens at xmas time, I may get both

Goose52 reply :

Looking more closely at the images of the reel - some interesting things:

The spool shaft is black in color - why?

The sideplate release pin looks like it is threaded like a Revo S, instead of spring-loaded like the PQ and earlier CL - perhaps changed to shave a tiny fraction of an ounce of weight for the captive spring on the earlier design!

The centrifugal and magnetic braking systems are different from the earlier BPS reels. Also, the magnetic adjustment dial on the outside of the reel might also have an external adjustment for the centrifugal. Check out the photo - an outer ring with graduations from 1 to 10 (magnetic) - and some inner markings for: FREE . .. ... What are these markings?

A bare PQ or CL aluminum frame only weighs 1.14 ounce and this new CL frame is still aluminum so they couldn't have shaved much weight off the frame. The new spool has bigger ports - some savings there. But they had to find a total of .8 ounce in savings.

I rarely pay full price for a BPS reel and usually wait for the eventual sale...but I guess I might have to get one of these at the full price when they become available since I am now really curious about how they shaved the weight to get under 6 ounces.

Jaheff reply :

On 12/9/2011 at 3:12 AM, Goose52 said:

Looking more closely at the images of the reel - some interesting things:

The spool shaft is black in color - why?

The sideplate release pin looks like it is threaded like a Revo S, instead of spring-loaded like the PQ and earlier CL - perhaps changed to shave a tiny fraction of an ounce of weight for the captive spring on the earlier design!

The centrifugal and magnetic braking systems are different from the earlier BPS reels. Also, the magnetic adjustment dial on the outside of the reel might also have an external adjustment for the centrifugal. Check out the photo - an outer ring with graduations from 1 to 10 (magnetic) - and some inner markings for: FREE . .. ... What are these markings?

A bare PQ or CL aluminum frame only weighs 1.14 ounce and this new CL frame is still aluminum so they couldn't have shaved much weight off the frame. The new spool has bigger ports - some savings there. But they had to find a total of .8 ounce in savings.

I rarely pay full price for a BPS reel and usually wait for the eventual sale...but I guess I might have to get one of these at the full price when they become available since I am now really curious about how they shaved the weight to get under 6 ounces.

Thats interesting, I just weighed two of my PQT spools with 30# braid and leader and it weighs less than the bare carbonlite and regular PQ spools.I always wanted to know how much those carbonlite spools weighed. Thanks

Goose52 reply :

The weight I quoted (1.14oz) was for the PQ and CL frames - not the spools.

Jaheff reply :

Wow, my mistake, i totally mis read that. Do you know how much a carbonlite spool weighs?

Diggy reply :

the new extreme is on the site and it has a DBS and is 7.2 oz down from 8.6/8

79.99

Goose52 reply :

On 12/9/2011 at 5:27 AM, Jaheff said:

Wow, my mistake, i totally mis read that. Do you know how much a carbonlite spool weighs?

.65 oz

On 12/9/2011 at 5:56 AM, Diggy said:

ot

the new extreme is on the site and it has a DBS and is 7.2 oz down from 8.6/8

79.99

The Extreme rods are marked down to $59 - perhaps they are being clearanced to prepare for the introduction of a new Extreme rod to go with the new Extreme reel. Perhaps the "Powerhump" will finally go away...

Packard reply :

On 12/9/2011 at 7:24 AM, Goose52 said:

.65 oz

The Extreme rods are marked down to $59 - perhaps they are being clearanced to prepare for the introduction of a new Extreme rod to go with the new Extreme reel. Perhaps the "Powerhump" will finally go away...

Glad I was able to sell my spinning extreme before they brought these down. I actually like the powerhump for bigger baits.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

Whoa, I was nearly set on getting the Abu MGX (going for lightness) but this at only .5oz more but $220 less put the brakes on that. Will definately follow this for more info. Ive read good things in the past about the Carbonlites

Diggy reply :

Wonder when theyll go on sale, hopefully before xmas

Packard reply :

I will be picking up one of these after I get my BPS gift card for xmas. Think this is strong enough to handle the hard hooksets when punching or should I use the BPS on my plastics rod and put my brand new Curado 200E7 on my punching rod?

Goose52 reply :

No one that I know of has handled and disassembled this reel yet to determine how they got the weight down. While it may turn out to be suitable for service with braid and hard-hooksets...one doesn't know for sure yet.

I will be using this new CL on my worm rod, replacing an earlier (Gen1) CL.

Packard reply :

On 12/13/2011 at 1:05 PM, Goose52 said:

No one that I know of has handled and disassembled this reel yet to determine how they got the weight down. While it may turn out to be suitable for service with braid and hard-hooksets...one doesn't know for sure yet.

I will be using this new CL on my worm rod, replacing an earlier (Gen1) CL.

Yeah I just can't believe they could make it this light for this cheap of a price without giving it a weak structural support. Or whoever made this reel is just a fishing guru. Either way, most likely I will be buying one but will have to experiment with it to decide which setup to put it on.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

On 12/13/2011 at 12:24 PM, Packard said:

I will be picking up one of these after I get my BPS gift card for xmas. Think this is strong enough to handle the hard hooksets when punching or should I use the BPS on my plastics rod and put my brand new Curado 200E7 on my punching rod?

Either reels drag will give before any damage is sustained on the inner workings. The weight reduction of the Carbinlite claims to be accomplished through the use of Duralumin drive gear, shaft, and worm gear. The alloy is light and hard. A one piece aluminum frame should be strong. I'd put the reels you have in service based on line retrieve. The E7 is the faster of the two.

21farms reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 12:37 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
The weight reduction of the Carbinlite claims to be accomplished through the use of Duralumin drive gear, shaft, and worm gear.

the current carbonlite already employs duralumin for the drive gear, wormshaft, crankshaft and spool so the bulk of the additional 0.8 ounce weight reduction must be coming elsewhere.

Packard reply :

Where did it go? It isn't on their website at the moment. I hope this wasn't some cruel joke

Goose52 reply :

I noticed that too. Don't know why they pulled it off the web. The new Extreme reels and rods are still on the web and still listed as out of stock.

When the 1st gen CL was released, BPS pulled the listing for the reel off their web site several times but that was because they had started selling them and were constantly selling out. It took several months before they caught up with demand. In the case of this new CL, they haven't started selling yet....

21farms reply :

here's a cached copy of the page: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:e3CVYPEiS_4J:www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops%C2%AE-Johnny-Morris%C2%AE-CarbonLite%E2%84%A2-Baitcast-Reels/product/1110020501438/274205+morris+carbonlite&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (thanks, snyder_rods)

J Francho reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 1:50 AM, 21farms said:

the current carbonlite already employs duralumin for the drive gear, wormshaft, crankshaft and spool so the bulk of the additional 0.8 ounce weight reduction must be coming elsewhere.

From the use of craptastic light bearings and unobtainium sideplate materials.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 2:25 AM, J Francho said:

From the use of craptastic light bearings and unobtainium sideplate materials.

LOL, Are you the guy that made up the fake Klingon language for Star Trek?

J Francho reply :

No.....I'm a geek, not a nerd.

Goose52 reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 2:25 AM, J Francho said:

From the use of craptastic light bearings and unobtainium sideplate materials.

Could be! I'll be finding out whenever they become available. I have a NIB 1st gen CL and perhaps on a snowy day I'll tear down both versions and see where that .8 oz weight savings came from. (Although tearing down two reels at the same time would mean I'd have to buy another J Francho signature-model muffin pan... )

One thing for sure, I'm already committed to the 5-Year Challenge on the PQ so I won't be able to run a similar test on this new 5 ounce class reel...

MArnold reply :

The new JM carbonlite reel has the same external brake adjustments as the Browning Midas reel!

K_Mac reply :

J Franco I don't know about the Craptastic brand of bearings, but Smith and Wesson has been making high end, light weight revolvers from their unobtanium alloy, Scandium for years. If it is good enough for .357 magnums it is good enough for side plates I reckon.

Hooligan reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 1:50 AM, 21farms said:

the current carbonlite already employs duralumin for the drive gear, wormshaft, crankshaft and spool so the bulk of the additional 0.8 ounce weight reduction must be coming elsewhere.

There are different grades of alloy, some heavier, some lighter. Just a thought...

tomustang reply :

Well whatever alloy/material, a fanboy already rated the reel http://reviews.basspro.com/2010/1110020501438/bass-pro-shops-johnny-morris-carbonlite-baitcast-reels-reviews/reviews.htm

*Hootie reply :

Why are there so many negative opinions on a reel nobody has even seen yet?

marinetech reply :

I could care less what anyone says about BPS reels , they perform as good as anything out there and the prices are great , no complaints with any of my BPS reels JM sig series , PQ'S and carbonlites. I will have atleast one of the new ones as soon as they are available.

*Hootie reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 9:19 PM, marinetech said:

I could care less what anyone says about BPS reels , they perform as good as anything out there and the prices are great , no complaints with any of my BPS reels JM sig series , PQ'S and carbonlites. I will have atleast one of the new ones as soon as they are available.

Agreed!! I have already had my local BPS put two on hold for me and to call me as soon as the arrive.

Goose52 reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 7:27 PM, hootiebenji said:

Why are there so many negative opinions on a reel nobody has even seen yet?

It's the nature of this board. I predicted the naysayers in Post #2. They didn't come along until post # 24 so this thread actually made it much longer before it went south than most BPS-related threads...

J Francho reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 9:56 PM, Goose52 said:

It's the nature of this board. I predicted the naysayers in Post #2. They didn't come along until post # 24 so this thread actually made it much longer before it went south than most BPS-related threads...

My post was a joke, not negative. See the laughing smiley at the end, that indicates humor. Craptastic is actually a slang compliment. While it's generally reserved for camera gear and other electronics, it fits here. It's for things that are cheap, work, and you're better off owning it than not owning anything at all. I'm still looking for that naysayer's post....not one in this thread.

Goose52 reply :

Most folks here, at least us mature (read older) folks don't understand "geek speak." The point is that your comment added nothing of value to the thread and indeed gave most readers a negative vibe.

Regarding naysayers, if it didn't start on post #24, then it started on post #37 with the comment: "It's for things that are cheap, work, and you're better off owning it than not owning anything at all." There's a generalization that owning BPS reels is only a step above not owning something at all. I personally believe that is incorrect - at least for the latest generation of mid- to upper-end BPS BC reels. The reels provide good value and will give years of service to many of the anglers on this board. For many/most anglers, there is no need to spend more just to catch fish.

Having said the above - my vote is not yet in on this particular reel. It's tough to make that 5-ounce class and I'm interested in learning how BPS got the weight out of the reel. Perhaps BPS reached too far and the reel will not last. Perhaps it is a fine reel that will just blow away other lightweight reels based on value and performance vs. price. No one knows yet...

gall reply :

i have a cl reel and i love it but i did see the jm cl and i was also thinking about that for a new reel the cl is extremely light and great reel i bet the jm will just be even better im in the same boat of deciding what kind of new reel i should invest in im thinking about the jm one for 160 but unsure still

J Francho reply :

Quote
The point is that your comment added nothing of value to the thread and indeed gave most readers a negative vibe.

Someone's funny bone is broken.

Goose52 reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 10:34 PM, J Francho said:

Someone's funny bone is broken.

No, I think it's working OK...I thought this was funny:

On 12/16/2011 at 1:07 AM, J Francho said:

No, many say I resemble this guy, though:

Just funnin' ya....

J Francho reply :

That wasn't a joke.

Goose52 reply :

For those that are interested, the page for this reel is back on the BPS web site - but still listed as out of stock.

Goose52 reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 6:01 AM, MArnold said:

The new JM carbonlite reel has the same external brake adjustments as the Browning Midas reel!

Sure does - thanks for pointing that out. I finally got around to checking out the Midas reel this morning. That commonality is a good thing in that the system has been proven on another reel model and is not being piloted on the new CL.

21farms reply :

i've owned all three iterations of the prolite finesse (the original, the B, and the C), two PQs, two carbonlites and two extremes. i still have the prolite finesse C, one PQ and one carbonlite...i like 'em a lot.

Diggy reply :

The employee at BPS had no idea what I was talking about lol. Now he knows about them

Packard reply :

On 12/17/2011 at 4:22 AM, Diggy said:

The employee at BPS had no idea what I was talking about lol. Now he knows about them

Same here. I asked him about it and he kept saying there was no such thing. He kept showing me the johnny morris reel and saying this is the only johnny morris we have and the carbonlite is a different reel. What a joke!

Diggy reply :

On 12/17/2011 at 4:30 AM, Packard said:

Same here. I asked him about it and he kept saying there was no such thing. He kept showing me the johnny morris reel and saying this is the only johnny morris we have and the carbonlite is a different reel. What a joke!

same experience

Jim_M reply :

On 12/16/2011 at 9:19 PM, marinetech said:

I could care less what anyone says about BPS reels , they perform as good as anything out there and the prices are great , no complaints with any of my BPS reels JM sig series , PQ'S and carbonlites. I will have atleast one of the new ones as soon as they are available.

I have three BPS reels and this will, more than likely be the forth. They get the job done at a good price too.

Hooligan reply :

On 12/17/2011 at 4:30 AM, Packard said:

Same here. I asked him about it and he kept saying there was no such thing. He kept showing me the johnny morris reel and saying this is the only johnny morris we have and the carbonlite is a different reel. What a joke!

Not a joke at all, and quite understandable when you have elementary understanding of their supply system. Very, very often the stores are the absolute last to know about things. Many items are catalog only for a period of time and it's near impossible to buy them in the store. If you have someone in the store that is willing to take it upon themselves to do more research and be more informed than what they're told in meetings/trainings great. Bemoaning it as a "joke" is less than the truth of the story at best. Very often, things like this occur and the public finds out before the vast majority of employees.

Packard reply :

On 12/17/2011 at 11:26 AM, Hooligan said:

Not a joke at all, and quite understandable when you have elementary understanding of their supply system. Very, very often the stores are the absolute last to know about things. Many items are catalog only for a period of time and it's near impossible to buy them in the store. If you have someone in the store that is willing to take it upon themselves to do more research and be more informed than what they're told in meetings/trainings great. Bemoaning it as a "joke" is less than the truth of the story at best. Very often, things like this occur and the public finds out before the vast majority of employees.

Not that I expected him to know but for him to tell me there was no such thing made me laugh even though I told him that they released it on the BPS website a few days ago. You'd think one of the employees would know and might say, "did you see the new johnny morris carbonlite? it is only 5.9 ounces!" I just feel that most of the guys in the fishing department don't know a whole lot about fishing BPS and Cabelas are much better than DSG. I don't think the guy in the fishing department at my DSG has ever fished before.

*Hootie reply :

I work at my local BPS in the fishing department, and while I can't speak for other stores, the guys in our fishing department are very knowledgeable about all aspects of fishing. We were on top of this reel before it ever hit the website. We have had several calls about the reel and as far as I know they should be hitting the stores around the first of the year.

marinetech reply :

I have been down to the Foxboro Mass. BPS and found the employees very helpful and more than willing to talk about gear and fishing much more so than the Cabelas store here in Maine

Jim_M reply :

The full-time guys that work the Mesa, AZ BPS fishing department really know their stuff and have helped me catch bass. Pretty good sellers too.

J Francho reply :

It's a brand new reel, for goodness sakes. Not everyone that works there is a gear hound - some are into fishing, LOL.

*Hootie reply :

On 12/17/2011 at 10:12 PM, J Francho said:

It's a brand new reel, for goodness sakes. Not everyone that works there is a gear hound - some are into fishing, LOL.

With me, it's both. I love bass fishing and I am a tackle addict Have more gear than any one person needs. That's okay, I love this stuff. But you are right, we have guys who really know their stuff, but because of family obligations don't get to fish nearly as much as I do. I am retired, working at BPS 2 days a week to feed that addiction. Seriously, I am really blessed and I know it.

Hootie

Diggy reply :

Its back on the site again, still not ready to ship tho. They have the combos listed with the microguide rods. Maybe they fixed that guide problem

NorcalBassin reply :

The guys at my BPS (Manteca, CA) are nice and generally knowledgeable about fishing, but they are not up to date on many things that come out. This past year a guy at the reel counter told me I was confused when I asked him when the Curado E's would be discounted since they were being replaced with Chronarchs and the G series... it was only after I told him that TW had had them in stock for weeks and he could check it out online that he finally figured it out. I was just in there this past weekend and halfheartedly complained that I bought a Curado 50e for $99 on their website to only have it yanked from me a few hours later... salesman told me that it must have been a different reel because BPS would never drop the price that low. I told him to check out BassResource.com for the actual link or give me the same price in store if I printed out my original receipt, and then he started back peddling and said that they couldn't do that. It shouldn't bother me, but I am a bit disheartened when I go in there and know more about a lot of the tackle they sell despite them being paid to know the product (and talk us into buying it).

21farms reply :

On 12/19/2011 at 1:29 PM, NorcalBassin said:
The guys at my BPS (Manteca, CA) are nice and generally knowledgeable about fishing, but they are not up to date on many things that come out.

that's the closest BPS to me too. i was purchasing a reel one day and the older gentleman who was ringing me up couldn't even work the register well and wasn't very familiar with BPS reels but, boy, did he know fishing. we got to talking and, after about 5 minutes, it suddenly dawned on me who he was. i won't say his name but he was well-known on the tournament circuit and has had quite a few wins and a very impressive fishing resume.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

Well according to the BPS catalog thie $129.99 price is an "INTRO SPECIAL" so from that it may go up in price at some point.

JIGFISHERMAN. reply :

It could be just me, but it seems like the OZ weight of fishing reels has become a race similar to the HP race in Diesel pickups.

Regardless of the compromises made, lighter is I guess better.

Personally I don't have a problem with a heavy as a ton of bricks reel (by today's current standard anyway) (I would like to have a Core 50 though )

bassh8er reply :

Just picked up my new Extreme and new colors of KVD squarebills. Got to love BPS! Ordered on Sunday (Christmas) with free ship to store and gift cards redeemed on-line, and I picked them up tonight. I'm a huge fan of the PQs (have 4 of them) and the old ProLite finesse reels (have 2 of them) and was never a big fan of the Extreme line. This one looks different and feels different. Light weight, sleek, and I can't wait to use it

Diggy reply :

New extreme looks like the prolite special that they make. I tried it and returned it(prolite special).

WdyCrankbait reply :

The Carbonlite spinning reel has some good looking numbers. Not sure how they get a 5.2 gear ratio reel to retrive 30" of line. But, I'll drink the Kool-Aid.

J Francho reply :

On 1/7/2012 at 8:28 AM, WdyCrankbait said:

The Carbonlite spinning reel has some good looking numbers. Not sure how they get a 5.2 gear ratio reel to retrive 30" of line. But, I'll drink the Kool-Aid.

Spool diameter. These are some of the widest spools out there.

BASSclary reply :

Yup, the spool is about the size of a pancake.

WdyCrankbait reply :

So, I gues with the lower gear raito you get more power, but the speed of a higher-gear ratio reel? I was thinking about getting the Pfluger Supreme XT, but now maybe not.

Packard reply :

On 1/9/2012 at 3:51 AM, WdyCrankbait said:

So, I gues with the lower gear raito you get more power, but the speed of a higher-gear ratio reel? I was thinking about getting the Pfluger Supreme XT, but now maybe not.

I'd still get the Pflueger if I was you.

SirSnookalot reply :

On 1/9/2012 at 3:51 AM, WdyCrankbait said:

So, I gues with the lower gear raito you get more power, but the speed of a higher-gear ratio reel? I was thinking about getting the Pfluger Supreme XT, but now maybe not.

Power? I don't understand and I only use spinning gear. If you mean reeling in power with a fish on, doesn't the rod supply the power ? I don't know about anyone else but my retrieve speed is predicated on what type of bait I'm using and at what speed I want it to travel, I'm going to work a soft plastic slower than a buzzbait. I make the choice as how I want to work my baits, I don't feel spinning gear should be operated in a mechanical manner, it's a feel thing. Gear ratio or ipt has no impact on what reel I would consider buying, I buy a reel for drag operation, smoothness and overall construction.

I won't tell anyone what reel to buy, but I have 3 supremes, not xt's, one of which I used for snook fishing for about 18 months, don't know if you can see the reel ( same as my avatar) that's a supreme on a med spinning rod......enough power?

weezy109 reply :

Power as in the difference in 1st gear and 2nd in your car, you can still pull out in 2nd but its tougher. Is much easier to drag in a bait with alot of resistance with a lower ratio reel, the trade off being you have to reel your butt off to "burn" something with that speed reel. SirSnooksalot is probably right though as he and roadwarrior have said the rod seems to do the work in a spinning setup

J Francho reply :

If your having issues reeling in a square bill, you probably have some serious carpal tunnel, or something else going on. I like a faster retrieve with square bills. Burning them seems to trigger more strikes most days.

SirSnookalot reply :

@weezy...........In spinning it is the rod that supplys the power, the reel takes up line, not that a proper drag shouldn't be employed, I don't believe in "tail dragging" a fish in, I play them. I know I may have a few hundred thousand people disagreeing with me, but I would never consider using a b/c to winch in fish under 20 or 30 #, I don't see the need.

team510 reply :

i have not used th JM version, but the carbon lite had a pretty weak handle!

i almost broke it at bass pro shops when i was testing the drag! i felt like i could ripp the knobs off!

but it was really light.

WdyCrankbait reply :

Thanks for the heads up about the handle issue Team510. I didn't know about that, also welcome to the forums!

team510 reply :

i would just ask around about that issue! i dont want to slam a company just becuase i got a funky test reel?

and thank you!

Jim_M reply :

This sweet little reel has been selling fast at our BPS. I have one mounted on a 7'-6" MH BPS Crankin Stick. And, thanks to Adam (my go to BPS guy) I can pick up Sunline Sniper off the shelf.

This combo with 8# fluoro and my crank baits...well, lets just say it covers some water.

MrSwimJig reply :

Well after 3 months of fishing this reel on a weekly basis I have not had any problems and the reel still casts and performs great. It is still very smooth and the drag is still outstanding. I am very impressed with the performance up to this point. Lets see how it holds up the rest of the season.

Goose52 reply :

I bought two of the 6.4:1 models. One is still NIB. The other has been in use off-and-on since March but I don't have enough time on it to give any opinions regarding long-term durability. The reel that I have in use has the rough spot once-per-turn as reported by a number of folks - but I don't notice it in actual use. The centrifugal brake system makes a somewhat noisy whirring sound as first reported by Hooligan. It does cast well and has a good drag.

I have the reel mounted on a 7'mf Carbonlite rod and the whole rig only weighs 9.9oz including the line - pretty dang light...

Diggy reply :

Any updates with noisy gearing or build quality?

McAlpine reply :

On 12/10/2011 at 1:05 PM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Whoa, I was nearly set on getting the Abu MGX (going for lightness) but this at only .5oz more but $220 less put the brakes on that. Will definately follow this for more info. Ive read good things in the past about the Carbonlites

The weight savings alone is not the only reason to buy an MGX. I'm sure the new carbonlite is a very good reel for the money. However; even as an owner of several carbon black's and JM"s, I gaurantee you that there will be a night and day difference between the new CL and an MGX.

An MGX is a work of bloody art. Trust me on this. And if you want one, go hit ebay. You can get one for about $250 in the box.

21farms reply :

On 10/24/2012 at 1:18 AM, Diggy said:
Any updates with noisy gearing or build quality?

i returned my first one and got my second one in april which i handpicked from all the stock they had on hand at the manteca BPS which turned out to be a 5.4:1 ratio one. while testing them in-store, i noticed quite a variation in smoothness between the samples. even though i picked out the best of the bunch, it's still not what i would consider a smooth reel. i've fished it maybe five times now and i was hoping some of the grindy feeling would go away with use but it hasn't. the gold pre-JM carbonlite was so much better in this department. on the plus side, the unusual egg shape has turned out to be very comfortable to palm and it has also proven to be able to cast even lighter lures fairly well.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

On 10/24/2012 at 7:10 AM, 21farms said:

i returned my first one and got my second one in april which i handpicked from all the stock they had on hand at the manteca BPS which turned out to be a 5.4:1 ratio one. while testing them in-store, i noticed quite a varition in smoothness between the samples. even though i picked out the best of the bunch, it's still not what i would consider a smooth reel. i've fished it maybe five times and i was hoping some of the gear-y feeling would go away with some use but it hasn't. the gold pre-JM carbonlite was so much better in this department. on the plus side, the unusual egg shape has turned out to be very comfortable to palm and it has also proven to be able to cast even lighter lures fairly well.

Ive used mine for like 7 months and pretty much the same findings. I did though open it and grease the gears and that made it noticeably better but yeah not the smoothest reel. Casts equal to my 50E with little cranks will throw a fat ika farther though. Controls the line very well, I live where its windy a lot and it does very well throwing directly into the wind.

I made it my bottom contact reel this alleviates the gear feel greatly in that I use the rod to move drag lure along so the reel just takes-up the slack.Thats the thing though with no tension it feels smooth reeling but add a far amount of tension say 1.5 squarebill and the gear feel come in. So this makes finding a good one in the store a bit difficult.

Jim_M reply :

Fishing one frequently now for ~9 months or so. I clean reels as often as I clean guns. Soooo I have not cleaned the reel. Zero problems. I catch fish with it. Going to get a lefty next time. I have gotten used to few other southpaw BC reels. And yes, I agree with the above, its size and shape make it a winner in the palming department. Your mileage will vary

craww reply :

Used mine more than any other reel I own this year. Its held up well other than some mysterious scaring on the side that Im still not quite sure how it happened. Casts great and is super light. I wouldnt hesitate to get another if I needed a reel. Based off the issues folks had when they first came out, I'd definetely handle the model you get in store FIRST.

Tip if you put a piece of tape over where the pins stick out on the centrifugal brakes you can actually run odd numbers of brake settings.

kickerfish1 reply :

Have had the 7:0.1 since it came out. Everything about the reel is great minus the gears. It is going in for a clean and lube shortly. Also may inquire about possible replacement gears in high speed ratio. If they fixed the gears on these reels they would be a great buy especially since they go on sale quite often. For $90.00 new I don't have many gripes about the reel at this price point.

J Francho reply :

What is wrong with the gears?

kickerfish1 reply :

On 10/25/2012 at 2:43 AM, J Francho said:

What is wrong with the gears?

The gears feel grindy. It almost seems like when the handle is rotated and reaches a certain point in the gears that something catches slightly. You can feel them as you retrieve the handle even at slow retrieve speeds. I am guessing it is a quality control thing among these reels but the general consensus seems to be that the lower speed reels don't have this problem to the extent that the high speed models do.

I am going to have the reel serviced this off season and will have more to say about it then.

78Staff reply :

Really want to try one of these. I actually bought 4 of the previous model when they went on sale right before these new ones came out, but in a moment of stupidity I changed my mind and returned them. I have regretted that decision because you can't find the old one anywhere now . I had thought the new one would offer more ratio's in LH, but they never offered them.

Still, would like to try the new one, just waiting on the next sale which I assume will be Black Friday maybe? Trouble is I have no local shop so will have to hope to get a decent one via mail order.

2092

Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2024

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