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I've seen and played with a couple that were brought into the shop by the Shimano rep. Very nice, but spendy reel. From what I understand, the reel comes with a Long Range Special cam and if you want aditional cams, they are $35.00 each The Bottom Fish cam will produce 50# of drag and still get into freespool. Rather impressive.
friends that have fished with this style handle complained about cramping after a long fight. i've seen this style on other reels and i don't care for it. and it costs way too much! well, at least for me.
__________________ eddie's brother, grady white 258 journey
Back to the original question. I have no experience whatsoever with this reel, and at those numbers I am not the targeted species, but cannot help but wonder what is next on the Shimano $scope. Maybe a mental telepathy reel. "Hey, little buddy kick it up a notch, not that big a notch, easy, easy...". I suppose if we take the work out fishing it will be more fun. They're still people that think it is fish we are after, Mr. Thoreau. Justs my thoughts. Capt. Ron
I use the 30's on my charter trips. They are incredible reels. So far they have put about 24 yellowfins in the boat up to 83lbs. I just have the standard LRS cam that comes with it. I have them loaded with 80lb. PP and then a 100yd. topshot of 40lb. Momoi Diamond. No problems so far.
As I understand their unique design it was to give the angler a smaller, lighter reel that was designed for heavy drags and specifically for use with the Spectra/PowerPro lines. They hold just as much skinny spectra as a Tiagra does mono. They might be a real hot item with the long range guys who fight 200 + tuna from a stationary boat. Those anglers need lighter tackle with heavy drag capability.Might be right up their alley.
We'll have to see.
__________________ Capt. Mike Fisher
Stock Reduction Sale Ongoing
A buddy of mine bought a pair of them from Capt Harry's in Miami. Gonna use them on Brasil's White Marlin with 20# dacron and 15ft of 50# Suffix leaders. He mentioned he got them for a better price than Melton. I dunno, I wasn't there.
__________________ Capt Alf Harvey
FV Miss Lily
Bocas del Toro
Shimano has also introduced their new Torsa. In this case you get a dolled up Trinidad with more internal plastic than steel. Now here is an exercise in stupidity if there ever was one. Wow! A lever-drag reel with some freespool! Avet's been doing this for four years!!!*** Shimano will require these to be sold for OVER $600 through their anti-competitive policies! This one is an ego introduction and frankly one of the stupidest reels money can buy. For this kind of money you can buy yourself a Tiburon Smart Shift Two-Speed with a much better drag system, better construction, no mickey mouse plastic, much better bearings and casting. The Torsa will have some power despite it's too high gearing and off balanced feel. But, the Tiburon will provide better power and FAR better construction. Again, please don't be swayed by fancy advertising (which is well funded by the high profit these reels bring Shimano).
***Honestly I can't even say that the Torsa has good freespool. The one we got provided less than 10 seconds of spin time! For folks dumb enough to have purchased one to impress their friends, Cal's can make the reel perform better...for a mere $140! So, blow over $600 on a reel that's under-designed and blow another $140 to make it perform as advertised... Dumb, but Shimano expects dumb American consumers to lay out dumb dollars for overpriced "Top Shelf" gear. That is DUMB.
Shimano Torsa. Has anybody used one yet?? 
