Just got my Exsence in the mail today. It got caught up in customs for about 5 days and I had to pay a $21 customs fee upon delivery. Really excited about my first JDM purchase. I'm sure there will be others in the future.

Thank you for the replies. I'm not a very patient person when it comes to waiting for fishing gear to be delivered. Especially since it is my 1st JDM purchase. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will arrive soon.

Last Friday I ordered an Exsence DC from Rakutan and it shipped out on Saturday. It is showing that it arrived at customs in Chicago Sunday morning. This is my first JDM purchase and I'm really excited about this reel. I was hoping that someone may be able to give me some guidance on how long the cu...

I have used Falcon Coastal rods for a number of years and feel that they are a very good value at that price point. I use them for inshore saltwater fishing in South Louisiana mainly for redfish and speckled trout. These rods have held up well and I've never had one break yet(knock on wood). I've ca...

Good luck on your trip. We are planning a family vacation to California next year and I hope to sneak in a day of fishing for some of those monster West coast bass. Please give us a fishing report when you return.

I changed the pinion support bearing and it is now buttery smooth once again. I also changed the flip up switch that was scratched and now my reel is just like new.

I wanted to thank everyone for your help.

Thanks for all of the help. I should get the new pinion bearing in the next few days. I'll let you know if that was the problem once I have a chance to change it out.

I really appreciate the help. I've tried to narrow down where the noise is coming from. I'm sure that it's not the levelwind issue that some of the first Curado D's had. I already ordered a new pinion bearing, but I'll take a look at the anti reverse pawl the next time I take the reel apart.

Have you tried adjusting or removing the anti-reverse pawl it could be hitting the anti-reverse ratchet. I guess you are talking about the piece that fits over the notched metal disk on the gear stack. How would this be adjusted? I've taken reels apart to clean them, but I haven't done much other t...

I took the reel apart and tried to clean the pinion bearing with brake cleaner, but it still felt rough when I would spin it. I put the reel back together and it feels better than before, but I still hear a slight clicking sound. I called Shimano and ordered a new pinion bearing along with the turn ...

Thanks for the help.

I have a 200DHSV that feels rough on the retrieve. The reel still casts great, and I've recently cleaned the reel and oiled the bearings and greased the gears, but it still feels rough. I think the problem may be the pinion bearing, but I would like to know how difficult is it to remove this bearing...

I have a Revo STX and it makes a noise when reeling. It casts very well, but when reeling in, it makes a noise. I've had the reel for a few months, but I haven't used it very much. It doesn't make any noise at first, but after a little use, it makes noise when reeling and it doesn't feel very smooth...

I bought the 300 right when it came out and I love this reel. I fish mainly inshore saltwater in South Louisiana and this reel is perfect for that application. I caught a 20lb redfish a few weeks ago and the reel handled it with ease. The review on this reel was exactly right. I highly recommend thi...

Thank you for the response. I was a little concerned that such a small reel would be able to handle redfish and trout, but after a little research, I found that the 100 size Curados have been used this way for years. In addition, the new Curados are built like tanks. I was able to order a Curado 100...