Chinese Reels [Ming-Yang] - Page 16

I admire and compliment you on your high ground. I assume you do not drive a Toyota or watch a Sony, LG or a Samsung TV. And I know your cell phone is made in Texas. And of course, you make sure every single item you buy does not have a single 'copy' Chinese component. That is remarkable and you are much better than I am. I simply cannot live with the convenience these Chinese products bring to our lives at prices we can afford.

Fact is that there has been very little innovation on reel technology in the last 40 years. The incremental innovation is a result of manufacturers making small changes to come up with their own version of the original. One of our 'Chinese' supplier own over 100 international patents and collect royalties from may well known names, but at the same time they are called copycats. Other manufactures thousand of reels each and every year for a well known US brand, and they are also called copycats.

I can assure you that the day we can manufacture goods here in the US and be competitive world-wide, my company will be the first to jump in that bandwagon. Meanwhile, we will continue to look for good products that the average Joe can afford during these times of economic uncertainty. A lot of people can only afford those 'copies' we bring in and not those real products made in ...China.

Respectfully

Ray Lorenzo

I thought about what was posted Ray, about the reels being copies. I think about the Abu 1650, which was like the South Bend reels and the True Temper reels and maybe a dozen or so more, US manufactures that had a similar design.  But I wonder who M. Y. copied their reel from here in the USA? There is none like it, and it really is a Chinese original.

As for the others, Omoto and Akios, yes they are good copies, of Abu's. And very good reels to cast with and fish with too!  But even the Abu's weren't made in the USA.

Edited by jimmy z - 10/27/11 at 12:36am

Alot of people with negative things to say about the MY reels on many forums. Most of these are people judging a product that havent used it. 

 

My first one was 4 years ago. A ebay special (60 series). Worked great loved it and when it died after 4 years I just threw it in a box and replaced it. Since then I discovered the A series (CL70A) on a catfish forum. They were highly recommended by the members there so I gave it a shot. They outcasted my 7000s. and were a better built reel than the "new" Abus are now. Made a believer out of me. I take a bunch of poles fishing but my favorite/cest 2 poles have CL70As on them the other 2 have old 7000s on them. I'll never get rid of my 7000s and always searching for more (I'd like a 7000B for my collection) its just that now my 7000s dont see as much action as they once did. 

 

 

This was emailed to me by Roddy:

 

 

 

 

 

I saw a few diff parts from the CL series.
they all look ok to me as they work together,I am not a reel engineer
but,what I see is working fine and dandy.
others may be much more critical than I but,I am not a critic.
In the case of this MC-500 the only things I don't like are the plastic
thumbar release[some of my shimano winches have plastic ones]a potential
weak spot.
Another piece I saw that I didn't like is the clicker gear/levelwind
gear on the spool.
the clicker gear is nylonish plastic and is cogged to mesh with the
inner lip of the spool on the palm side.if they strip no more line
levelling.
the brass levelling drive gear is mated to this plastic gear
somehow,maybe pressed in or a pin.

The other gear on the worm gear is as good as MY's others,I like the
metal gear there as it is much more durable than plastic,,mind you it is
a bit noisier but,thats normal.

so far it s been great to fish with.this past week it has taken 9 bass
and 3 yellow eyes and it never even burped.

I'll admit I beat up on it leaning on the drag and bearing down on it
like I would not do with my own gear,it just did what it is supposed to
cast,retrieve and hold line.
it was fun playing with the mags too,this MC-500 has 2 sets of 2 mags[4
total].I found they most were noticeable at halfway up and they worked
perfectly.

something I discovered was that you can turn the centrifugal brakes
off,just slide them all the way on the post and they stay in the off
position,a cool feature,I normally just take mine out though.

I will do a teardown of the inners asap.
pic attached

yeah brother I hear exactly what you say :) 

 

My CL70As came from a Sting Ray dealer and with a two year full replacement policy you cant go wrong... no more ebay for me with a distributor that backs his products this good. I dont know the rules here so I wont say who that dealer is. I already upgraded one to ceramic bearings just for the hell of it. 

 

I dont have a Omoto Wavecaster yet but I am salivating for the day when I break down and get one. 

 

Challenge -  anyone that "owns" a Omoto Wavecaster 7000 CSM and thinks its junk.... I'll trade you 7000s for it all day. I might even trade a 7000 plus a set of new un-installed ceramic bearings. Thats how much I believe in the Omoto. 

Especially with these reels like Omoto's and Ming Yang's that are reliable and work well without putting a big hole in the pocket!

 

What an informative thread, just skimmed through the whole thing and I am very interested in trying a couple of these reels!  I found them first on ebay - a quick google search brought me to this thread.  I’ve been lurking your forum for a few months now, finally joined :).

 

I’m not the most experienced with conventional casting gear, so I’m hoping for some recommendations as far as reel size to match my rods and fishing application.  I have a pair of inexpensive 6 1/2 foot MH fiberglass rods that I use for carp and pike fishing, both from shore and from a small john boat.  I have some old worn out compact baitcasters on them now, and I am looking to upgrade to something nicer, with a clicker.  I was thinking the CL40 would be a good size for this, but perhaps the CL50 would be a wiser choice?  I generally use 15 or 17 pound mono.  I am hoping to avoid something too large or awkward, as I often throw lures for pike with one rod and set up some bait with the other.  From the pictures online, it looks like the CL40 is just a wider version of the CL30, and the CL60 is a wider CL50??

 

I’m also interested in picking up an 8 or 9 foot rod for stripers/blues for when I visit Cape Cod.  Would a CL60 be the best choice for this application, or would a CL50 suffice? I would probably use 15-20 pound mono on this setup, depending.  This rig would be used for bait only, I already have a spinning rig for lures.

 

I guess my thought is… if the CL50 would be a good choice in both cases, I won’t even need a 3^rd reel for my new rod.  I can just swap one of the reels over whenever I head for the coast.  Open to any/all suggestions!

Get an A series from a String Ray authorized dealer. The A series are alot better made. I prefer the 70s :)

I decided to order some closeout CL50’s.  They are on sale for $20 ea. right now, with free shipping over $50, so I just ordered three.  Hopefully they work out well for what I’ll be using them for!  Just need to find surfcasting rod to pair the third one with… I was thinking perhaps a Daiwa Beefstick, probably either a 9 or 10 foot, MH?

For fresh water, a 30 or 40 will work. But for salt water, I use a 60 or 70 size. The 50 size is a nice reel but for smaller fish like porgies or sea bass. 

Well the CL50’s came in very quickly, I’m very happy with the look and feel – and size!  I haven’t been able to get outside to try throwing some lead yet, but I did spool up one of the reels and installed it on one of my 6’6” MH rods, and it looks damn good! 

 

What makes the CL50 seem underpowered for salt, the smaller handle? Is the drag smaller or weaker?   Ming lists only one diagram for CL40-CL60, so I would think that the drag and whatnot is identical… I’m just lacking the power handle.  I suppose I could always make one :).  It seems like it has plenty of line capacity, especially if I were to back my mono with ~100-150 yds of braid just in case I hooked into something really big.

I wouldn't say under powered, just the size of the reel. I like a reel with a larger spool capacity when targeting larger fish. This is just my preference though.

Ah alright, makes sense. If I run 15 pound mono backed by 125 yds of 30 pound braid I should be able to fit ~287 yards on the spool. With 20 pound mono I’d be able to fit ~238 yards. (if the line capacity calculator I found online is close to accurate). I could always run a lighter braid backing for more capacity, or even straight braid once I get good at casting. I can’t imagine a newbie like me will be casting even close to 100 yds, so I think it would take one heck of a fish to spool me. Of course I’ve yet to hook into any decent sized saltwater fish, so I could be completely wrong! Now to find a rod for the third reel… I found out the Daiwa’s I mentioned before are all spinning rods other than the 12’ casting rod, which is probably too long for my first. I was considering a 9 or 10 foot Eagle Claw Water Eagle… unless I can find an inexpensive better quality used rod. I don’t want to spend a ton as I’m new to this…