Winner of the 2006 ICAST Award for Best Freshwater Reel!

The original Digital Control (DC) system Shimano's Calais DC had one pre-programmed braking curve on the internal DC circuit board of the reel, and eight settings along this curve worked by increasing or decreasing the amount of braking force. This was an excellent "all-around" curve, ideal for most bass fishing and inshore applications. However, the original DC system was not ideal for skipping, pitching, and other applications requiring slow spool speeds. To address these slow-speed concerns, Shimano thoroughly analyzed casting mechanisms for various environmental and mechanical conditions. They divided these situations into four different modes and created four profiles to handle each situation. Each mode has 8 different brake-strength settings for 32 brake settings total.

Calais DC Modes and Profiles

X Mode: Extreme Distance – a very specific profile ideal for surf casting or competition distance casting. L Mode: Long Distance – an all-around profile for most fishing applications. A Mode: Accuracy – ideal for accuracy casting styles like pitching and skipping. W Mode: Wind – facilitates long casts in heavy headwind conditions.

Calais DC Features

4x8 Digital Control® S A-RB® Bearings Magnumlite spool Super Free (SF®) High Efficiency Gearing (HEG®) Tapered Titanium Levelwind Insert Greaseless Spool Support Bearings Super Stopper® Assist Stopper® Escape Hatch Septon® handle material PV Power Handles Cold forged handle shank Drilled, cold forged drag star Dartainium® drag Recessed reel foot Clicking drag adjustment Metal plated finish Asymmetrical spool window Aluminum frame and sideplates Platinum premier service plan

Line recovery in inches per handle turn.