Cortez CZ-12CS

[tgorman]

Well.. I was goofing off on ebay and wanted a CZ-5 and or I had been debating a  Seagate 20 or a Penn Fathom 12.
I got a great deal on a Fathom 12 brand new for $145 shipped!

Previously I had seen a CZ-5 listed in Utah for $30 and thought what the hell and bid $45.. I won for $41.27 
Reel came today and.. it is a Cortez CZ-12CS  quit a bit bigger than the CZ-5 I was looking at 
For $42 I'm not sending it back.  It is the older red spool version.

Free spool is nice and the reel size makes me think it is a good Jig reel on a 9-10' rod.  Start feels weird and loose.
Going to pull it apart tonight and have a look inside.

Anybody have one?  Tips-Tricks?   If I can rebuild a Torium with a frozen reverse bearing .. I can handle this one.

[akfish]

Check with Okuma. I could be wrong, but I believe there was a recall on the first Cortez reels. Okuma might give you a good deal on a current model.

[Normslanding]

The first reels had a problem with 20lb mono (and smaller) getting between the spool and frame, it was remedied. If your reel has the issue send it to Okuma they will fix it.
As for the reel it functions well, and the drag is very nice. Taking the reel apart and back together take a little practice. There is a small retainer screw that is a little tricky. But all in all the reel is very nice. The components are the same as the Cedros star drag reels. The composite frame vs the machined frame is the difference. The cast control works well on the Cortes.

[tgorman]

I started to take it apart last night.. and took the screws out of the sideplate and pieces of black spirals came out with it.. (screws were stripped)

Put it in free spool and played with the magnets a bit and they seemed to work well.   Only problem was.. when I twisted the reel so the spool
was spinning verdically like a TOP and it binds and stops 

If you leave the spool flat.. it free spools well.  but as soon as you turn it.. my hands are trained to do that for so many years of casting my 4/0s
that if you turned them to 45 Degrees it always seemed to cast further.

I think I will send it back to Okuma for a look.  but something is very very wrong.