Shimano talica BFC freespool Clunk

[JoshW]

Hi there, First time poster here.

I've got a bunch of the Shimano Talica 20 BFC's we primarily use for dead bait billfishing. I'm not so stoked with reels performance though.

I'm running 6lbs of drag at strike and 10lbs at sunset ( which looking at the shimano site seems to be well within the intended operating range of this reel). However there is quite a noticeable 'clunk' shifting the reel in and out of gear, it's like I've got the preset wound up too much (when I increase the preset even more the clunk gets worse and it is quite difficult to shift into gear) but if I back it off to the point were this clunk dissapers the reel is basically useless there's not enough drag to even hold a bait in the water.

It's causing our anglers a bit of trouble. What do I need to do fix this...would changing the configuration or adding/subtracting the spool washers help at all?

Idealy I would like this reel to give me around 8lbs of drag at strike and close to the stated max of 15lb at sunset without the heavy clunk in out of gear.

[Bryan Young]

The cam step may need to be filed and rounded a little.  It normally wears over time, but it can be rushed by filing the cam down.  Be careful, do a little at a time, and make sure that both sides are filed the same way and take off the same amount of metal.

[conchydong]

The new Billfish Talicas are very expensive reels (just released) and surely under warranty. I would notify Shimano before I started altering them. Shimano, I am sure would like to hear your problems and hopefully come up with some solutions for you and the others who are using these reels.

[threadfin]

I have recently bought one of these reels and have exactly the same problem. I even took it back to the store to see if there was a problem with it. They said there wasn't and the other reels they had in stock were exactly the same. It is a great reel but this defect is a PITA. Did you manage to sort yours out?
Cheers,
Cam

[nzgw]

I have recently bought one of these reels and have exactly the same problem. I even took it back to the store to see if there was a problem with it. They said there wasn't and the other reels they had in stock were exactly the same. It is a great reel but this defect is a PITA. Did you manage to sort yours out?
Cheers,
Cam

Hi Everyone is there any update on this thread?
Gary

[boon]

As a complete side note, if that JoshW is the JoshW I think it is, they are one of the better fishermen on the planet