Are there any upgrades for Calcutta D's

[maddiesdadie]

I just got two Calcutta D's for Christmas, a 200D and 400D. I was wondering if there's any upgrades out there for these new Calcutta's? I will primarily use them in saltwater and had always upgrade all my spinning reels, from drags, knobs, handles, spools etc for comfort, confidence, and capacity. Just in case a fish of a life time decides to give me a chance but from what I've heard these Calcutta's are pretty hard to beat out of the box but just wanted to know. Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you guys.

[Bryan Young]

The first upgrade I'd do are drag replacement to greased carbon fiber, SmoothDrag.com.  Note that the shop will be closed down for a week or two for vacation, but will be able to help you out after that.

[Propster]

You can do a few things to this reel. I agree with the Carbontex drags. I added a bearing to the spool shaft to replace the plastic bushing. You can also add a bearing under the drive shaft. And bearings to the paddles on the handle. I polished the inside of the pinion gear and also the main drive gear. I thought about a ceramic line guide pawl vs the metal one and opted not to. Then I bought another 400, did all that to it, and replaced the drive gear and pinion gear with those from the 300. Gained almost 4 inches of line pick up over the 300 (which was 27") because of the bigger spool. Due to the narrower spool, the disengaging level wind does not seem to be an issue. But I do recommend a "slicker" line for these, and since I don't care for Power Pro Slick I went with 832 Suffix. Some people said to go a bit lighter with 65# but I went with 80# and no problem. This is one smooth reel that casts like a dream. The only drawback in my opinion is that you have to take it almost completely apart from the drive side to get at the centrifugal brakes inside on the palm side. One other minor pet peeve is there are only 4 drag washers and the drag pressure seems a hair on the light side. All in all I love these reels.

[maddiesdadie]

Thank you Bryan and Propster for the great info. Is this something I can send my reels in you guys or Alan to have done for me? I'm traveling for work and out of the country for 5 weeks but I can have my wife send it in with payment to take care of parts and your valuable labor. I just want to fish when I get back and really don't have the time or the expertise to do all these. Please let me know, thank you all.