I picked up the 400B yesterday at Outdoor Pro Shops in Cotati, Ca. Price was 239.00. I could have got it on line for 229.00 and probably a lot less but I couldn't take it back for a full refund in 30 minutes if I didn't like it and I would have still needed to pay shipping. Besides, there are a lot of perks to shopping local. Perks like getting the latest scoop on what guys are buying for the fishing in the area can be worth every extra spent reel dollar in just useless tackle costs alone. Thats just my opinion.
When I got it home I spooled it up with 250 yards of 20lb Sunline natural .015 dia Mono-Nylon line. The reel is rated for 160 yds of 20lb line and you will get 160 yards on it with most any type of line except lead core. It should handle about 6 colors (30' each) of 18lb lead core nicely. You could spool this reel with heavier line but with a 17.5 lb drag it wouldn't make a lot of sense.
I put the reel on my 8'6 Lamiglass North West and begin casting into the pool. The reel casts very smoothly for it's size and bearing count (3) and I was not having to do a lot of fine adjusting to keep the back lashes at bay. At a 5:1 / 24" per turn retrieve it's just about where you want it for fish in the 5-15 lb range.
This is a right hand only reel and is available with either a single or double handle that can be easily changed.
Construction is very nice and at about 11 oz it's still a fairly nimble reel on a fast tipped rod.
Overall, it's not a traditional salmon reel by any means with only a 17.5 lb drag. I'm keeping it for lake fishing Lahontan Cuthroats, Eagle Lake Trout, and non anadromous (land locked) Steel Head and Kokanee Salmon. Line capacity is the key with this reel. I'm pretty sure it'll take a full 10 color spool of 15lb lead core. I also like the amount of line it holds with Mono. If you've ever had a big fish on a small spool you might have experienced spool swell that bound up the reel during a tight line retrival. It's one of the reasons backing line is used. With the amount of line this reel can hold I don't see that as being a problem. I used 50' of bright orange backing but on this reel I doubt I'll ever see it.
All in all its nice for a mid range priced reel. I'd recommend it to a friend if they understood what it's intended use is and didn't gripe when they couldn't control a 50lb King with it. I might be able to do it but I wouldn't guarantee it and I wouldn't put it in the hands of a first timer and expect them to. I'd recommend the Diawa Luna in those cases because all you need to do is flip the drag washer over and you can go from low max drag to a max dead stop line breaking drag in about a minute.
When I got it home I spooled it up with 250 yards of 20lb Sunline natural .015 dia Mono-Nylon line. The reel is rated for 160 yds of 20lb line and you will get 160 yards on it with most any type of line except lead core. It should handle about 6 colors (30' each) of 18lb lead core nicely. You could spool this reel with heavier line but with a 17.5 lb drag it wouldn't make a lot of sense.
I put the reel on my 8'6 Lamiglass North West and begin casting into the pool. The reel casts very smoothly for it's size and bearing count (3) and I was not having to do a lot of fine adjusting to keep the back lashes at bay. At a 5:1 / 24" per turn retrieve it's just about where you want it for fish in the 5-15 lb range.
This is a right hand only reel and is available with either a single or double handle that can be easily changed.
Construction is very nice and at about 11 oz it's still a fairly nimble reel on a fast tipped rod.
Overall, it's not a traditional salmon reel by any means with only a 17.5 lb drag. I'm keeping it for lake fishing Lahontan Cuthroats, Eagle Lake Trout, and non anadromous (land locked) Steel Head and Kokanee Salmon. Line capacity is the key with this reel. I'm pretty sure it'll take a full 10 color spool of 15lb lead core. I also like the amount of line it holds with Mono. If you've ever had a big fish on a small spool you might have experienced spool swell that bound up the reel during a tight line retrival. It's one of the reasons backing line is used. With the amount of line this reel can hold I don't see that as being a problem. I used 50' of bright orange backing but on this reel I doubt I'll ever see it.
All in all its nice for a mid range priced reel. I'd recommend it to a friend if they understood what it's intended use is and didn't gripe when they couldn't control a 50lb King with it. I might be able to do it but I wouldn't guarantee it and I wouldn't put it in the hands of a first timer and expect them to. I'd recommend the Diawa Luna in those cases because all you need to do is flip the drag washer over and you can go from low max drag to a max dead stop line breaking drag in about a minute.