Field Tests: This reel endured several months of bass fishing in waters throughout Northern California including the California Delta, Lake Sonoma, Lake Camanche, and Calero Reservoir. We combined it with multiple rods and spooled it with a variety of lines to get a true feeling of its capabilities and it did not disappoint in any combination. Not only is this reel beautiful, but it is entirely functional as well.

Casting/Pitching: This tiny little reel is surprisingly capable in casting and pitching baits ranging from small, soft plastics to large cranks and spinnerbaits and can be switched back and forth between such baits without having to adjust the SVS brake control system! Though not the furthest casting reel I’ve tested, I was constantly amazed at the distances that I could achieve with little to no effort imparted in my casting motion. Pitching is equally as smooth and efficient especially with the reel’s small size and easy palming profile.

Retrieving: Proportional to its overall size, this reel does sport a short 70mm handle. Normally a detriment with other reels I’ve used, the slow 20.5” of line recovery per turn, is actually very comfortable with a handle of this length. The added benefit of ball bearing knobs and powerful, high efficiency gearing simply added to my smile every time I picked up and fished with this engineering marvel.

Drag: Normally an area of excellence for Shimano Calcutta and Conquest reels, the Conquest 51 tested out at only two and one half pounds (2.5lbs or 1.25kg) of max drag pressure. Disappointing, but strong enough if your only quarry is black bass. For larger species, this may prove a downfall, but then again, so will the line capacity. Fortunately, Shimano has addressed both as the Conquest is available in larger sizes with proportional adjustments to the drag and line capacity.