O.K. I admit it, I actually fish with the corsair gold 401. The main problem with the old silver corsairs was that the gears would disengage without a warning and you would be left in a "free spool" mode. This still happens on my gold corsair, but only once in a great while, and usually a hard spin of the handle will pop the clutch back up.

These reels do have there place though, if you fish a fishery that puts severe abuse on reel and you don't want to worry about ruining a good reel, this is where the gold corsairs are ideal. For example, salmon fihsing on the Fraser requires heavy brades and casting of a 2-3 oz. betty all day, and fighting fish up to 40-50 pounds. I've severely beat my corsair for two summers in a row now. Drag is still smooth and the only problem I've had with it is the little metal slider on top of the worm gear had to be replaced, because I wore it out! I have a Calcutta, but why beat the snot out of it when Corsair handles the job?

BD