This might be old news, but they discontinued the Shimano Calcutta 400b. I’m so upset and since I found out last month I have been squiring some, I now have 3. I love that reel. I wish there was a worthy substitute but I am not fond of the c4 from Abu (c3 is different, but imo it’s no calcutta). Maybe I’m just being a reel snob, but it is what it is.

You are looking for a round reel, but if you can get use to the Tranx lower profile, I think you will love it. I had to get over my attraction to round reels and I started lower profile reels and found they were more comfortable to hold and gave me more options with hand placement. A bit more ergonomic than the Calcutas.

I totally understand the love for old and older reels. New and improved isn't what it's always what it's cracked up to be. Then there is the love of the classic look of some reels. There are plenty of the older Calcutta 400 B reels for sale on one of the major online @#$%& sites. Some at very reasonable prices, some at not so reasonable prices. But there are quite a few available if that's a route that you're willing to consider.

Getting back to understanding the love of older reels. As I said, it's completely understandable. I used to think the same thing. I have a more than a few 200B and 200D Curados that I thought I'd never want to replace. I used to think how silly the smaller framed 200 size Curados looked compared to those older Curados. I thought, without ever even holding one in my hand, that no way they could be as comfortable to fish with. Well ............ all I can say is, boy was I wrong. Aside from the Infinity braking system they newer reels use, (I am a huge fan of the old VBS system) the newer reels are a far far superior reel. Especially from an ergonomics stand point. They are a joy to fish.

I think if you gave the Tranx that Lance mentioned a try, you would absolutely fall in love with it. I have a friend who is more than a little crazy about muskie fishing. He too raved about his Calcuttas. Then about a year and a half ago he got his first Tranx. Using his words .... "I never thought I'd say this, but this thing blows my Calcuttas away"

Anyhow ..... if you don't want to go the online @#$%& site route, there are more than a few worthy substitutes for the Calcutta you mourn.

Maybe I’ll give the Tranx a shot. Thing is I just cast a rig from shore and then sit and wait. If I was constantly casting, say for musky then I’d probably be less weary of going the low pro route.

I tend to backlash low pro reels way more than round reels. For some reason I really like Abu reels
For low pro. But lexa’s and curado I backlash. People didn’t believe me until I backlashed a Lexa and then said “watch this” and spun in circles, closed my eyes and cast with a calcutta and it went nearly where I wanted it to.

I tend to like magnetic breaks more than centrifugal, which I know is oxymoronic because the Calcutta is centrifugal.