I just bought a $6.50 power handle made for Daiwa Firewolf 27H to fit my new Shimano Corvalus 301(same size as Calcutta & Cardiff). You'll need to file the hole to fit but it works great, even the little screw thread for the nut cover fit. The metal is thicker but a little shorter than the Shimano stock live bait handle. It's not the greatest handle and I wish the shape of the handle is more cylindrical but for $6.50, I can't ask for too much. Here is a picture of the handle:

http://www.daiwa.com/tackle/reels/conv/fwh/pic_fw57h.gif

Note the picture is on a Daiwa FW47H, the photo for FW 27H is not available

Bearcat, how do you like the Corvalus?

It looks like a pretty good reel for $69.xx. I havn't fished it yet, but I threw many casts in my backyard. I noticed the drag is much stronger than my Cardiff 301 (they just updated this reel too). I put in 20lb line in it and tried tossing 1/4 oz wt for fun and it cast good. I only used 3 out of the 6 VBL brakes and removed the other 3; same thing I did in my Cardiff to remove unnecessary spooling wt. The spool release button felt tight and solid like the Cardiff, however, I did not like the design of a little plastic piece that is placed right next to the botton because its edge is somewhat separating (the Cardiff has the same design but it's tighter). I like the metal grey color of the reel and I wish the Daiwa handle was silver. I have yet to find out how it fish. I might want to put 30# of PowerPro for backing because I plan on using this reel as a light bottom fishing reel for rock fish.

Yes, the price is very reasonable. Although I prefer higher quailty reels, we lefties don't have many choices in the 300 size reels. I have a CVZ253LA, CTE401 and a Tica CA201, but would like a 300 size left-hand and I'm considering purchasing the Corvalus. I wish they made the CTE300 in a lefty. Anyway, thanks for the info.

Had Daiwa made the CVX in lefty, i would have bought it.

Yes, unfortunately they discontiuned the CVX103LA, CVX203LA and CVX253LA. You can still find them once in awhile on ebay.

>Yes, the price is very reasonable. Although I prefer higher
>quailty reels, we lefties don't have many choices in the 300
>size reels. I have a CVZ253LA, CTE401 and a Tica CA201, but
>would like a 300 size left-hand and I'm considering purchasing
>the Corvalus. I wish they made the CTE300 in a lefty. Anyway,
>thanks for the info.

Stiper,
Among these reels, which one do you like the most and why?
Bearcat

With out question the Tica Caiman CA is the smoothest, most precise casting round reel on the market today. Unfortunately they only make the left-hander in the larger 201 size. If they had left-hand versions in their smaller 100-150 sizes, this is what I would use for all my freshwater big-bait fishing. The CA201 is a large, heavy reel (12.2 oz.) and has limited freshwater use. I occasionally use this reel for casting the largest swimbaits on a custom Calstar 800L, but use it mostly for stripers, yellowtail and white seabass. I use the smaller(10.9oz.)Millionaire as my 20# reel for general freshwater and small to medium swimbaits. This is also a nice reel for inshore bay bass and halibut. This reel matches up well with most med-hvy to hvy freshwater rods, but not so with heavy swimbait rods. For most of my large swimbait fishing I use the Calcutta TE401 on a custom Loomis BB965. The Tica and Calcutta are similar in weight and line capacity, but the Calcutta isn't as wide and balances better on most heavy freshwater rods, although the 300 would be better if they made a left-hand version. All three reels have similar gear ratios, line capacity and drags. The big difference is in price and bearings. The Tica $100-13b.b, Millionaire $200-7b.b. and the Calcutta $350-5b.b. The Calcutta has a nice drag, but way over priced for a 5 bearing reel. The Tica is the smoothest casting and best priced reel and the Millionaire is about in the middle, but they all have there ideal applications. It just depends on there intended use. If I had to rate them over-all, it would be 1) Tica 2) Millionaire 3) Calcutta.

Where was Tica made? Gear ratio? Could it be used for saltwater?

Did you look at the Cardiff 301 A (new 2005 version)? I am not sure if they're out yet. It features ARB's and dartanium drag. I wish it was upgraded before I bought my older version. It's almost half of the price of the CVZ, but no comparison in the quality.

The Tica is designed for salt water with a anti-corrosion coating and waterprof side cover, 5.2 gear ratio and a 12# drag. Tica are manufactured in china by OEM a long time manufacturer of many big name companies reels and only recently started producing their own reels under the Tica name. The Cardiff is a dependable reel with a good 10# drag and if money is an issue, it would be a good choice for a 300 size reel. Personally, I prefer the better quailty Okuma Induron ID250LX for the same money. The new left-hand Cardiff's as well as the Induron's are back-ordered by everone I know of.