I know it's not the thumbar itself, but it could be the mechanism in the housing that releases the clutch and pinion. It is closely related to the thumbar. If you check the reel schematics in the owner's manual, you will see these parts. I don't know the BNT numbers off the top of my head, but they relate to the yoke, clutch spring, pinion gear, yoke springs, and a plastic housing.
I would just try to swap it at Bass Pro, in all honesty. Sounds to me like the pinion gear is catching the tabs on the spool shaft when you cast. If it doesn't make this noise on the retrieve, this is definitely the problem. The thumbar assembly isn't allowing the yoke to raise completely up to free the pinion gear from the spool shaft tabs. In a nutshell, take it back. I'm sorry that you're having the problem. Shimano stands behind their products 100%, so you should get taken care of.



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