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I am trying to descide on two reels. I have a home in sarasota. I do alot of wading, surf fishing...I fish the flats from a kayak. I catch everything from reds,snook, sheephead,trout..etc. I do not fish from a boat much. I have been looking at the stradic 4000 and the 5000. I also like the baitrunner 3500 and 4500. The problem is I live in ohio most of the year so I am buying these without seeing them. Any help would be great. Thank you ,
nice fish... I a loyal to shimano. I have had several dozen of them.. What do you think about the 5000 I think it is the same reel just holds more line..
nice fish... I a loyal to shimano. I have had several dozen of them.. What do you think about the 5000 I think it is the same reel just holds more line..
I have a 5000 too and it's very nice. The actual reel is bigger not just the capacity. It feels too large for light inshore rods. I have mine on a medium-heavy Ugly Stik Intercoastal rod. It's a great combination but is too heavy for most of the stuff you'll encounter inshore in Sarasota. My fishing buddy caught this Mahi in the Keys on his Stradic 2000 which is nearly half the size of the 5000.
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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra
The stradic is a great reel I have alot of them 6000, 5000 2500 and even the 1000 for trout. The reels are great from the boat, but they don't like salt water at all. If the reel gets dunked or dropped, forget it. I also have the baitrunners: 3500 and the 4500. I use them on the surf all the time with better results. They seem to hold up better.
__________________ Scout 210 Sportfish Honda-150
The "HOOK & LADDER"
Thank you for the info... Is the btr 3500 big enough for my day to day use.. or should I go with the 4500. Are the baitrunner series to heavy for constant casting?
Scott, I use the baitrunners for dead sticking with clams or bunker. I use a 3500 on a 10' lami's and the 4500 on 11' lami's. If you are going to plug I would go with the 3500. Have you checked into the Spheros at all. I have used them for plugging with no problem and they are not so tempermental with the slatwater like the stradics.
__________________ Scout 210 Sportfish Honda-150
The "HOOK & LADDER"
nice fish... I a loyal to shimano. I have had several dozen of them.. What do you think about the 5000 I think it is the same reel just holds more line..
I have a 5000 too and it's very nice. The actual reel is bigger not just the capacity. It feels too large for light inshore rods. I have mine on a medium-heavy Ugly Stik Intercoastal rod. It's a great combination but is too heavy for most of the stuff you'll encounter inshore in Sarasota. My fishing buddy caught this Mahi in the Keys on his Stradic 2000 which is nearly half the size of the 5000.
The 4000 and 5000 are actually the same reel, except the 5000 has a larger spool.
nice fish... I a loyal to shimano. I have had several dozen of them.. What do you think about the 5000 I think it is the same reel just holds more line..
I have a 5000 too and it's very nice. The actual reel is bigger not just the capacity. It feels too large for light inshore rods. I have mine on a medium-heavy Ugly Stik Intercoastal rod. It's a great combination but is too heavy for most of the stuff you'll encounter inshore in Sarasota. My fishing buddy caught this Mahi in the Keys on his Stradic 2000 which is nearly half the size of the 5000.
Jeez, if that's not an ad for Ugly Stick rods, it should be one!
Try the spheros if you have to have shimano, it will hold up better than the stradic and won't have the extra weight of the baitrunner feature, which is hardly ever used by me.
The big difference between the Baitrunner and Stradic is what they're best at... If you going to be casting and retrieving a lot with lures the Stradic would get my nod. The Baitrunner is best at working a rod in place... In other words if the rod is going to be in a holder until a bait or trolling lure gets tagged go with the Baitrunner. I have five Stradics for customers that will be tossing lures at fish, four are the 4000's with either 8 or 10lb line, the fifth is a 5000 with 12lb line. The choice of line sizes has a lot more to do with the weight of lures being used than the size of the fish...
By the way I have every schematic Shimano's ever published and the 5000 is different in every way than the 4000 -- none of the parts interchange between the two reels.
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
[img][img]
nice fish... I a loyal to shimano. I have had several dozen of them.. What do you think about the 5000 I think it is the same reel just holds more line..
I have a 5000 too and it's very nice. The actual reel is bigger not just the capacity. It feels too large for light inshore rods. I have mine on a medium-heavy Ugly Stik Intercoastal rod. It's a great combination but is too heavy for most of the stuff you'll encounter inshore in Sarasota. My fishing buddy caught this Mahi in the Keys on his Stradic 2000 which is nearly half the size of the 5000.
Jeez, if that's not an ad for Ugly Stick rods, it should be one!
That's some bend there.
My Stradic 5000 is on the Ugly Stick. The rod in the picture is a $15 South Bend from K-Mart. I finally convinced my friend to buy a nice Stradic 2000 reel but he insisted on keeping the cheap rod. I guess it's a pretty good rod after that fight. He has a tendency to high-stick rods a little too much and the thing just doesn't break. He's had it for eight years now. It was the first piece of fishing tackle he purchased after moving to Florida from the midwest.
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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra
Try the spheros if you have to have shimano, it will hold up better than the stradic and won't have the extra weight of the baitrunner feature, which is hardly ever used by me.
I own 5 Stradic's three Spheros' and two Baitrunners. My favorite general purpose reel is a Stradic 4000 FG. My favorite dedicated trout reel is my best Spheros. The set and forget rods are the Baitrunners. I also use my big Baitrunner for grouper digging.
For your application I would say Stradic or Spheros. Howver, I belive that everyone should own a Baitrunner. So, IMO, get both!
__________________ If it ain't broke; don't break it.
I like the stradics, but you really need to wash them down and be diligent in saltwater. it's not a saltwater reel by design. The only recurring problem I've had is the need to replace the roller bearing. The spheros is a very good tough, no frills reel and a fantastic deal for the money.
I've been experimenting with the Quantum reels this year, and have so far been very impressed with the Cabo 40 spinner. At his point, I'd pick it over the stradic. I have the Boca 30 as well, and it's a nice reel with a great drag, but the spool size is too small for the size of the reel. Go with the 40 in either the Cabo or the Boca. The drags on the Quantums have been top notch even with the bigger false albacore we had this fall in Montauk.
The Baitrunner is a good reel, but if you're not going to use that baitrunner feature, it's a bit clunky for its size.
Here's a nice 43" bass taken on the Cabo 40 in the North Rip at Montauk. I was pretty shocked by how quickly he beat this fish with this setup.
The big difference between the Baitrunner and Stradic is what they're best at... If you going to be casting and retrieving a lot with lures the Stradic would get my nod. The Baitrunner is best at working a rod in place... In other words if the rod is going to be in a holder until a bait or trolling lure gets tagged go with the Baitrunner. I have five Stradics for customers that will be tossing lures at fish, four are the 4000's with either 8 or 10lb line, the fifth is a 5000 with 12lb line. The choice of line sizes has a lot more to do with the weight of lures being used than the size of the fish...
By the way I have every schematic Shimano's ever published and the 5000 is different in every way than the 4000 -- none of the parts interchange between the two reels.
Look at the schematics for the new Stradics. I just checked and most of the parts are interchangeable (side plate, body, etc.). That may not have been the case with the older ones, but the current 4000 and 5000 are almost exactly alike except for the spool size.
Not to answer a different question than you asked, but another nice choice is the Daiwa Capricorn. It is comparable in price to the Stradic and many rate it as a better reel.
Also, have you compared the Penn440 or 450 SSG to these reels (particularly the Spheros)? The Penns would seem to be a viable alternative and a pretty good reel for $90.
I like the stradics, but you really need to wash them down and be diligent in saltwater. it's not a saltwater reel by design. The only recurring problem I've had is the need to replace the roller bearing.
Next time pull the roller bearing apart and clean any grease or gunk off the rollers and springs with alcohol or solvent. I do that every time it starts to fail (about every two years). Those bearings are expensive and they really don't take long to clean out. Just make sure you work over a white towel in case you drop a spring. The part will show over the white and the soft cloth will keep the spring from jumping away never to be found.
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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra
When I'm ordering parts to repair my customer's reels (Penn, Daiwa, or Shimano only) I always make certain to order the little things... The kind of part that never needs replacing unless it bounces across your workbench and disappears. You can have all the gear sets, bearings by the half dozen, drag sets by the dozen, and everything else needed but let one tiny spring get legs and you're down until the next order comes in. That advice about the white towel is right on. By the way for cleaning reel parts and keeping things reasonable mineral spirits (aka paint thinner) is all I've used since the early seventies.
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
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Hullslap, sounds like you've lost a spring or two in the past.
Just for a few hours.
I have Australian Cypress floors in my house (looks like knotty pine only more variation and texture). Drop anything smaller than a quarter and it just blends right in.
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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra
Stradic vs baitrunner 
