Bait runner reels

[adriancorrea]

Has anyone used one of these reels?
and what are they like?
Thinking of purchasing one
and would like to get everyones opinion before I do.
thanks in advance :)

Tight lines
Adrian

[bugman]

Adrian,
Have recently bought an Okuma - can't remember the model number but I'll have a look when I get home.
It's one of the bigger versions though as I use it for deep sea fishing.
I've had three months and used it for spinning for tuna in the bay - deep sea of noosa and for live bating for jew with worms off the beach at Straddie.
Absolutley no complaints. Comes with 5 year warrantly and the smooth gearing feels great.
Drag worked fine on the 8-10kg tuna I hooked up on in the bay.
Retailed at Tackle Warehouse for $179 I think.
The equivelant in the shimano was going to set me back $250 plus.
I'd give it the thumbs up but as I say have only had it three months and therefore can't judge its wear and tear.
Performance - no worries.
Regards Bugman

[adriancorrea]

Hi there bugman 8)
Ive looked at the shimano reel and little bit to exy for me.
The wife cant understand why youd pay so much for a reel ::)
Ive been looking at the tica range of bait runner retails at about the same price as yours although not as big.
Thanks for you input

Tight lines
Adrian

[Heath]

We've got several & they are great. The baitrunner feature aloows a fish to dwim away with the bait with out feeling pressure. We use ours on everything from Snapper, Cobia, Mackerel to Mangrove Jacks, Jew & Bream. They are very versatile reels. One thing to look out for when selecting a reel is the drag. Shimano have waterproof drags on their reels which run silky smooth no matter how much water they cop, other reels drags soon become sticky & lumpy.

Depending on what sort of fish you are targeting, will depend on what reel you choose. There are some very big reels out there with the baitrunner feature now days that will handle most fish.

[team_mongo]

Hi Adrian,

Got a shimano BTR 6500. Good reel, built tough and hasn't missed a beat. The baitrunner feature is excellent, waterproof drag silky smooth and and gives you plenty of grunt. Probably the only possible 'negative' would be the relatively small diameter spool. My personal preference, in hindsight, would be a thunnus type reel or big baitrunner, which could handle anything you could throw at it.

Oh yes they are expensive but will last you a lifetime.

Cheers

George

[adriancorrea]

Thanks guys 8)
Ill keep these things in mind when I get one.
The hardest part is convincing the wife ::)
But shell eventually come around , if I nag her enough ;)
Im looking at using it in moreton bay and catching anything I can with it. :)
Ive just read abit about these reels and am pretty interested in them. leaning towards the shimano.
Anyway thanks again

Tight lines
Adrian

[Fitzy]

Hi Guys,
Was just talkin to Travis from Springwood Marine, hesaid the new Shimano BTR 6500B were thee for $249.
Hope that helps.

[adriancorrea]

Thanks for that Fitzy
Ive been down to springwood marine and had a look at them,
Amart ######### has them for about $10-20 cheaper.
Have you seen or anyone seen the abu garcia range, big w have them there for $98. Holds 17pound line 200 +
Can anyone comment on these reels
Thanks again Fitzy. :)

Tight lines
Adrian

[reelcrazy]

Hi Adrian

I own both, the Shimmy 6500 and a smaller Okuma Coronado CD50 (Equiv Shimmy 4500).

Both are great reels, the Coronado runs a lot smoother, must be the extra ball bearings, the handle on the Coronado is my only worry, but its held up well.

I can vouch for both, use braid on the 6500 and Fireline on the Coronado, if you get a choice, go for the Fireline, it casts better.

In the end result, buy what you can afford and then some. I personally would spend the extra and get the Shimano, you won't be disappointed.

Tom

[jezza]

What about the new Penn "Live Liner"?Heard about them but have'nt seen one,as I'm not in the market for this sort of reel,but to have the "Penn" name,they should be OK.Another option for you anyway mate.........or is that problem?...sorry.
Until next time...

[fisho]

floatlining with a shimano 6500 is heaven! ;)

[Simonh]

Hi Adrian,

Guys here use em' for carp & pike & the likes.

Shimano are the muts nuts!!! Expensive but worth it, guys on my local ish forum ask the same question " what reel" and time after time they are told buy a 2nd hand shimano for £50 rather than the same for a new Shakespear or Okuma ( though Okuma are getting better reviews for the bigger units ).

Try looking on the Cabela web site - UK guys use it alot , http://www.cabelas.com/

Simonh

[Lucky_Phill]

In this case, price equals quality. Shimano all the way. I use the 4500 & 6500. Just got my hands on a Thunnus 1600......shoot they're heavy , but very heavy duty as well. Marlin cathcing stuff I reckon.

Haven't heard of the Penn one, but would be keen. Have Penn 8500 and hasn't failed in 10 years.

[aquarius]

Hi Adrian, mate go for the shimano baitrunner they are steep in price but 100% quality.....I had one stollen a year ago...missed it so much that i had to go and buy another.
PS. A mate of mine just bought a ABU freeliner...no even close to the smoothness of the shimano baitrunner.
Cheers Brent :)

[spinna]

hi Adrian
I have a okuma cd90 and can not foult it i have 22bl line on it . Its the biger one of them but for $175.00 cant complane. I use it on the beach and rocks and deep sea mate geat reels .


cheers spinna

[whopper]

Does anyone know why the shimano big longcast baitrunner is so expensive - from what I have seen it is similar to the btr 6500 but with the longcast spool - perfect for jewies off the beach, but it retails for around $500 !!

[Tred]

Guys,
I own Shimano Baitrunners 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500 and the 6500.
The big 6500 is the only one in regular use now as I am into distance surf fishing and mainly use Penn 525 T Mags, Abu 6500 CT and Daiwa 7HT baitcasters.
The introduction of Fuji Low Rider guides have revolutionised threadline distance fishing as have long cast spools and IAR roller bearings.
Threadline tournament distances are fast approaching those made by conventional baitcasters and Peter Thain (UK) recently cast 227.56 metres using a Shimano Big Baitrunner, 0.28mm mono and a 125 gram sinker.
I am currently looking at the larger threadlines in a series of articles in a fishing magazine (to name it could be percieved as spamming) and have looked, in depth at the Big Baitrunner in one article and the Banax Helicon in a previous one.
A couple of observations.
Bail arms are susceptible to premature closure during a power cast and need to be locked. Bail lock is easier achieved on a threadline with an external bail trip although any reel with an IAR roller bearing has provision to lock the bail automatically. Daiwa and Banax go the external trip route while Shimano use an internal trip.
After stripping down and fishing with both the Big Baitrunner and the Banax Helicon (which has the baitfeeder feature) there is little to choose between the two reels. There is also little difference between the RRP's but as in everything - you get what you pay for.
I won't comment on reels which I have had no experience with but, no doubt, I will get to strip down and cast the Okuma's and Tica's in the future.
One threadline feature which no manufacturer has attempted to answer yet is the question of spool lock. On big threadlines, unless the drag is locked tight, the line can slip resulting in a badly cut index finger. This means that the drag is constantly locked, and released to strike drag, which results in compression and excessive wear of the drag components. Spool lock is even more important with the increased usage of GsPE and although there are other methods of achieving spool lock, without locking the drag, it would be nice to see a threadline with a spool lock. Both D A M and Mitchell have had threadlines with both spool and bail locks in the past so it can't be too difficult.
BTW whilst I service all my own reels I have always been chicken to dismantle the Shaimano baitrunner components. I partially dismantle to get to the main gear, shaft and oscillating gear and use a light spray of WD40 in the baitrunner area so that nothing seizes up. Despite more than average use none of my 5 Shimano Baitrunners have ever performed less than perfectly and as I said previously - you get what you pay for.
Cheers
Tred

[Heath]

Tred,
I pulled down my fathers 6500 last year as the main bearing went in it. They are very easy to pull down, with the only thing to watch is how the bail arm mechanism goes. It comes off as one piece but it has several parts, as long as you don't drop it something like that, they are a piece of cake.

[Flynny]

Guys I've got a Shimano 3000 baitrunner I've had it and abused it for 12years,used it on everything from Jacks to spotty mackerel,and I can't kill it.
Cheers Flynny

[davo]

I own the 4500 and 6500 baitrunner and they are great. I just bought a Tica Sportera, it's the same size as a 4500. I pulled it apart and can't see anything wrong with it and for $169 at Amart with a spare spool they are great value. A mate of mine has the Thunnus and really uses his gear and can only praise them but at nearly $400 each you would expect it

[imported_admin]

Davo

Glad to hear you like the Tica Sportera. Have sold quite a few from the site and have not had any bad feedback on them. Only thing you should have done was buy it on line, have them on sale at the moment for $150.00 + GST. As a member of the site though I would have offered you an even better price ;D

If anyone else is interested you can check them out at http://www.ausfish.com.au/tica

I haven't had a chance to use a Sportera yet, keep selling the extra one I buy in to keep for myself. I own a Tica Sculptor though and took it on a trip to Darwin earlier in the year and am very impressed with it, great little bait caster.

[whopper]

have a look at the note posted by 'tred' on page 2 of this discussion, the whole thing has been copied practically word for word from a magazine article, qfm i think. weird...

[Tred]

Not so weird whopper - I wrote both the article and the post.
Cheers
Tred

[Lucky_Phill]

onya Tred, fairly indepth post.

The consenses here is that Shimano are " The " baitrunners at the moment.

Have just picked up a Tica Sportera from Steve ( ausfish ) and will be giving it a due working over, during the summer months. I will be spooling it up with braid ( Bionic ) probably, marry it up to a 8ft spin outfit ( ugly or firestick ) sort of thing. Stay tuned for my report.

And YES Davo, Steve would have done a better price than that. Probably pays to give Steve a tingle before your next " fishing " purchase and see if he can help.

;D ;D

[grave41]

Tred,
I too have all the baitrunners in there respective boxes and leave them there as i prefer to use a spinning reel with a low drag setting and then adjust it to suit the rod when the fish is hooked. This way the rod is not overloaded as many fish foke tend to do these days with the advent of braided lines.
I have also built a loomis 12 ft with low rider guides over normal guides teamed up with stella 10000 and 50lb braid and have a distance of 15m more over normal guides although i need a whole mullet to get a bend in the rod.
IMO Graham

[grave41]

Whopper,
The big baitrunner is identical to the thunnus with a long cast spool if you put them side by side , that might explain the price.
Give me a penn live linner or okuma coronado or the black okuma baitrunner any day over the shimmano . I have used all 3 and prefer them in that order but alas i have sold them all now , except for the shimano ones as they are becomming collectible.
Graham

[flybloke]

I love my thunnus reels, I use them to live bait big kingfish. They are way above the plastic model. However they have not been imported here for a few years.
There are some still in shops. There is a big mother Thunnus AT Doug Burts , I bet could be bargan sold right now;)

[Mark-P]

I dont think these guys are around any more, tred & whopper !
They havn't posted for 6 years ...

Mark

[shaneomack05]

i own the 4500 & 6500 shimano's and they are better than other brand baitrnners imo. mo tackle has these reels on special at the mo ranging from $149 for the 3500 to $179 for the 6500. the big baitrunner is also in there for $299. now these are all bargains. get on their website at www.########.com.au (http://www.########.com.au)
shimano sale is on

shane

[reidy]

Davo

Glad to hear you like the Tica Sportera. Have sold quite a few from the site and have not had any bad feedback on them. Only thing you should have done was buy it on line, have them on sale at the moment for $150.00 + GST. As a member of the site though I would have offered you an even better price ;D

If anyone else is interested you can check them out at http://www.ausfish.com.au/tica

I haven't had a chance to use a Sportera yet, keep selling the extra one I buy in to keep for myself. I own a Tica Sculptor though and took it on a trip to Darwin earlier in the year and am very impressed with it, great little bait caster.
Have had a sportera 4507 for a number of years now.reel seat is too narrow (far to much wobble) which in turn makes the stem flex.OK for small fish,twists up on larger fish.Not that happy with it considering the cost a few yaers back.
Cheers Reidy

[ctwaddle]

I have a Shimano Baitrunner 4500 with 30lb braid and i use it for all sorts for fishing in far north qld, from Fingermark to Barra i find it very well balanced. I use the rob it came with in a combo and have no dramas at all with it. I would have to say they have come down in price something shocking.

[lethal098]

if you are after economy baitrunner try okuma travertine, i have 2 of them in the 80 series and have been very happy with them for the last 6 months i have had them, kingies up to 15kg, numerous snapper and various other fish at $90 from @#$ not a bad option and good warranty and smooth operation. cheers lethal

[roz]

Hi Adrian,

I've purchased two 4500s over the past 12 months.

I've found my capture rate has well over doubled, simply because of the way bait runner reels work. I only use them for float lining vermin (snaps) IMO they are made for that style of fishing.

On the down side. One reel is currently in at my local fishing tackle shop being repaired, certainly not from over use.

I would be lucky to get out, eight or nine times per year down this way.

The reel kept on jamming, very annoying as it would only have seen the light of day a few time. I've heard similar stories, but at the end of the day it really is the luck of the draw, however I would expect more from a product that can cost around the $200.00 mark IMO.

Bait runners, regardless of the brand are brilliant. Hope you enjoy yours.

good luck

roz.

[skipalong]

shimano 6500 isnt all that bad

[Goldfinch]

Adrian,
I have 3 x Shimano Baitrunners. 2 x 6500's and a 4500. They are brilliant. Load em up with Mono or Braid. The 6500 will handle small fish to monsters and the Baitrunner setting is awesome. I bought mine online and saved quite a few dollars.

[roz]

Hi Adrian,

I've purchased two 4500s over the past 12 months.

I've found my capture rate has well over doubled, simply because of the way bait runner reels work. I only use them for float lining vermin (snaps) IMO they are made for that style of fishing.

On the down side. One reel is currently in at my local fishing tackle shop being repaired, certainly not from over use.

I would be lucky to get out, eight or nine times per year down this way.

The reel kept on jamming, very annoying as it would only have seen the light of day a few time. I've heard similar stories, but at the end of the day it really is the luck of the draw, however I would expect more from a product that can cost around the $200.00 mark IMO.

Bait runners, regardless of the brand are brilliant. Hope you enjoy yours.

good luck

roz.


I felt I should add to my post to be totally fair to Shimano.

They have a very long guarantee on their reels.

I was NOT aware of this when I posted my response to this thread last month.

Perhaps another point to consider when purchasing a reel.

cheers roz.

[fin101]

I have 2 of the shimano 6500s that I use for live baiting for jews and they work a treat and are pretty good value for money IMO.:D