New Shimano Spin Reel

[Jasinex]

hey guys,

just wanted to comment on a new reel i bought. its nothing spectacular, but i was impressed with it enough to say so. i went down to the infamous BC# to have a look as the Abu spin reel i have, has packed it in, so not wanting to spent as much as i did last time on a replacement. i started to browse the more budget reels, Shimano thunderloop :(... no good. but suprising enough i pulled out the sienna and it felt very nice, but still wondered wat else was there, looked at the Shimano Slade 4000FB and initially it looked nice to the eye, handle was a genorouse size, and winding it felt balanced and didnt have the wabbles or any plastic noises, drag seems excelent for wat it is and i thought to my self at $55 why not. put some 9lb mono on it and off i went to my local spot for a test session, hoping i wasnt to be too disapointed.

to tell you the truth, as much as i would have like to be able to get Stradic or similar that i see alot of ppl buying here and giving good raps to, i wouldnt bother paying the extra for it. i thought this reel felt great, worked great on retrieval and casting. and on catching its first fish Flathead 32cm (released).. did everything it was supposed to do.

as u can see im a pretty happy camper with my purchase and who knows, may even get anotherone some day haha

cheers

Jason

[JB]

Most of the lower end reels are great value for money when it comes to bread n butter species like bream, whiting , lizards. You will only see your value from stradics etc, when you are getting larger fish consistently that will make use of the better drag system and stronger internals (depending on the model).

Enjoy ur new reel.

[Jackson 53]

I mainly fish for bream/flathead/whiting and own a variety of Shimano spinning reels: 2500/1500 Symetres, 2500 Siennas and 2500 Alivios (good for the kids/loaners) and like the way Shimano have reels to suit any budget.

Like most things the reels step up in quality as the price increases and it comes down to personal preference in what feels good to use.

For value for money I have found the Sienna a good little reel for the price but the Symetres are very smooth and a pleasure to use.

[Horse]

The wonders of mass production have given everybody the opportunity to catch good fish on gear that is fairly inexpensive. Your Slade 4000 will catch most fish that a top shelf reel will catch. I can't remember the last time I lost a fish to "reel failure":-/ . The expensive stuff often gives the user a greater level of satisfaction when using it :) but I really don't think it makes much difference to the number of fish in the esky
Here are a couple of fish caught on a $65.00 Okuma Epix (bought on special).;)

[Jasinex]

i see how the more expensive reels in this size are capable of handling better fish.. but this reel was to go on my bream/flathead/whiting rod.. so for wat i paid for i think i got a reel that exceeds what i wanted it to do...

still happy with it btw :)

[whatscracken]

Can't go wrong with those little Shimanos for that sort of fishing mate. They will last as long as you want them too.

[Jurkyjj]

The wonders of mass production have given everybody the opportunity to catch good fish on gear that is fairly inexpensive. Your Slade 4000 will catch most fish that a top shelf reel will catch. I can't remember the last time I lost a fish to "reel failure":-/ . The expensive stuff often gives the user a greater level of satisfaction when using it :) but I really don't think it makes much difference to the number of fish in the esky
Here are a couple of fish caught on a $65.00 Okuma Epix (bought on special).;)

Horse.....I 100% agree with you!!!

NOW...without starting a massive riff on the website.....I have to say that a lot of reels are simply purchased by people because they want to look good. :-/
It does not make you a better fisherperson simply by purchasing an expensive reel. At the end of the day, yes, the more expensive reels will most definitely have better drag washers, bearings etc....BUT the cheaper reels will still do a fantastic job.;)
Whilst I am not saying that they will do the SAME job, they will certainly get you out of trouble on most things.
I am not the sort of person to buy the cheapest reel available just to be able to go fishing, but, I still don't go for the top of the range.
I hope that this doesn't cause a massive uproar, I just want to express my anger at seeing sooooo many people talking up their abilities with fishing, just because they spent $500+ on a reel or a rod. >:(>:( Owning an expensive rod and reel does not buy you respect. It just does not sit with me.

Like Horse has shown, fantastic fish can be caught on less expensive reels.

This is clearly just my point of view.

Jason.

[Apollo]

My most used reel is a 15yr old Shimano RX2000. Cost my brother $20 as a combo as a pressie for me. We actually got two. One is set up with 4lb braid on a ET carbon stick ($60 on a special). The other is 10lb on a glass rod. The first one has been flogged senseless and landed Flatties to 75cm, bass to 52cm, toga to 79cm, taylor to 45cm plus plenty more and I was only thinking the other day when I pulled it apart to service it that it is still in good nick. The second has coped it a bit tougher and been busted up on some big fish. It is starting to show signs of needing retirement. I have better quality reels in other sizes (Stradic, Sol, Slammer) and they are nicer to use, but I won't be replace the RXs until they give up the ghost.

[Tailortaker]

I have a slade and it's a great little reel, I also have a Sedona and love it !!

[Bear001]

I have Slade & Symetre - great little reels.

I fish everything with them, from cod/yellowbelly locally, to bullsharks in Brissie River :o & Im even taking it to Coffs this weekend for the hubby to use.....

Here's a sample of the Slade's work
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu131/cindymeissner/80cmCodWed8April09Medium.jpg

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu131/cindymeissner/100_1194Large.jpg

[kevvie]

awesome fish there bear!

[SnowE]

I think Apollo hit the nail on the head - the more up market reels are "nicer to use".
Thats not to say that the higher priced gear is not better, because the more you pay the better quality product you will get. The problem is that as you go up in price you must pay a lot of coin for a small increase in performance ie for 50% more cost you may only get 10% more performance etc etc.
I own some up market gear, but I also own some rather cheap gear as well. I get a great deal of pleasure from using it all.
The more expensive stuff lasts longer when using heavy drag settings on big fish.
If its not looked after properly (no matter what price) it all ends up wrecked and needing replacement as well, so if you are not going to look after your gear, don't buy expensive stuff.

Cheers,
SnowE

[Bear001]

Im even taking it to Coffs this weekend for the hubby to use.....


Yep - you can now add Amberjack and Kingfish (50-65cm) to the collection these great little reels have notched up.

Cind

[shaun_s]

this yellow fin gave my slade an hour of punishment, its still going strong today

[BarraBandit]

Most of the lower end reels are great value for money when it comes to bread n butter species like bream, whiting , lizards. You will only see your value from stradics etc, when you are getting larger fish consistently that will make use of the better drag system and stronger internals (depending on the model).

Enjoy ur new reel.


This is just my opinion, but, I like to enjoy my fishing and the gear I use.... So I see the value in say my Stella's and FireBlood's that I use for bream, trout ect.

I must say rod wise, I love my T-Curves and GLX's and after using them, I dont want to use anything else.

I might not make sence to everyone here, but if its ABT's or a day out fishing with mates, I like to enjoy it with my best gear.