Shimano is back!!

[GRIZZ]

What Shimano reels have you found that are new?? They are not coming out with their new reels until September.....the Sustain and the Stradic. Any reels you have found have been out for quite a while now with the exception of the Stella and they changed it last year. The Sedona...Sahara and the Saros are the same as they have been for several years now. Just curious which reels you are talking about.

Regards

Being that I pretty much ignore Shimanos because of the bail problem. I don't pick them up and mess with them much. All these reels I handled are from a tackle shop that really moves stock, so this whole shelf full of about 8 models where right out of boxes from the factory. The companies don't abide by a strict policy of releasing models once a year. It just happens that at ICAST they present all the reels that are new or upgraded since last ICAST, but they update reels all the time. All of these reels are probably 2011 models. One thing is for sure and that is that none of the bail trips on any of these reels are the same as they were before the release of the Ci4. It was the first reel with the redesigned trip mechanism. They must have gone company wide with the new trip after that. I hadn't handled any Shimanos other than the Ci4 since it's introduction, so I wasn't aware they had made this improvement across the board. This shop presented the reels so well I had to go have a look. To me it's a deal changer for the whole line and made me look at every reel more closely than I have in a while.

Those reels you mentioned may look the same, but they all have new bail trips in the ones I handled.

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

Never had a problem with the bail trips on any of my Shimano's. Old or new. They may be back for you. For me, they never left.

[Slab Slayen]

ill try one but cant say ill ever put the pflugers down

[Alphahawk]

For those on here that are familiar with me they know I fish a lot...more than most folks or even professional guides. I try not to abandon a brand because of a particular problem. All brands make some good reels. Some reels do have a particular problem...the Shimano Sahara is known to bind when it gets wet...and I mean just a little water. Went up to the Saros line. After 30 days of straight use the clicker broke. I just put on the spare spool and was going to replace the clicker for 5 bucks in the other spool. Well the same thing happened. One is an accident..two to me is a problem. Stepped up to the Stradic line. So far so good. But I have also bought the new Pflueger Supreme XT. I really like that reel and come Black Friday will buy one more of those and a Patriarch from Tackle Warehouse...no shipping...no TN sales tax and 20% off....quite a deal. If I was not so anal about having instant anti-reverse I would get 5 Daiwa SS ultra light models and be done with it. They are made to last. Most folks seem to get stuck on one brand...I used to be like that too. But if you fish long and often enough you will run into problems with all of the brands at some time. When I say long enough I mean fish 5 to 6 days a week 52 weeks a year. A Shimano employee told me that as much as I fished I should have all of my reels professionally serviced 3 times a year. Well to me that was and is over kill. I have them all serviced once...and sometimes twice but that is 35 bucks a pop times 3! I could get a new decent reel each year for that kind of money...maybe not a Supreme XT or a Stradic but you get my drift. Since this is a Crappie forum most of us are using small reels. But we all fish for other species also. These small reels....no matter brand or price.....can't take the beating of catching 200 White Bass a day in the jumps that weigh 1 to 2 pounds each over and over several days running. I am hoping the Stradic and the Pflueger Supreme XT will hold up for me. If not I will step up to the Stella or maybe before that the Stradic Ci4 series.

Regards

[GRIZZ]

I also fish nearly every day which is one of the reason over the years I have encouraged people to get higher end gear. The better reels and rods take a beating over time and it's just more fun to fish with fine equipment. Those 2 reels should last for years even with how much you fish. There isn't any reason to pay someone that much to service your reels. Just learn to do it yourself unless your really mechanically challenged.

The difference now is that reel design and materials have advanced so far that what I bought 10 yrs ago as a premium reel would get it's butt kicked by reels half that price today, and the reels that are up into the 3 figures are just beyond comparing to anything built in the past. I don't think all companies make good reels. Many start good but wear out or break quickly because of poor materials. In the mainstream I think Shimano and Daiwa run neck in neck for the very best reels across the board. Other brands just don't measure up in the long run in one way or another. Pflueger and Okuma make very durable reels, but they are behind on design and innovation, though Pfluegers new high end reels might just be as good as the big boys. Then there are a slew of companies that make decent reels but just fall short of competing in one way or another. All the Quantums I have owned have had durability problems, though it has been a while since I have owned one and their new designs may be better. I just hesitate to shell out $150 or more for a reel I'm not sure will last. Same goes for Abu G.

Most of the mid tier and lower reels are all made in the same couple plants in China by the same people and are just customized to their wants, so most reels are pretty much the same. Daiwa and Shimano have their own Chinese or Indonesian plants as far as I can know. The only other reels that aren't Chinese or Korean clones are VanStaal(They built a Chinese plant) and Ardent(the only reel made in the US).

[Alphahawk]

I am not mechanically challenged and have done my own reels a couple of times. It seems in the last few years the spinning reels are getting more complex inside and my eyes are not what they used to be. The dollar figure I gave was mailing a reel off to Shimano...that includes postage...insurance etc. There are two guys in Nashville that have done it for years and do a great job at 20 bucks a pop. But leave a reel with either one and it will take you two months to get it back. The reason...both of them literally do thousands in a calender year. Nice side job...huh. Since I very rarely Large Mouth fish anymore I try to stay with light weight reels and so it is either Shimano or Pflueger for me. As you know and ounce or two multiplied by several thousand casts in a day makes a difference. I understand about using good gear and I understand that if someone does not have the money to buy a Stradic or Sustain they have to get what they can. But even in Crappie fishing if you hook into that 3 pound fish using 2 pound test line and you have a 29 dollar reel, and you think you have the drag set correctly, yet the line suddenly snaps...well you do get what you pay for. It is hard to get that idea over to a lot of people to use good gear...even a lot of times for those who can afford it will go with the cheap stuff. Go figure


Regards

[GRIZZ]

I find it takes hands on experience to convert a cheap gear user to a quality gear user, and often a 2x4 to the head. Most people think it doesn't make any difference until first they see gear making the difference in a sensitive or demanding fishing situation like with walleyes or crappies, and then they actually use some higher end gear and get some fish they normally wouldn't have even known they were getting bites from. It's satisfying when they ask you to come with them to pick out some better gear. Fishing tackle is almost as fun as the actual fishing!

[Fatman]

I've used nothing but Shimano's for years but I'll agree they had a period of 5 or so years when they had binding problems and bail problems. Why they ever messed with the fast cast system is beyond me!!!! The thing NEVER failed. As all of you on the board who know me fairly well I ALWAYS recommend Shimano but always the older ones before the above 5 year period.

Talking to a few reel repair guys over at Ultimate Bass the big problem within that 5 year period was the bushings getting wet and expanding because of a bad sealing problem. Some of the guys figured a fix with a replacement bushing from a rc car if I remember correctly and a new rubber o ring in place of the plastic type one they had.

I've checked out some of the new ones and they are sweet!!!!! Just like the old days with no worries.

As has also been said in this thread make sure of the production date on the reels. You can usually look up the reel specs on Shimano's site and they'll list the product code numbers. From that and above you have the new style.

I've got Shimano's that are 25+ years old and they work just as good as the day I bought them. Hopefully with the design changes folks will try the new ones.

Fatman

[jigflinger]

No more shibindo for me. Not because of the plastic bushing that swells when wet and causes several different models of spinning reels to bind, but because the completely inane customer service department. I use to use shimano exclusively but after trying to get the bushing replaced (just need the part) or the reels exchanged to no avail. I even paid shipping both ways multiple times, just to have the reels returned (not even cleaned/serviced) stating that their was nothing wrong or their was nothing they could do about the reel.

Besides bicycle parts will always be Shimano's focus, fishing is a side business with them.

I have several of the Spirex 1000 models. I do most all of my own service. When I wear something out, I just call Customer Service, tell them what I need and how many. If it's small parts they send them at no charge. I've never had any trouble with their Customer Service.