Hey all, I am currently looking into a new reel that will mainly be used for casting out gotcha plugs, small wax wings, docs goofy jigs, and other types of lures. Nothing more than 2 or 2.5 ounces. Probably the largest fish I would hook into would be a bonito or a large spanish mack, but nothing much larger for the fishing I like to do. As you can see it will not be heavy duty and I favor lighter tackle and sensitivity. Currently have a stradic 3000 FI paired with a st. croix rage rod medium light. It is a little too light for my liking and the line capacity is not enough for 20 pound braid that I use. It was a gift so I am not complaining, but I am looking for a step up from that setup. Currently, I have my eyes on the Shimano Stradic 5000 FJ. It has a good amount of inches per crank, it is light, and has great line capacity. I am a bit of a shimano fanboy because it is what my father used and I adopted all of his gear :/, but I am open to other suggestions since I am not familiar with other products or companies. Thank you all very much for your help!

P.S. This reel will probably paired with a St. Croix Tidemaster medium heavy with fast action tip. Have it laying around from a purchase last year. IF you guys have a better recommendation then please voice it! THank you all very mcuh again!

One thing that i have learn over the years is to stick to what i like, and for some reason
everytime i change to something else, i alway found something about it that i
didnt like and then it was too late...

If you like shimano then stick with it!!! the 5000FJ will hold 220yds of 20lb braid and
only weights 10.8oz you should be able to cast that all day with no trouble
plus handled all kinds of gamefish with it...

I have both the FJ 4000 and also have an 8000 match to a 9ft D-blue rod... that combo
really doesnt weight that much i believe the reel is right at 20oz
but i use that for freelining and throwing large baits/lures around the rocks at the inlet,
i guess i'm use too fishing with a 6500 baitrunner and Thunnus that anything smaller
is nothing to me anymore

I try changing to other companies but always came back to Shimano... thier reels
have been "Tanks" for me.. and i'm always pushing them to the limit..

Do yourselve a favor and go to shop like BPS and bring your rod.. they will let you put
a reel on it... that way you will get a feel for it.. it could be a deal maker or breaker
good luck

Will do! Thanks for the help. Ill try to drop by BPS in Orlando this week. My uncle has the 8000 FJ paired with a terez medium heavy.That is one smooooooth reel. I didnt like the rod as much due to its stiffness but I guess he is using it more for vertical jigging and such. THanks for the help!

If I were to invest in a new rod, which would you guys prefer? The reel seat on the st. croix rage is pretty neat. I love how its open, might be an aesthetic thing, not sure about performance, but interesting none the less. Are there other rods that have a similar reel seat that perform a bit better?

Stradic 5000 all the way, and it will hold 300 of 20 lb braid if you pack it tight. The knob is very comfortable as well. I have one spooled with 10 lb just for better casting distance and it is flawless.

As for the rod, i currently have mine on a 7'6" shimano teramar 10-20 and it matches up perfectly, although i am still trying to find a star seagis as thats the rod i really want to match this reel up with.

Check the Seagis out, youre gonna like the reel seat

Oh I think I saw a video of you on youtube reviewing the srtadic. You were using 10 pound super slick right? How is that stuff? Im looking into probably getting super slick in 20 if it works well. Ya the knob on the 5000 is what really caught my eye, it looks very comfortable. BTW that seagis rod looks extremely sexy! Might have to get myself one of those in the next couple weeks.

Yea that was my video. The super slick is really good stuff. Of course the coating falls off after a while like all other braids but it's the smoothest and pretty thin diameter. I think bass pro still has a sale on the super slick so it should be like $30 for 300 yards instead of like 40.

is the super slick thinner diameter than regular power pro?