I am driving myself insane trying to select a new spinning reel to match to my St. Croix 8'6" rod. This reel will be used for throwing plastic and small plugs up to 1.5 oz from beaches and jetties. I am most interested in a reel that is

1 Braid friendly

2 Has a super smoooooth drag

3 Is lightweight (under 15 oz) and

4 Can take abuse of moderate salt and sand although it will be faithfully rinsed , lubed, and maintained.

I have narrowed the search to a Penn 360 Slammer or a Shimano
Stradic 4000. I would be very interested in your opinions of these reels or other lightweight spinning reels you have had good luck with. Thanks!

roym

roym,

For a bit more $$$ you could get the Sustain.. A friend of mine has one on his 8'6" St. Croix and he says he likes it. Now On my 8' Loomis I had a 6500 penn, but that was to heavy and just holding me over till I myself decided what I want to get! I will most likely put a 150 VS on that.

If it's the rod I think you have, go with the Stradic or Sustain. Shimano made some changes to the Stradic...and they aren't have bad! Plus a little cheaper then the Sustain. But the Sustain is pretty nice!:cool: :)

for what you are looking for, go with the slammer. it fills every need you have listed. shimanos are not too surf friendly. stick with a classic company.

go with the penn or a V/S both are great reels and both meet a great value on either spectrum of price vs value. The v/s 150 is a great reel and will last a life time. Penn will last about 3-4 years with little care-( rinsing after every use and lube it) VS will last long time 6years plus with great performance. Good luck and remember its not the gear that catches the fish its the time spent fishing and learning the fish that will get moby home.;)

Shimano Sustain. :btu:

PS i wouldnt use Braid on a spinning reel. I know others will differ but briad will wrap to tight after catching something ( fish or botom ) and not cast well. What every you do dont think you can buy a small reel and load it up with 50lb test braid and think you can catch a small football tuna or big striper.

yep-I'll beg to differ. been usin #30 power pro on small rods and #50 on the big sticks and have had no problems on my penn 704 or fin nor es300 or shimano stradic 4000. a penn 710 would be a good match up for that rod and the weight plugs u wanna fish-good solid reliable reel-not too many moving parts to worry about breaking-aaaand braid friendly.
chris

Get the 5000 size shimano. It's a 4000 sized body, with a deeper spool, same price/ weight.

Been using 30 lb. Power Pro on my Sustain 4000's...no problems.

just looked on ebay-there are quite a few 710's listed-all for good prices

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3662765430

ok-I just talked myself into picking one up for my fiancee-$$20.49 plus s & h
ebay is gonna be the death of me

Stradic 4000 I have one on my St. Croix, great reel.

Lots of good reels for an 8.5' light surf rod:

Shimano Baitrunner 3500B

Shimano Spheros 5000/6000 (dunno why folks have jumped on these reels, I have the 8000 size on 9-10 rods and its SWEET!).

Daiwa Hardbodyz (ANY of them are exceptional buys for the $)
3500/4000 size. Retail on the Kastor is around $70, Capricorn is on sale all over for under $100 on the internet.

Penn Slammer 360. Solid reel on the heavier side, but I like the extra weight for balancing the outfit. :) I use two 360 and one 260 (bay oufit on a 7' St Croix).

Lots and lots of good reels out there. Shimano is hard to beat for buttery smooth everything. Even the Sedona line as anti-rust bearings now. Spheros has them, too. :)

I work in Waltham, if you want to try out some of my reels send me a private message.

I have a discontinued nautil 6500 (yellow) on mine and it works well especially with braid. My friend has the Spheros 6000 and it seems like a nice reel but he does not fish enough for me to recommend it.

Posted by:Steve K
My friend has the Spheros 6000 and it seems like a nice reel but he does not fish enough for me to recommend it.
Posted by:maddog2020
Shimano Spheros 5000/6000 (dunno why folks have jumped on these reels, I have the 8000 size on 9-10 rods and its SWEET!).
Guy's this is another great reel. I have the 4000 and beat the heck out of it this past year. It is still so smooth. And you can't beat the price!;)