I have been looking at the baitrunner reel versus the Spheros reel.

I could see myself fishing the canal, fishing the rocks and fishing the sandy beaches.

Is the Baitrunner that much more heavy if I am casting for a few hours?

I could even be fishing off a boat maybe once a year.

I have a strong feeling that this time next year, I might have both, but which one is more versatile?

I am headed to the Dennis for the long weekend in a few weeks to help my wifes grandmother rebuild a small deck. I'll have some time to go fishing almost anywhere down the cape.

Oh...I picked up a "canal bike" that my wifes aunt picked out of the dump at the cape. New Tires and tubes($40.00) and some racks, front baskets, lights and even a kickstand from Amazon and I think I have myself a new canal bike. Bike fits me perfectly. It was a good bike in its day. Granted it was back in the early 80's, but a little lube, wd-40 and some adjusting, works fine.

Any recommendations on the reel and maybe a good valued rod to go with it?

Or am I going to have to get like 4 rod and reel combo's?

Mike.

Making a rod holder for the back of the truck today. To carry the kids rods and mine. I'll post pictures later when done.

I found myself in this exact situation 6 months ago. I ended up buying a Penn 560. And it's treated me well all year. It's a great boat and beach-plugging reel. It is a bit undergunned for the canal, but I've managed fish to almost 30# pretty well out of there.

I been fishing mostly the canal lately so I re-spooled with 50# PP and something like 15 yards of mono backing.

I tested a couple baitrunners out and did find them to be a bit heavier. The biggest question is: Are you really going to do that much live bait fishing? I decided not enough (as in, not once this year) to warrant the extra weight.

Does the extra 2-3 ounces really make a big difference?

Mike

I've fished the Spheros 8000 FA for several yrs and it has a lot of pluses. I have also fished the Baitrunners 4500A & 4500B.

Now the Baitrunner feature isn't just for bait fishing IMHO. I love the fact that I could slap the back release and let out some line easily rather than have to grab the 50 lb PowerPro with my fingers to pull out some line out. In the dark you will learn to love the line release feature and it will save line cuts if you fish the super lines! 4500B is a much better built reel because of the ball bearing line roller, A-RB ball bearings and the instant anti-reverse feature. Avoid the 'A' series - the instant anti-reverse at times just stops working (not a hard fix, but not something you can when you are outside fishing!)

Both have waterproof drags. Spheros body is cast aluminum where as the Baitrunner is graphite (still plenty stiff and I never busted one falling on top of the reel). BTR is about two ounces heavier 4500B verses 8000, but it also holds about 35 yds more of 20 lb mono. BTR is $30 LESS as well. Rotors on both are reinforced composite.

Neither reel comes with an extra spool. BTR spool is $25-30. Not sure of the Spheros spool now (Dartanium drag could have added extra costs).

I prefer a heavier reel over a lighter reel. Personally I can't really tell the weight difference so it plays no role for me in which reel I chose to use. Over the yrs I have favored my 8000FA Spheros, but recently I snapped the bail off because of having it in the trunk of my car piled on top of with other gear ..... lol. I thru bolted it, but I'm too cheap to buy a new bail assembly - if I am going to put $20 towards the reel then I will buy a new 8000FB series (body is grey instead of brown now and the spool color and other features have been added, but it did go up $30 in cost!!!). I don't need another reel, but it is always fun to try out new gear. :D

Shimano makes a quality product so IMHO, you can't go wrong with either reel. :)

Unless I'm imagining this, the Spheros does much better with braid than the baitrunner. I tried 3 or 4 brands with my 4500, but it didn't seem to like any of them. The Spheros doesn't have this problem.

Which Baitrunner are you using wheresmy50? The A series has a hard plastic barrel knob where as the B series has a rubber paddle for handle. It should say it on the spool of the reel. Spools between the A & B are not interchangeable. :(

I've used 30 lb Whiplash on my A series - worked fine but it wore a groove on the line roller. My B series has 30 lb Fireline (like rope) on one spool and the other is 17 lb mono.

Which braids have you tried on your BR 4500? Is yours an A or a B series?