Shimano Baitrunner 3500- Opinions?

[179]

Ok the good and the bad on this reel? I need a replacement for a 5500SS

[Roger]

I've used one for a while (over 4 years) and caught bass to 20# on it and everything to that size. Nice reel, smooth drag, light, never gave me any problems. It's the spinning reel that I use 95% of the time.

I recently bought the 4500 for throwing eels into the boulders and live lining/slow trolling shad [needed to use heavier line]. The bait runner feature is great, especially if you fish alone from a boat and can't always hold your rod.

[Roop]

I have mine loaded with 50# Spiderwire Stealth on a 7' St. Croix Tidemaster for the ASA tournamnets we are fishing. It is now my favorite combo & I plan on adding two more of the same outfits this winter.

Striped bass to 37#, schoolie BFT to 20#, the few sharks I had on broke off so I can't offer any size estimates.

The drag is awesome, it's smooth, handles braid flawlessly & you can find great deals on them.

[B-assman]

Agree - I've got two 4500's. Liveline feature is great not only for live lining but any time you need to let some more line out in a controlled fashion.

Also the automatic switch from liveline mode to drag is helpful. One of my rods for guests has a shakespear reel with a liveline feature that doesnt do that and it's a pain. More than once - I've had a guest have a strike - and when it comes time to set the hook - they forget to switch to drag and nothing happens!!

[redlite]

They are indestructable. Great water proof drag system.

[Mr. Sandman]

Well....FWIW, here is my 2 cents. I have 3 of them (2 4500 and 1 3500) and find them to be "just OK". They are a "B" reel for sure.

The 3500 is nice size for an 7-8' rod and I have tried both 30# PP and 30# stleath and had problems with both. Its not the line it is the action of the spool on retrieve. IMO the 3500 spool sits up too high on shaft and the skirt is too short the shaft is actually exposed during retrive! (I have never seen another reel that lets the spool shaft get explosed.) It works well with mono but I have had a massive mess when the line wraps under the spool and around the shaft when a guest was using in...and that was mono.
The entire bait runner series does NOT have the super slow ossilation feature and is not designed for braid. So I wound not say it is flawless.

The 4500 works a little better with briad perhaps because of the spool diameter but I still would not call it flawless. Depending on the weight of lure you may have problems in some wind conditions. It also does not have super slow osilation so when the line comes off the spool during a cast it has to go up and down on the spool rapidly. It works OK but not perfect IMO. I used them last season with briad...this year they have mono.

The drag is very good. The bails will break if you are rough with them but the real weakness is the handle. The knobs will get stiff and it is hard to fix, Parts are *very* expenisve...almost cheaper to buy a new reel then a handle and bail. The parts prices took a massive jump this past year.

Lots of comm bass guys use them hard here but tossed them after a year of real hard use because of the problems. They are really tough on their gear. They are having much better luck with the Thunnus series of bait runner (which is a metal reel). I have 2 of those just for boat eeling and they are made much better then the $100 baitrunner reel.

I have to say when using eels this bait runner feature (on both the normal baitrunner and the thunnus) is sweet and works very well. I have take plenty of fish on them some over 30# and they worked out fine.

So over all it is a OK reel for the money (with the 4500 being better then the 3500) but it is not without its problems IMO. I was surprised to hear someone said it worked flawlesy with briad...its clear to me with braid " your mileage will vary" you better check it yourself (get an extra spool with mono loaded for when it windknots up)
If you were interested in the 3500 I would get the equivelent in a penn. Works better and parts are much cheaper. The 4500 size I lean towards the shimano and they are heavier duty then the lagest penn bait runner.

IMO they don't make an ultra high quality baitrunner. Thunnus is the best they make . Even that has problems with briad from time to time.

[Saltheart]

I think they are a good reel. Most I see are the bigger 4500 but I'm sure they are all about the same quality wise.

[afterhours]

got 1 of the original 4500's back in '85, and it has held up great! caught a lot of everything with it, no problems.

[basswipe]

I'm curious,you want to replace a Penn5500ss with a Baitrunner?Did you use your 5500 to do a lot of bait fishing?If not,might I also suggest Shimano's Spheros line of reels.I have an 8000 and can't find anything bad to say about it.It's has been put through some serious testing and has performed well.

[Roger]

Sandman, I think you got a defective 3500. I've had one for years and a few other buddies have them, and our spool skirts significantly overlap the body to cover the shaft.

I agree that the Thunnus is a much better reel, but then again it costs more than twice as much.

My experince with Baitrunners compared to the Penn Liveliner and Fin-nor is that the Baitrunner is a superior reel. Both of those competitors are more expensive, with the Fin-nor almost double.

I love the smooth drag, but I wonder if it would hold up to SBFT.

[Mr. Sandman]

Roger,

Perhaps your right. (pic below with the reel in the "worst case position")) The 4500's seem much better.

I send a box of reels back to the shimnano factory at the end of each season for service...I will ask them about this.

[teaser]

I have 11 shimano reels, I have 7- 6500's, 2-4500's, and 2-3500's. I have never had a problem with any of them and some I've had for about 8-9 years. I have braid on all my 6500's and on one of my 3500's, the rest have mono. These reels are great for tossing braid or mono - never had a birds nest from any of them.

I have so many because they are great reels but I also own some Penns and Daiwa's too which are also top notch reels, I have 31 fishing poles and my wife says I'm a little insane about collecting rods and reels but I say you can never have enough of a good thing.

I gave up drinking about 10 years ago and since I don't spend the money on that anymore, now my vice is fishing, whether its rods and reels, tackle or something for my new boat that's the direction I took and I'm alot happier now for it. Whenever I take 5 or 6 guys out on my boat it's alot easier for them to just bring a lunch and not have to worry about gear, I supply it all. I just want them to enjoy what the water has to offer and the Shimano reels can be handled gently or rough and they hold up just fine to me.

[rhodyflyguy]

I highly suggest the penn slammers, 460 or 560, or better yet the live liners my favorite spinning reel is the 5600 live liner. Awesome drag, makes 15 or 16 lbs, plenty of line, load with braid and have fun! it's currently on my 10' St. Croix, give that a workout sat. evening maybe... handles braid relatively well, also. The 4600 would be suit your needs though probly.

[Roop]

That's a surprising review from The Sandman. There is definitely something wrong with that 3500.

However, flawlessly is the perfect word to describe the performance of my reel because that's how it's worked- flawlessly and just like the rest of you guys, I beat the crap out of my gear.

Bail problems? I close mine by hand and ask guests that use my gear to do the same - never had a problem.

I have thrown everything from unweighted rubber, to jig heads up to 3oz, to poppers, to diamond jigs, to livelining eels and scup and not had a problem.

The more I think about it, the more I think flawlessly is the perfect way to describe it.

[beachwalker]

I have one (4500) and I use it for eels in heavy current that it flowing directly away from me(does that make sense ?).

I don't like the baitrunner option as compared to having an open bail with your finger on the line. I can give to the fish faster if all I have to do is drop my finger and there is just enough tension on the bait runner to make a fish wonder.

well made reel though and it does work with many different lines.

[ragfly]

I have 2-4500's and one 6500B. I run braid on these reels (PP). I have never seen a reel use braid fawlessly, mine or my friends. I have gotten into one habit with braid and that is manually flipping the bail and giving the line a yank. I have only had one birds nest this season. As for the reels I have never had a problem with them mechanically, for the money you can't beat the reel. The only maintenence I do on them is rinse them off everytime and at the end of the season, pull them apart then clean and grease them for the following season. If you want to spend more money you can always get a better reel. I own 3 Penn reels and got tired of the bails flipping over during a cast and having to take the drag apart and clean the discs because of corrosion every two weeks. The negatives of the reel is they are heavy and I have seen some reels not lay the line on the spool evenly. But seeing I paid around $60 for each reel on EBAY I have nothing to complain about.

[maddog2020]

Mr Sandman - you have a 4500A series spool on a 4500B series reel IMHO ......... LOL, I had to chuckle at that one. Skirts are longer on the newer style "B" series (rubber paddle grip & new shiny gold line roller) than the older style "A" (barrel grips and old style line roller).

If I had to just own ONE saltwater spinner it would be the Shimano Baitrunner 4500B. The 4500 isn't much heavier than the 3500. I'ved used my 4500 on rods from 6.5" - 10.5".

The "A" series had some ant-reverse issues, but the newer "B" are flawless as I can tell. Fireline works well in the BR. I used 30 lb Whiplash in my 3500B and 4500A. Don't over fill the spool - leave about 3/16" - 1/4" from lip and you will be better off.

I typed out a lengthy thing but lost it ..... LOL. Beware of what you type after you have a big mug of coffee.

[redlite]

They newer 4500B's do have one major flaw. The newer handles have such a tight tolerance where the knob stem goes into the crank arm that it takes just a little corrosion and it is junk. I had one get stiff. I tried everything to lube it from soaking it in various lubricants and penatrants and even motor oil with no relief. I replaced it and now the new one has got the same problem in less than a year.
I had problems with it when I tried Power Pro and that Stealth stuff. No problems at all with 20/30 lb Fireline. Just wish they came with an extra spool like the Stradic

[maddog2020]

I definitely never had that problem before redlite. I just put a drop of oil in there on my 4500s the other nite. It looks like there is a plastic shim/spacer between the handle and the crank/rubba paddle assembly. Am I talking about the same thing?

The old style barrel knobs I like better (hard plastic ) because they are thicker/bigger diameter. The rubber paddles are thin and get tacky at times from things.

[beachwalker]

Maddog,

I definetly agree with you on the one and only. when i fish my 4500 i think that everytime.
it just offers a little more tension than i like to leave when i am freespooling bait.

[ridler72]

I use the 3500 for live lining in the spring. Mine is 5 years old. It's been out for service once, drag problem. The spool ended up cracking inside. I sent it back to Shimano and they gave me a new spool last year.

[Mr. Sandman]

Maddog,

I think your RIGHT! I looked into this this weekend and..I have to say I didn't know there was an A and a B reel. I have an old spool on a new reel! wtf? Why would they do this to me?

Redlite...You are also right. IMO the handles on both my 4500's got stiff and I did everything under the sun to lube and free them. One was so bad I could not fish with it. I am not the only one either. I brought them in to the reel guy here and he said ...you need new handles...It happens to everyone, you cant fix these. Also they raised the price to where it is something like 26 bucks for the handle set. huh? He told me there has been talk to increase them again to something like 40 bucks for the handle.
Why don't they fix the design? I love the handle on the stellas and would pay 40 bucks for that but not that junk they have on there now.




I don't understand reel manufactures....they increased the price on penn parts too this year. Make them better.

I have to say one thing about the higher end stuff...yeah they are expensive up front....but they take care of you in the service department. My buddy sent in a old stella that was having problems...they fed-exd him a brand new reel in the new design overnight...no charge. He had used this reel for many YEARS without EVER doing anything to it. I though he was in for a major repair bill replacing half the stuff inside. He got a new on (better then his old reel..FOR FREE!)
My reels worked fine but I send them in anyway and they replaced a lot of things making them basically brand new at no charge and gave me coupons for future free services. I have to say they are going beyond the call of duty IMO with excellent service. This year I will package my baitrunners in there and see what happens

[maddog2020]

LOL - I picked up a 3500A spool for my 3500B reel and found out the HARD way. I ended up mailing it back to the guy since I was passing thru on a trip.

The handle on the OLD 4500A (barrel style) fits on the Shimano Spheros 8000 and newe style 4500B baitrunners. When I first got me Spheros, I didn't like the handle and pulled the one off my 4500A BR to see if it was threaded the same and it was.

Spools don't interchange between the BR & Spheros....lol. :P Extra spools were around $25...... ouch!

The handle on the old 3500A baitrunner does NOT interchange w/ the 3500B. Any one need a new 3500A handle??

I've never sent a reel back to Shimano before, but folks say they take care of them.

Don't get me wrong, Mr Sandman - I LOVE using high end stuff but I know I can use low end gear and enjoy fishing just as well.