# Recommendations on 2500-3000 Threadline Reel in Salt



## Jeprox (Apr 6, 2007)

G'day,
Hoping for some sage advice on what is the best (within a sensible price range) reel for chasing squire etc in the bay. Since I've been kayak fishing, the main interest has always been around fresh water and the direction has been toward quality baitcasters. Just last week-end I hit Scarborough with StevenM chasing, not catching snapper. It was a bit joggly and the gear got a few dunkings in the salt. Gave them a good bath and drowned them in Inox when I got home, but it was a bit out of my comfort zone.

I was using a couple of Sol 2500s and I also have a couple of Tierra 2000s but I've been thinking the Daiwa Emeraldas or Shimano Sustains or Stradics might be the shot. Appreciate any advice or recommendations around robustness in a saltwater environment and overall quality of the reel. Not up for wasting money on crap gear. Nothing pisses me off more than losing a quality fish to crap gear, notwithstanding ex wife considerations.

Appreciate any advice as most of my saltwater experience has been either handlines out wide or sidecasts within sight of the beach.

Many thanks

Jeff


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

I reckon it's pretty hard to go past the Stradic Ci4. Mine's landed big barra, macks, tuna, queenies and more. Great reel, corrosion resistant, fast retrieve and big drag in a small, light package. I'd buy another one tomorrow.


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## Couta101 (May 22, 2009)

Even stradic fj will be a winner, we cane them on the yaks offshore and they dont die. Really good value for money reels in my opiniion.


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## Bretto (May 23, 2010)

I run a few Ci4s and FJs at Scarborough. They handle the salt well. On the plus side, they're very easy to strip down and service when they get dunked. Though in saying that I imagine any pre mag-seal Sol and Emeraldas would be relatively easy to clean as well.


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## krustayshen (Oct 14, 2013)

I'll back up what the other guys have said and recommend the FJ Stadic I have been using them for about 6 months and they have had good drenching in salt water and still perform like new.
After each trip they get a rinse in fresh water and sometimes a bit of INOX. One of the features of the Stradic is it has a screw that can be removed to apply some lubricant to the inner workings.

Cheers Greg


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## Jeprox (Apr 6, 2007)

Thank you Gents. Plenty to consider here.

Jeff


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## SharkNett (Feb 20, 2006)

Been using sol 2000's out of the yak for a few years with nothing but occasional removal of service port to add more grease. They are getting rougher tho & will eventually be replaced with stradics because they are easier to strip down.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

One of these
6 years old, been out nearly every trip, everything in the Kingy gets wet. Had 3 professional services. The only thing that has rusted is the roller bearing, replaced by a ceramic bearing.........still as smooth as the day I bought it. Can pick up near new ones on ebay for around 300. Never need to buy another reel. Great for bay snapper.
other than that the Stradic has held up pretty well but its not in the same class as the certate.


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Another approach is to look at how to prevent the reel from getting dunked. Rod holder extensions to raise the reels away from water make a huge difference. Be aware of not letting your reel get dunked when untangling a tip wrap is another. Sol 2500s are pretty nice reels and should be OK for the salt as long as you check under the maintenance cover regularly. I had bad experiences with Sustains, self locking drag and loosening rotors. Best avoided.


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

I love my little sustain 1000 for estuary and fresh duties, but they are not designed for salt water so I wouldn't use them (any size) offshore.
I've been using a 2500 size Caldia, (under $200 from Digitaka,) for 12 months now and it hasn't missed a beat. Excellent reel for the $. Not as nice as my certate, but you could buy 2 for the same or less $.
Agree with avayak's suggestion of reduce splashing etc, but reducing really is the best we can hope for, never going to stop reel exposure to salt water offshore in a kayak.


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