horgs

Thanks for the suggestions. I was looking into a Loomis but thought maybe a Daiwa Gen. Black may be a cheaper alternative. On that note, there is a new Stradic that should be hitting shelves soon.. Has X-Ship, rapid fire drag. Might be a possibility instead of the Sustain!

I suppose you are right, I guess I would lean this combo more toward the kingies then.

I'm looking to buy a new combo and was hoping someone would help me out with some setups. I settled on a Sustain 4000 FG for the reel and will most likely go with 20lb braid. That leaves me with about $150 for my rod budget, although I could probably stretch it if I really needed. This combo will mostly be used for land based bait fishing (chasing jews, kings, trevally), most of the time off a wharf or breakwall - already have a 2500 stradic and a trion that I use to flick SP's around with that I would use for smaller stuff like bream. I guess every now and then I might be lazy and just bring the one rod to fish for bream and flatties too, and I would rather have a setup too big for bream rather than 2 small for kings. Any ideas on what a good rod to pair it with that won't totally smash my budget? I like the feel & weight of graphite rods but from my past experiences (pflueger trion, shimano raider & catana) they have all been a bit stiff for baitfishing and it feels like I'm pulling hooks too often or something. I'm thinking something around the 8foot range so I can get some casting distance but still be able to fit it in the boot. And I guess for 20lb braid I would need an 8kg rod at least?

Thanks guys, that gives me some peace of mind. I will probably just play with some Stradic's at the tackle shop this weekend when I go to pickup some plastics, see if they all sound like that!

Did some more reading and some people seem to suggest it may be the Paladin gearing that's causing the loud winding. It kind of is a "shhhhh" sound, like a fan spinning or something. Just expected a $200+ reel would be more silent.. I have a $40 sienna that is quieter than this! And some baitrunners too.

I tried taking the handle off and spinning it by the spool and it still seems to make the noise. Although it could be the bearing inside that connects to the handle. If this is the case do you think it'll quiet down after a few uses (still hasn't seen water yet)? Putting some oil in that bearing seems like a good idea but I have no idea with reels so I don't wan't to go doing anything I'm unsure of in case I stuff up haha.

Ordered a 2500 ci4 online and it came today, everything seems ok with it, tested the drag already etc. But there is a slight grinding type sound when I reel. It's not like a crunching sound, just seems like it reels very loudly. Is this normal with all Ci4 models? Did some googling and some other people have had the same problem with no fix

Haha I don't have a boat so I'm exclusively landbased. One day I'll get smoked by something big and probably cry into my reel hahaha. The raider sure will look nice on a stradic though, red and red!.

Cheers for the suggestions, seems that 3-6kg is the way to go seeing as everyone has mentioned that. I don't really like the Jewel too much (a mate has one), might have a feel with the raider and trion at the tackle shop to see which one i like better. I think I've been fishing too heavy this whole time. I have 2 bait setups and they are running 30lb and 50lb! Didn't think that 10 lb and lower would be able to handle jewies

I was just looking at the lure project and noticed theres also one for SP's and the regular Mexican Raider too. Is there any big difference between these 3 in terms of their tips etc. or is it just the handles/grips? And how come a stradic ci4 isnt as good as the FJ? I checked the shimano website it seems they have the same drag & gear ratio, only diff is the ci4 is lighter

Looking to get a new combo that can be a bit versatile. All my fishing is done in an estuary but I want to be able to target anything from bream to jewies. Had a reel in mind - stradic ci4, but i dont know if I want a 2500 or 4000 (is a 2500 enough to stop big fish?) but unsure of what rod to stick it on and what braid poundage Budget for a rod is $100 but I guess I'd be willing to push it a bit further if the rod is really appealing. Should also note that it's mainly for SP's but I would also be throwing bait every now and then when the SP's aren't getting any action!

Has anyone tried these yet? I think they are somewhat new. Theyre like a mix between squidgy fish and slick rigs, the colours are great (the boof mullet looks very real) Hoping they will entice some hits from big jewies Only concern is you get a pack of 3 or 4 tails but only get 1 jighead. If i snag that, does it mean i have to buy a whole new pack? Cant find any replacement jigheads that would fit in the same tail Ps here is a pic i grabbed from a blog:

Thanks for your input, I went ahead and got some bloodworm wrigglers, but I'm also thinking that maybe for a beginner like me it would be a good idea to try out the slick rigs (the pre-rigged squidgies). That way I won't really be worrying about jighead weight and hook size and rigging it on straight! Now I think I will get a subtle/real looking colour and a lighter colour. Maybe Dropbear for the lighter colour and either Yakka, Slimey or Black&Gold to try and imitate a livey. It's hard for me not to just go and unload my wallet and buy all the colours, too many choices to make

do you guys prefer stickbaits or grubs when fishing SP's? ive always fished bait and i'm starting to try plastics, having a hard time tossing up between the gulp 3" minnows and 3" minnow grubs (or swimming mullet in the red packs). id get both but i dont want to be switching back and forth too much, would rather stick with one and learn the ropes. which would you suggest as an all rounder in estuarys?