Stradic FK 3000 or stradic ci4+ 3000

[Ojay Samson]

Hey all, so I'm not sure which way to lean to. I'm planning to get either of the 2 tomorrow and still not sure which one I want to go with. Went out on the harbour during tornado day at kurnell and landed myself a 60cm kingy (still need to write a report because that day was quite an adventure). Anyways the kingy managed to straighten my hook and mess up my reel in the process (daiwa generation black wicked weasel + shimano symetre 3000FL 10lb mainline). The reel now gets stuck when trying to start winding the handle and after further inspection there is a noticeable amount of shaft plan from side to side with the actual handle. Not happy with that really and will be dropping off the reel for warranty. I'm leaning to a stradic because I have a 5000fj and have not had a problem with it (it also caught a king that day albeit a rat at 52cm on the troll and it just skull dragged it to the boat effortlessly, fish did more fighting in the boat then in the water so very overkill)

Can anyone with a stradic fk and in particular the 3000fk please feel free to put input as to how you're finding it. Also anyone else that has opinions with both the ci4+ and Fk and which one they prefer more. There is barely any reviews from real world use with the Fk and hence why I'm seeking feedback.

Ps the reel will be matched with aforementioned daiwa gen black wicked weasel and most likely spooled with 10lb braid again.

Something to note, the reason I want to get it tomorrow is because the big boat camp store are having a sale on the stradic fk with a sahara rod for 289, as opposed to the stradic ci4+ being in that same ballpark figures but without a rod.... Hence the dilemma

Ps if anyone can get a better deal and willing to share with a fellow raider please feel free to pm me as the sale is till this Sunday

Edited December 18, 2015 by Ojay Samson

[Ojay Samson]

For those who might get stuck with this Dilemma in the future, Ended up getting the stradic fk 3000 with bonus sahara backup rod. Was convinced that way due to the guy helping me out that day having both those reels and even matched up to the same rod I was going to use and without hesitation told me to get the Fk because he just sold his ci4+ to his mate for the Fk due to bending issues particularly at the reel seat area when he had his ci4+ when big fish were on.

Can't wait to use the new fk, only looked at it quickly and from what I can see it has that my fj doesn't is it even has a rubber gasket around the reel handle where it screws I to the body to minimise water intrusion through that area... Looks good so far, also jumped on some 10lb power pro for a price I couldn't say no to.

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[tyrone07]

Was going to say 100% the new stradic mate such a sick little reel for the price rod or not guarantee you will love it

[tanersiper]

Yea my 3000 symetre does the same thing. I bought the 5000fk 2 days ago. For $289. No rod. Was planning to get the snapper raider. Got it spooled with 20lb sunline. Yet to test it. Does your handle have the tiniest of wobbles.?

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[Ojay Samson]

Yea my 3000 symetre does the same thing. I bought the 5000fk 2 days ago. For $289. No rod. Was planning to get the snapper raider. Got it spooled with 20lb sunline. Yet to test it. Does your handle have the tiniest of wobbles.?

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hey mate, i just tested my stradic 5000fj if thats the reel you're asking me about and no, the main part that screws into the body has no play at all from side to side but in and out it has the most miniscule minimal amount, i can actually feel the movement throughout the whole reel when i do that so its connected solidly and when i move it with an in and out motion the entire guts of the reel seem to be moving with it. i have not had a problem at all with it and is still buttery smooth so im guessing thats a normal tolerance for it?

[tanersiper]

So live tested the 5k fk. A real delight of a reel i ended up also pairing it with the new shimano snapper raider 762 5-8 kg rod. Spooled it with 20lb sunline pe. Pulled up a 55cm flatty with ease.

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[Crossfire63]

If you wanted a review of the FK Stradic here it is

http://www.tackletour.com/previewshimanostradicfk.html

There have been issues with seized line rollers and weird "knocking" sounds coming from the spool when under load.

[Crossfire63]

So live tested the 5k fk. A real delight of a reel i ended up also pairing it with the new shimano snapper raider 762 5-8 kg rod. Spooled it with 20lb sunline pe. Pulled up a 55cm flatty with ease.

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I'd hardly call that a test.

[tanersiper]

Yea i know. But if you know where the bigger fish are please fill me in. Cant go into the harbour everyman and his dog is there (land based). You take the boat out on the hawkesbury 12hrs + on the water and only manage to pull up 2 under sized flatties. Would love to try a larger flatty or even a kingie. Sort of over chasing jewies at the moment.

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[smashdcrab]

I bought a stradic fk5000 about 2-3 months ago and have given it heaps of work spinning. It has had a few decent kings, the biggest being 6kg...and quite a few around the 4-5kg. It will handle much bigger fish than that with ease i am sure.

I would rate the drag 8/10 for smoothness and they have way less flex around the bail arm than the ci4s.

The only complaint i have on mine is a slightly sticky bail arm roller bearing which can be replaced for not much anyway. They use this special corrosion resistant grease in there from factory and then tell you that you dont need to lube the line roller because it will affect its corrosion resistance. I find that they dont use enough lube EVER...and it is best to just lube it yourself regularly.

They have started to steer people away from servicing their own reels , the newer stradics have no oil port access or grease spray hole on the line roller. I can only assume they were getting reels back with problems like wrong oil/grease types used etc.