Stradic Vs. Inshore Smoke

[ThomasFengler]

I previously posted about the penn battle and opinions on that for both fresh and saltwater but after research and comments made about them I decided to steer in the other direction.

Now I can't make up my mind between the stradic FJ and the quantum smoke inshore, they are both the same price and would be used for throwing jerkbaits with light braid for bass snook an other inshore species on light tackle.

I'd like to know your opinion on which one you'd choose. And if you have experience with either of these. Thanks!

[Darren.]

I've become a big fan of Shimano, especially their 

baitcasters.

 

Got 2 Stradic 1000 FI reels and 2 Chronarch 50e

reels. The 50e reels are absolutely amazing. I really 

like the Stradics -- a lot. They're light and fully capable 

of reeling in 6+ pound bass with nary a hitch.

 

The Smokes I've only heard about in reviews and such.

I'm sure they're great reels, and light. But when I went

in to BPS to buy spinning reels I left with the Stradic.

 

Something about the quality, the feel, etc. Haven't been

disappointed. The Quantums felt like solid reels but 

something drew me to the Shimano reels. I also like 

Daiwa.

 

But If you are flipping a coin, good luck. For me, I'd pick 

the Shimano.

[ColdSVT]

Im a stradic fan but if i were to get a quantum id get a boca or a cabo

[new2BC4bass]

No experience with either, but I believe it is the Stradic FJ that many say is the best value in the Shimano line.  Maybe someone else can come along and verify that.

[Tywithay]

No experience with either, but I believe it is the Stradic FJ that many say is the best value in the Shimano line. Maybe someone else can come along and verify that.

The FJ is a fantastic reel for the money. I like the CI4+ more, but you can find the FJ for around $140, which is a steal.

[SirSnookalot]

I'll give an opinion based on my saltwater experience.  Either reel can handle 5# bass or a 20# snook, but that can be said for any reel, the question is how durable is it going to be.  The stradic is slightly smoother than the smoke inshore with a very acceptable drag.  Stradics are prone for the line roller bearing to corrode along with the bails getting floppy. All in all the stradic is a pretty good reel.  The smoke has a fail proof bail wire, salt guard and as good a drag as there is in the price range.  Line capacity on a 3000 fj and 30 smoke are close, smoke is lighter in weight, I prefer the flat t knob on the stradic.  Quantum has excellent customer service, 24 hour turn around time for warranty on saltwater reels.  They upgraded a boca to a cabo for free for me and for a friend they exchanged a used smoke 30 for a new smoke 40.

 

For the majority of use in freshwater I might favor the stradic, for the majority of use in saltwater I would favor the smoke.

 

Difference between a boca and cabo is night and day.  Doubt I would ever buy another boca, my cabos are my absolute favorite reels, bear in mind they are not near as light as my stradics but IMO built really solid.

[ThomasFengler]

I'll give an opinion based on my saltwater experience. Either reel can handle 5# bass or a 20# snook, but that can be said for any reel, the question is how durable is it going to be. The stradic is slightly smoother than the smoke inshore with a very acceptable drag. Stradics are prone for the line roller bearing to corrode along with the bails getting floppy. All in all the stradic is a pretty good reel. The smoke has a fail proof bail wire, salt guard and as good a drag as there is in the price range. Line capacity on a 3000 fj and 30 smoke are close, smoke is lighter in weight, I prefer the flat t knob on the stradic. Quantum has excellent customer service, 24 hour turn around time for warranty on saltwater reels. They upgraded a boca to a cabo for free for me and for a friend they exchanged a used smoke 30 for a new smoke 40.

For the majority of use in freshwater I might favor the stradic, for the majority of use in saltwater I would favor the smoke.

Difference between a boca and cabo is night and day. Doubt I would ever buy another boca, my cabos are my absolute favorite reels, bear in mind they are not near as light as my stradics but IMO built really solid.

with your experience, is one reel better with braid than the other?

[SirSnookalot]

with your experience, is one reel better with braid than the other?

Nope,  but I do think Shimano has better line management, one reason I'd pick it for freshwater.  Much of the time in salt I am casting a heavier lure, I don't run into line management problems like I do in freshwater.