Shimano FK Reel Question

[WSOzzie]

Good morning, folks.  Have a new dedicated DS rod coming from DVT and are looking to pair it with the new Shimano FK reel (2500).  It is a couple ounces heavier than other finesse reels that I've looked into, but looks solid with reported high end power.  Has anyone fished a full day (or more) with one and could offer some feedback?  Thanks, as always, for the knowledge.

 

Tom

[kbeeb374]

Well I don't have an FK but I could go on and on  about the FJ I have and love haha.

[Fishin' Fool]

I have 2 FH's and 2 FJ's they are great reels. I was never willing to spend the additional $50 - $75 on the CI4. FYI I've had my FH for nearly 15 years now still going strong.

[Darren.]

Got a 2500 FJ, but the FK I have is a 1000

 

I gifted the 2500 to one of my sons for his saltwater

rod. I just found it to big for my liking. I prefer 1000

Stradics for all my bass fishing needs (have 2 FIs, 1 FJ

and 1 FK).

 

So take it FWIW. The FK is a great reel. I'd personally

go with a 1000.

[burrows]

Please do keep us posted on your new fk once you get to put it to some use,I was going to get it but decided to get the ci4.

[PatrickKnight]

90% of my fishing is done with tubes, grubs, and paddle tails on jig heads as well as hair jigs on spinning gear. I fished an FK 3000 for the vast majority of last season while throwing these. I can easily fish 8-10 hours with an FK without issue. Last season it was paired with a 6'9" ML Fenwick HMG, this season I have yet to pick out the rod but it will be a 7'+ medium power rod. I honestly cant say enough good things about this reel IMO there is no better bargain in spinning reels than the FK.

 

I have fished a CI4 FA and it had a bit more flex when compared to the FK under load. I have not had a chance to fish the new CI4 FB but if I needed a new reel tomorrow under 300 bucks it would be an FK without hesitation.

[fishwizzard]

I have both a 1000 FJ and a 1000 CI4+.  I have yet to fish them both side by side, but the CI4+ is just insanity light, almost to the point where it had me wanting to add weight to the butt of my finesse rod to move the balance point back a bit.  After a day with it I changed my mind and now want to replace all my spinning reels with them.  I was hemming and hawing about getting a 1000 reel for bass and @Darren was a huge help in pushing me over the edge and I am glad I listened to him.

 

 If you really want a 2500 reel but are unsure about the weight, take a look at the Okuma AV-30b reel.  It is about the size of a 2500 FK and about the same weight.  For $40 you can see how you like a reel in that weight range and will end up with a rugged "beater" reel that could last decades of sporadic use or years and years of constant use.  

[Darren.]

1 hour ago, Bunnielab said:

I have both a 1000 FJ and a 1000 CI4+.  I have yet to fish them both side by side, but the CI4+ is just insanity light, almost to the point where it had me wanting to add weight to the butt of my finesse rod to move the balance point back a bit.  After a day with it I changed my mind and now want to replace all my spinning reels with them.  I was hemming and hawing about getting a 1000 reel for bass and @Darren was a huge help in pushing me over the edge and I am glad I listened to him.

 

 If you really want a 2500 reel but are unsure about the weight, take a look at the Okuma AV-30b reel.  It is about the size of a 2500 FK and about the same weight.  For $40 you can see how you like a reel in that weight range and will end up with a rugged "beater" reel that could last decades of sporadic use or years and years of constant use.  

 

LOL. Sure, blame me for everything  

 

Can't go wrong with a Stradic 1000! WOOT!

[fishwizzard]

Actually you saved me (a small amount) of money as I went with a smaller reel.  Most of the time I post a topic it ends up costing me $200.  

[EllisJuan]

I have a FK 2500 and a ci4 FB 2500.  Both are great reels, but the ci4 FB is clearly better.  Just as solid and smooth as the FK, but 20+% lighter.  When you have been fishing a DS nice and slow all day, you will appreciate the 1.6oz weight difference.

[aquaholik]

I've used it (3000FK) two full years on a 7' St Croix Legend Elite in the salt. Burned thru the felt washers in about 6 months and replaced with carbontex. No issue since. Then the roller bearing froze up after two years. Not bad but I thought the new sealing design would prevent that altogether since I take care of my reel even though I fish hard with it.

 

Absolutely ZERO gear wear. I can 100 percent state that it is as quiet and smooth as day 1 and I've confirmed it when I service it myself. No tell tale sign of wear on the gear and whatever little grease is on there is not discolored.

 

Mine is the low gear JDM model so I'm not sure how the HG model will fare since the low gear model of course has bigger gear teeth in the main gear and pinion gear.

 

There is no better bargain than the FK IMHO. And I've got plenty of Stellas and Twinpowers that sit unused and shiny because of it.

 

 

[PatrickKnight]

I don't understand why they still use felt but those Jacks put a hurting on any reel and it shows a lot that the FK holds up to them.

[aquaholik]

30 minutes ago, PatrickKnight said:

I don't understand why they still use felt but those Jacks put a hurting on any reel and it shows a lot that the FK holds up to them.

 

 I think felt is fine if you fish 2-3 lbs of drag. I still have the original felt washers on my 2004 Twinpower and that has seen LOTS of 10lbs+ Jacks, countless 20-35 lbs black drum, 20 or so 50-60 lbs Tarpon. And that's fished with 3-6 lbs drag depending on the species.

 

But the big difference in the Twinpower is bearing inside the spool and on the spool shaft which even the 2015 Stradic FK do not have. I upgraded the shaft bushing to bearing on my 4000 FK just to see if it will extend the life of the felt washers. That one gets used with a constant 5-7 lbs drag for prying snappers of the bottom and away from structures.

[PatrickKnight]

What gear ratio is the JDM FK?

[aquaholik]

59 minutes ago, PatrickKnight said:

What gear ratio is the JDM FK?

I pick the lowest one, 4.7:1 on both the 3000 and 4000.

[PatrickKnight]

I would love to have a 3000 or 4000 with a 5.0:1 or lower gear ratio!

[aquaholik]

I double checked. 5.0 :1 for 3000 and 4.8:1 for 4000. I'm comfortable tearing them down and ordering gear sets from Japan if I need to. All other parts are the same. Only difference is pinion, main gear, and idle gears. When I purchased them almost two years ago, they were only about $160 shipped.

Same goes for the 2016 Stradic Ci4. Lower gear ratio is available if you look carefully. 

[aquaholik]

On 1/10/2017 at 3:21 PM, PatrickKnight said:

I don't understand why they still use felt but those Jacks put a hurting on any reel and it shows a lot that the FK holds up to them.

 

 I think felt is fine if you fish 2-3 lbs of drag. I still have the original felt washers on my 2004 Twinpower and that has seen LOTS of 10lbs+ Jacks, countless 20-35 lbs black drum, 20 or so 50-60 lbs Tarpon. And that's fished with 3-6 lbs drag depending on the species.

 

But the big difference in the Twinpower is bearing inside the spool and on the spool shaft which even the 2015 Stradic FK do not have. I upgraded the shaft bushing to bearing on my 4000 FK just to see if it will extend the life of the felt washers. That one gets used with a constant 5-7 lbs drag for prying snappers of the bottom and away from structures.

 

Replacing the felt drag on the Stradic FK is very straightforward and Dawn from Smoothdrag has those carbontex washers. It's the same size as previous gens of Stellas '07, and '11.

 

I think Shimano must have put in a new type of felt washers in the Stradic FK.

 

My friend barely use his and complained about stuck drag knob. When I opened it up, I see the telltale cotton like materials working its way up the shaft to the top metal washers. I think he tightened the drag before spraying it down and left it tightened.

[Sammies77]

On 1/10/2017 at 7:41 PM, aquaholik said:

I double checked. 5.0 :1 for 3000 and 4.8:1 for 4000. I'm comfortable tearing them down and ordering gear sets from Japan if I need to. All other parts are the same. Only difference is pinion, main gear, and idle gears. When I purchased them almost two years ago, they were only about $160 shipped.

Same goes for the 2016 Stradic Ci4. Lower gear ratio is available if you look carefully. 

I have the same japan model 3000 stradic with the lower gear ratio and love it. Also have a daiwa luvias with the lower gear ratio that is unbelievably smooth. The lower gear ratio spinning reels tend to be smoother. 

[PatrickKnight]

I wish they would give the US market a lower gear ratio option. Japan gets all the cool toys

[aquaholik]

On 1/9/2017 at 11:14 PM, EllisJuan said:

I have a FK 2500 and a ci4 FB 2500.  Both are great reels, but the ci4 FB is clearly better.  Just as solid and smooth as the FK, but 20+% lighter.  When you have been fishing a DS nice and slow all day, you will appreciate the 1.6oz weight difference.

 

Yes, the 2016 Ci4 FB is a thing of beauty. Just paired the 5.0:1 3000 Ci4FB with a Avid Inshore 7' Medium action. It's almost too light and adding a .7oz aluminum Votex knob made it balances perfectly on the 4 oz rod. But the color clash is awful and I wish they make aluminum knob with a red accent.

 

Not sure how well it will hold up. I'll find out in a year.

On 1/12/2017 at 12:43 PM, PatrickKnight said:

I wish they would give the US market a lower gear ratio option. Japan gets all the cool toys

 

Yep, and it sucks since they won't have the parts or repair JDM reels.

 

[PatrickKnight]

I am curious what you think about the Avid Inshore. I want a 7'6" ml Avid but they don't have it in the freshwater. I would go with the inshore model but I haven't seen any reports on its performance as of yet.

[aquaholik]

The Avid inshore is definitely tuned much differently than the older fresh water Avid which I have in 7ft ML, and 7ft 6 M. I should have tested the rod in store but I had $200 Cabela's Gift Card that was burning a hole in my pocket. The 7 ft M Avid inshore has the upper tip section of a 7ft ML freshwater Avid but the backbone of a medium action rod. It's slightly faster also. Definitely tuned differently than my 7ft Legend Elite.

 

So you might want to test the rod in store. You might go with a 7'6" M action instead once you feel how soft the tip is. It's definitely tuned to throw lighter bait better and might sling a 3/8 oz jig out of sight with 6-10 lbs braid. I generally use 10 lbs white Nanofil and while everyone said that line is crappy, I managed to put enough drag and tension on that line to burn out felt washers. The key with Nanofil is FG knot to flurocarbon leader. Those big drums were hauled in with 10 lbs Nanofil.

 

Waiting for it to get cold enough to stack the big trouts. Should be a perfect rod for the Mirrodine.

 

 

[EllisJuan]

Have you checked out the new Vanquish Aquaholik?  I have been fighting the urge to order one for the last few months.

[aquaholik]

3 minutes ago, EllisJuan said:

Have you checked out the new Vanquish Aquaholik?  I have been fighting the urge to order one for the last few months.

 

 I think for the money on the Vanquish, get the Stella. The 2016 Ci4 that you have is hard to beat for value in a light reel. Vanquish will add bearing in the spool and under the spool for smoother drag. But it always seem to fragile for my relatively heavy use.