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Reel Opinions

Tony Stone

Senior Member
My missus bought me a Korum Opportunist 8ft 2lb rod so im looking for a reel to couple with it.

Dont really want to spend more than £50 if I can help it.

Must be front drag.

Been looking at the Shimano 4000 ST FB and the Korum Zelos 4000 - Anyone used either of these?

Any other recommendations? Will be used as a bit of an allround rod for carp, barbel and pike, as it will be in the van as an opportunist rod
 
My missus bought me a Korum Opportunist 8ft 2lb rod so im looking for a reel to couple with it.

Dont really want to spend more than £50 if I can help it.

Must be front drag.

Been looking at the Shimano 4000 ST FB and the Korum Zelos 4000 - Anyone used either of these?

Any other recommendations? Will be used as a bit of an allround rod for carp, barbel and pike, as it will be in the van as an opportunist rod
If you want a 4000 sized reel Tony take a look at the Okuma Pulzar PZB4000. I’ve been using a pair all spring for Tenching. Cracking reel. IF they did one I would say go for a 5000 size but unfortunately the Pulzar jumps from 4000 to 6000 in size.
There’s a thread. See attached.
 
If you want a 4000 sized reel Tony take a look at the Okuma Pulzar PZB4000. I’ve been using a pair all spring for Tenching. Cracking reel. IF they did one I would say go for a 5000 size but unfortunately the Pulzar jumps from 4000 to 6000 in size.
There’s a thread. See attached.


In that post you say you wouldnt use the 4000 on the trent with big feeders, how come?

I want something that is going to be used more as a stalking set up, with the occasional lure fishing / barbel session
 
In that post you say you wouldnt use the 4000 on the trent with big feeders, how come?

I want something that is going to be used more as a stalking set up, with the occasional lure fishing / barbel session
The 4000 is too small a reel Tony. Not enough cranking power to keep hauling in 4oz+ feeders I wouldn’t feel comfortable although I have used 4000 Penn’s and Shimano’s in the past. The 4000 Shimano was lacking but the Penn was a different animal, designed and built for salt water work but they are both outside of your budget. If you are fishing the Trent regularly then the 6000 Pulzar will do a great job and not break the bank. I use 6000 Pulzar’s on my Trent rods. I won’t hesitate to use the 4000 Pulzars with 2-3oz feeders/leads on the Wye, Middle Severn or my local Medway though PROVIDING it’s not flood water conditions. For those conditions I’ll revert to either my 6000 Pulzars or Penn Fierce 4000’s. 👍
 
The 4000 is too small a reel Tony. Not enough cranking power to keep hauling in 4oz+ feeders I wouldn’t feel comfortable although I have used 4000 Penn’s and Shimano’s in the past. The 4000 Shimano was lacking but the Penn was a different animal, designed and built for salt water work but they are both outside of your budget. If you are fishing the Trent regularly then the 6000 Pulzar will do a great job and not break the bank. I use 6000 Pulzar’s on my Trent rods. I won’t hesitate to use the 4000 Pulzars with 2-3oz feeders/leads on the Wye, Middle Severn or my local Medway though PROVIDING it’s not flood water conditions. For those conditions I’ll revert to either my 6000 Pulzars or Penn Fierce 4000’s. 👍


I have Daiwa SS2600 and Korum 2lb tc rods as my normal go to gear.

The new reel I want is to go on a stalking rod that will be used for barbel/pike/carp fishing
 
Think Daiwa do a 5000 Ninja? I've got a pair of 3000s for general coarse / chublet / dace fishing and they're lovely little reels - would imagine the 4000 to be the best option for general spinning however if you've got SS2600s then why not just get another? I've got a pair for floater fishing / stalking that have been pimped with better washers / Quick(ish) drag etc
 
Did you think about a centre pin? I’ve got the Aventa 7’ stalker rod that I’ll be using tomorrow for the first time with a pin. I’ve also got a shimano 4000 st fb that I’ll probably try out with it as well so I’ll let you know how it feels.

I’ve used the Shimanos for years for all my fishing - barbel, tench and big bream and it’s always done the job well
 
Think Daiwa do a 5000 Ninja? I've got a pair of 3000s for general coarse / chublet / dace fishing and they're lovely little reels - would imagine the 4000 to be the best option for general spinning however if you've got SS2600s then why not just get another? I've got a pair for floater fishing / stalking that have been pimped with better washers / Quick(ish) drag etc
I don’t really want to spend £90 on a reel that’s gonna spend most of its time in the van awaiting a quick hour on the river.
 
Get another spool for the ss2600 and load that up with the line you want to use for stalking rod then just use the SS for both tasks. It’s spot on in both size weight and ability to do both tasks admirably
The SS2600’s don’t come off my main barbel rods.

I want something separate to them to keep in the car :)
 
Did you think about a centre pin? I’ve got the Aventa 7’ stalker rod that I’ll be using tomorrow for the first time with a pin. I’ve also got a shimano 4000 st fb that I’ll probably try out with it as well so I’ll let you know how it feels.

I’ve used the Shimanos for years for all my fishing - barbel, tench and big bream and it’s always done the job well
I found it is very had to do a proper Wallis cast with short rod, tried few times with my 6ft rod and I gave up now.
 
I found it is very had to do a proper Wallis cast with short rod, tried few times with my 6ft rod and I gave up now.
True, if I’d read the first post properly I’d have seen that a pin is no good for what he wants.

Ok for the stream I fish on, no good if you need to cast any distance

I tried the shimano on the 7’ aventa today, it’s perfectly fine but if I was buying a reel to match I’d go for something smaller.
 
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