# Stradic FI or Pflueger supreme XT?



## BIGFISHN

Looking to get a new reel and was wondering which one of these is the best! I have always liked shimano but im hearing a lot of good things about the new supreme xt. Help me decide! Thanks


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## orvis1

Stratic all the way... Pfluegers suck if they get dunked they gum up..


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## Leaky

Totally disagree!!!! I bought Shimano for years and years because all you guys said they were the best. I didn't have 1, I repeat 1, Shimano that lasted more than 2 yrs. before it started getting hard to turn and in ea. case it was a worn worm gear. Even rebuilt one and keep it for back up emergencies. In addition I can't help but dunk my reels while fishing, by accident, (am a tuber) and added machine oil but to no avail. I switched to Pfluegers , President and an Okuma, same price range ( don't have the model handy) and I have dunked both several times, blew on em and added a little machine oil in the crank area thru the crank bearings before the next trip and both are going strong after 3 years and are smooth!!!!!
One fisherman's opinion. Take it for what it's worth.


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## deadicated1

i own one of each, (the last model of xt, and the stradic with the magnesium body) and i love both of em. i am real careful not to dunk em, and i dont think i ever have, so im not much help there, but both are two years old and doing great.
the xt is lighter, but the stradic feels more solid, but i have caught many big fish on both...
sorry for not being any help!!!
let us know what you decide?


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## sawsman

You probably cant go wrong with either one really.

I do not have the FI, but do have the Stradic Ci4 and it is awesome. Light, tough and solid overall. Worth every penny.


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## brookieguy1

sawsman said:


> You probably cant go wrong with either one really.
> 
> I do not have the FI, but do have the Stradic Ci4 and it is awesome. Light, tough and solid overall. Worth every penny.


+1 Saws. I haven't bought the Ci4 yet, but intend to. I own a Pfleuger Supreme, and although it is light, is very poorly made. The Stradic Ci4 may cost twice as much, but is a far superior reel. The bail is the biggest drawback on the Pfleuger, along with it's sticking after a dunking characteristics. You can dunk the Ci4s under water overnight and they still won't stick. Totally sealed.


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## BIGFISHN

Thanks for the replies. I bought the stradic FI. They have it on sale at cabelas right now for 129. I really wanted the CI4 but didnt want to fork out that much right now and i will probabaly get the supreme xt at some point just to compare the 2. I hope the FI does me some good this weekend!! Thanks again!


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## sawsman

Nice choice. 

Good luck this weekend, be sure to post up a report and welcome to the forum!


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## Packfish

Never understood why everyones seems to shy form Okuma- The Inspira is a good work horse reel and a reasonable price. Certainly would not run a Shimano again.


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## Dodger

The Shimanos are great reels if you use them how they are designed to be used. You can't buy an unsealed $100 reel and dunk it. You can't pour beach sand in it and expect it to be as smooth as ever. If you use the reel for that which it was designed, you'll never have a problem. I've owned one of my Shimanos for 18 years. It was $16.99 at ShopKo on 94th south in Salt Lake. I have a second one that I've used for 9 years. I have a third one that I've used for 7 years. Not only have I never had a problem with any of them, I've never dunked them, always cleaned them, and used them how they were designed to be used.

Dumping oil in a reel does not fix rusted bearings. If you are going to dunk your reels, pack them with grease first and don't expect them to last. If you try to reel with rusted bearings, it is going to wear down the worm gear. So I disagree with my friends who dislike Shimanos for that reason.

Or, buy a sealed reel to begin with.

You made a good choice BIGFISHIN. If you treat it right, you'll never have a problem with it. And, Shimano's customer service is top notch so if you do have a problem, you can send it to them and they can fix it for free, or very little money.


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## Leaky

Well what can I say but i hope you have good results with your selection. However, I won't back off about early worm gear wear, dunking affect, and adding a little Lt, wt, oil thru the crank area but it didn't help wth Shimano even after disassemble and greasing. If you accidentally dunk it, dry it as soon as possible and add some oil.  
I guess, this is just one guy's opinion.


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## brookieguy1

Packfish said:


> Never understood why everyones seems to shy form Okuma- The Inspira is a good work horse reel and a reasonable price. Certainly would not run a Shimano again.


Just too darned heavy for us whimpy jiggers, Pack!


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## Dodger

Leaky said:


> Well what can I say but i hope you have good results with your selection. However, I won't back off about early worm gear wear, dunking affect, and adding a little Lt, wt, oil thru the crank area but it didn't help wth Shimano even after disassemble and greasing. If you accidentally dunk it, dry it as soon as possible and add some oil.
> I guess, this is just one guy's opinion.


Leaky, try packing your reels (Shimano or not) with grease before you dunk it. Shimano bearings rust pretty easily because of the way their bearings are made (their process treats the metal to make it smoother, but rust easier). It is intentional. But, if you pack your real with grease, you'll keep a lot more water away from those bearings. The machine oil probably isn't thick enough to keep water out retroactively. Prospectively packing it with grease will slow the reel down, but it will keep the water out.


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## Packfish

brookieguy1 said:


> Packfish said:
> 
> 
> 
> Never understood why everyones seems to shy form Okuma- The Inspira is a good work horse reel and a reasonable price. Certainly would not run a Shimano again.
> 
> 
> 
> Just too darned heavy for us whimpy jiggers, Pack!
Click to expand...

So are you saying you catch whimpy fish ? It's OK to admit it , everyone here is an understanding fisherman, you can step out of the closet and say " I am a light weight and any pictures I have put on face book aren't my fish- those are not my underwear either. j/k

Really I have no problem with the Inspira- been a work horse. I have 3 and not ever a problem with any of them. 2 of them are on Med Light 6'6" Fenwick GT's. Setting the hook while jigging is really a thing of pleasure- almost take up smoking after each hook set.


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## Leaky

Dodger,
Hummmmmm. Can't disagree with your packing with grease. But,-------------, I have never seen evidence of rusty bearings on the Shimano's, just worn out worm gears??????? They appeared to be made of soft brass.


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## Dodger

Leaky said:


> Dodger,
> Hummmmmm. Can't disagree with your packing with grease. But,-------------, I have never seen evidence of rusty bearings on the Shimano's, just worn out worm gears??????? They appeared to be made of soft brass.


Do you mind saying what kind (model) of reels they are? I think my old one from my scouting days might be brass too.

Do you have pictures of it? I'd be really interested to see what happened to it. I have a reel collection and I love taking them apart and cleaning them. I've bought some old Penn reels on ebay just to take them apart and clean them up. I'm a reel-o-phile I guess. 

I would have put money down on rusted bearings, so I'm kind of shocked that they weren't rusted. More info please!


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## Dodger

As a side note, the A-RB bearings in Shimano reels are "Anti-Rust Bearings." They also have a whole bunch of patents on the process. Basically the way they used to make bearings made them smoother but rust way more easily than the A-RB bearings do. Then they came out with A-RB which basically gets them just as smooth but eliminates the increased oxidation rate created by the smoothing process so they are back to competitive with other bearings, which still rust pretty easily.


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## Leaky

Dodger,
Ok, I just spent 2 hours looking all over. I was sure I kept the 1 old (Symetre) Shimano that I overhauled replacing the worm gear and the mating gears for back up but can't find it anywhere. Frustrating and puzzling. To the best of my recollection, the last few were Symetre/1500Fl and had the soft brass worm gear. This was several years ago now so I hope my memory is accurate.  Another Shimano I had was the "TX 4000" ??? It exhibited the same slow deterioration, harder and harder to crank which if I remember when I looked, was worn worm gear again. Can't remember for sure if I took this one apart or just assumed the same problem. :?


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## Dodger

Thanks for looking Leaky! I'm sorry to put you to that kind of effort. 

I have a Symetre in the 4000 size with rear drag. I'll have to look around and see if others have had similar problems with the worm gear on that particular reel. Mine has always treated me well and I've used it on some 30-40 pound stingrays, several pound bluefish, and some flounder in the salt. I'll let you know if I find anything.


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## Leaky

Dodger,
Also had a FX200??? with similar problems??? Just found it stashed away with my dead reels.  Maybe the larger reels have better gears????


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## Dodger

That's really interesting Leaky. All of my reels are the 4000 size. I'll have to see what I can find as far as complaints on the smaller reels. 

Did the worm gears break any teeth (not really teeth but I don't know the right word for the ridges and channels on a worm gear)? Or did they just wear down to the point where the reel was slipping? 

The description of "harder to crank" sounds like the bearings went out or there was something (like sand) in the gears that wore them down. 

I'm sorry for all the questions. I just love this kind of stuff.


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## Leaky

Dodger,
As you can see, I've owned many Shimano's, re greased em after a season but still had "my problem". If an very occasional accidental dunking (no dirt, sand. etc) does this to Shimano but not the Phluger or Okuma, what's the deal??? Before we talk about maybe $ spent on ea. reel, I'm talking about the same price range!!!! I fully recognize that a shot of Lt. wt. oil is no substitute for good grease but it sure seems to help during the short term before re greasing. :? What the heck Bud? Where am I "up in the night"? Please help. :shock:


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## Dodger

Yeah, something sure doesn't seem right there. I wonder what the problem could be. Are the Pfleugers and Okumas sealed at the same price range? I'm not as familiar with those reels as I am with the Shimanos. 

I'd be happy to take a look at them and see what the story is. It sounds like you've already been through them though. If you're interested in selling them for autopsy purposes, send me a PM. The TX and FX probably aren't worth fixing but that Symetre is, if you can find it. Either way, I'd take them off your hands to do some investigating.


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## Leaky

Dodger,
As I remember, what I observed was bad wear, and groves in the worm gear and wear on the round (sun?) gear that mates to it and then drives the gear and shaft in and out. This is all memory, does this make sense?
All I can find is the TX and FX reels. That's what's so frustrating to me, can't find the Symetre's.  Do you still want a pm? I'll keep looking for the Symetre's. 
P.s. Wht not the others (TX and FX), were the cheapies or something?


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## Dodger

Yeah, I think I see what you are describing. I just had another thought - the main shaft may have been getting caught for some reason (maybe it rusted) as it oscillated up and down through the rotor. That would make it hard to turn too.

The TX and the FX reels are more of the low-end reels. I have an FX and an AX in addition to my Symetre. They probably aren't worth fixing, but I'd still be interested to take them apart. And, let's be honest, I'd probably fix them anyway.  So, yeah, send me a PM. If you find the Symetre, that's great too.

Absolutely no hurry. It's probably going to be a couple of weeks at least before I can look at them anyway.


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## kochanut

**** spammer stop bumping posts so i have to read them again!!!!!!!!


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