Shimano Stradic 4000FI vs FJ

[kmanfish]

Need a little advise on which reel to buy. I am looking to try a new set up for surf casting. I plan on pairing it with a St. Croix Steelhead rod 9'6" or 8'6" MH. My concern with the 4000FI is the line capacity. I generally use 20lb braid and am not sure how the FI will perform with that. Thanks guys. Tight lines!

[MASSfisher0311]

I really wish I could help you more with this. I own a stradic 2500fi and absolutely love it. I barely use it anymore as i have switched over to baitcasters/conventional gear for most applications...for this reason i dont even know the differences between the fi & fj.


I believe that a spare spool only comes with the fi....this can be an important factor especially when using braid.


Ive had some bad experiences with lighter braid on both spinning & conventional gear. For this reason I do not use less than 30 and have recently jumped up to 40 pound power pro (on a Curado 200).

If you are confident with the 20 you will be fine....plus these reels handle braid especially well. The fi holds 175 yards of power pro but does have 20 pounds of drag....not bad.


I guess this isnt much of a comparison since ive never touched the stradic fj but ill leave it at this:

I would stick with the fi because of cost and the extra spool that it comes with. Depending on your type of fishing decide if you want to use 20# or heavier power pro. Maybe moving up to the 5000 and having 2 spools of different braid will be your best bet.


Hope this sort of helps.....im really interested in hearing what others say about these awesome reels.

[kmanfish]

Thanks for your help. I am leaning towards the FI, because of the extra spool and cost, but just tried the FJ at the tackle shop and it is really smooth. Would love to hear from anyone who used both reels.