Saltiga blast or ??

[simon carey]

Andrew - my pick would be a stella 8000, I have that combo exactly and it is sensational, beautifully balanced, and a joy to use all week. I spent a week chasing longtails in Onslow this year with it and it is a bit of a big gun for your average 20lb fish but a joy when we hit YFT and longtails 30-40lb. It is also a damn good popper rod for smaller poppers. The two guys I fished with had JDM Twinpowers one 6000 and one 8000 and I would buy them straight up over the stella given my time again. They did have to import them but you can get two for the price of one stella and they held up really well, best GT was 45lb on 30lb fins and the TP did not miss a beat - best value reel on the market(in Japan that is). Look around and you can get them to your home for sub $400

[Luke Wyrsta]

Yes, but now we start to look at reels (Stella) that cost a lot more than what Andrew is budgeting for.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts about buying a JDM TwinPower over Stella. Price, performance etc.?

[Andrew Poulos]

I was trying to keep the price down on this reel so didnt look at the saltiga z range or stellas.There is a new saltiga blast coming out very soon as well I think so I might wait to see if that causes a price drop of the existing model (I doubt it though).

http://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3835

I havent found a TP 5/6000 that I can land here for under $400 though.

[simon carey]

Luke - I can only go on what I saw over a week of abuse with them. One had a 6000pg on a hirasama 63 and that was the only outfit he bought and used it all day every day. His best Tuna went 35lb, cod to 40lb and a heap of trevally between 25 and 35lb. The thing still feels like new after the week. He fishes with me off perth most weeks as well and catches a heap of avg size sambo, YTK and bottom fish so it has held up really well. My other mate bought the 8000pg and had it on a PRo Blue and knocked over the 45lb GT, a heap of big bottom fish and plenty of Tuna and Goldens. BOth reels cast very well and got fewer wind knots then my stella 8000. Drags seemed to hold up as well. I have an aussie TP 4000 and they are like chalk and cheese. For the performance vs Money I would take the PG twinpower every time over the stella unless you were fishing really heavy drag, no doubt the stella is great but not at twice the price.

[simon carey]

Ebay - reelseller is where my mate got his from.
Type Twinpower, click worldwide and but it now for auctions.
Price was $374 AuD + postage - great value!

[Brandon Khoo]

I'm awlays interested to read of differences between the FAs and the PG/HGs. I have not been able to discern any difference outside of cosmetics ones in the case of the Stella

Simon - what exactly was the difference between the JDM HG and your Australian model?

[simon carey]

Brandon - this is in the Twinpower, I have both and Stella 8 and a Twinpower 4 that are both Oz models. The overseas twinpower from memory has 10 bearings and a bigger drag system than the oz version. From the very little amount of info on the Web I think that the Jap twinpower is only just below the stella, main difference being the stella has a beefed up drag. Certainly comparing the two there is not much difference except drag size.

[Brandon Khoo]

boy, if you could get a decent sized one of those, you wouldn't have to spend the money on a Stella
unfortunately, they don't go up to the 10000 size so it leaves little choice 

[simon carey]

my thoughts as well, but on a rod like the saltiga 80tn or a lighter GT stick the 10000 size reels feel overly heavy and big and unless line capacity is a big issue then I cannot see why you would not get an 8000 size. I suspect that Shimano does this to keep the premium pricing on the stella in the bigger sizes. There is also so little info out there on the JDM twinpower which I think has led to people not knowing about them. They do not have the same "bling" factor as the Stella, but you can afford to destroy two of them for every stella you buy and from what I have seen with them that would be very hard to do.

[Andrew Poulos]

I used to use my dogfighter on the 80TN, and while it works, its not a balanced rig for flicking out sluggos or gars, hence the search the something smaller. I found those ebay shops and the prices look good. Would be nice to see an 8000 in person but most have up to 6000 here and thats it. If its the same size as my 8000 stradic it works out a good size. Im not sure if capacity will be an issue for me as the blast does hold more line. Most of my fishing is in close to the rocks so it shouldnt matter unless I hit a tuna.

[simon carey]

Andrew- 8000 is just a 6000 with a bigger spool - hence why I would grab it - same size as a stella 8000 if you want something to compare it with. The guy seems to be reliable, I have a good friend who has bought a couple of reels through him and had no problem. You will not be disappointed for the price.

[Andrew Poulos]

Cheers Simon. Wasnt sure if it was the same with twinpowers as stradics with the  bodies the same size and just different spools. I have to wait a few more weeks before I get something, but its at the top of the list I think.

[Hal Harvey]

Andrew,

I think what would really serve the purpose would be a Daiwa Catalina, which is available soon in high or standard gear ratios, $599 with a five-year Australian warranty unless you buy it overseas, in which case there is no warranty. It's the reel that is replacing the Blast and Saltist, and offers a higher spec including the waterproofness of the Z series.

Twinpower and the Stellas you're looking at are the only upmarket 2008 Shimanos that aren't getting all the upgrades - Paladin gear system, Propulsion line management system etc. So they're not exactly at the leading edge, unlike the new Sustain FEs, Stradic FIs, Stella FDs (up to 4000) and some others.

[Andrew Poulos]

Thanks Hal.

I heard about the Catalina , and saw a pic on the Plat site but wasnt sure about the pricing. At $600 is pushing the budget boundary a bit more than I wanted for this outfit unless I can get it from o/s as cheap as the current blasts. I had looked at the blasts originally as they can be picked up at quite good prices but will wait and see. I still need to take my rod with me to see if the blast sized reels balance nicely on the 80TN, or if the 6-8000 sized works out feeling nicer.

[Paul Taylor]

Guys,

May be going to Japan anyone got any suggestions as to the best tackle stores to check out over there.

Regards Paul