2014 saltiga expedition 5500h

[Chris Toops]

Hi All

Since this reel has been out for a few months now I'm just wondering what those who have used it think of it?

Is it as good as the hype?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Alex Gomez]

Hi Chris,

I haven't used this reel for GT's however I have caught several hard fighting kingfish over a metre and a speedy 7ft Mako shark with no issues.

It is hands down the best reel I have ever owned.

They also look the muts nuts, very futuristic.

AG

[Chris Toops]

Cheers for your advice Alex.

I've been looking at the expedition 5500h for a while now whilst doing plenty of research on it.

I'm now super keen to get it for jigging and popping.

Despite the "h" for high speed I'm actually led to believe that unlike other high speed reels, the 2014 expedition is well suited to jigging as well.

[Alex Gomez]

Its the kind of reel that breaks all the rules, light too so would be good for jigging.

It will interesting to see how Shimano respond however they may need to add a fish catching guarantee!!!

Awesome piece of kit, I also have the 8000 which i am hoping to break in on a Marlin this summer off Sydney.

Tight lines

AG

[Chris Toops]

Ordered the expedition 5500h Monday week ago Alex and it's due in to my local tackle shop either tomorrow or Friday. 



At this stage I'm leaning towards spooling it with 65lb power pro.

I know it's a little old school but I like the reliability of the thicker standard power pro. 

[Alex Gomez]

Nice!  I have 50lb Sufix 832 on mine but most on this site seem to favour Jerry Brown?

It's an amazing bit of kit, you wont be disappointed.

Good luck breaking it in!

AG

[Alif Morzuki]

Hi guys,

I am interested in getting the 5500h too. Which will be used for PE6 GT popping in Maldives.

But reading on the specs, the 5500h only provides 15kg of drag. Will this be enough for Maldivian GTs? Else, is there anyways we can upgrade the drag of this reels? 

[Leo Sorbello]

Are you able to stand tall with a 15kg fighting drag through the rod...if the reel can indeed take that in the model you have. I'm not being funny, but its a point to take into account, if someone can actually handle greater than 15kg drag for more than say 10 minutes  .

Regards

Leo

[Alif Morzuki]

Point taken @Leo Sorbello .
That question really makes sense. Now you mentioned it, I looked at the popping rod i bought (FCL Labo UC81 M) it actually states drag max is 14kg. 
I'm still quite new in this popping scene and currently trying to build up a popping outfit slowly for my Maldives trip next month.

Thanks mate! 

[Ben Yeo]

Hi All

Since this reel has been out for a few months now I'm just wondering what those who have used it think of it?

Is it as good as the hype?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Chris,

There's no hype. The reel is fantastic!
Strong and resilient. I Load mine with 220m of PE 8 and paired with an EP 82/38.

Liked it so much I got another one.

Used to use only Stellas, now I use both.

[Chris Toops]

I managed to fit 301 metres of 65lb power pro on my 5500h and still left enough room for a 130lb shock leader. I'd reckon you would fit 350 metres of a quality 8 strand 70lb braid.

I'll be using mine for jigging and popping.



 

[Mark Harris]

Point taken @Leo Sorbello .
That question really makes sense. Now you mentioned it, I looked at the popping rod i bought (FCL Labo UC81 M) it actually states drag max is 14kg. 
I'm still quite new in this popping scene and currently trying to build up a popping outfit slowly for my Maldives trip next month.

Thanks mate! 

For most GT fishing in Maldives, 10 kgs is plenty enough.  15 would be way OTT.

[Mark Richie]

Hey guys,

It really does look the goods doesn't it!

I'm thinking of loading one up with pe5-6 and throwing it on a light cast rod. Something like a temple reef stealth series for light gt work and also lobbing slugs into tuna schools. Maybe a little heavy for my local mack, long tail and yt. It just means I'll be able to skull drag a few over and get more fish before some idiot trolls a lure right through em and scares them off.

Cheers,
Rich