shimano stella

[mike burgess]

Looking for some advice...
I am going to Fiji for a 10 day fishing trip in March & am thinking of buying a Stella 18000SW & maybe a Shimano GT Special.
I live in Sydney & fish from both rocks & boat both inside & outside harbour, mainly for kingfish.
Now this is a lot of cash to outlay but I think I'm in need of a treat and never really splurged on fishing gear too much before.

I'm sure the combo above would be great for the 10 days in Fiji but overkill for my usual fishing here in Sydney.

So, I thought maybe I could get away with the Stella 10000SW in Fiji, which would also be more usable at home.

I guess the question is would the 10000SW handle the fishing in Fiji, mainly trolling and GT popping.
Obviously the 18000 would be much better but would I get away with the 10000?

Any thoughts/advice/past experience much appreciated!

[Brandon Khoo]

I think you will find the 10000SW will do the job for what you want in Fiji. I landed a mid forties kind of fish in NC on a 10000XG and while I've since upgraded to a bigger spool in the 16000 No Limits spool from Studio Ocean Mark, I landed that fish on the standard spool.

[Isaac Denny]

I recently went through this dilemma (only for popping in QLD). I think one of the most common Stella's out there for popping in the past was the 10,000 FA. Now that Shimano has release the SW series, in their infinite wisdom, they have changed the sizes of the bodies.

A 10,000 FA (or any other Shimano 10,000 series pre-2009) now equates equates to a 18,000 SW. Side by side the two are close to identical (both in body and in spool dimensions).

The new 10,000 SW are much smaller - and the recommendations to me from Fish Head was to go for the 18,000.

[Brandon Khoo]

Sorry - while the 18000SW and the 10000FA may be similar in dimensions, they are by no means similar in spool capacity. Shimano listened to feedback over a number of years and when they released the 18000, they extended its spool capacity to being line ball to the Daiwa 6500 spool. Previous to this, they already had released the 16000 spool as well as special products from Yumeya, both of which had larger spool capacities than the 10000FA.

The new 08 10000 has been downsized but has roughly the same spool capacity as the  old 10000FA.

I personally find the new 10000 to be an ideal size for a stickbait reel and the extended capacity in the after market spools is a real bonus

[Rohit Saqa Lal]

I personally find the new 10000 to be an ideal size for a stickbait reel and the extended capacity in the after market spools is a real bonus

Wow, there is a higher capacity spool then the standard 10k SW for that body? I want one bad!

[Andy Rowe]

I was kind of hoping Yumeya would have come to the 16000 party by now with an upgrade for the SW10K, which is a mighty reel for it's size. I think I have missed out on this SOM batch

[Brandon Khoo]

Shimano have in the past been very good at identifying the gaps which are filled by Yumeya products. Hopefully, they'll see the opportunity here.

The No Limits spool isn't just a bigger spool - it has an improved drag on it. I love the 10000. Realistically, I think it is likely these will see more action in future than the 18000s which will probably become specific PE10 reels for me.

[Andy Rowe]

Shimano have in the past been very good at identifying the gaps which are filled by Yumeya products. Hopefully, they'll see the opportunity here.

The No Limits spool isn't just a bigger spool - it has an improved drag on it. I love the 10000. Realistically, I think it is likely these will see more action in future than the 18000s which will probably become specific PE10 reels for me.

100% in agreement, my 10K saw more use than my 18K's om my last GT trip.

[Mick Cunningham]

I've since upgraded to a bigger spool in the 16000 No Limits spool from Studio Ocean Mark.

hi brandon ..

i have been looking around and  saw that spool last week as i notice the different. so i would like to ask you what do you think of them ?? and also i would like to know who so many hole in them too .. so tell me the good and bad etc.

A upgrade yumeya 16000 spool max would be nice .. i can,t wait for them to come out.

another thing is that i am wondering if the shimano company are going to  make A new spool for the stella FA model with propulsion line managemnt system upgrade 

[Brandon Khoo]

I've only had the SOM spool for one trip but there's a lot to like - extended capacity makes it a perfect PE8 reel and the drag is awesome.

On your question on whether Shimano would make a new spool for the FA series, have you ever seen any company bring out a product for a superseded model?!

In any event, the Yumeya 10000D and 16000D spools are very long casting spools if you can find them.

[mike burgess]

Thanks for all the info guys! Sounds like if I could get a bigger after market spool the 10000SW would be the go!
Can any of the bigger SW spools fit the 10000?

[Brandon Khoo]

In a nutshell, no!

[Luke Wyrsta]

Another thing to consider is your outfit's total balance.

If you plan to cast lures over 150g, I think you will be hard pressed to find a rod offering that is going to 'feel' and perform 'balanced' when it is paired to a smaller reel such as the 10k SW.

Conversely, the 10k SW is ideal for PE4 - 6 line classes, and PE8 if you have a MAX type spool. PE4 - PE6 rated rods will feel well balanced when paired up to this reel.

An important thing to consider.

[Geoff Volter]

What about the heavier coral viper? 10000, 18000 or maverick?

[Andy Rowe]

What about the heavier coral viper? 10000, 18000 or maverick?

I've used the Coral Viper CV79/40 PE6-8 with the 18K and 10K SW08 reels, when casting lures under 150gm which (which I prefer on this rod) to me it still feels good with either reel. It is a tip light rod and weighs around 385gm. If going over the 150gm lure weight then wiser to go with lukes advice on the bigger reel.