shimano fireblood

[Flattie Assassin]

From what i've read around the traps the reels are overpriced. The rods on the other hand are sexy as..

http://www.shimanofireblood.com/

[land-lubber]

the fireblood will be popular with the shimano fans, i have played with it and know a little about it. it probably didnt get as much accolades as shimano was hoping for at the trade show, it is nice a far as shimano reels go, from memory it felt a little like the twinpower (a more 'european feel' than wat shimano is generally known for, twinpower being aimed at the european market initially) it will be tough for its size but i personally prefer the certates/daiwas generally, smoother reels with very tough gearing, i dont feel shimano have quite got the balance of smoothness : toughness ratio right yet, diawa have imo. I own the sol and love it, but if i had the dough id be going a certate for sure.

[bassfanatic5]

Had a play with a fireblood 1000 today . I was not going to buy one because of the negative feedback i have heard on different sites but once i had a play with it that done me i brought it home to sleep in the Labs rod locker . Price was $580 a bit less than some of the prices i have heard thrown around over the last month. Just waiting for the matching rod to show up so i can have a look.

Cheers Damien

[Roo]

Bugger it, after reading Franks post, I will be getting a Certate 2500 custom R or something along those lines. What about things like the Fuego or Sol etc (all these names, I can't keep up) or do you just get a Certate and be done with it. Remember the reel will live in a saltwater environment, so I'm still after advice.
Tim

Aussie dollar is up at the moment, Have a look online for good deals.

[mad max]

Mate iv got a Sol, and i picked up the fireblood the other day, and without looking at the price tag i said i would buy a Sol over the fireblood any day of the week.

quite a bulky reel, still dont know why shimano use the pathetic bail arms, it was a bit rattly, bad handle, no smoother than a Sol....and like 300 bucks on top of a Sol, i was very surprised.

[Flattie Assassin]

The reels are apparently just a re-badged Sephia model shimano offered in Japan. Although it does have a regular depth spool and not a narrow. They are also based on the stella and Twinpower. I'm way more interested in the rods to match with my twinpower.

[Tim_N]

Thanks guys,
I have heard the rods are very good and the reels are open to opinion. Hence I'm about to order a Certate 2500 R custom and I will source a rod to suit. Mmmmm, maybe a ?????????
It is such a versatile reel, where it could be used from Bream to to Spotties to Snapper to Barra. The ideal of 7 kg of drag, the ability to hold 150m of 30 lb braid gets me. If an impoundment Barra gets more than 20 m of line off me, I stuffed anyway. Just got to marry it to the right stick, or sticks.
Tim

[land-lubber]

hey tim, for ur bream/bass ond general estuary plastics work id be looking at a berkley pro tactic 7' 2-4kg stick, not cheap rods, but a match that will do the reel justice. for the heavier work its going to be a bit harder finding a rod that will be balanced with such a small reel but still has the grunt for 30lb, id recomend looking at something by nitro or egrell.
cheers

[Tim_N]

I've got a small Loomis and I can use a older Kilwell for a while, until I work things out. Ideally I would like a rod that could throw very lightly weighted plastics eg 1/8 oz for Snapper or unweighted larger plastics at snags and also be able to throw up to maybe 5/8 or 3/4 oz. So maybe a fast action, tippy, gutsy butt sort of stick. I'm sure they exist.
Tim

[grave41]

I use a certate custom r 2500 tarted up with bassart handle and round knob.,get some funny looks until i start hauling fish in. Great reel. I use stella 's in larger sizes. No difference between the 2 only the name.
Graham

[raefpud]

The sephia reel in Japan is specifically designed for egi (squid fishing) hence check the specs...... on the rod, its a long piece designed for fishing PE and squidjigs - not to say the combos couldnt be used for breaming, but what you will find is Japanese tackle is specifically designed to target a particular species, hence its features. Only rebadged? not entirely sure about that comment, as export models are often altered to suit different fishing environments such as australia and the US.

[Jeremy87]

I played with one yesterday, looks good on the shelf but when you pick one up the finish looks underdone and the handle feels sloppy, i wouldn't pay 300 let alone 600 for it. Stick with the certate or even get the old 2500 sustain and save a few bob.