Shimano Sustain 2500FG review

Today after much schedule wrangling, I decided to take out my new Shimaon Sustain 2500FG. This wranglng happens quite frequently with a wife and kids. Since my last post I have sold the Megabass Luvito. after using it for a while, something just did not seem to work with me. So i decided to change it up and go with Shimano. The sustain i manged to find at a good deal, paid 220 dollars which is just a little more then a Ci4 spinning reel.

After unpacking it, I noticed the black/ chrome on the reel. This looks really clean in my opinion, no fancy anodizing, loud colors or other features to catch fisherman rather then fish. When turning the handle you can feel the smoothness of the reel and how easy it turns, not bad for a Taiwan made reel. Wait, am I missing something, nope, no spare spool, c'mon Shimano, you could not even put a cheapo graphite one in it like back in the day, what a way to save a buck. Other then that its loaded with all sorts of Shinano features along with a 6.0 gear ratio and 8 ball bearings with 1 roller bearing, makes it a solid choice in spinning reels.

 After spooling it with Seaguar flurocarbon line, I put it on my loomis Bronzeback SMR882S and hit the swamp with the Kayak. The water level is kind of down so the swamp was a little tough to paddle out, but once the pads were clear it was smooth paddling. One day ill get another jon boat. The lure of the day was a 4" black power worm. Yes, I am perpetually stuck in the 90's with my lure selection and grunge cloths.

As I cast the reel, the line came off wihtout any windknots, which is pretty good for me with fluro. The retreive was rather smooth as well, on par with the Luvito. That day the swamp did not dissapoint. A cast was made by the edge of a point. Not a regular point, but one made of pads, it was a slight change in the continuity of the edge. As the lure was slowly worked, a slight tap was felt, after a very enthusiastic hookset, a very feisty Largemouth took off. Now the drag was set a little loose since this fish was not big enough to backreel. The Sustain performed great and in no time the fish was coming in. The handle felt very comfortable and did not feel awkward while reeling in. The Largemouth had nice dark coloring, obviously its been sunning most of the day. A short while later another fish was hooked, then another. It was a day, well 2 hours, filled of Largemouth, Pickerel and Bluegill. Yes, even Bluegill love the worm, usually though it comes back tailless.

Overall I was very happy with the reel, it feels better to me then the Megabass, this could just be because I was raised on Shimano and thats all that has been in my tackle. Although there was a time when a Quantum Tour was in my selection, but we will not talk about that, I was poor and needed fishing tackle, lol, just kidding, about the re


el, not about being poor.

Megabass luvito 256, not bad at all

The Megabass Luvito 256 an excellent reel both cosmetically and performance wise. Unfortunately if you look at the reviews, everyone writes about their dissapointment that a bushing was installed on the spoil shaft instead of a bearing. Who could blame them, at a price point of over 400 dollars, most of its competitors have a bearing. So what I decided to do is 2 reviews, one stock and one with a bushing replacement. Yes, like the Calcutta 250 I replaced the bushing with a bearing.

Let's talk about cosmetics, the reel is visually very pleasing, it's got plenty of bling to set it apart from most other reels in your locker. You can see Yuki Ito worked with daiwa since this reels borrows some designs such as the hollow air bail like some Daiwa models. The reel also has an aluminum reel handle, which coming from the soft paddles of Shimano, took a little while to get used to. The spool has some porting around the skirt but nothing like skeletonized spool of the Racing Condition. Still it comes it at 7.5 oz which compared to other high end reels, is not bad at all.

Let's talk about where it really matters, performance. The reel with the bushing performed excellent. It casts and reels very smoothly, it also felt pretty solid all day and even though my biggest bass was around 2 lbs.  I still put it through its paces with a mixed bag of swamp dwelling pickerel, bass and the errant bluegill. Had no problem with the drag at all. It was very smooth on the startup and had no initial jerk before it engaged. The one feature though that was missing was the back reel lever. Not a big deal to me but some people like to utilize it.

I then replaced the bushing with a bearing, which makes it a 10BB reel, not bad at all. Did it change the reels performance. Not really. Did it feel a little more solid or tighter, not really. In fact in a blind test I probably would not be able to tell. Where it will come in handy is keeping the shaft straight when the reel in under load.

This reel would be a great addition to anyone's reel arsenal. Even though it is made in Thailand, which also makes people gripe that its not made in Japan, it still performs great.

Once closing thought is that this reel like every other reel, well maybe not evergreen, can be found for less then the MSRP. I purchased mine brand new for a little over 300 which was a great deal.

Specifications without the upgrade are
9BB, 1RB
4.8:1 Gear Ratio
28in line/handle per turn
7.5 oz.
6.6 OZ. of drag
4lb. 185 yards, 6lb. 110 yards

 

The somewhat big reel decision

Before I start let me say I am very thankful to be in the situation where I have saved enough to buy a new reel.

Why is it that when its time to pick out a new piece of fishing tackle its rather hard, at least for me. There are so many choices and things to consider like brand loyalty, price, resale value and even cosmetics. That getting lost in just one purchase is not a hard thing to do, so I wonder, is it in our nature to get wrapped up in things that occupy all of our free time, or do we just need something to think about.

Take for example my latest purchase I am thinking about. With a vacation to Florida fast coming up, I am in the midst of picking out a new fly reel for the day, yes one day, of fishing that’s budgeted. Now this reel will also be my new 7wt. reel for light saltwater and freshwater around my place. Most fish that the reel will be used for cannot take out over 100 yards of backing, but that one time, that one day when I am Florida bound there is a chance of that happening. Since the odds of going back in the next several years are slim, this is not something that will be regular.

Currently there are 2 extra large arbor reels that are being looked at, one can hold 125 yds of 20lb. backing while the other can hold 225 yds of 20lb. backing. So do I want to go with the reel that can hold more backing for that one day when it might count? It’s not like they are the same price, there is a 55 dollar difference from the smaller one to bigger. Still thinking about that one trophy fish is making me think the extra money is worth it, but then again 55 dollars is still 55 dollars. You can also say that there is a chance I may hook something by me that can spool me out, but after having battled 10lb. bluefish and not having them come even close to 100 yds, I think the odds of that happening are very, very slim.

Perhaps why it is such a tough choice is because as a fisherman I have a lot of hope and positive outlook. The next cast is going to be the cast, the next trip will go down in the record books, the next lake will hold the mother lode of fish. All these things pass through our minds when we set out on the water and if it does not pan out, then next time. This train of thinking is what keeps us going even after the worst day on the water. When that next trip does come, and we succeed in a big way, it’s like I knew it! This is making me and probably anyone decide on the bigger reel for that one day, that one possible chance at a big fish. Still no matter which one I choose I know I would have made the right choice.

Swimbait Dave

Swezey Pond

The planets aligned today and I was able to go fishing. Basically family was not going to be around after I got out of work. So when the workday was over I rushed home, grabbed the fishing gear and headed out to Cranberry Bog home to Swezey Pond. Swezey Pond is a little fishing hole located in Riverhead close to where I live. The place is primarily very shallow and the lily pads hide that fact well. Still there is a channel and a few deep holes scattered around the pond that can provide for decent fishing. I discovered this place on a fieldtrip with my college class when we went there to look at the Cedar Swamp trees that grow around the pond along with the native aquatic and carnivorous plants. I have not fished there in years, but for some reason it came to mind as a good spot to hit. Now this is the third time fishing and my rustiness is showing.

After parking the car I looked at the temperature, 92 degrees in the shade, nice. Still nothing was gonna stop me. I grabbed my gear out of the trunk, put on my swampers and started down the trail. Since there was no wind the flies were pretty bad. Most were not the biting type but since I was already sweating bullets they stuck my bare skin, not a good feeling. After a short walk I laid eyes on Swezey Pond. Well as you can see its lily pad central on earth, the place has not changed.

The only open water had a rather large snapping turtle swimming around causing the fish to swim away. I tired throwing a frog, but no takers and the worm gave me the same results. Time to move on, you won this round turtle. The next opening was in a more flooded section with a small channel running through it. It was shady, but since it was mainly bog, the mosquitoes were ruthless. Running away from that spot I managed to get back on the main trail and start to walk to the next spot. I came to the old footbridge where I could see a nice Largemouth swimming around, but since I had made a mad dash away from the skeeters, he was spooked. So back on the trail I go. Coming to another footbridge, I noticed someone placed a stone gargoyle overlooking the stream. Perhaps it meant something, or perhaps someone just wanted to get rid of a bad Christmas present? At least he was not getting mauled by bugs.

The next area I came to was by the weir and sure enough it was chocked out; still had to fish it. I placed my gear down and started to cast and walk in the water. I watched as a few wakes charged towards the frog, but nothing happened. Looking back now I should have pitched a jig or tied on one of the many mosquitos that were still feasting on me. To make things worse, I stepped in the wrong spot, my foot sank in the mud and the water spilled into the boot, great. Sweating and chewed up I got back on the trail and started the speedy jaunt back to the car. Still not wanting to be defeated I decided to try the open spot one more time. I tied on a pumpkinseed worm, gave a light pitch by some pads and waited. I noticed the line move ever so slightly and felt a light bump on the rod blank. I lifted the rod and set the hook, fish on. After a really short fight, a Pumpkinseed Sunfish showed himself and I felt great. Hey, a thirty something fisherman that does not fish much cant be choosy. After taking a picture I released him to fight another day. Beating a hasty retreat back to the car I could not help feeling good that even though it was only 45 minutes, I still managed to get out fishing and catch a fish. Perhaps next trip the big one will show herself.

Until then, good luck fishing.

The blog begins

Back about 13 years ago my first summer internship with the state was being a creel clerk. Every day was spent going out on the water and counting fisherman and letting them elaborate on their fishing day. Back then I was 21 and fishing was my life and had been since I was 13. So that was not such a bad job. One thing that kept coming up though was the absence of fisherman and women in their mid 20’s to late 30’s. You would see kids fishing with their parents, the college student (such as myself), the retired guy or my favorite, the fisherman escaping his wife. Don’t laugh, people actually told me that. Every once in a while there would be someone in the absent age bracket, but it was not a common occurrence; like sightings of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. After some peering over past data, the results seemed to repeat themselves throughout the years. Why was this? Thankfully there were a few sportsman in the building where my office was who did not fish or hunt much anymore. After a bit of questioning it became apparent why people stopped fishing and hunting. Around that point in life most people set out to find careers, significant others and have children. With all of that comes more responsibility and less time to enjoy pastimes. To a 21 year old this was funny and there was often a lunch break that included fun was being poked at the "whipped married guy", but little did I know though what would happen to me.

At the age of 22 I became a college graduate and started my full time career in the state. Unfortunately counting fisherman was not in the job description anymore, but it was a stable job. Fishing was still a big part of my life, though not as big since my free time grew less with the career. Still, I was out on the water more time then not. Things were good but something was missing. My dating life was nothing really to talk about, a girl here and there but nothing that lasted too long and it would usually end over fishing. That was the norm for years until an email arrived that changed the game. Now dancing was always something I wanted to learn, so when an email came about a big dance going on at a local bar, it was a no brainer. After arriving I realized that it was a partner dance and that a free lesson was going on. Figuring that my cover had already been paid, might as well get my monies worth. Well the fun that was had that night coupled with the nice people that were there, made me want to pursue it more. Soon even less time was devoted to fishing and more towards dancing which led to a very solid dating life. Fishing became even less when my vacations started to be dancing ones. Just shy of a year, at the age of 25 turning 26 I met my future wife at a dance and fishing once again took a hit. My favorite pastime had become more distant from me but it never was completely gone. At the age of 31 I became a dad, the best day of my life and also the last time fishing would ever be more then the occasional short trip. For the next few years if I managed to get a half dozen trips a year, it was a lot. I became that guy on the other side of the lunch table.

Now at 34 my time to myself is still very limited. Between kids parties, keeping life alive with my wife and maintaining a home, there is a lot of responsibility going on. Still every once in a while I am able to go fishing and this is my blog, the thirty something fisherman.