New rod for a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 reel

[Bandicoot]

I recently dug out my old fishing gear and found a very nice 30+ year old spinning rod (I think it was a Loomis blank). The old Abu Garcia reel was couldn't be saved and on impulse I bought a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 reel to replace it. It is still a nice rod but I think I should buy a better rod for the new Stradic and buy a cheaper reel for the old rod. I am an absolute amateur and will fish the Hawkesbury and coastal estuary spots for bream, flathead and whiting with my grandkids. Can anyone recommend a one piece rod that will suit the Ci4+ 3000? The old rod is in great condition and is a tad under 6 foot. Should I buy a cheaper Shimano reel such as a Nasci for the old rod? 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Bandicoot

Welcome to the forum. Glad you found the old rod and reel  

If you're looking for something hardy, and Ugly Stik would be great. It won't break and will still be nice in hands, and good for Whiting, Bream, and Flathead. You'd want something around the 6"6'-8" mark. Another option would be an Abu Garcia Veritas, might be a little more expensive but will still suit nicely. They'll both do the job for you  

A Nasci, Sienna, or even a Diawa Shinobi will go nicely on your rod (or so I'd think). I've got all three of those reels and like each and every one of them. I'd go with the Nasci; they are very smooth and also nice feeling in hands.

Good luck, and let us know how you go.

Cheers Hamish

[Brodie_S]

19 hours ago, Bandicoot said:

I recently dug out my old fishing gear and found a very nice 30+ year old spinning rod (I think it was a Loomis blank). The old Abu Garcia reel was couldn't be saved and on impulse I bought a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 reel to replace it. It is still a nice rod but I think I should buy a better rod for the new Stradic and buy a cheaper reel for the old rod. I am an absolute amateur and will fish the Hawkesbury and coastal estuary spots for bream, flathead and whiting with my grandkids. Can anyone recommend a one piece rod that will suit the Ci4+ 3000? The old rod is in great condition and is a tad under 6 foot. Should I buy a cheaper Shimano reel such as a Nasci for the old rod? 

By new ci4+ I’m assuming you’re talking about the vanford or the older ci4+ FB reel anyway a good one piece rod for a 3000 reel  I can think of is the atomic arrows estuary 6-12lb 1 piece rod perfect for flatties and a fair few people use them for tailor and jewfish has awesome grips casting is excellent and the blanks are super sensitive .awesome rod another 1 piece rod I can think of is the daiwa TD hyper a 6-12lb model although I’d go with the atomic arrowz one I suggested 

[Bandicoot]

My new reel is a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 3000 (purchased two weeks ago) not the newer Vanford.  I must confess that I don't fully understand the correlation between rod weight rating and reel rating. 'Breaming with bro' suggested an Atomic Arrows Estuary 6-12lb rod for the Stradic. I can find a Atomic Arrowz Estuary Spin AAS-70L and this appears to be the correct model number as suggested by Breaming. Some stores show this model as one piece and others as a two piece rod. Can it be both? I just wanted a one piece rod. I'm assuming it is just an error as the 270L appears to be the two piece rod. My other option is the Ugly Stick. There are many models but I think the Ugly Stik Gold SP661ML is a 6'6" rod that is rated 3-5kg which is close to 6-12lb. Can someone please clarify and confirm the correct models for Ugly Stick and Atomic? I think stock availability will determine the choice.

My original reel on the old rod was a 'Abu Garcia Mitchel 309'. The line spool is broken in two pieces and the drag washer is rusty so I assume it it is beyond economical repair. My current thinking is to buy a Shimano Nasci 2500 unless someone can suggest an alternate reel.  Many thanks Col.

[GregOug]

3 minutes ago, Bandicoot said:

My new reel is a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 3000 (purchased two weeks ago) not the newer Vanford.  I must confess that I don't fully understand the correlation between rod weight rating and reel rating. 'Breaming with bro' suggested an Atomic Arrows Estuary 6-12lb rod for the Stradic. I can find a Atomic Arrowz Estuary Spin AAS-70L and this appears to be the correct model number as suggested by Breaming. Some stores show this model as one piece and others as a two piece rod. Can it be both? I just wanted a one piece rod. I'm assuming it is just an error as the 270L appears to be the two piece rod. My other option is the Ugly Stick. There are many models but I think the Ugly Stik Gold SP661ML is a 6'6" rod that is rated 3-5kg which is close to 6-12lb. Can someone please clarify and confirm the correct models for Ugly Stick and Atomic? I think stock availability will determine the choice.

My original reel on the old rod was a 'Abu Garcia Mitchel 309'. The line spool is broken in two pieces and the drag washer is rusty so I assume it it is beyond economical repair. My current thinking is to buy a Shimano Nasci 2500 unless someone can suggest an alternate reel.  Many thanks Col.

I tend to agree with Hamish. I would go the ugly stick. However Breaming with Bro knows his stuff in the ultra light, but not for me, category.

[Brodie_S]

Yeah the 70L estuary is a 1 piece rod i would recommend the ugly stick if you want to do bait fishing but if you want to do lure fishing a ugly stik really isn’t gonna do a great job compared to the arrowz the atomic arrows estuary rods are designed for whipping plastics and hardbodies over large sandflats or whipping lures or small baits into tight structures for speices like flathead trevally cod jewfish under 1m and also fish like bream and blackfish. The ugly stik however is rod designed for soaking baits and won’t really be that good if you want to use lures the ugly stiks don’t look and feel as nice to and the ugly stiks are no where near as sensitive as a arrows rod and also the casting distance won’t be great with the ugly stik . The ugly stiks are generally good rods but they aren’t designed for flicking lures for small-medium sized fish  .Also if you wanted another reel to the Sedona is almost as good as the nasci the only difference is a extra ball bearing on the pinion gear the paint job and the nasci has a few seals .the nasci isn’t a saltwater reel anyway so it can’t handle dunking or anything like that core protect is almost a gimmick really the only useful seal on the nasci is the drag knob seal the anti reverse has zero sealing which is the most common spot for dirty or rusty bearings so if you were thinking about getting the nasci I would get the Sedona and save some money . Hope that helps

[Bandicoot]

Many thanks for the clarifications Breaming with bro. I want to fish with lures and soft plastics but my problem is going to be finding a store in Western Sydney that has an Atomic Arrowz AAS-70L in stock. I'll try a few Anaconda stores and hope that their online system is not accurate as most stores seem to be out of stock.

 

[Brodie_S]

8 hours ago, Bandicoot said:

Many thanks for the clarifications Breaming with bro. I want to fish with lures and soft plastics but my problem is going to be finding a store in Western Sydney that has an Atomic Arrowz AAS-70L in stock. I'll try a few Anaconda stores and hope that their online system is not accurate as most stores seem to be out of stock.

 

Yeah that’s a shame but you should be able to find one soon enough anaconda regularly have them hopefully you get one soon as they are the bees knees when it comes to lure fishing 

[Bandicoot]

2 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

they are the bees knees when it comes to lure fishing 

What sort of lure weights should I be casting with a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 on an Atomic Arrowz 70L? Can you recommend an upper and lower weight range? Finally, what weight braid should I use on the Sedona 2500?

BTW, I'm heading down the coast to Currarong for a few nights next week so I'll check some of the tackle shops down south if I can't find the Arrowz in Sydney.

[Brodie_S]

33 minutes ago, Bandicoot said:

What sort of lure weights should I be casting with a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 on an Atomic Arrowz 70L? Can you recommend an upper and lower weight range? Finally, what weight braid should I use on the Sedona 2500?

BTW, I'm heading down the coast to Currarong for a few nights next week so I'll check some of the tackle shops down south if I can't find the Arrowz in Sydney.

Casting With the Stradic 3000 I would recommend casting 3 inch plastics with 1/6 and heavier jigheads and 80-100 mill hardbodies and I would recommend spooling the Sedona with 8-10lb braid and yeah you should be able to find the arrows rod soon enough 

[Bandicoot]

53 minutes ago, Breaming with bro said:

Casting With the Stradic 3000 I would recommend casting 3 inch plastics with 1/6 and heavier jigheads and 80-100 mill hardbodies and I would recommend spooling the Sedona with 8-10lb braid and yeah you should be able to find the arrows rod soon enough 

Many thanks for the great advice. Colin

[Brodie_S]

4 hours ago, Bandicoot said:

Many thanks for the great advice. Colin

All good anytime glad I could help the other reel you’re gonna get the Sedona 2500 should be good for handling fish like bream whiting and flathead and the Stradic CI4 will be great for slightly bigger fish and flatties both reels would suit the arrowz rod to seems like you gonna have plenty of options with those two reels can’t wait to hear some reports