Kat

If I get a big fish the first thing I do is loosen the drag the more drag pressure you put on a fish the harder they fight

OMG Hamish.  I have been meaning to thank you!!... and say I will have to look more closely at the cleaning tips when I have finished with the reel decision.  I plan on being at BCF first thing morning so I can get a reel and go fishing as it is my last chance until Monday or later.  Thanks so much Hamish.  

Ooh my thread is HOT! Lol

Yeah a bait runner has 2 drags but I wouldn’t recommend them I think it’s best just stick to normal spin reels 
 

Yes that happened to me last weekend - got something big hooked up - no idea what and panicked, tightened drag and snap.  You live and learn

Oh right of course drag.  But the rest of the comment confuses me - too much line - cast and secondary drag? Is this a different style of reel you are talking about?  I am not someone who enjoys shopping much so havent looked at anything else....

Also daiwa kix reels are good reels that are in that middle range price 

Any Penn spinning reel that is larger would be decent Kat - you just don't want to spool it with something like I did (30LB) as it will be too heavy for your needs. (I'd say 20LB would be plenty for larger species around GC estuaries, such as trevally, mangrove jack, and even mulloways). 
Cheers Hamish

Yeah check out the Stradic FL 4000 or 5000 if you can stretch your money that far if you want a really good reel for a bigger combo and also atomic arrowz rods are a pretty good brand to everyone I know including my self who owns one loves them there pretty good and if you’re lucky you might find them under $120 I did for my one I got cost $112

10lb if the advert is correct

Any idea what weight braid it came with?

Ah okay this is where i might be able to check with staff at BCF or can I just actually compare the physical size - probably do that.  Cheers

The 1000 fits my budget a little better - and when I have much more to spend in a couple of months maybe I should look at a bigger rod/reel combo then?  I am pretty confused but learning bit by bit.  My brother in law just explained the gears to me 😏

Hi Ed 
Yeah got that - don't actually understand the drag bit but what I really wanted to do was compare that reel size to the 1000/2500 debate.  Any idea?  
Oh and what weight braid would it have come with?

The Shimano’s Nasci is great reel for estuary fishing regardless if you buy the 1000 or 2500 the reverse switch makes the reel turn backwards which’s is a useless feature and it’s actually a good it was removed because a lot of people had issues where salt and water got into the switch and messed up the reel . Edit the 2500 size is light enough to balance the 2-4kg rods because it’s a light reel

The review on BCF says that they are disappointed with the Nasci because it has no reverse anymore?  What is the reverse and what purpose does it serve?

Hey @Old Scaley yes you are right OMG - I should be at BCF shopping but am still reading and thinking! 😬 - I don't want to put my choice in the shop staffs hands at all.  Maybe it is because I am a woman - but my experience is that staff want to just choose for me or rush me or are condescending. Not all but some - havent been to BCF but better to be safe and do my own research - than sorry.
Anyway everyone thanks so much - this is a link to the rod and reel I purchased which to tell you the truth I quite liked and seemed that I was catching fish when others weren't - most of the time anyway. Maybe if I knew what size reel it was and line etc I could make my decision more easily - can anyone tell me? It came already spooled with braid and the shop owner gave me 10lb fluro for leader.  No idea what weight the braid is or size the reel is - my model is the 702L https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/abu-garcia-salty-fighter-combo/
I should have known this from the start but you can't know what you don't know.

You do have a good point here but when I first started fishing I used horrible cheap gear that was to heavy for the type of general purpose fishing and it wasn’t until I bought lighter gear I learnt how to actually catch fish this is why I’m so confident about why I don’t think 2500 size reels  and 10lb line are good for beginners I used 4lb  mono line a super cheap 1000 size reel and crappy telescopic rod but it done the job and the thing I noticed the most when I switched from heavy to lighter gear that I was usually the only person catching fish around the area as I got more experienced I upgraded and bought proper gear a daiwa aird 2000 and a atomic arrowz bream surface rod 2pc with 6lb braid and then I started using lures and learned how to catch flathead and I’ve been learning and improving since and that’s why I fish with light gear and tell people to start with light gear after a awhile of fishing with light gear you start to realise how much it can handle and it’s true capability . Not saying if you fish with 2500 reels you won’t catch anything that’s just silly and doesn’t make sense I’m just saying when you fish with lighter gear you have more feel of the lure and bait your using and is so much more balanced a. I wouldn’t recommend anything to anyone unless I know it would good I’ve been a beginner before and know how it feels not knowing everything and I’m just pointing out what was helpful when I first started fishing that’s all I’m not looking for a agruement on why 2500 reels are better then 1000 size reels for bream whiting flathead etc and vice versa . Just saying what works what I’ve tried and learned . Also the size of a rod guides influences your cast ability so much more then reel size and high drag capacity is pretty much useless for estuary fishing the more pressure you put on a fish the harder it’s going to fight and your more likely to lose it or pull hooks That’s why for flathead fishing I use a basic rule of thumb low and slow I point my rod tip down when bringing in flatties so they don’t rub their teeth on the leader and I also make sure I take my time fishing isn’t a race . Also a high gear Ratio reels also aren’t very useful most of the fish I catch are on super slow retrieves and on top of that makes the drive gear weaker because to make a reel with a higher gear ratio the drive gear teeth have to be smaller then a regular 5.:01 gear ratio but doesn’t really make a difference in most reels . My Stradic is a high gear ratio so I reel my lures in a lot slower then a normal gear ratio reel . And  do$tylz  the article Clearly states that he has easily caught Salmon and jewfish on these light setups and also goes into to detail on how a 2500 reel can throw a 7 foot 2-4kg rod off balance and The article also says that 1000 size reel wind knot easily but I haven’t had a problem I’m pretty sure that only applies for older reels the articles from 2009 the reels today are a lot better .when it comes to fishing everyone has different opinions but me and a lot of others will say that 1000 size reels are better for general purpose fishing it’s just a unpopular opinion . If for some reason you still want to argue about opinion based reel sizes still just message me instead of posting on Kats topic this is about reel recommendations not about reel sizes and disadvantages and advantages of both .hope that’s the end of this silly 😝 debate on something that’s mainly opinion based 

Well.  At the moment I am land based (no surf rod so estuaries, broadwater etc) on the GC and as far as i have been able to tell the only species i could get is Bream, Whiting and Flathead, the odd stingray maybe :-).  I will definitely put together my own rod a reel when I have a better budget in a couple of months.  

Ha ha.  Was wondering when you were going to bring that up!

Thanks everyone!  In a few months I will be buying another rod and reel - and won't have a budget! So will be asking opinions again 😁 I will pop into BCF tomorrow on the way home and have a look at your suggestions.  Will let you know what I end up with.
Cheers Kat

Ha ha.  Was wondering when you were going to bring that up!

Thanks everyone!  In a few months I will be buying another rod and reel - and won't have a budget! So will be asking opinions again 😁 I will pop into BCF tomorrow on the way home and have a look at your suggestions.  Will let you know what I end up with.
Cheers Kat

Yeah personally I would go for shimano sedona 1000 as they have x ship and hagane gear which in my opinion is super good if you want a strong gearing system I have 2 Daiwa’s around $100 a aird and legalis lt the legalis lt got in a combo for $150 which is usually $300 was lucky with that ok getting side tracked now back to topic .there’s nothing wrong with them they work really good and I love them but they lose their smoothness fairly quick and to fix this I just added some grease on the gears and with shimano reels you wouldn’t have to do this to keep them smooth and it fixed it daiwa for some reason don’t put much grease in the airds and the both the airds and legalis aren’t very water proof I dunked my legalis not to long ago in saltwater and had to pull it apart to fix it which luckily I was able to fix the reel the anti reverse bearing was rusty and caused the reel to go frozen so yeah I would go for a shimano 1000 even though their small reels that can fit a lot of line on them more then a daiwa 2000 I have a Stradic fl 1000 which is somewhat similar to a sedona it terms of x ship and hagane gear And g free body etc I caught a 69cm queenfish with that 1000 reel  with 6lb braid so a 1000 size reel can handle a lot more then people think personally I think 2500 reels are overrated and to heavy for most estuary style fishing I’ve seen people catch giant flathead GT etc on small shimano 1000 reels so for a 2-4kg a 1000 shimano reel would be awesome I love fishing my Stradic on my 2-4kg rod it feels super light and balanced when you use small reels although their small they have plenty of power and definitely can hold a lot of line for their size 

For a bit more than $100 you could pickup a Daiwa Revros. I have two and they both cast 'reely' well and are nice and smooth. Happy with my two.