As I rack up more and more offshore light jigging trip, knowledge and experience builds over time as how to best match the tackle to the various type of application and techniques. For this instance, a Shimano Stella C3000 will replace my previous Shimano Stella SW4000 which I previously paired it with a Majorcraft GiantKilling PE0.6-1.5 light jigging rod. The SW4000 was a little too big for the rod and line capacity was more than sufficient even though it was used to target speedy diamond trevallies.
Therefore, a downsize of reel was in place to properly match the light jigging rod. A perfect time to prep gear in between diamond seasons to carefully pimp up and prepare the gear ready for battle when the time comes.
For jigging, I personally prefer oversized round knobs. This reel comes with a flat t-paddle knob. Yet, I'm keen to give this spanking new reel some custom pimp job of a knob. With some spare knobs lying around and time to spare, all I need to do is to bolt them on for a few simulated cranks before I actually hit the water battling.
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| Shiny! No matter how you see it. Spare knobs, not something that matches the bling yet. |
This new Shimano Stella is ultra smooth out of the box. Even though it's the flagship model, they are still mass produced and I don't believe they get the 110% attention I usually put in preparing & bullet proofing them for a longer service life.
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| First to get some slick protection, knob bearings. They will be packed with marine grease for maximum protection against salt water intrusion and corrosion. The inner bearing closer to the crank arm needs a little bit more exterior grease coating as the first line of defense against salt water exposure. |
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| Drag was sufficiently lubricated, but it's of the fabric material. In goes Carbontex washers, no questions! |
The spool is being supported by 2 bearings. One inside the spool under the top stack of drags and another at the base where the clicker is. Free spinning isn't necessary and they will also be packed with marine grease. Chances are that the bottom bearing will get some water exposure while fishing or when rinsing off after fishing.
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| Top picture shows the lower spool support bearing in the process of being packed with marine grease. Bottom picture shows how I typically fill up the space available in the line roller assembly to eliminate any water intrusion as the line roller is the main component to get the most water intrusion during line retrieval. |
The insides of the new Shimano Stella looks like someone's messed up the internals and flipped them around with the worm gear sitting closer to the reel seat. Shimano have also included 2 additional gears to tune the rotational speed of the worm gear therefore changing the characteristics of line laying. As a result, taking apart the reel has become a tad complicated. Lubrication is just enough to ensure that it's functioning out of the box as intended. Not good enough for me.
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| Main gear is now beefier and thicker, not exactly something that regularly fails on the old version. Typically Shimano, the internals looked lubricated just enough for anglers to fish out of the box. Protection and bullet proofing is crucial for me to ensure peace of mind while reducing risks of premature failures. |
As a precaution, I coat the spool up a little bit with marine grease as protection against prolonged salt water contact which can result in pitting. I've noticed that when doing so, reel storage in between trips, there are no signs of pitting even though the line is still in the spool. The greasy coat stays on the surface for as long as the line is on the spool and in between line changes too. Something I'll be doing more often for all my reels.
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| A big fatty EVA knob first for trial. A few more to go before I settle on one. |
To some, a reel can be fished right out of the box and occasionally send
them in for regular service or maintenance. Some only send them in when
there's a problem. Nothing wrong with that, but for me, I'd go the extra mile to prepare a
reel from out of the box to battle ready to ensure peace of mind knowing
that I've reduced as much of the known risks as possible. I've also seen far
too many reels in dreadful conditions as they've been fished out of the
box with very little care given and by the time it's due for a service, the damages are permanent and in need of replacement parts or better off buying a new reel.
2 comments:
Hi, have been reading your blog and been impressed with its contents. Really enjoy the technicalities of it. Was wondering if you could an Alan Hawk-esque breakdown of the '14 Stella vs the '13 Stella SW as it has been difficult to find much comparison btwn the both elsewhere. Also Alan Hawk doesn't do smaller reels like those in the '14 Stella range. Would understand if you decline or feel that this is not really your niche. Nonetheless, keep up the great work and tight lines!
Hi Eugene, thanks for your kind words and support. The '14 Stellas are of a different category of reels compared to '13 Stella SWs. Can't really compared them side by side even though they carry the same name. As the type implies, SWs are designed specifically for salt water application for medium to big game fishing. The '14 Stellas are for small to medium game. However, I will do a bit of comparison between the design changes from the old FE to this new Stella. Something of a refinement typical of a Japanese approach and attention to detail is somewhat astonishing. I'll keep your request in mind to see if I can find an interesting angle to compare them in the future. thanks again!
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