Jiggy new Stella

Out with the old, in comes the new. My heavy jigging outfit, a Majorcraft Giant Killing paired with a Shimano Twinpower, have served me very well hauling up countless species of all sizes. I was happy to be able to part ways with the Twinpower like it's new and the new owner wouldn't believe that I've fished hard with it with no signs of wear and sparkling new exterior. It even has the out-of-the-box signature smoothness. Drag was also in excellent condition, smooth and heavy. This is in part of the extra care I put into them and preparing them for maximum protection.

On top of being able to part ways with the Twinpower on excellent terms, I was given a good deal for the new 2013 Stella SW series and it was a no brainer upgrade for even better durability and performance. As expected, I received quite a bit of queries as to why get the new Stella when the old Stella is a much better reel? So I asked if they've tried both of them to know which is better? No surprises there when all of them said no but some of their 'friends' have tried it and prefer the old one but didn't elaborate 'why'. Therefore they didn't bother with the new and started hunting for the older model.

If one is truly better than the other, I'd like to know why and specifically with my own approach to using and caring for the reel. I can safely say, no 2 anglers fishes the same way using and caring for their tackle. What works for one may not work well for the other. In fact, by the time I posted this write up, I've actually fished with this reel a good few trips and I can say that I like it very very much and I actually feel that this reel is a step up from the old Stella in feel and solidness. Drag is rock solid and smooth on takes. It's built like a tank from all aspects with some areas with redundant seals as additional layers of protection.

Here's what I did in preparation right out of the box, bringing it to my level of acceptance on protection and durability before wetting lines with it. Here's what I found.

'Rigid Handle' claims are valid, feels like a solid 1 piece handle. The shank is forged, therefore super stiff yet light. I prefer a fatty knob and the original knob is excellent but a tad heavy. Transferring my old trusty studio composite XL carbon knob over would be perfect.

Fatty round knobs seem to work for me when it comes to jigging as I change my grip regularly to reduce fatigue getting stuck in the same position for extended periods. Studio Composite's carbon XL knobs are perfect for my hands and served me very well on the old trusty Twinpower. A transfer would do well on the new Stella.

As for the bearings that comes with the new Stella, they are supposed to be salt water corrosion resistant. They are to a certain extent but they too suffer failures over time and I've seen enough explosions to never use it as it is from out of the box. I'm more comfortable after packing them with marine grease for proper protection.

Shimano supplies very smooth bearings for their Stella reels. But typically for any reels, the inner knob bearings regularly experience spectacular failures from rust.

Most of the fundamental designs are being either brought forward or optimized for better durability and water resistance. The rotor seal cap is now being held together with 3 screws instead of 2. The rotor locking nut's being increased in diameter but shorten in height.

As for the drag knob, the old coil spring's being replaced with wavy leaf spring supposedly better distributes force over the surface of the entire drag stack. The biggest change by switching to this new spring is that you lose the feeling of tension build up when tightening the drag. With the new spring, it's constantly tight and you don't know how strong the drag is unless you do a pull test. Just something to get used to over time.

Above, rotor lock nut (wider and flatter) and cap seal (3 screws instead of 2 for better seal). Below, minor tweaks to the drag knob and top stack of the drag, biggest change is in the drag knob.

The new Stella's crank case is rubber sealed and suppose to be water tight in the event of accidental submersion or excessive water splash. The insides are typical Shimano with 'enough' lubrication. I'll need to coat it thoroughly for maximum protection.

Main gear support bearings are now held solidly in place with 3 screws to reduce or eliminate free play. As I mentioned earlier, this is a redundancy feature to reduce free play and increase rigidness when cranking.

Left, dry case, bearing out of the housing ready to be packed with marine grease. Right, bearing packed with marine grease, case thoroughly coated with marine grease to displace water if any gets into the crank case.

The line roller's got a minor upgrade too with DLC coating for the line roller. Diamond Like Coating is supposed to be super tough, smooth, and durable. A noteworthy upgrade for people who fish hard with their reels. I would expect Shimano to include rubber seals in this assembly as it is one of the most vulnerable area for salt water intrusion creating rust damage. Nevertheless, I'm packing the entire assembly with marine grease leaving no space for water to occupy.

Top left & right, line roller assembly taken apart to be fully stuffed with marine grease. Bottom, nicely prepared and ready to get jiggy!

Overall, the reel's built like a tank and I've already had several off shore sessions where it's performed flawlessly without complains what-so-ever. I wonder if there's really a need for people to be so serious about taking sides over which Stella is better? After all, it's just one part of the equation for tackle set-up while the rest is about how you get the best out of the whole package.