Sooty Grunter at Keelbottom Creek

With the wind in Townsville showing no sign of letting up anytime in the near future, I took a mate from work for an afternoon session from the Kayaks up Keelbottom Creek.

While it was pretty quiet overall, I managed a couple of small Sooties from amongst the timber. All the details are in the video below.

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Shimano Stella 4000FI - Unboxing

Shimano's latest model in the flagship range of Stella reels is due for release here in Australia this month. In fact, some stores may already have stock of the FI Stella's on the shelf. My Stella 4000FI arrived in the mail from Shimano Australia on Friday afternoon. The new FI range of Stella's build on an already impressive set of specifications and technologies in the FE range, and follow the larger SWB saltwater reels released late last year. I put together a short Un-boxing video and took a first look at the new reel.

New technology in the FI Stella's includes Micromodule Gear Technology that is designed to deliver a new level of smoothness and reduced vibration, S-Direct Gear means more precise gear component alignment, reducing movement of critical parts within the reel. Coreprotect technology seals the bail arm line roller, rotor and roller clutch, so the Stella FIs can be fished in a variety of environments without being affected by sand, dirt or water. If fact, the FI Stella does not come with the obligatory tube of reel oil, as Shimano do not recommend oiling or self servicing any component of this reel. Oil can interfere with the waterproofing of these components, so the reel should be sent back to Shimano for servicing. G Free Body means the reel’s centre of gravity has been moved closer to the rod by positioning the worm shaft oscillation mechanism at the top of the reel body. This gives the reel a much better balance on the rod.

On top of all this the Stella 4000FI features 6.2:1 gear ratio, 13 S-ARB bearing plus 1 roller bearing, an impressive 11kg drag capacity and will hold 280yds of 15lb PowerPro. With a weight of just 265g the Stella 4000FI is almost as light as the Ci4+ Stradic, and is 40g lighter than the equivalent FG Sustain or FJ Stradic! Very impressive...

I will be spooling this reel with 15lb PowerPro Super Slick-8 and targeting Barramundi on soft plastic vibes like the Threadybuster. But with a 95cm retrieve, its fast enough to chase Mackerel and Tuna. This promises to be one the best Stella's to come from the Shimano stable, and I can't wait to give it a good workout.

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