light spinning reel, fuego, patriarch or Ci4 ?

[Snyder Rods]

I agree on going with the bigger reel/spool with fluoro - 6lb. fluoro acts like 10lb. mono - the 9530 Patriarch will handle the line better.

[mtowner23]

I have the Fuego 1500, Stradic Ci4 1000 and the 2500. I was definitely underimpressed by the Fuego for the original price it was at. It has a definite click when realing in that is more noticeable than the Stradics, but both of them have it.

I haven't tried the Patriarch yet, but I've heard lots of good things about it. I'm hoping to add one to my arsenal soon to compare with the others.

[panyafish]

I have both the Fuego 1500 and the ci4 1000. I use both for ultralight fishing in saltwater. The Fuego is smoother but it has a lower gear ratio than the ci4. You get more power from the Fuego but you sacrifice speed. The ci4 uses a worm gear line management system(looks like a level wind from a baitcaster) and the the Fuego uses a locomotive system. The locomotive system is simpler but I feel that the line comes of the spool more smoothly on the ci4 when fighting fish. The drag on both reels are very refined. The paint job of the ci4 is much tougher than the Fuego.
Both reels are very light and are made of some type of graphite that is supposed to be much more ridgid than previous generations. Some people scoff at this and say that it is simply a marketing ploy. I dont own the Patriarch because its made of magnesuim, a metal that does not do well in corrosive environment. So far, both reels have held up nicely after one year of fishing. I haven't seen any loss of performance that you would expect if the gears were starting to wear out.
If I have to pick one, I would get the Fuego. It has been discontinued and is on sale at TW. Also, I dont know if anybody mentioned this but the Fuego is the US version of the Luvias 07. In fact, I'm tempted to grab another Fuego just to stockpile it, I dont know much longer it will be available .

[Nytron]

Fuego is an irrelevant reel in 2012 (pricing is bad, specs are bad), so that leaves the Patriarch and the Ci4.

The Patriarch is basically Pflueger's attempt at making a reel to rival the CI4. Why buy a copy when you can buy the real thing? The CI4 manages to be super light and super powerful without the use of magnesium. I'm willing to bet the drag system on the CI4 is superior as well. Oh yeah, and the CI4 has more inches per turn (higher gear ratio for getting the bait in for another cast).

Basically, there is no choice here.

[Bronzeye]

The Patriarch is basically Pflueger's attempt at making a reel to rival the CI4. Why buy a copy when you can buy the real thing?

By this logic, one should hunt for an original Fuego, which the CI4 "copied."

As to why one might prefer the Patriarch to the CI4, it is lighter and smoother-turning* and comes with a spare spool.

*I own and fish with Patriarchs, but have only handled CI4s in several different stores; however, others have noted the same thing, e.g. http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=39328.

[Teal101]

Fuego is an irrelevant reel in 2012 (pricing is bad, specs are bad), so that leaves the Patriarch and the Ci4.

The Patriarch is basically Pflueger's attempt at making a reel to rival the CI4. Why buy a copy when you can buy the real thing? The CI4 manages to be super light and super powerful without the use of magnesium. I'm willing to bet the drag system on the CI4 is superior as well. Oh yeah, and the CI4 has more inches per turn (higher gear ratio for getting the bait in for another cast).

Basically, there is no choice here.

The Patriarch is Pflueger SPANKING Shimano in the lightweight reel department. You never hear of body flex issues with the Patriarch like have been said about the Stradics graphite body. Sure magnesium doesnt bode well in salt, but I cant seem to recall a body of salt water with Smallmouth in it. The Stradic has a slightly superior drag in terms of strength and smoothness, which can easily be corrected if need be by aftermarket drags for under $10. I think the drag in my Patriarch is fine for me. The higher IPT also comes at the cost of losing torque due to a higher gear ratio. That comes down to user preference. The Sure Click Bail on the Patriarch destroys Shimanos flimsy bail setup. It is an amazing system that feels very rigid while being smooth.

The one thing with the Patriarch is they have less line capacity than comparable sized reels. Notice the Patriarch 9525 holds 4/110 while the Stradic 1000 holds 4/140. Regardless of which one you choose the Patriarch will be lighter overall in a ratio of weight to line capacity.

Just for the record I love my Patriarch, and own many Shimano spinners as well.

[Nytron]

The Patriarch is Pflueger SPANKING Shimano in the lightweight reel department. You never hear of body flex issues with the Patriarch like have been said about the Stradics graphite body. Sure magnesium doesnt bode well in salt, but I cant seem to recall a body of salt water with Smallmouth in it. The Stradic has a slightly superior drag in terms of strength and smoothness, which can easily be corrected if need be by aftermarket drags for under $10. I think the drag in my Patriarch is fine for me. The higher IPT also comes at the cost of losing torque due to a higher gear ratio. That comes down to user preference. The Sure Click Bail on the Patriarch destroys Shimanos flimsy bail setup. It is an amazing system that feels very rigid while being smooth.

The one thing with the Patriarch is they have less line capacity than comparable sized reels. Notice the Patriarch 9525 holds 4/110 while the Stradic 1000 holds 4/140. Regardless of which one you choose the Patriarch will be lighter overall in a ratio of weight to line capacity.

Just for the record I love my Patriarch, and own many Shimano spinners as well.

They're both fine reels, but I doubt the Patriarch is outselling the CI4. A lot of fisherman (forget the average person) have not even HEARD of the brand Pflueger. Shimano annually visits my state and offers free reel cleaning. Bantam1 himself literally comes to my neck of the woods every year. Sorry Pflueger, daiwa, abu, but you're not even close to having the level of customer service that Shimano offers.

As far as the body flex issue, I've forced musky in the 30-40inch class to the side of the boat with light braid+shock leader with my CI4 2500f, flex is not an issue if you hold the rod at the correct angle and the drag is set.

I frequently vacation in areas with saltwater, magnesium is not an option. Using magnesium is the easy way for manufacturers to beat the competition in the weight category (see: core mg, patriarch). I'd rather have the JDM equivalent of the core, or the CI4.

The Patriarch is basically Pflueger's attempt at making a reel to rival the CI4. Why buy a copy when you can buy the real thing?

By this logic, one should hunt for an original Fuego, which the CI4 "copied."

As to why one might prefer the Patriarch to the CI4, it is lighter and smoother-turning* and comes with a spare spool.

*I own and fish with Patriarchs, but have only handled CI4s in several different stores; however, others have noted the same thing, e.g. http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=39328.

Fuego
- 4.8:1 gear ratio
-28' IPT
- 8oz weight

CI4
- 6.0:1 gear ratio
- 34' IPT
- 7oz weight

The Daiwa Fuego should not even be mentioned in the same breath as the CI4. They're two completely different reels. I don't have a need for a slow spinning reel, for when I need cranking power I use a baitcaster. The Fuego is not a bass fishing reel imo. If I wanted a spinning reel for walleye fishing, I'd maybe look at a Fuego. When working soft plastics for bass, once the bait leaves that strike zone you need to burn it back in for another cast. The Fuego is not suited for this.

[Teal101]

Nevermind the magnesium Steez then. Daiwa must have just taken the easy way out

[cave62]

All a great!

[tywithay]

I have a 9530 Patriarch and a 2500 CI4, there's things I like about both reels....and things I dislike. I like the knob better on the CI4, don't know why but the round knob just feels better to me. The Patriarch bail is 10x better than the stradic, I wish all spinners had a bail like that. The Patriarch feels a little loose to me when reeling, though it is very smooth. The CI4 just feels more solid and connected while reeling. I agree with some of the others that the drag on the CI4 is superior as well. All in all I think that both reels are pretty much on par with one another in performance, but I think durability will be more of an issue with the Patriarch (mine is having some issues after one season of light use, CI4 gets worked out ALL the time). One nice thing about the Patriarch is that you can find them pretty cheap at some places, I think I paid less than $150 for mine, the CI4's still go for close to retail almost everywhere.

[Butane]

A lot of fisherman (forget the average person) have not even HEARD of the brand Pflueger.

Yeah, its such a novel brand that their products are only sold in high expense boutiques... you know, Walmart.

[Snyder Rods]

I frequently vacation in areas with saltwater, magnesium is not an option. Using magnesium is the easy way for manufacturers to beat the competition in the weight category (see: core mg, patriarch). I'd rather have the JDM equivalent of the core, or the CI4.

.

- Actually, Daiwa and Shimano with C14, Zaion, and other plastic reels are taking the cheap way out - plastic reels are less expensive to produce than metal. Daiwa has admitted this regarding Zaion.