Stradic Ci4 3000 - Bail Trip Problem

[Mulv80]

I just received my new Stradic Ci4 3000 and I'm extemely disappointed in the bail trip. The bail wire is hard to trip by reeling and forces you to trip it by hand. When the bail does trip it does not snap downas well as some of my cheaper less sophisticated reels. For a $200 reel that I waited anxiously for a week to arrive, I'm disappointed. Has anyone else experienced this?

[quickF4i]

i'm not here to tell you how to fish or use your own equipment... but its widely recommended that you should always close the bail on a spinning reel by hand after casting and not by cranking the handle.

closing the bail by hand will ensure it snaps down all the way, it will prolong the life of the bail mechanism and will eliminate loose line loops that can wrap around the spool.

try getting into the habit of closing by hand and you will have better results, and it will eventually become second nature you wont realize you are even doing it after a while.

[Mulv80]

I realize that flipping the bail by hand is better for the reel. In my 30 years of fishing I have always just started to reel to flip the bail, its a hard habit to break. This is the most expensive spinning reel I own and my expectations were high. When I was unable to flip the bail by reeling as I do with my sub $75 reels I was disappointed.

[Bob Ellis]

I understand your expectations were high with this reel. At the same time Shimano's priorities for making it the best reel for the money did not have the bail trip high on the list, most likely because like the above post said, it is considered better to return it manually. Not wanting to hurt your feelings but an aspect of the reel you expected to be great was not something Shimano thought they needed to pay much attention to in an effort to appeal to most users.

Not wanting to tell you that you are right or wrong, everyone fishes their own way.

If you were looking for a reel whose designers 'agreed' with your expectations a little more look into the Pfluegers, they decided that was a feature they were going to spend time and money improving.

If you want to keep and use the Shimano, go for it. You can replace the trip ramp if it wears out and often a very small amount of grease can help it work better.

And if your bail rotates before closing so that it is resting right on the trip, flip it manually. The design needs a little momentum to work, it is not designed to work slowly or when cranked with the bail right against the trip ramp, if you get what I mean.

[fob bob]

blame the age of advanced advertising for that. unless you are willing to buy the flagship reel/rod of say shimano or daiwa, you will be disappointed. plus side, at least you only spent 200 instead of 3k like me

[Nytron]

I realize that flipping the bail by hand is better for the reel. In my 30 years of fishing I have always just started to reel to flip the bail, its a hard habit to break. This is the most expensive spinning reel I own and my expectations were high. When I was unable to flip the bail by reeling as I do with my sub $75 reels I was disappointed.

You are not using the reel correctly if you don't close the bail by hand. Buy a zebco or something and break the habit on that, then use high end reels. Spinning reels bails are designed to be closed by hand, the line roller will lay your line like crap if you close the bail by reeling in. This will decrease casting distance and the life of your bail.

Revise how you cast, the other hand should be within an inch or two of the bail anyways to feather the line in case of an over-cast. It is not an inconvenience at all if you know how to cast and hold the rod/reel correctly. It's not even something you think about once you get it down.

[y2k88]

With the newer Shimano's, there is a friction ring that stops the rotor from spinning when the bail is open during a cast. This is important for reels with heavier handles/knobs so that your bail doesn't snap-close on your during a cast.

As a result, it's harder to wind against the friction of the friction ring, and harder to trip.
As others have said, it's better to trip the bail by hand.

An option is to remove the friction ring.
Contact Bantam1 for more informatinon.

[Mulv80]

Thanks for the tip Y2k.

I have read of others who are experienceing the same problem I am, at least 'm not the only one. To add to my problems I put the reel on a brand new Shimano Sellus spinning rod and realized the seat does not align with the guides. So all in all my brand new $250 set up is not as good as my $100 Sargus Ugly Stick combo. Lesson learned.

[Gabriel]

You might want to send it in and trade it for a Stradic FJ if you don't mind the extra weight. I just got one the other day and I was really impressed by the bail trip system.

When the FJ's bail is open there is a mechagnism that makes the rotor slightly harder to turn so when you cast the rotor wont spin and snap the bail shut. Because of this the FJ needs a very light bail trip and the one on mine is like butter.

I agree with the other people when they said do it by hand but if you don't the stradic fj is much better. I have used the Ci4 and the bail trip is difficult.

[Bob Ellis]

I feel your pain but bear in mind the reel is not actually malfunctioning at all. Like has been said it was not designed to do what you want it to do. It is tough to swallow considereing what you've spent but it is the truth. Sort of like being upset that a new sports car, as a high-performance vehicle, might not be as good in the snow as your old beater.

I hope the experience does not turn you off to nicer tackle forever, it really is more enjoyable to fish "nice stuff" compared to budget gear.

[Nytron]

I feel your pain but bear in mind the reel is not actually malfunctioning at all. Like has been said it was not designed to do what you want it to do. It is tough to swallow considereing what you've spent but it is the truth. Sort of like being upset that a new sports car, as a high-performance vehicle, might not be as good in the snow as your old beater.

I hope the experience does not turn you off to nicer tackle forever, it really is more enjoyable to fish "nice stuff" compared to budget gear.

Yep, the OP still does not get it. You're not using the reel correctly dude, period. There is no advantage to closing the bail by reeling, and several key disadvantages.

Closing the bail by hand is faster than reeling to close the bail. And you can ensure that the line is in the correct spot on the line roller to ensure uniform line lay on the spool.

[mhood]

Sue me but I have always reeled to close the bail. It's not a problem on my TwinPower 1000 or my Laguna 500 or any other spinning reel I've ever fished with.

[Nytron]

Sue me but I have always reeled to close the bail. It's not a problem on my TwinPower 1000 or my Laguna 500 or any other spinning reel I've ever fished with.

You ever have that issue where you've reeled in, and you look down and your line is wrapped around the reel and NOT around the spool. Yeah, that's because you closed the bail by reeling, instead of 1.pulling the line tight and 2. aligning it in the line roller and 3. closing the bail by hand (once mastered, all three things become one quick action, takes less time than closing bail by reeling).

[mhood]

Sue me but I have always reeled to close the bail. It's not a problem on my TwinPower 1000 or my Laguna 500 or any other spinning reel I've ever fished with.

You ever have that issue where you've reeled in, and you look down and your line is wrapped around the reel and NOT around the spool. Yeah, that's because you closed the bail by reeling, instead of pulling the line tight and aligning it in the line roller and closing the reel by hand (all of which takes a second or two).

Never happened...not even once.

[Bob Ellis]

I am not trying to say whether he is doing it right or wrong. I was trying to help by pointing out that of the major top reel producers only Pflueger seems to spend time improving this capability of a reel. Shimano want you to close it by hand, so if you buy a Shimano reel it will not be as slick to flip the reel over by cranking. I do feel bad for the guy in that this did not come to his attention until he paid good money for a very nice reel, and it is not something that you read in the specs to know if it never occurs to you that it might be an issue.