Stella HG or PG?
I am about to get a Stella for my birthday from my dearest other half, now the biggest question is what to get. There are 3 choices for me, basically the FA which I can easily get over here, and the SW in HG or PG which I need to get from overseas. I am now more keen on the SW as i heard it comes with 2 spools.
Question now is this, shall I get the HG or the PG? I will be doing mostly sambo jigging and the occasional trip to exxie popping for GTs. I am now thinking of getting the PG for the big spool capacity but am still wondering if I can get the best of both worlds by getting a spare set of HG internals for popping chucking.
Has anybody tried to see if the internal gearings can be swopped and is the process easy to handle? I am pretty handy at servicing my own reels but the stella looks a little intimidating compared to my Penns. Also, what are the parts I need change for the conversion and where can I get the parts. As much as I love to own 2 reels, its hard to justify that to a non fishing partner even if its for my birthday, but hey whose complaining......
Kasey L.
Posts: 1390
Date Joined: 02/03/06
Hi Christopher. The PG
Hi Christopher.
The PG version will serve you well for jigging and blooping for GTs, as if you are not going to be doing it 'full-time', then the slightly slower retrieve ratio makes little difference, when blooping (as you are just winidng in slack line). When jigging, the HG is a pain in the arse, PG needed definately.
As for getting a 'spare set of internals' firstly, I will have no idea where you are going to find a 'spare set', apart from canibalising someone elses Stella, and yes, it is a daunting task.
Noone I know as of yet actually 'switches' the gearings.
Even just having a look at the schematics sh1ts me. And alot of experienced 'tackle rats' wont even bother servicing their own stellas; sending it back to the agent for a service is just that much easier.
Pump iron to drop iron!
jay_burgess
Posts: 4648
Date Joined: 18/08/05
A mate of mine got a Stella
A mate of mine got a Stella 20000PG while we were in Bali. He has had no concerns with the gear ratio and it is used mainly for bottom bouncing and trolling. However, he hasn't used any of the other models available so he has nothing to compare it with.
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Jay Burgess
jayburgess_14@hotmail.com
Spooled
Posts: 486
Date Joined: 06/08/05
Bali
Hey Jay, where in bali. I have always tried to fine fishing shops but never can. Any pointers heading over there shortly.
christopher daniels
Posts: 2
Date Joined: 15/09/06
Hi Kasey & Jay, I am not too
Hi Kasey & Jay,
I am not too sure about bottom and trolling, but I was worried because I read somewhere that during popper chucking, if you have the PG ratio, it gets really tiring trying to impart action on the poppers, hence my idea on buying a spare set of gears. I havent had the chance of actually looking into the stella, so I am not sure if its a simple change of the main gear that will do the trick, hearing from you otherwise , I reckon I will opt for the PG as my present and wait next year for the HG instead :) Thanks for the tip off. Btw are you able to cast poppers well with the 20000 spool or is a shallower spool better?
big john
Posts: 8768
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Big poppers
Can't see it making much of a difference with heavier poppers. The increased line capacity on the deeper spool would be an advantage IMO.
John
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
Kasey L.
Posts: 1390
Date Joined: 02/03/06
Have a go at chucking
Have a go at chucking poppers first, then you will see that for bloopers (which is what is mainly used in Exxy), there is a negligible difference. Stickbaits and Pencils yes, the high gear ratio is handy, but for bloopers, you might barely notice it.
The action on a blooper is imparted by your rod, and ability to 'bloop', more so than the reel. The reel is just to wind in the slack line.
Have a look at the Stella schematics, I can't find the SW series, but the FA ones are similar (although the SW has some different internal parts) http://www.shimanofish.com.au/media/fishing/SAC/techdocs/en/Spinning/stl_20000fa_v1_m56577569830570381.pdf
Trust me, it aint no Penn SS. You are most certainly welcome to try, and let me know how it goes. Don't know if it counts for much, but it voids whatever warranty you might have as well.
As Big John said, technically, it would be an advantage; furthermore, I believe the ROD is a much much much more important factor than the reel for casting. You will be able to tell the difference between a cheaper, not purpose-built rod, such as the many ones out of the factory readily available, and a much mroe expensive, more thoroughly researched (but cost you an arm and a leg) model from Japan. Although that itself, is a generalisation, but you do tend to get what you pay for.
Pump iron to drop iron!
jay_burgess
Posts: 4648
Date Joined: 18/08/05
Spooled, Just about all the
Spooled,
Just about all the tackle shops are in Denpasar. Most of them are quite small but the Stella was bought at a rather large shimano shop.
Your best bet would be to tell a taxi driver what you're looking for (eg. say that you wanna go to the big shimano shop), some of them have no idea, but others know exactly where to go.
If they're unsure what you're talking about ask someone else. We had been to the Shimano shop on a previous trip and asked a couple of taxi drivers to find it for us but they were of little help. Then we found someone who knew exactly where to go.
If you ask around you shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone who can take you to the right spots.
I think we saved around $150 on the Stella 20000PG so it was a good buy.
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Jay Burgess
jayburgess_14@hotmail.com
scuttlebutt
Posts: 453
Date Joined: 24/03/06
I picked up a Stella SW8000
I picked up a Stella SW8000 HG in Japan a few months ago for just over $800. (The 8000 is just a 6000 with a deep spool)
That includes a spare spool and spray oil and grease tins. Couple of points to bear in mind -
Spare spool - Same as standard spool, though doesn't have the eye-catching holes drilled in the skirt. Doesn't bother me, but worth knowing.
Warranty - Stellas (and Saltigas) in Japan don't come with a warranty as such. I ended up ringing (girlfriend speaks japanese) Shimano in Japan and they said if there's any problem with the reel it can be returned and if company at fault they will fix it. This is basically the same as the Aus warranty, though you just don't get it in writing. I haven't heard of any issues with that. Also, I've heard Shimano Australia won't fix gear bought overseas. Again, that doesn't bother me 'cause I have contacts in Japan, but it's worth knowing.
cheers,
steve
Cairns GBR