When I made the decision to begin tournament fishing and take a more informed approach to my outdoors life in general, one of the most important things I did was start to invest in quality equipment no matter what activity I did.
This meant a lot of research, planning and budgeting went into streamlining my own personal gear selection. Through Outdoor Action Ontario, we are now going to be able to provide this exact type of informed consumerism to you at home so you can also make the best and most informed decisions possible on a wide variety of outdoors-related gear.
The first area I invested in was upgrading the fishing rods and reels I used on a regular basis. It only took as long as my first time on the water with this new advanced equipment that I became a believer in my decision to upgrade. With a few hundred dollars, I had some of the best rods and reels on the market. I utilized fishing club connections to get extremely high-end pieces, saving money in the process. I also splurged on brand new equipment that I simply knew I needed to have on the water.
Enter the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ and the Chronarch Ci4+.
Very few reels can be considered “groundbreakers” in 2016 when seemingly it has all been done; but the quality and craftsmanship of these two series of reels from Shimano is quite simply game-changing, as far as Outdoor Action Ontario is concerned.
At the price points for these reels, there is no doubt they are premium-level pieces of equipment. However, they perform well beyond their expectations and over the course of 2 seasons* for the Stradic Ci4+ and the 2015 season for the Chronarch Ci4+, these reels have been pushed to the absolute limit. I am pleased to share OAO’s overview of them in our inaugural gear review.
Shimano Stradic Ci4+
The Shimano Stradic Ci4+ in question was purchased at renowned Fishing shop “Paddletales” in Winchester, Ontario, after an off-season of great deliberation as to which of the current mid-priced spinning reels available would suit my needs as a Smallmouth Bass specialist in the Ottawa Valley.
I am also pleased to share with the OAO Nation that the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ will be the first inductee into our “Life Review Performance Series” (LRPS.) This means that instead of only testing a product once, we will come back and highlight that particular piece’s performance over a sustained period of time, meaning you as a consumer are shown exactly what you could and should expect from that product over its lifetime.
Needless to say, the Stradic Ci4+ hasn’t disappointed and there have been some exciting twists in its storyline.
In the late May of 2014 I was the proud owner of a new Kayak, courtesy of Ocean Kayak (Trident 13 Angling edition.) With new kayak and fishing rods in stow, my first outing at the cottage lake I consider my “gear testing ground” in the Georgian Bay region was everything you would imagine.
The fish were biting and the Stradic Ci4+, paired with a Shimano Compre 7’2” worm rod, was proving quite impressive with its fish-handling abilities. The drag was smooth and adjustments while fighting larger fish were easy, if ever even needed.
On the way back to shore near my site, an errant cast snagged on the bottom. As I attempted to free it my dog had swam out to the kayak and in his excitement tried getting on the vessel.
In my preoccupation with the snagged line, I reacted late to the dog and as I tried to paddle away “caught an edge” with my paddle, and flipped myself, my pup and almost $1000 worth of fishing gear into 20 feet of water in a Canadian Shield lake – with water black as night.
Needless to say, after quite a commotion I was sitting soggy on shore with an excited dog and concerned onlookers wondering what exactly had just happened. The Stradic Ci4+ combo was down on the bottom of the lake along with 2 other rod/reel combos, pliers, sunglasses and numerous other items.
After some research I found a diver out of Parry Sound who was able to come to the site, albeit 5 weeks after the kayak incident had occurred. 30 minutes in to a 1 hour dive, no results. Suddenly, bubbles arose to the surface near my kayak and from the depths came forth a Shimano Compre rod and the Stradic Ci4+, algae-ridden but not looking too bad considering the circumstances. Jubilant yelps echoed across the Lake as a crowd of watchers on the beach clapped and cheered. Victory!
Being a fishing-fanatic and buzzing with excitement to have retrieved these prized possessions from the murky depths, I took apart and cleaned/greased/oiled the Stradic Ci4+ and cleaned the Rod from top to bottom as well. New PowerPro line was applied. My first cast with the Stradic Ci4+, which 2 hours prior was underwater for 5 weeks straight, was on-target and immediately I felt the familiar tug as a 3 lb. Canadian Shield Smallie took my bait.
Words can’t express the admiration for the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ I felt in that moment on the water, as the Smallmouth was released back down to the rocks it came from, Stradic firmly in my other hand.
It has served me well since as one of my “go-to” reels, and has handled close to 1000 fish over 2 seasons (including over 500 Ontario Smallmouth.) At the end of each season, I take advantage of Shimano’s reel maintenance service, and would highly recommend it to you as well if you own any of their quality products:
Outdoor Action Ontario is pleased to recommend this reel to you with our Stamp of Approval. You can find out more about it here: http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/products/fishing-reels/spinning/stradic-ci4.html
Chronarch Ci4+
Very few reels have impressed me as much as the Chronarch Ci4+ did during the 2015 Canadian Open Water season, which in the Ottawa Valley was approximately end of May until December.
Full disclosure: I am a top-water fishing freak. There is nothing more exciting to me than a big fish, doesn’t matter the species, rising up and crushing your bait, often going airborne in the process. I can’t tell you how many times an acrobatic Smallie has tail danced across the water after swiping my twitching bait. Or when a large Pike annihilates your floating stick bait as you walk the dog with it? Priceless.
The Chronarch Ci4+ was chosen as the primary top-water reel I was going to use in 2015 due to its ability to take in line, light weight and small profile which allows me to handle it with ease. All these factors play down fatigue which is vital when you are fishing for prolonged periods of time.
As my primary top-water reel I handled close to 500 fish this season, including several 4 and 5 pound smallmouth and largemouth bass. The reel performed flawlessly in all conditions and never failed me once.
Most importantly, the reel was simply easy to use. There is no need to be intimidated by bait-casters if you are a first-time user. Load up some YouTube videos to familiarize yourself with them, but I can tell you that even with just intermediate skills, the precise yet powerful Chronarch Ci4+ very rarely back-lashed on me, even in very windy conditions with braided line! Simply put, this reel handles very well. It also stood up to a lot of abuse, with only minimal scratching on the reel itself after a full season of action.
Outdoor Action Ontario is pleased to recommend this reel to you with our Stamp of Approval. You can find out more about it here: http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/products/fishing-reels/baitcast/chronarch-ci4.html