Shimano Ultegra XSB 4500 & 5500

The Reel For All Occasions

Over the past 25 years or so I like many others amongst you have been buying an individual reel to suit all my angling situations, one for distance feeder work, one for specialist situations, and another style for big fish and so on. Until about 2006 there were plenty of good quality reels available that could multi task but nothing really suited to covering all the functions a serious all-round angler would require from a reel. Seeing this huge gap in the market place Shimano released the Ultregra XSB 4500 & 5500 in 2007 to critical acclaim from all areas of the angling world.

Vital Statistics

• 2 Speed Oscillation
• Aero Wrap II
• Hypergear
• Dynabalance
• Floating Shaft II
• Super Stopper II
• Instant Drag
• Power Roller
• Gear Ratio: 5.3 to 1
• Spare Spool Supplied
• Line Capacity: 5500XSB 12lb-320yds
• Weight – 4500 = 570g 5500 = 565g

The Ultegra XSB has all the characteristics you would expect from a high quality reel from Shimano. The tradition for exceptional line lay has been kept in place with the inclusion of every feature you would expect to find on a reel of this quality from Shimano. One of the most pleasantly surprising and noticeable features of the Ultegra XSB’s is the smooth performance for a reel of this size. They perform as well as any 10000 size, top of the range Baitrunner I have used but offer the power and all round performance to compare to any big pit reel. The spool fitted and spare, are of a light weight aluminium construction and are incredibly light yet strong.

The Ultegra XSB4500 and 5500 are both fitted with a front drag system. This super smooth drag control, instantly gives you total control when playing fish at all times. By simply making one and a half turns of the drag control in an anti-clockwise direction you have then turned the reel into a free spool mode which then makes it ideal for all day and night fishing situations when an alarms are being used when targeting carp bream or tench or when you are expecting violent takes from big barbel on rivers. I now actually prefer this method of control over a traditional baitrunner system as it offers less abrupt engagement when you connect with a running fish

I first purchased 2 of the Shimano Ultegra XSB 4500’s as a casting tool when targeting match sized carp, tench and bream on huge reservoirs, when distance of the cast could make the difference between catching and not catching. The larger surface area of the spool made it possible for the line to flow more freely on the cast and by adding a new shape of lip to the spool. This new design enables your line to come off the spool in a tighter coil meaning less line slap on the internal wall of the butt section ring. By taking note and eliminating this problem, Shimano have made casting long distances an achievable possibility, even for an angler of my meagre abilities.

Although my main time angling was taken up with match fishing, I also dabbled in the specialist domains, fishing for anything big that swam in rivers and natural lakes that would take big baits. Used in conjunction with 1.75lb test curve barbel rods I had some incredible days on the bank, casting big feeders and method balls and PVA rigs huge distances with these incredibly strong work horses. The shallow spool of the 4500 model was perfect for all specialist situations when lines of 8 – 12lbs were the norm. These shallower spools were also perfect when using braided reel lines as 300 yards of 12lb braid filled the spools perfectly.

Because of health issues I needed a change, so in 2009 I decided to spend more time specimen fishing for big carp. I had a look at what the market had to offer and eventually decided to stick with the devil that I knew and brought myself three of the Shimano Ultegra XSB 5500 mini big pit reels as they were now commonly know by the angling fraternities. Two years later and after landing well over 350 fish including carp to 30lb, pike to 20lb and catfish to 42lb these compact machines still keep on coming back for more. I even use my old 4500’s for spod and marker work and they just keep on going without any signs of wear or tear. Just to show how well they have lasted, I sent all five of the reels to the Shimano service centre and after they had received them they called me up to say “I was wasting my money, there’s nothing wrong with them”

Final Thoughts

Over the past 3 and ½ years I have been using the Ultegra XSB in both 4500 and 5500 sizes for pretty much all my angling and have found them to be the best all round reels available to the UK angler that I have come across and personally used. For their size the Shimano Ultegra XSB 4500 & 5500 have unbelievable power reserves yet they have the all round performance and finesse of a reel well above their recommended price. If I had to choose one reel for all my fishing needs would I choose the Shimano Ultegra XSB’s, the answer is very simple, “YES” with out question the best all round reel released in the past decade.

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