The Test Of Time

Review by Ray Best, For many years I have been a loyal user of shimano Reels. My first Baitrunner was the original 5010 Aero GTE, this was the first double handled reel I had ever used. Without question my first experiences revolutionised my opinions on reels and my feeder fishing for life.

After 2 years of abuse, my ever reliable 5010’s needed a long, deserved rest. Yes, the time had come to replace my old Nags with the new generation of Baitrunners the 5000 GTE had arrived. Very similar to the old 5010 but with far superior line lay and balance, a great step forward.

I proceeded to work my way through the 5000 and 5000B models with a small but not major change in performance. I needed to find a reel, which offered a lot more in all departments and it had to be bigger, much bigger.

A good friend first introduced me to the Super Baitrunner XTE -A about 3 years ago. I went to a local syndicate water to visit him on one of his many 5-day sessions. When I arrived he was just setting up and as I assisted with the assembling of his rods I got my first feel of what was to be the best reel I have ever used. Before he began his session he let me have a few casts into an un-fished lake just behind his peg. After I gave the 3.5oz a good whack into the horizon, I proceeded to retrieve the 15lb line that the reel had only seconds earlier so willingly released.

After several turns of the very well balanced double handle I began to notice the lack of effort I was making to retrieve a 3.5oz weight. I then looked down at the reel to see layer upon layer of line returning to the spool with a perfection you would expect from a £200 match reel, not a £130 specimen reel. At last! I had found the reel I had been looking for, ultra smooth gearing but don’t let that deceive you, this reel will summon up enough power to stop a Raging bull in it’s tracks. When required the very simple to control clutch system on the XTE A will perform it’s duty with the minimum of fuss and make your time playing a fish just that little bit more enjoyable.

Conclusion

Without question the Shimano Super Baitrunner XTE A 10,000 is as close as you can possibly get to perfection for only £130. No matter how hard I work these machines, they have never let you down, superb performance every time. And just to show that I mean what I say, I also own 3 x XTE A 6000’s, which I use for all my big feeder work, you just, can’t beat them.

Tight Lines
Ray Best

More Info www.fish.shimano-eu.com