Shimano Sidestab Spinning Reels Review

dedicated shimano users, 2011-05-28
Reviewer: tom albright

my wife and i both use sidekick,sedona shimanos. i have landed HUNDREDS of fish, guppy to trophy, fast water and calm,with fish that dont care if they live and some that i have gone chest deep to land and these reels are supurb.inexpensive aint always junk.we fish alot.maintain our gear,clean,oil,etc. and know they may not last a lifetime,but would highly recomend these reels.rear drag,so u dont mess with frnt of spool with a big fish pullin line. if i can keep finding them i will continue to buy them clean em up and give them to buddies that are not as blessed. thanks shimano. tja

shimano sidestab 1000 problem with the anitreverse, 2011-05-09
Reviewer: diane

i have had this reel for 10 years and it has reeled many fish in, it has been my favorite reel untill recently the anti reverse stopped working-does anyone know how to fix this? thanks much!

Let me review the 2007 model here..., 2007-06-06
Reviewer: Jason D.

I just picked this Sidestab 2500 up last night at a local sports store. I had the intention of spending much more money on more epensive reels, but after getting my hands on others, their bails just didn't snap/engage/close easily, upon reeling forward. Maybe they were manhandled too much on display, but the Sidestab engaged easily and was smooth to reel in, and the drag was also easy to set. I have had rear drag on other reels and is much more handy to adjust on the fly, than reaching to the front of the spool, while line is flying off after a hit. So far I'm pleased, but we'll see how it holds up at the lake very soon. With the money saved on a reel, since they all do the same thing anyway, I got to replace some more Rapala lures, pick up new 6 lb. mossy green line, and a fishing license for <$100! :)It looks great with the mossy green monofilament line spooled on, and it matched my Berkley Lightning IM6 rod to a tee (and isn't that what's important, it looks good!?) Hahaha! I opted to not use my favorite Firewire on this, after reading about issues with braided lines and grooves on the bail line roller.

It kicks ass, 2006-08-09
Reviewer: Mathias Andersson

In this price segment it is the best there is. Smooth and with Shimano P3 system it is the best.

I give it four stars becouse its not the best of all reels in all price clases but in this class its the best.

And you cant give grades for this reel based on a 10 year old reel this is not the same reel just same name.

The first reel that I bought, 2005-02-11
Reviewer: Tom

This was the first reel that I ever bought! It was close to 10 years ago now so things have obviously changed. The Sidestab that I got had a quick cast trigger on it that allowed you to open the bail and grab your line for casting with the index finger of the hand that's holding the rod. It sure was convenient during the cast, but the problem with this was that there was no instant anti-reverse because the reel had to stop at a predetermined spot for the trigger to be accessible. I want to be able to set the hook at the exact moment that I want so an instant anti-reverse is a must for me.

If I remember correctly, the drag wasn't too smooth either. If I was in the market for a low/medium range reel today, I would go for the Shimano Sedona instead.