SHIMANOSpinning Reel 22 Sahara Assorted

I’ve been a fan of shimano reels my whole life, and usually go with the cheaper sienna for most of my rods as I’m typically using them for smallmouth and walleye. I wanted a beefier, higher quality reel for my salmon and steelhead float rods and this was a great option. High quality reel to handle cold temps for steelhead fishing, and a powerful drag to handle big, hard-fighting fish. The Sahara handles them no problem. After getting one for a steelhead trip and loving it, I immediately got a second one for my salmon float rod. It’s more pricey than the sienna, but still a great value for the quality of the reel. Not to mention, the gold spool looks really slick on my okuma float rods. Very pleased

I did this order from Japan. Initially it said like a month, took less than a week. I got the 5 it does have a round ball, which is really ridiculous considering there is no way this is an offshore size. Some of them come with a regular handle end this one does not. I have a old shimino baitrunner 3500 and the reel is actually way smaller than that, point being they are making these reels smaller and smaller, 10 years this would have been a 3 now its a 5. Anyway all this said this is an excellent reel for the price I can assure you 3 years ago if you had a reel of this quality it would be triple the price or more. The new manufacting tolerences are just incredible and really should be unheard of at this this pricepoint. This reel is supersmooth, I have been buying alot of penns lately to I have conflict II's and conquests, this reel is lighter and way smoother. Now I have not taken it out on the water yet this is a quick style rating I saw only Japaneese ones so I thought I would write one. Also the reel stops like a dream as well. This reel compares to a twin power 3 years ago. I took a chance on a 2022 and all indications are that it paid off, super little reel I will use it for the upcomming trout season here is florida. If you take a chance you would be disappointed. Maybe for bass fishing you could go 4000 but anything below that its so small it would be a panfish reel. Hope this helps sportfans! Great super smooth balanced reel at any price really.

I have a Shimano Sedona that I really like, so I thought I'd try "one step up" and get a Sahara. I got the C3000--same size and weight as the 2500 but with a higher line capacity spool. Not that I wanted to put on more line--I generally only put 45-50 yds of braid on my finesse rigs, so I fill the bottom with cheap mono backer line. This model was a little cheaper plus I was able to the the prior year model that still has the anti-reverse switch. Most manufacturers are doing away with these because a lot of people don't use them and it's less parts/cost. I do get in occasional situations with line wraps that take 15 seconds to undo if I can reverse the spool and 3-5 minutes if I can't, so I like having the option. (If you like the switch be careful to read the product info and Q&A to insure it's there--like I said they're doing away with this at least on lower lines, so they'll get hard to find.)The reel casts well and cranks smoothly. Drag adjusts smoothly and goes plenty high for the action I get on this rig. It is light enough to fish all day and balances out my 7' med/fast rod. There are two minor aspects that don't outweigh the good performance but they're there for me. One, the bail occasionally closes after opening--I've learned to feel for the harder click to insure it won't close on me as I go to cast. (I noticed this in my Sedona as well. It happens on other brand spinning reels I own but I seem to notice it a little more on these.) The other is the handle: this model has the wider "T" handle knob. It's easy to keep hold of, but it is a little more likely to catch my line if I'm pulling it out to pitch.Overall a good little reel for the money. I would consider another one, but probably try a 2500 for the smaller crank knob.

For those rods that might not be your go to, this reel is very decent. For a fisherman who is serious about the sport, you’ll want their higher end stradic et al, but this does get the job done well. I’m using it for my plopper and it’s great for that set up, but I also have a specific set up for each rig / style.

Big improvement over the old Sahara model. Only time will tell about longevity, but after the first few months it feels very similar to the Stradic at almost 1/3 the price.

As expected the reel feels great and I love the standard gear ratio which is difficult to find within shimano's lineup. Sometimes the standard gear ratio is better for certain applications. Will buy another.

Bought the 2500 size. Between this and the new 2024 diawa legalist lt is say the diawa is better overall and doesn't seem so cheap and plastic made.

This reel is very smooth and casts a little bit farther than my Okuma reels. Line lays down perfectly on spool when retrieving. Not heavy either like some other brands. Highly recommend. I will be buying several more.