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R**.
Kodiak 5000
kodiak 5000 - I have been fishing kastking fishing line for awhile as it is of good quality (however the last 40lb mega 8 I received had imperfections...but that's a different issue I need to contact them about). Anyways, I was in need of an extra inshore reel for snook fishing. I have a penn battle II 5000 but it's double the weight of the kodiak. I read good things about kastking reels. I decided to take a chance and try the kodiak (its the best saltwater reel they make currently). Let me tell you ...this reel feels like its in the $200+ range and probably would be if it was on the shelf at bass pro. I tried some guys shimano reel the other day, it was light, smooth and extremely powerful (don't remember the model it was like a 6000 and a $600 reel). Weeks later I pulled the trigger on purchasing the kodiak (I fig I'd send it back if it sucked). Well I spooled up (found a good section out of my defective line) and went night snook fishing. This thing cranked a 2oz swim bait like a champ and it felt as smooth as the $500 shimano, not as powerful as the shimano but damn near close (again the shimano was a bigger reel). The drag feels strong, I think the drag will be smoothest around 25lb... 40lb might be a bit jittery but I'll report back when a 40' + snook is taking too much line and I need to test it. I pulled in about five 24' lady fish that night when I switched to live shrimp and the reel cranked those lady fish in like they were giant swim baits ( I normally rod up and reel down, but I wanted to test the reel)Kastking if your listening: For the next generation saltwater 5000 Kodiak: Try and get a little more line capacity on the spool maybe with a braid ready grip strip (I used rubber gun grip tape...if you don't, big fish will spin the entire spool of braid on the spool = no drag...ask me how I know). A 6000 reel might be nice as well. If you want me to test the next gen kodiak 5000 and 6000 send me them to test...I'll leave an honest review on it (I'd even do a youtube promo vid for it showing the quality). I'm sold on the craftsmanship and I want other fishermen to save money and get great reel. I might need to test a 3000 on my bass spinning rod. I'm impressed.Conclusion: Get the kodiak reel! Kastking cut the middle man out and is selling these reels at whole sale price. Bass pro would flip this for $180 - $200 easy.p.s. future kodiak buyers: put extra drag grease on your carbon drag washers (I like Cal's grease)....Almost all reels come with little drag grease (its a cost thing). No big deal for normal fish, but for big fish...extra grease gives extra smoothness when testing the limit of your drag. I'll report back on future snookzillas with the kodiak.
A**R
Has The Power, Need A Larger Size
After researching the best surf reel for the lowest price, it seemed a tie between this real, the Tsunami Shield, and a 50% shimano ultrega. My roommate got the Shield (which is another great reel) and I got the Kodiak. First thing i noticed was the shiny light silver color chips away, but thats not a big problem for me, I cover most my reels with electrical tape anyways. Second, the drag is ridiculous, i was able to stop a 6 foot black tip on his tracks and drag him halfway to the beach before i realized i had locked the drag and he tail whipped the line. I do wish i had a bit more line to work with. I was only able to put about 250 yards of 40 pound on, and when a shark is burning through line, it takes a lot of practice to keep him from spooling or you from locking and this leads to a constant fear or losing. If they had size up i would buy it in a heartbeat. So far no sand or salt water has been able to get to the gears and the six months later the reel is still moving smooth as the day i bought it. I hope this quality holds up, and for $90, has kept up with the name brand companies so far.
J**N
Completely Impressed
I ordered the Kodiak 3000 for my 12 year old nephew who is going to accompany me on my upcoming fishing trip. (I love the kid but he’s not touching my expensive Shimano or Penn reels.) It’s an inshore trip so I wanted a reel that was sized in between my large and smaller one. I really didn’t expect much in the way of quality but upon unboxing, I noticed it came with a neoprene cover and also had a parts and assembly diagram. I don’t know why that was surprising but I guess in my mind I thought “This is going to be a cheap reel.” So I didn’t even expect a parts diagram. However, upon taking it out of the cover, I was shocked how nice the reel was. The thing oozes quality that you usually see on reels more than twice the price.First off, it’s a very good looking reel. Appearance is a subjective matter to every individual, but I really like the color combination of silver, gold and gunmetal. It even sports a nice carbon fiber accent by the reel handle. Every area of the reel is smoothly finished, not a sharp edge or burr anywhere. The CNC machining is very evident. The bail is nice and beefy and closes with a satisfying THUK.The use of judicious use of plastic in non-stress areas supported with stainless for the critical components smartly reduces the weight of the reel. It’s not ultra-light like the $300+ reels but it’s light for a reel in the price class. I have an all stainless Penn reel that reminds me of its weight at the end of a long day of fishing so this is a nice compromise of plastic and metal. One of those stainless pieces is the retrieve handle in which, again, the CNC machining is apparent in the little weep holes where the handle meets the reel body. The grip is EVA foam that will be good even when wet.My favorite part of the reel is the drag system. The detents are very definite. You can hear the clicks as the drag engages. I loosened the drag and removed the knob and noticed a rubber gasket around the knob to keep out corrosive saltwater. Again, this is very surprising at this price point. It supposedly boasts 22lbs of drag via the carbon fiber discs, which if true, will go a long way in turning that monster fish from structure. Opening the main body reveals a stout main shaft that looks purpose built to handle the 22lbs of drag. I have always purchased name brand reels but this reel is making me rethink that mindset. The reel test (see what I did there?) will come when I take it out fishing next week. If the reel handles well, I’m going to order the 5000 as a spare.
Trustpilot
3 days ago
2 weeks ago
