I'll give you another option. Shimano Saragosa; it's made for saltwater and has similar stats as the Stradic with one important difference. It has a max drag of 22lbs! I have a 4000F that I love. It is a bit more $ than the Stradic and a little heavier, but I believe it's worth it. I was debating between the Saragosa and the Penn Conquer (smaller version eqivalent to the 4000 Saragosa). I chose the Saragosa, although the Conquer is also a very fine reel. I agree with SirSnookAlot...if you're using this reel for offshore or large inshore fish, the Stradic is not the best choice.

The 4000 spheros has a max drag of 22# also (I own the 4000&8000), the spheros is not uncommon to see being used for inshore use, although it's classified like the sargassa as an offshore reel, it's considered to be a workhorse. I actually use my 4000 on a frog rod for snakeheads.

I had the very same thoughts, sargassa vs the Penn conquer, I went with the Penn 7000 with a max drag of 32#.

Especially in inshore fishing I don't put the emphasis on max drag, I'm not going to crank that drag down anyway. People that are not exposed to fish like juvenile tarpon and good sized jacks think that 15-20# of drag is going to stop one of those fish, think again. Your most important asset is learning how to land them, not technical reel specs.

I don't think anyone is saying the stradic is bad choice, just that there are other options that are going to perform every bit as good.

I had the very same thoughts, sargassa vs the Penn conquer, I went with the Penn 7000 with a max drag of 32#.

I didn't need that much drag for most its use. I use the Saragosa for inshore for large snook, reds, and maybe a small tarpon if I hook into one. The reel is mated to a med-heavy/heavy 7' rod. I considered the Spheros, but went with what I thought was a slightly better & smoother reel in the Saragosa...love the look of it, too!

I don't think anyone is saying the stradic is bad choice, just that there are other options that are going to perform every bit as good.

Exactly.

Mark.............you're right on! I'm a bit jealous, we don't have redfish in Palm Beach county.

My rod choice is going to vary more on the types of lures (weight of the lures) I'm throwing and where I'm fishing. If it's off the beach or a flats boat where I'm close to my work, I go with lighter rod, if it's of high sea wall or jettie I need a heavier rod to keep those fish out of the pylons, instant cut off. The target species is of less importance to rod choice, cutting to the chase, the rod selection may be more important than the reel choice.