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Shimano Ultegra 5500 or Daiwa Emblem Pro-EX 5500

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heatjay

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Did a search on the comparison but there was not much to go buy. I'm looking for a distance reel and narrowed it down to the Shimanos new design versus the proven Emblem. 

 

Not for nothing but the 

 

Ultegra - 17.8 oz - 41 inches per crank

Pro Emblem is 24oz - 49 inches per crank

Similiar gear and price point

 

Anyone that has fish both, can you tell me which reel "feels" better?  

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Assuming the CCC fishing is like the fishing in our Point Pleasant canal, i.e., "the fish of a thousand casts", I would strongly recommend the Ultegra 5500 CI4+, of which I own 2.  I haven't handled an Emblem in a long time, but from remembering its weight, I would not want to use it for anything but bait. Of course, if you wanted to double your price point, there is always the Daiwa Tournament Basia QD45 or the Shimano Aero Technium 10000XSC....... :)

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I have both. First, I don't understand why you are comparing two reels so far apart in size and weight class. A better comparison would be the Ultegra 10000 to the Emblem Pro 5500. Those two reels are the same size and weight class and rival one another. Regardless, I have them all. There are pros and cons to all 3 of them. I can't recommend any because I don't know enough about your fishing other than you'll be using it at the CCC. That's really not enough info for me to know which is the best tool for your needs. 

 

As far as feels goes??? I guess the Ultegra feels the best in hand as far as quality and smoothness and mechanics. But that doesn't make it better or makes it catch more fish.

 

As far as distance goes, all these reels can cast further than your average reel due to the large spool design. It's hard to say which casts further as they are so close in performance. If you take the Ultegra 10000 spool and put it next to the Emblem Pro 5500 spool, it's identical and you'll quickly see what Shimano's intentions were when they made the Ultegra 10000. 

 

As far as fishing them in the Canal goes, I fish the Canal a lot I have beat the snot out of these reels in the Canal. I ain't kiddin either. I'm not trying to toot my horn here, but I catch a lot of fish and big fish regularly. I say this graciously as I too couldn't catch for beans decades ago, in the beginning, just like any other fisherman on this site. My point here is that I have a lot of hands on. Just last night I landed 3 40'' fish at the Canal. What I can tell you is that those reels cast far and have some nice qualities but they are light duty reels. You won't get many years out of any if you fish frequently, hard and heavy at the Canal. They are great for pluggin at the Canal but light duty if your throwing jigs especially heavy ones. You can still use em though. I say buy em and use em till they blow up and then buy another one every now and then. They are cheap enough. I have 3 Ultegras. The Emblem Pro is much faster if you need the speed. The Ultegra is a better made in some ways and better quality in some ways too. I like the Ultegra better. The center shaft on the 10000 is thicker and stronger which is a major plus!  Also, if your gonna buy an Ultegra, remember the cheaper one has a metal frame while the more expensive Ci4 is plastic. There was something else major that I like about the cheaper one. I just don't remember what it was. All I know is that I woulda paid $100 more for the cheaper one. But that's just me.

Edited by night owl
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Night Owl:

 

Great post, but a couple of points to make for heatjay's benefit:

 

1) The Ultegra CI4+ is only available stateside in the 5500 model.

 

2) The Emblem Pro is specified by Daiwa UK (it's point of origin) as a Spod Reel - that is to say that its original design intent was to cast the Carp estate lake fishing equivalent of a chum pot, albeit a small one, so it is not intended for a lot of casts in its service life, as compared to say the Daiwa Basia or Windcast, and the Shimano Ultegra or the Aero Technium.

 

3) Keeping point #2 in mind, reels designed for European Estate Lake Carp Fishing are anything but light duty, as they are intended to withstand the shock load of release during a "tournament" style cast, such as a Pendulum or OTG, which puts a large bending moment on the Spool shaft; and the reels are expected to land Carp that are huge, to the tune of the world record being 60+ pounds, and the average from these lakes being in the 40 - 50 lb range (amazing what a pure catch and release fishery does, isn't it?).

 

4) The Spod duty vice fishing duty goes to explain why the shaft on the Emblem is smaller in diameter than that of the Ultegra, as you stated.

 

5) Finally, the Shimano Ultegra CI4+ body is not plastic, it is a proprietary Carbon Fiber Composite. I quote form another site "Shimano's Ultegra Ci4+ Surf Spinning Reel has a Ci4+ frame that is constructed of reinforced carbon fiber – lighter and 245% stronger than the original Ci4 for optimum rod speed when distance casting." By the way, in the UK, the Ultegra CI4+ for BigPit/Surf is the XSB, which designates the Instant Drag Spool, and the one for Big Pit/Carp is the XTB, which designates the Bait Runner Spool. I'm hoping that Shimano will eventually offer the Baitrunner Spools for both the Ultegra CI4+ and the Aero Technium 10000XSC, although if they wait long enough, I'll just go ahead and order them from the UK.

Edited by FlatWing
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I have both. First, I don't understand why you are comparing two reels so far apart in size and weight class. A better comparison would be the Ultegra 10000 to the Emblem Pro 5500. Those two reels are the same size and weight class and rival one another. Regardless, I have them all. There are pros and cons to all 3 of them. I can't recommend any because I don't know enough about your fishing other than you'll be using it at the CCC. That's really not enough info for me to know which is the best tool for your needs. 

 

As far as feels goes??? I guess the Ultegra feels the best in hand as far as quality and smoothness and mechanics. But that doesn't make it better or makes it catch more fish.

 

As far as distance goes, all these reels can cast further than your average reel due to the large spool design. It's hard to say which casts further as they are so close in performance. If you take the Ultegra 10000 spool and put it next to the Emblem Pro 5500 spool, it's identical and you'll quickly see what Shimano's intentions were when they made the Ultegra 10000. 

 

As far as fishing them in the Canal goes, I fish the Canal a lot I have beat the snot out of these reels in the Canal. I ain't kiddin either. I'm not trying to toot my horn here, but I catch a lot of fish and big fish regularly. I say this graciously as I too couldn't catch for beans decades ago, in the beginning, just like any other fisherman on this site. My point here is that I have a lot of hands on. Just last night I landed 3 40'' fish at the Canal. What I can tell you is that those reels cast far and have some nice qualities but they are light duty reels. You won't get many years out of any if you fish frequently, hard and heavy at the Canal. They are great for pluggin at the Canal but light duty if your throwing jigs especially heavy ones. You can still use em though. I say buy em and use em till they blow up and then buy another one every now and then. They are cheap enough. I have 3 Ultegras. The Emblem Pro is much faster if you need the speed. The Ultegra is a better made in some ways and better quality in some ways too. I like the Ultegra better. The center shaft on the 10000 is thicker and stronger which is a major plus!  Also, if your gonna buy an Ultegra, remember the cheaper one has a metal frame while the more expensive Ci4 is plastic. There was something else major that I like about the cheaper one. I just don't remember what it was. All I know is that I woulda paid $100 more for the cheaper one. But that's just me.

Thanks for the response Night Owl. I actually got a chance to try my buddys Aero Technium 10K today and all I can say is damn it is slow. Yes paired with the CTS, it launches but the retrieve is so slow.. Maybe its because I am so use to my 10K and 14K stellas.

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I have both reels, and both versions of the Ultgera 5500 XTB. I use my Em Pro on a heavier rod. The Ultegra CI4 is on my St Croix 10'6" and I love this set up. With a light reel mounted on a light rod, (5500 & S C) I can cast for distance for hours and not get tired. That set up will fish SP minnows to 2 34 Little necks and Pencil Poppers very well. I don't use the Em Pro very much because of the weight of it. Witch ever reel you chose I would advise you to fish it for a couple of days and then open the reel up and add some grease to all moving parts. Daiwa reels from the factory do not have much grease in them. Shimano does a better job from the factory with lubrication. It really comes down to how you like to fish and what you are comfortable with.     

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I have both reels, and both versions of the Ultgera 5500 XTB. I use my Em Pro on a heavier rod. The Ultegra CI4 is on my St Croix 10'6" and I love this set up. With a light reel mounted on a light rod, (5500 & S C) I can cast for distance for hours and not get tired. That set up will fish SP minnows to 2 34 Little necks and Pencil Poppers very well. I don't use the Em Pro very much because of the weight of it. Witch ever reel you chose I would advise you to fish it for a couple of days and then open the reel up and add some grease to all moving parts. Daiwa reels from the factory do not have much grease in them. Shimano does a better job from the factory with lubrication. It really comes down to how you like to fish and what you are comfortable with.     

wk-

  can you pack grease in the Ultegra Ci4 like, say, a Penn ??

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wk-

  can you pack grease in the Ultegra Ci4 like, say, a Penn ??

I guess you could

 

wk-

  can you pack grease in the Ultegra Ci4 like, say, a Penn 

I guess you could pack it, but I think too much grease will take away the smooth action of the reel. I give all the moving parts a good coat of grease operate the reel and give it another dab of grease and a couple drops of reel oil. 

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The line pick up for the Ultegra is 40.5 versus the Pro Emblem of 48.5. Not only that, the Emblem has faster gear. This might be the game changer for me even though it weighs 6 or 7 oz more. If there's a school of breaking fish way out I want to try to reach it and get the plug back in asap for another shot.    

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For me I have to remember to slow down when I fish with my Emblem. I seem to miss a lot of fish when I'm cranking fast with any reel. Going back to the day when Penn 704 and 706 were the go to reels they only got about 30" per revolution. Wow how things have changed or is it just us that changed? Sounds like you really like the Emblem. I fish mine on a G Loomis GL 2 Surf Series 1324-2 and a Lamiglass Ron Arra 1322-2 and the balance and distance is good.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just for the archives, I took my Ultegra apart and the frame looked like it was plastic NOT metal as the shimano website states. As of now, the shimano site advertises that the frame of the regular Ultegra is Hagane metal. It isn't metal I tell you. It must be a mistake. The shimano website is FILLED with errors! I hope I'm not the only ones who notices all the errors. There are errors on their schematics of that reel too. They should be ashamed of themselves!

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Just for the archives, I took my Ultegra apart and the frame looked like it was plastic NOT metal as the shimano website states. As of now, the shimano site advertises that the frame of the regular Ultegra is Hagane metal. It isn't metal I tell you. It must be a mistake. The shimano website is FILLED with errors! I hope I'm not the only ones who notices all the errors. There are errors on their schematics of that reel too. They should be ashamed of themselves!

geez.........let me ask you night, is this the Ci4 model ??  

 

What gives.........if a company advertises a "metal" frame, it should be a metal frame!!!  What are the consequences for this kind of false advertising ??

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