So I recently bought a new side drifting setup and chose the Shimano Sahara 3000 for the reel. For 80$ you would be expecting a decent/above par reel, and I have had good experiences with Shimano in the past, unfortunately, this reel is just a LEMON!

I have it spooled with 10 lb Izorline high-vis and every time I close the spool the line gets caught out on the bar, and not the bearing where it is suppose to seat. The result: Every time I hook a fish are get snagged up the bail comes flying open rather than the drag engaging. Doesn't matter if I manually close the bail, or reel half a turn to close it, the line still seats outside of the channel and on the bar causing this problem.

The reel overall functions smoothly and casts very well, but with this small defect this real is a useless piece of junk.

This image shows where the line SHOULD be seating. From this image you can see the seam that is catching on the line and preventing it from fully returning.



This pic shows where the line ACTUALLY seats when you close the bail.



You can tell from the amount of borax and egg goo all over the reel it have been getting used, I don't know if I can return it to the store at this point, so I think my only options are contacting Shimano, or trying to fill the seam with some type of epoxy or something to smooth it out.

Shimano should take of this.
I would call them for an RMA.

http://www.tackledirect.com/shimamcor.html

Ha. Just got back my Sahara from Shimano. Yep, I think the series is a lemon, in general. I bought mine new from a sports shop on ebay. It seemed to work fine at first, but if I ever cranked on it for an hour or so (throwing spinners, for example), the reel would eventually gum up to the point it was difficult to crank.

I sent it back to the shop with an explanation, and they emailed me asking for $10 repair cost and then sent it back to me ("fixed."). Same thing kept happening.

So I looked up Shimano's warranty info, and sent the reel in with a note explaining the situation. I figured if they asked for repair fee I'd tell them to keep it. They didn't, though, and just sent me a new reel last week. It hasn't been tested yet.

Funny thing is I still have Sedonas from 10-15 years ago that work fine compared to that Sahara. I've heard other people have had problems too.

Thank you for the useless reply. Since when is 80$ cheap? I have a handfull of Abu C3's and 4's that were 75-90$ all of which preform perfectly.......I have also used the 90$ plueger president and never had a problem.

Well you would think for 80$ it would work out of the box. This is not a mechanical failure, this is an out of the box fault in construction.

Send it back to the factory explain what has been happening. they will either replace with a new and different one or the model that you sent back. No [censored]..I once drove over a rod and reel combo ..the shimano corsair was smashed beyond repair. I sent it back to shimano..and they replaced no questions asked and no bill. I have done this on at least 5 occasions with most repairs being my own problem. There customer service in my opinion has been amazing. I could tell more stories..but if you have a true and explainable defect that you point out to them...in my opinion Shimano will try and get it right. gl

I am thinking I might take it back in to the tackle shop (after cleaning) and see if he will trade me up for a Stradic. Shoulda got that one in the first place.

Yeah, don't go less then the symetry. the Sahara is not 1 piece bail like the reels symetry and higher.

Also, you may know this. Spinning reels should be manually closed rather then closed by spinning the real. Some may disagree. but this also helps with controlling line out as it hits the water, plus if you are a bobber fisherman, manual closing of the bail is the only way. you will probably see the Sahara work just fine.

I have 1 sahara and have not had an issue yet.
Kyle

Get a Saros!! Best bang for the buck.

+1 on upgrading to the Stradic.

OregonArcher has it nailed...that model does not have the one piece bail wire, which is why there is a groove at that location that is catching your line.

Also, as OA said, close your bail manually on your spinning reels, and if you really want flawless operation, pull a little line out by hand after closing the bail by hand each time. THis ensures you don't have any loops in your line.

If the shop does not take care of you, Call Shimano. They have always taken great care of me. Good luck.

this right here is why i dispise spinning reels. they're a pile of junk out the box. i've trained myself over the years to manually flip the bail after each cast.

sorry to hear about your bail problem. i'd box it up and send back to the regional shimano office. i think it's in cali.

Did I hear Brewer is having a hard time making BAIL???


I have always hated spining reels. I have a bunch of them and I spend countless hours swearing at them. It does make them feel bad though!!

I always flip my bail manually, I just noted that it does it either way, it doesn't matter. I am too busy to get into the shop today, but I'm hoping to get in there tomorrow.

For what it's worth, I have seen several different bail (and other) parts used on the same model (Shimano) reel, including the revered Stradic. They are produced in different runs and sometimes the parts aren't quite as good. The "seam" you photographed doesn't look angled at all. I bet that's part of the problem. I would bet Shimano will replace yours with a slightly different bail part that will work fine. Let us know.