Features Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD:
- XT7 body
- X-Ship gearing
- Super Slow Oscillation
- Cold Forged Aluminium ARC Spool + spare
- Aero Wrap II
- Floating Shaft II
- Super Stopper II
- Instant Drag
- Hypergear
- DynaBalance
- Easy Maintenance
- Four line capacity reducer collars
- Gear ratio – 5.3:1
- Line cap. – 315yds/12lb (290m/0.35mm)
- Weight – 500g (18ozs)
Unboxing the green box
What is in this green box?
Well protected inside of the box.
Everything in the box neatly stacked.
A big like for the Shimano that a spare spool is also added.
Line reducers are also added for each spool (2x 3500 size and 2x 4500 size).
I didn’t add washers to the reel (I removed them from the spool after testing) because it winds the mono line unevenly (although that’s their purpose ?).
A detailed plan of how the reel is assembled. Very important to save it in case you are repairing the spool yourself. a detailed plan of how the spool is assembled. very important to save it in case you are repairing the spool yourself. although I recommend that you rather leave the spool repair to professionals.
Only the spool remained in the box. At first glance it looks like a little black machine ?.
Gray screw (oil cap) on the reel covers the port where you add a one (1x) drop of Shimano Bantam Oil.
The reel is already greased at the factory.
For a silky smoothness and faster drag you can add carbon or ice drag weshers. I don’t have them, maybe i’ll buy them in the future.
Korda Carp Line – monofilament line
Added instructions and tips for using Korda Carp Line mono. Instructions come in handy for beginners as well as experienced anglers.
Following the instructions of the Kord, I soaked the mono in water for 2 hours (although one hour would be enough).
Line reducer
Because I don’t need 290 meters (0.35mm) of monofilament on the spool, I decided to use a line reducer (4500 size). Most of all, I was also interested in how many meters of mono will go to the spool when I use the line reducer (4500 size). I did not find this information anywhere on the official shimano site as well as on the various fishing forums. In my experience it should go around 200 to 220 meters.
Korda carp line monofilament is marked every 250 meters so after that I will know if more than 250 meters of mono went on the spool (although I doubt it will exceed that length).
Spooling Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD
I tie the mono to the spool with an arbor knot. This knot is very often used among anglers.
When winding the reel it runs extremely smoothly, which is due to the design and A-RB Shimano bearings.
As I had anticipated I did not get to the marked 250 meters. I haven’t noticed the marker anywhere yet, so in my estimation it went to the spool about 210 meters.
I have been looking for a carp and feeder reel for some time that would be light (500 grams / 17oz or less). It was also important to me that the spool be friendly to my wallet (around € 100 / $ 120), but unfortunately I didn’t find one for that money. So I decided to wait a little longer to save money and finally buy the long-desired shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD (ci4 will remain on my wish list – one day).
The first impression when I opened the box and saw the reell I liked it even more than I expected ?. Compared to large carp spools, this one is really incredibly light and very handy. Sometimes I feel like I’m holding a slightly heavier spinning reel in my hands. At the time of writing this blog post with this Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD reel I have not fished yet, so how it works in practice I will write in future posts.
Till next time …
…… tight lines and wet nets!
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