Shimano Saros 1000F Spinning Reel

The little reel that could! – I've owned my Shimano Saros 1000 for the last 4 solid years and its been a main reel that I've used on most outings on both land based casting and from a kayak, for both casting and trolling. The reel is a small but well engineered piece of machinery with the usual Shimano flair for durability. The reel is good for about 3 to 4 kilo's of drag… Read more

however accept that this wont turn large fish without some drag upgrade or using your hands on the spool as added brakes. There is no great amount of flex noticed from that graphite body, however the larger models from the 3000 and up sizes feature an alloy body and are far stronger in their fish-ability.

I've maintained my own reels, and have noticed that there is a fair amount of wear on the main pinion teeth, and that the 'durability enhancement coating' has / did wear off very quickly with use and is to no benefit at all unlike an actual Teflon coating. Otherwise the reel is still very smooth and performs very well when retrieving fish. The handle would be better suited to staying on the left hand side of the reel as the bearing on the left side is noticably larger than the right side, this will undoubtedly reduce wear. A small grease port on the right hand side of the body gives the owner a chance to place grease directly onto the teeth of the oscillating gear to ensure that there is some grease on the moving parts during mid service intervals.

Shimano's 10 year warranty only applies to reels that have been serviced with Shimano or its authorised reps, so open it and service it yourself and expect that any warranty issue down the line will be rejected. A sad fact with Shimano and most other companies!

The reel takes 125 yards of 8lb Fireline and will need to be backed with similar nylon backing line to ensure that the spool is full.

Otherwise the Shimano Saros, is a reel that is well priced, well built and a genuine quiet little achiever without costing you and arm and a leg while catching fish. Size, weight, shape, looks, reliability, construction, price, warranty. Not water tight, suffers from its gear durability coating wearing off straight away, no spare spool!