Shimano Fliegen SD Reel
If you're looking for a top-of-the-range big pit/surf reel, you won’t do much better than the eye-catching Shimano Fliegen SD Reel. Equipped with a range of Shimano’s latest technologies, this reel is light, strong, accurate and oozes quality.
Founded as an iron works in 1921, Japan-based Shimano began producing fishing tackle in 1970, spurred on by its aim to promote a healthier, more enriching lifestyle and strengthen the connection between people and nature. To realise this vision, the company, now one of the world’s leading fishing tackle manufacturers, looks to develop products of fascinating design, as well as exceptional quality and performance, that appeal to users.
While Shimano offer everything from luggage to sunglasses, carp fishing reels, coarse and match fishing reels and sea fishing reels are its speciality, with an exacting standard of design and production consistent across its comprehensive range. The company consults pro anglers to create innovative products that meet the challenges modern anglers face.
The striking Shimano Fliegen SD Reel exemplifies Shimano’s dedication to captivating style. The body is made from Shimano’s HAGANE Body, a high-rigidity aluminium that creates impact resistance and eliminates flexing, providing super-stable housing and support for the internal gearing and offering greater efficiency across the reel.
Fliegen is German for ‘fly’, a word that perfectly sums up this reel, which has the line flying off the spool in silky-smooth fashion. While the Fliegen SD looks the business, it is its performance that really sets it apart. It is equipped with HANGANE Gear, which is produced by Shimano’s cold-forging technology and provides enduring smoothness, strength and power at the reel’s heart. The reel also utilises the combination of features that is XShip, where the pinion gear is positioned closer to the centre line of the large-diameter drive gear, transferring more power from handle to rotor, and supported by Shimano’s shielded AR-B bearings. These features work together to create greater efficiency and stability.
The reel is outfitted with XProtect, a triple-lip structure that prevents water entering the roller clutch, which is pivotal. The first lip prevents water penetrating the space between the rotor and body, while a special grease between the second and third lip minimises friction as well as providing extra water resistance around the rotor collar. This non-contact style of protection keeps the reel’s inner workings safe from rain, spray and waves without impairing the lightness of its rotation.
The Fliegen SD also features Shimano’s new High Speed Drag - the fastest drag function the company has ever featured on one of its reels; changing it from free spool mode to flight mode takes nothing more than a small turn of the drag knob, enabling you to crank the drag rapidly so you can target bigger, more powerful fish. The High Speed Drag is waterproof, which is important as regular exposure to wet conditions can see the integrity of the system compromised.
The newly-designed CI4+ rotor the Fliegen SD sports improves rigidity and durability while reducing the weight and volume of both the rotor and the body. Shimano’s G Free Body technology has also been incorporated, shifting the reel’s centre of gravity closer to the rod and, subsequently, the angler’s hand, which means less fatigue, more comfort when casting and, ultimately, longer sessions. Casting distance and accuracy is enhanced by the Parallel Body design, which stops your line from touching the blank when casting.
When it comes to style, quality, performance and features, reels don’t come much better than the Shimano Fliegen SD Reel. If you’re searching for a big pit or surf reel that offers outstanding lightness, strength, accuracy, durability and comfort that will truly enhance your angling experience, your search should start here.