Sharky X Spinning Fishing Reel

I can’t say anything about these products, I think I’ve ordered 3-4 reels so far. These are awesome. I build custom fishing rods (@Onlyfish_CustomRods) for a side hustle, and every now and then when I do an event I’ll throw some of these KastKing reels on my rods and they sell like candy!! Couldn’t be happier

Lined it with 30# braid and santee dragging rig for catfish. Only caught 1 that was 25" long but this combo handled like a champ. This is my second combo and want to test it on catfish.

First of all this is about the lowest price point to hope for a decent reel and this one is very good.

This is an awesome reel. It looked small for a 4000 series reel. In fact the spool diameter might be lacking there compared to other brands with the same size. It does cast just fine, but I would go to a different reel for surf fishing, or if I wanted extreme bomb casts for some reason.

This is a great reel. What stands out most to me is cranking power and stability. For lure retrieval and fish fighting, it matches all my bass fishing bait casters, so the only downside compare to casting reels for bass fishing is having to use a bail in line management. Since, no matter what , I always take at least on spinning reel with me that is going to come with it anyway.

The reel's compact size and extreme power make it pair up well with a large range of rods., huge advantage. This can go on a light , through the middler power, and up to a fairly heavy rod. It may look a little odd at the extremes, but it can definitely work with proper line sizes spooled on. It would be a great reel to get a few extra spools for.

So back to the brute strength of this reel. I have half a dozen slightly below, or slightly above this price range and this one is stronger than any of them. Looks and fishes like it is as good on all other measures. The pflueger arbor 3500 at just $10 more, is good and has the advantage of the large diameter spool and comes with 2 spools , so these are my co-favorites for now.

Caught a few 5lb largemouth with it in the last few days paired with the Spartacus II rod is an amazing and affordable combo

Pros:

-High quality for the price.
-The smoothest Kastking spinning reel I've ever purchased. No oil necessary.
-Sharp looking reel.
-Very strong drag with a wide range.
-Perfect match for an Ugly Stik Carbon spinning rod.
-Gave me a chance to use a half spool of Power Pro 20 lb. braid I've had for years.

Cons:

-Just one. This reel is very small for a 5000 size. I bought it for king salmon fishing, unaware of the sizing as compared to other 5000 reels. This one is closer to 3000 size. But the quality and smoothness of this reel prevented me from returning it. I can always use this little gem for coho salmon. But because the spool is small and narrow, enter the nearly 10-year old partial spool of Power Pro. I usually use 30 lb. braid on my coho salmon rigs, but the diminutive size of this reel screamed a lighter line.

Just know that these reels run very small.....or at least the 5000-series does.

One of my passions is surf fishing in So. Calif. As many know, surf fishing is hard on gear. Salt water brought in on the fishing line tends to find it's way into the internals of any reel. KastKing's Sharky proprietary sealing systems claims to prevent this to a measurable degree. There is a fella on You Tube that has intentionally abused his KastKing by fully immersing, dragging thru salt water on every trip for more than a year on an earlier Sharky model. He's buried in beach sand more times than I can count.

After a full year of this intentional abuse, when opened up, there were but a few drops of water and virtually NO corrosion inside. The main, anti-reverse and bail trip gears were still in perfect condition. If that isn't a testimonial to the seals of the Sharky model, I don't know what else is???

I've been using the KastKing braids for more than two years now, find it was the tenacity, strength and sensitivity to match any of the popular brand names. Just recently tried the new Pro 9 braid and the co-polymer lines. Very please with both.

This is my 2nd KastKing Sharky 3. A 5000 series on a 10 ft. Hurricane Heavy rod or on a Med. Heavy Shimano for bigger surf game fish. I am amazed at the casting distance these combos allow. On the 10 foot rod, I can throw a 1/2-3/4 oz lure up to 80 yards or more.

Now, following the trend of light weight surf fishing pioneered by Bill Varney, a Sharky 3 2000 series on a 9 ft. Fenwick Steelhead/Salmon rod
for lighter surf fish like perch, mackerel, and croakers. Casting with a short leader 1/4 oz Carolina rig, KastKing 15Lb. SuperKast 9 and small
hooks for Gulp sandworms or grubs I can cast 60-70 yards out. Often right before the outside breakers, the inland shore troughs where surf fish like to feed. Unbelievable I can throw something so light so far but I feel this is the quality of the line, the reel and the rod combo.

Like the many others have mentioned, the Sharky is an incredibly smooth casting and even better retrieving reel. Smooth doesn't begin to describe how easily. how smoothly these reels work. Better than even some hi end reels costing 2-3 times as much and more.

If you are looking to get into some decent fishing gear without the high cost of big name brands, you'll be quite surprised and happy with KastKing. the jury's till out on long term support if/when the reels need some TLC. I can still buy parts for older Mitchel, Garcia and Penn reels. I hope down the road this is the case with the KastKing products.