Paul’s Tackle Reviews - Shimano Aero XR 4000 Reel

I look in detail at this new reel from Shimano. I’ve been out on the bank several times with this reel catching both carp and silver fish. I give full details of the reel
Music Happiness by bensound.com

[@FishingwithDen]

Very informative Paul. I enjoyed that. Thanks mate.

[@mikewilliams68]

Hi Paul. Thanks for the review. I have just recently bought the Aero xr 3000 and have yet to use it. I have it set up to a 9ft feeder rod and loaded with 6lb Maxima. I see from your spool that it is not just my own reel that has loaded ever so slightly front heavy with the line. I tried several times, usinf spacers but that just made the line load too bottom heavy so i went back to loading it without spacers. It is a lovely reel and as you say very very light. On my 2nd spool i used the shallow spool collar and loaded it with 4lb Maxima. This time the line sat perfectly straight with no bias towards the front at all. I am very happy with the reel so far, and am drooling over that xr4000 you have there.🤣 The last front drag Shimano reel i bought were the Exage 3000sfd. A little heavy but wow! What an amazing hard wearing reel that has been and still going strong. Perfect line lay on it too. If it wasn't for my experience with the Exage i would probably have never bought the aero xr. Love Shimano reels.❤

[@vdavis8766]

Always an honest review 🫡

[@ryvanleeuwen]

Wel done! I went for the 5000 size, feels a bit better 😃

[@garethdawson9493]

Great video Paul! Honest and unbiased. This video has made up my mind that this is the reel for me!

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

I have 2 now, great reels.

[@garethdawson9493]

Going to get the XR 5000 for my feeder reel and the BB 5000 as my bait up reel

[@paulrounce8834]

Nice one Paul cheers 👍

[@robertcrozier8708]

I'm in the market looking to change from 2 shimano Stradic which are starting to show their age. Thanks for the review I will keep an eye out.

[@jonsheard8749]

Great no nonsense review. All the relevant info provided. Love how you disregard the ‘techy’ speak. Thanks for your efforts.

[@shaun1961hodge]

thanks for this review

[@markdavies6620]

Brilliant reels, I got 2 x Aero 4000 xr, and 2 x Aero c5000 xr reels to marry up with my Aero X5 feeder and Aero X5 float rods, I do a lot of river trotting and slider fishing, as well as distance bream fishing using methods and pellet feeders. The reels tick all the boxes, Shimano have obviously listened, for a while they lost their crown as making some of the finest reels around, but they seem hell bent on having a run at getting it back. Great review Paul, many thanks sir !

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Thanks for the good feedback. Im tempted to get another, the clutch is so good.

[@niklasprice1049]

Do you use the 4000 xr for trotting or the 5000 xr?

[@robertmedzai8163]

Your dead honest Paul I like and respect that in a person . Shimano is a good make but to be honest what I would like to buy I just can't afford and I am looking towards trying out new Chinese reels for a cheaper price. I am using 2 Daiwa ninja reels and am very satisfied with them for feeder fishing . Not long ago I learnt they do the 6000 ss feeder reels which I am looking to buy 3 of and they're a good price.

[@markwhibley9787]

I’d be interested to see you review a TDR

[@constantinec9957]

Hi Paul, thanks for the great and honest review! It was one of the reasons why I bought 5000-one to couple up with Drennan Acolyte Commercial 12', mostly for breaming. And must confirm the reel matched your review. The balance is fantastic, sits very comfortable in the hand, very light, powerful gears etc. However, the distance I'm fishing varies from 30-60m and cone-like line lay became a bit of any issue. I've tried to put washers from Daiwa 22 Caldia MQ 4000 and got no luck with that, I got 2 cones from both sides. Would appreciate any assistance/advice on that. Thanks

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Thanks for the good feedback. All I can say is that the line lay is improved if the spool reducer is fitted, you will still get over 100m line on, rather than filling the deep spool.

[@Rob-di7uu]

Great review Paul 👏👏. I think you are bang on about the line spacers, why did they not supply 2 , 1 for ea. spool, alternatively why produce spools so deep cut in first place I’m sure 150m line is enough for most types of U.K. freshwater angling. In todays world who wants to faf around with masses of backing on spools. One question how positive are the line clips on these models, I ask this because my current Matrix reels Horizon 3000 & 4000 line clips were non reliable ie line kept coming unclipped unless wrapped around clip twice. 👍 What do freshwater anglers require, 1/ most reasonable line cap. 2/ level line lay without faffing around with washers,3/ smooth retrieve and clutch, 4/ light in balance, and reasonable on budget.

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Thanks for the good feedback. I agree with what you say. The line clip has not failed and I’ve even clipped up at distance and then clipped up again at a shorter distance (over the first) without issue. It’s a fantastic reel at a great price.

[@polifabio9306]

Ottima descrizione.👍

[@savmunago5505]

Hi Paul, you mentioned you’ve got a cadence reel for float work, which one is it ? I’m looking for a not break the bank 4000 reel. I’ve purchased one of the shimano reels and I love it

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

I use the Cadence CS10 3000 reels for float work. They are small, very light, 6.2:1 retrieve and a brilliant clutch. I have 3 of them covering all my float needs. The Guru Aventus video has some photos and the Acolyte carp waggler rod video review I did has footage of me using it for the pellet waggler. I did have a Cadence CS10 4000 reel which I got for feeder work but didn’t get on with it.

[@nigelmiddleton2727]

I have just bought the 5000 size in the view to replacing my three 520 magnitude, to be honest I think the Shimano is a better quality and performing reel, there are a couple of things that I found that made me think twice about purchasing two more of the Shimano reels. Firstly I find the anti reverse button is awkward and located too close to the spool body. Also I find the bail arm seems really close to the spool top especially if you have big hands. What I will say it definitely performs better than the magnitude, but it's all down to personal choice and I sure they will be a big seller.

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Good opinion, I don’t use the anti reverse but agree it’s a small lever. Not noticed your other issue. I do fancy trying a centris, hoping it would be the Magnitude with the Shimano clutch.

[@davidsmith2663]

@@paulstacklereviews1695 Centris clutch excellent Paul as is the push button spool is it worth the extra £30 not in my opinion as its around 3 oz heavier and the line lay was awful out of the box but two washers sorted that out. Your Supera is only 151g and the lighter Shimano is definitely a bonus in my book.

[@davidsmith2663]

I think your test is excellent Paul; I told you the Aventus was too heavy. I have bought the XR 4000 and also love it/ I think its fantastic weight wise and l have sold both my Centris reels and will add another XR. The Centris was a very nice smooth reel good clutch beautiful push button spool but a fair bit heavier. 3oz in fact. The Shimano sits lovely on my 10' MAP Ultras as well as on my 11' pellet waggler .I differ from you and think 4.8 ;1 is fast enough on the float. Rods are so light nowadays that to have a very light reel makes a good rod great. l never thought l'd swap my Centris reels but l do think the lightness is the deciding factor for me. I also wish both spools came with line reducers and l don't know if spares can be bought l intend asking Nick Speed that one.

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Thanks for the good feedback. The spool reducers must cost pennies to produce so they should supply some to do both spools, I’d certainly be interested in buying another set of them.

[@davidsmith2663]

@@paulstacklereviews1695 l've found some 4000 reducers on ebay but l don;t know if they will fit the XR. Sent a message awaiting reply.

[@ryvanleeuwen]

@@davidsmith2663 I did the same, but I went for the 5000 size XR, you didn’t feel the 4000 was a bit small compared to the Centris? Or did you replace a 320 Centris?

[@davidsmith2663]

@@ryvanleeuwen I had the Centris 520's and thought them too big and heavy for my fishing. I only use 10' feeder rods and 11' pellet wagglers . The XR4000's are for my pellet waggler rods I use Daiwa Tournament 3010's for my Ultra ll feeder rods.

[@davidsmith2663]

@@paulstacklereviews1695 spoke to guys at Bobco and the spool reducers are only a couple of quid he showed me on the exploded view diagram. He said anything with a code number was available as spare parts unfortunately the reducers are out of stock we will just have to keep an eye out for new stock. In the meantime l've bought another XR4000.

[@geofflyons8251]

Another good review mate. Have you done a review of the magnitude?

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Not really but I did talk about it a lot in the Guru video. I may do one, I’m short of things to review at the moment!

[@garyfalkingham1783]

Paul,you say you running out of reviews to do ,with all your experience how about a sort of fishing 'tips' video ?

[@niklasprice1049]

Centris is a great reel,

[@markozivkovic8404]

Shimano is better bro

[@micklingard7799]

Was looking for a reel to go with a 10ft feeder rod and this reel is definitely a good choice not sure about reel size 3000 or 4000 be used with bombs and small feeders .

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Personally I think 4000 for feeder and 3000 for float. They are light reels and a 4000 won’t unbalance a 10ft rod. In winter I use my Aero on my Shimano Speedmaster AX 10ft rod which is a bomb/small feeder rod.

[@slavkovucicevic2579]

Hi Paul. Is the shimano xr 4000 a good choice for float carp fishing? Greetings from Serbia 🙋‍♂️

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Hello Serbia! It would make a great commercial carp float reel with lines up to 8lb.

[@markozivkovic8404]

Hello paul ,which size of reel you recommended to me for my feeder drennan acolyte 3.3 60 gr ! 3000 or 4000 ?Thank you

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Personally unless casting long distances I always use a 4000 size reel (Aero XR or Preston Magnitude) for feeder fishing whatever the length of rod, just feels right for me.

[@shaun1961hodge]

Paul, have you found a site were it states the line capacity for different line diameters?

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

I haven’t. With the spool reducer fitted I reckon it takes around 150m of 0.23mm line if that helps.

[@shaun1961hodge]

@@paulstacklereviews1695 thanks Paul

[@picking11111]

If you had to make a choice Paul what one would you choose Shimano or Preston

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

Not much in it but the Shimano, the clutch is amazing.

[@polifabio9306]

Quando parlerai dei mulinelli longe distans.?

[@zsoltnemes2658]

Tiny Spool no good 😢

[@TheSnafflepup]

I bought one of these a week or so ago I took it back next day it was dreadful felt and looked cheap and plasticy . line lay was nothing special anti reverse switch was a blob of plastic and worst still it was just lobbed in a box handle rattling around and no full spec spare spool.. wouldn't buy another shimano they're not a patch on what they were years ago.

[@paulstacklereviews1695]

As I said reels are very personal items of tackle, the real test is in use for me.

[@TheSnafflepup]

@@paulstacklereviews1695 I was so unimpressed I swapped it straight out for a TDM really pleased with that and has performed beautifully. Great reviews I had the big preston as well sold mine and replaced t with a cast izm the clutch didn't have enough play in it lol you said.

[@snappyfish]

Back winders, hmm. The type of people that drive and knock your wing mirrors off 🙂