Shimano Sedona 1000 and Sensilite Ultra-Light Rod

Not too long ago I received a Shimano Sedona 1000 reel and a matching Shimano Sensilite Ultra-Light Fast Action rod to review. When I review things I make it clear that if I’m not impressed with the product I simply won’t review it. Well, I am impressed with this set-up. 

I won’t go into all of the production features and details of the Sedona reel - the HAGANE gears and cold-forging techniques, G-free body design, Cross Carbon Drag system, etc - because you can read that stuff on the Shimano company website, and frankly, it’s kind of boring. I’m interested in on-the-water performance, how the rod and reel felt while casting, reeling and fighting fish. In a nutshell, this has become a go-to rod and reel for me. When I first picked it up I wondered how it would stack up against anything larger than a big bluegill or crappie. The combo is extremely light. And after catching a lot of panfish I can confidently say that the Sensilite rod - 6’6” Ultra-Light, Fast Action - has the sensitivity to detect light bites, it responds quickly and efficiently when setting the hook, and offers a darn fun time playing a fish. The rod is beautifully engineered, and has both backbone and action to cast a light lure a country mile and play a fish without feeling it feeling whippy and undermatched.

The Sedona 1000 reel is just as impressive as the Sensilite rod. I only experienced one instance of line snarl, and that was quickly and efficiently dealt with by loosening the drag (which was very easy to do as the drag knob is large and easy to manipulate) and pulling the line out until the snarl was clear. This was no small thing for me, as I have a tendency to slightly overfill my spinning reel spools, which tends to create more snarls or backlashes than most anglers probably experience. Don’t ask me why I do it, it’s just a habit that I often regret once I get out on the water and invariably end up removing several yards of line until I get things where I want them. But this reel has beautiful line management capabilities.

Casting is smooth, bail operation is like butter, and the reel is about as silent as any I’ve tried. It’s amazing, really, how tough and resilient a rod and reel combo as light as this one is can be. I used this set-up consistently for several long days in a row, and at the end of every day it felt like I was holding nothing but air. There’s no such thing as fatigue with this rod and reel. 

Now then, one day I alternated between a spinnerbait and Charlie Brewer’s Slider Fishing products, hoping to hook into something larger than crappie and bluegill. That day I ended up catching over a dozen bass, including three that went two to four pounds. Those certainly aren’t monsters but they proved to me that the Ultra-Light Sensilite rod and Sedona reel were more than capable of handling fish even bigger than those. I was able to control the fight while fiddling with the drag and steering the fish pretty much where I wanted. Again, this is an ultra-light rod and reel, meant for panfishing, but it handled larger bass and even a couple of nice northern pike quite admirably.

Finally, it is an aesthetically gorgeous rod and reel. The Sensilite rod is a pleasure to behold, with a dark green blank and lovely cork grips. The Sedona reel is cool too, very modern and sleek. When it comes to the reel it’s all about performance, smoothness, line management and functionality. The Shimano Sedona reel and Sensilite Ultra-Light rod will probably be accompanying me on just about every fishing trip I make from now on, regardless of what I’m fishing for. Because it’s light, performs beautifully, looks cool, and you should always be ready to make a few casts for crappie or panfish, even when you’re fishing for bass, pike, walleye or catfish.