The Stella is top of the food chain, and an outstanding reel without compromise. For almost $1000 - one would expect the best.
I have a few Sustain ($400ish) and a few Stradic series ($300ish) and am very happy with the quality. Shimano makes great spinning reels in that middle price point.
And, for fathers day a few years ago, My wife bought me a Stella ..... which is amazing but, in my opinion, almost indescribable (in performance) for 99% of the fishing you do.
The Stella drag is, however, very smooth - no jerky breaks, just delicate like some of the higher end Abu Garcia products (they have outstanding drags -maybe the best $/$ ).
May not be a great marketing and product line strategy for Shimano - but hey - enjoy it ... this is great news for us consumers if they are doing that.
Enjoy it - Shimano is a solid product and anything they make that comes out of Japan is top notch (some cheaper product lines are made elsewhere I think).
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