I read on another board that Shimano was coming out with the Stradic in the 3000 model. I bought 2 Okuma Epic 3000's this past winter and have been real pleased with the performance of the reels. Landed fish up to 26 lbs with no problems. I did witness one have the handle disaster that a lot of folks have experianced, the fish did end up in the boat though. For $55 at Sportco they are a good deal.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff laugh laugh