My 5000 Shimano Baitrunner Aero GTE seems OK size wise and no not everyone is using boilies. All my rigs, Barbel & Chub, are running leger set-ups. There has been some debate that all leger rigs are bolt rigs, however, with the bait-runner set just to hold flow, it’s as near as you can get to free lining. As for boilies, and I assume you also mean pellet as well, then yes I suppose 80% of my Barbel catches this year have been on pellet and past but I’ve also caught them on worm, bread, maggot and caster. My reel is not yet a year old but so far it’s a superb reel and as I’ve said I’m looking for another one.
John H, so far you are the only person I’ve come across who’s had a really bad experience with GTE 5000's. However, I’ll bear your experience in mind and if anyone else in the next couple of weeks comes up with further bad reviews then I may have to reconsider buying another Shimano Baitrunner Aero GTE