[Leprechaun]

Seems to me that $15 for an Abu reel ain't too shabby. All the talk of bay fluking has me looking for sutiable best buys for all of us.

ffo.com site

Only 14 pcs left at the time of this posting.

best, Lep

 

[travelingwaves]

how you doing lep! fishing 30 years ,remember the 304 /300/308 garcias, still own the old cardinal 4 salwater spin remember wanting the 7 but it was 65-75 bucks back in those days!lol.. i like shimanos..stradics last!

 

[dardyle]

wonder what the wife would say if I bought another reel

 

[Leprechaun]

Take her to the diner and buy her a $15 steak, and then as she;s enjoyijng it, call it even.

Lep

 

[Mike Demo]

Bait Runner

Lep,

Great threads here. Quick question for you and the rest. I have only used the Shimano brand as a bait runner spinning reel. I want to get another one, but would like to know if anyone recommends/likes another brand of bait runners? I have found when taking out guests, these are the easiest for them to use. Thanks

 

[Leprechaun]

Hi Mike, thanks for the kind words.

I don't use any of the different baitrunner reels, so I have no real opinion worth sharing on the subject.

But I will say this, despite some on this site's contention that I overly shill for Shimano, I will ALWAYS give them first shot at any new reel I might be interested in.

Here's why:

1/ That company spends like heck in the product development part of tackle manufacturing - they don't always hit the target 100%, but they do try very hard. That research costs good money and they need to recoup it in the price of their products - thus they will almost never be the least expensive option. But usually will be the best engineered. Some of their stuff is a bit "out there" price-wise, but you really can't question the engineered-in quality of any of it.

2/ Many here know that I work on reels for members of this site gratis - for the cost of the parts only. Its not something I talk up, because God knows I've got a full plate doing my own thing. But if there's a problem with a reel and some reason not to ship it out, it frequently comes to me for last-chance service. Think of me as a resource of last resort. Now the "secret" is out, I suppose. Oh well.

I don't do all the many brands of reels out there. But one thing's for sure, if its a Shimano product, I stand a better than good chance of getting the parts and makeing that reel whole again.

If I need a part for a Shimano reel, all I need do is bring up the Shimano site, look up the reel and download the appropriate .pdf file. Then a quick call to Shimano directly, and the part is on its way. Try that with Daiwa, Okuma or any of the other players. Goos luck even finding the proper schematic.

Even Abu - as great as they are about parts - doesn't have a huge reserve of older reel schematics on their site - which forces me to look at third-party sources for parts schematics - with spotty results - at best. Or make a phone call to Abu in Spirit Lake, Iowa and wade thru a 30 minute conversation with CS searching for the appropriate part.

3/ If its a small part that's required to get a reel up and running then Shimano usually insists on sending it no charge, inclusive of the shipping. How the heck can you beat that?

So for me its a no brainer - Shimano comes first, then all the other brands line - regardless of reel type.

best, Lep

 

[Mike Demo]

Thanks

All great points. I plan on reading your threads more often. I have kept mostly on the Western Sound thread. Thanks
Mike

 

[travelingwaves]

I still have my (the original shimano)250 baitrunner from years ago, i bought this for suspending live herring otherwise known as alwives upstate ny in the city res for trout. Got to admit it was fun in the beginning as it did work well enough until I later discovered the bail roller bearing was chaffing the 6lb mono line ( obviously defective bearing roller. Was kinda inferior reel after the later 5 bearings started showing up. This was shimanos first baitrunner spin reel, a 2 ball bearing back drag trigger casting spinner now an obsolete model. I would suggest the much superior shimano stradic with a strike guard or stick with conventional, but maybe the newer larger spinnning baitrunner reels have their spot in saltwater live lining bait! Still, my personal preference is smoother drags with top quality bearing/gear components.

This post edited by travelingwaves 08:32 PM 03/10/2008

 

[travelingwaves]

this one just cracks me up! lol

 

[Gaucho]

Wow...you cant beat that for $15.

 

[Savvy18]

Every year I tell myself I'm gonna buy a spinning outfit for flounder and fluking. Then, I never do. Not sure why.

Is this the year?

 

[Leprechaun]

Yes. I'll show you my "new" old rig this weekend.

best, Lep

 

[jmerc]

I have to agree with you Lep. As a dedicated Shimano user I have found that dollar for dollar their products can not be beat. This is just my opinion but it is based on the use of many different products and for me it seems that I always end up with the Shimano product as the one I use most often. That being said I do have 1 major dissapointment with the way Shimano treats the US market. Sometimes I feel like a Step-Child. All the ground breaking products seem to go to Japan first then as time slowly passes the product comes to the US a year or so later if at all. Im sure most of you know of the inovative cutting edge stuff that is available in Japan that we can only hope to eventually get our hands on at a reasonable price. Well maybe someday the US will become a cutting edge market for Shimano, untill that time Ill be searching the orient for new toys...........

 

[Leprechaun]

So true about Shimano, but its changing . . .

Yep, it does seem that the USA market always got the older "legacy' technology from Shimano, while the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) got the really good, new stuff.

But with the latest generation of Shimano reels, that does appear to be changing. Good thing too. Because the guys that in the past did buy the JDM stuff via gray market sources occasionally had issues sourcing repair parts down the line. Some parts were interchangeable, but there were many examples of very expenisve JDM reels that got hung up because of parts issues.

I just finished working on a JDM Shimano "Biomaster" spinning reel for a well-known member here on Noreast. Sort of a mid-way series between the USA Stradic and Sustain - a VERY nice piece. Super, super smooth. Luckily it only needed a bail spring transplant, which after some careful reviewing of the USA reel schematics on the Shimano site, I was able to ascertain that the Sustain spring was a direct cross. Got it, fixed the reel and away it went. But its not always the case that there is a cross between the USA and JDM versions.

BtW, have you guys seen the complicated bail-tripping mechanism that Shimano uses to close their spinning reel bails? Man, talk about alot of little springs and levers - whatever happened to a single simple coiled spring for that purpose? Awww, who can say?

Anyway, if you look at the latest offerings from Shimano - the new Stradic, Sustain and Symetre spinners, you will find that they are VERY close to the JDM stuff.

I bet my friend Jeremy Sweet at Shimano USA's reel design group had more than a little to do with that.

best, Lep

This post edited by Leprechaun 03:11 PM 03/14/2008

 

[bobbym]

Regal® Plus Bri Bite & Run?
by Daiwa
Price: $54.99 This baitrunner is from Ramsey Outdoors it comes with two aluminum spools in 3 sizes. I have had one about 2 years limited use but no complaints so far

 

[Mike Demo]

Lep, I bought one of those reels. I have't used it yet but it looks and feels pretty good. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Slick56]

I just ordered one!

For the money, you cant beat it.
Nice reel for my Light action ugly stick

This post edited by Slick56 02:11 PM 04/15/2008

 

[Mike Demo]

No B.S. !!!

Lep, This little reel landed the biggest fish my boat ever got. A 30lb 4 foot striper by my son. I put the reel on a light ugly stick. Other than almost getting spooled it was great. Should do a commercial for the reel. Thanks Mike

 

[Leprechaun]

WOW!!!

A great pair of pix!

You son has the makin's of being a special fisherman.

I had to wait many years past his young age before I caught a bass in that class.

Congradulations to him and you too!

best, Lep