FloridaFishinFool

Thanks! I will try it.

Tracfone. Plenty of no contract options, and you choose the level of data you can afford and pay as you go or want to. And, if you have an android, you can activate it under their bring your own phone plan (BYOP). A nice thing about android smartphones is you can turn on the wifi feature and use wifi anywhere you go same as a laptop and it does not use up any of your paid for phone data usage. ebay has hundreds and thousands of used androids for sale at a fraction of new prices. Just make sure you have one that is not locked up and one previously on an AT&T plan is preferred by Tracfone for some reason. (Has something to do with compatibility and ease of activation) We did this for our daughter in college and got her a triple minutes plan. Rather than just give her a phone with the family plan she would use up all the data monthly all by herself, & by giving her a tracfone it made her responsible for her own data useage and made her learn to have some phone responsibility for herself, and it encouraged her to pay up for the data she used and made her aware of what she was doing and how to control it for herself. She learned to cut back by necessity so it was a good move for her. There were days she would receive literally between 100 and 200 texts a day or more. She had her nose in the phone way too much. We had no choice but to put her in a phone situation that made her responsible for her usage. Handing her a family plan phone did not work out for us. Tracfone and others similar are available at Walmart. At Walmart you can get a basic phone with double minutes plan for about $10.00, but if you spend like $30 to 40 up front you can get a slightly better quality phone like the LG306 which is wifi compatible, but not very useful, but with it you get triple minutes for life. So when you buy new minutes, whatever the number of minutes is that you buy Tracfone will triple them for you. 60 minutes bought will turn into 180 minutes type of thing. And if you do the BYOP and activate an android smartphone after purchasing the triple minutes plan, you get to keep the triple minutes plan on the android phone, and now you can begin to add in other features previously not available like 1000 text messages for only $10 that is not available on the regular phones that come with the initial buy. And if you need to access the internet with phone data usage you can buy whatever level of data you need extra. All pay as you go. Worked out great for our daughter. Today rather than just running up the data mindlessly, she is now mindfully watching and controlling it herself. Thank god!

I use feathered treble hooks mainly for sunshine bass on floating minnow lures, suspending, sinking and rat'L traps. They have worked well in Harris Lake over the years and the St. Johns river. For some reason those sunshine bass like a lot of flash and flair and adding some tail feathers with a foil flash added in along with the feathers has raised my catch percentage for that species. The feathers tend to give the bait a larger profile in the water. A 3 inch minnow lure with added tail feathers can now look like a 4 inch lure and may give the lure some life like side to side tail action that might attract or trigger a bite. I also sometimes use them on surface poppers. The popper floats on top, but the rear feathered treble hook sags down into the water and may appear as tail action. Not sure, but some working theories... I don't tie my own. I could, but I get them so cheap off ebay why bother?

Hello Glenn! Thanks for all your help in getting to know the new format better. I wanted to ask you about one small issue I was hoping could be tweaked moving forward... A lot of us come back to a thread we may have commented on or are following without actually asking the forum to track it or follow it for us. And when I click on a thread title that has multiple pages of comments, it takes me right back to page 1 every time, and then I have to search through the thread and sometimes backtrack the thread going backwards to locate the last place where I left off reading. Is there a way to click on a thread title and have it land on the last page I was reading with the beginning of the latest updated comments rather than on page 1 every time? Ideally, if this could be programmed into the forum for operational purposes, it would be a convenience for us when we click on the title of a thread we are following that it takes us directly to the beginning of newest comments we have not read yet- on any page. Not sure if such a thing is possible but I thought I would mention it. I have some catching up to do with your other solutions mentioned above...

Yep! This is the company... Dawon. Now I am seeing something familiar. A few years back I purchased two Browning Midas reels with magnetic and centrifugal brakes both adjustable externally with a dial for each of them. A dial within a dial. Never seen this on any reel before, but apparently Dawon patented it their website you linked to above says. Both reels are still smooth to use and palm well too. Working on the brake system is a bear! You gotta align 4 small springs at one time to get it back together. Working on the reel is same as any other, but beware of the tiny little springs in brake system! I learned to reassemble this section without the magnets, and once the spring situation is reinstalled correctly to then install the magnets last as the magnets will attract those little springs making them impossible to align or stay in place for reassembly. But when in working condition, this reel works well. I have to wonder if Shimano was playing catch up to Dawon by creating their own externally adjustable centrifugal brakes? This reel had them before shimano did which is why I bought a couple of them. This patented externally adjustable braking system moves a 3 level drum in and out with the external adjustment. Each level of the drum is a slightly larger circumference as can be seen in the Bass Pro ad below from the Dawon website gallery. " We have developed our own braking systems that are all patented to give more convenience to each valued angler when fishing with our reels - Externally adjustable centrifugal braking system and Externally adjustable DUAL (magnetic + centrifugal) braking system. " Same screw, same location. This new titanium 8 reel has a lot of similarities with other reels made by Dawon: Like this Browning Citori comparable reel:

To put it simply as I understand it and experience it here in Florida... A cold front is heavier air that tends to increase barometric pressure on the surface of a lake. Fish sense this and go deep and are harder to catch. As the air temps warm up, the barometric pressure begins to drop, and the fish come up and are more active. Also possibly because the sun is warming the surface water some giving it an improved comfort level for fish who may want to feed in the improving conditions. I don't know why it is, but if the barometric pressure is on the rise, fishing is more difficult, but when the barometric pressure is swinging to the low side, fishing activity tends to increase. Keep in mind this is a general pattern. My salt water buddy who only fishes in salt water swears that he catches the biggest fish on the coldest days of the year.

Shimano Bantam Black Magnum BKM-201FS from 1987 that I use on a 7'6" flippin' stick. These old reels are built like a tank! Can't break them- unlike a lot of reels made today- even some of the more expensive reels. And I still use a Shimano Bantam Curado CU-201B38, an early 1990's model with a 3.8:1 retrieve. I use these side by side with brand 2015 models... if it works, why change it?

Gawd! I wish our Florida stripers and sunshine bass got that big! I think I would forget all about LMB!

I scored a Shimano Scimitar rod this past week too- an impulse buy really in a local pawn shop for $10.00 too, but I picked up the 7' M SMS-70M. I bought it to replace my last 7' ML rod my 2 year stepped on in the boat snapping off 9" of the tip when he lost his balance. And even though this rod is rated as a medium, it feels more like MH- of which I do not need any more MH's. But I will give this rod a try out as 'medium' and see how it does, but I must say it is a little big and heavy for its rating. Sure wish I could find another one like the one my kid broke. Not a bad rod for the price. You can't beat it. Good score! Is that a shimano Sedona 2000F (or close) spinning reel on your "new" Scimitar?

Here in Florida our stripers are about the same size as our largemouth bass. The state of Florida creates a hybrid called the sunshine bass- a cross breed between a striper and a white bass. The state dumps about 3 million of these hybrid sunshine bass into Florida waters every year for us fishermen. And they look nearly identical to natural stripers too. And since both species grow to about the same size, I don't do anything different for them. My largemouth bass rods and reels do well for stripers and sunshine bass too. 7' to 7'3" is as big as I go. If I lived in a state where the stripers outgrow the bass it would be different. in some places stripers can grow to 60 pounds or more so in those conditions it is pretty obvious heavier gear would be required. So I suppose you will have to tailor your gear for the size of stripers you are catching. Here in Florida most of them are under 5 pounds. You hear of a few reaching 10 pounds, and even fewer that push up towards 20 pounds, but that is about it for Florida. The stripers even hit many of the same lures the bass do. So it is not unusual to go bass fishing and catch a sunshine bass too! I catch and release largemouth, but the sunshine bass are going home to the smoker and freezer. And you are right about them being addicting to catch. They hit hard and fight like crazy. Lots of fun!

Ummm, oh no we don't! The mental image was torture enough!

Fish in general or bass only? Bass have slowed down, but speck fishing is hot right now as is redfish'ing! I was on the St. Johns river 2 days ago and the specks were boiling up the waters hitting on baitfish, mostly minnows, and literally jumping out of the water trying to eat them. So if the bass are not biting... big specks will do fine for now especially if they are in a crazed feeding frenzy like now. All too easy to catch them. They literally jump on the hook. Redfish'ing in the Indian River lagoon has been pretty good too! HABITAT: Most popular fishing areas are along shell bars and rocky or grassy shorelines and on shallow flats, where they are usually fished by sight. Reds also forage in the surf of outside beaches nearly everywhere on the Gulf Coast and along the upper half of the East Coast, especially in the fall. Adults move offshore to spawn and are sometimes encountered in open water in large schools.They roam into coastal rivers and creeks at any time of year, and in winter swarm into them, seeking warmer water. Another hot item right now is shrimp! My buddies have been taking their quota lately. Nothing like fresh wild caught Florida shrimp smoked or grilled to perfection!

Glenn thanks for explaining the topic stacking issue. Your suggestion fixed it. And, for some reason when I click on "quote" to respond to a post or comment I can not cancel or clear out the quote request if I choose to delete it before posting it. I have tried to simply delete the text in the box, but I can not get rid of the quote box. And if I can not cancel out the quote request, it prevents me from moving on to the next comment I want to quote. Just trying to figure this new forum out! Thanks!

A quick and easy do it yourself setup:

I'm curious... why so heavy a line? I live in central Florida with heavy cover all around and I rarely go above 20 and I don't lose fish. Only on my flippin' stick I have 50 pound braid, but for all cranking and spinners I use between 10 to 20, and most of the time between 10 to 15. To the OP, what are the line recommendations on your rods? I checked one of my MH rods and it recommends line 8 to 14. I have found using too heavy of a line greatly impedes casting distance and increases resistance to move through the water easily. I would recommend going with as light a line as you can get away with without losing fish. There is a balance position in there somewhere and it just depends on your needs and conditions. Another thing to consider is that some rod and reel manufacturers will void any warranties if too heavy a line is used.

OK. I went with what I found on the shimano website listed for current citica models. I don't keep up with the citica's. I just checked shimano website again for current citica models' schematics and this is all they have for "current" models: CI201G6 CI200G7 CI200G6 CI200G5

This comment was posted in error due to shimano website not having up to date schematics for the citica i and I used the G series instead and can now see that the new citica i does have the same brake system as the curado i. I stand corrected! --------------------------------------------------------- I think the braking system is different. You can download the current reel schematics from shimano website. I always refer to the schematic and look at the internals of a reel to really see what is different about them that the specs might not convey well enough. Here is the curado 201i schematic, and here is the citica 201G6 schematic. Notice on the citica schematic there is a red or orange brake collar BNT 3843 and BNT 3505? These are old school centrifugal brakes shimano has used for many years and each reel carries 6 brake shoes of your choice of color or weight (heavier shoe, more braking, lighter shoe, less braking). Real old school here! But when you look inside the new curado you should notice only 4 brake shoes BNT 4652 that look nothing like the old school brake shoes or collar. There is your new technology showing up right there! Put your money on that! And it has an external dial so you can really dial in just the right amount of braking you need instantly without having to open up the reel and play with it while fishing. Based on what I am seeing in the schematics for brakes, I'd go with the newer curado i centrifugal brake system. I used a curado i all this past summer and it worked very well. The new braking system is very effective and can be minutely dialed in much more precisely than the older type of centrifugal brakes which the citica appears to still have. Go with the new! As for overhauling the reel when new out of the box, to each their own. I did mine new out of the box, but shimano has been doing this a long time- and a reel should be ready to use out of the box, but if it makes you feel better, overhaul it!

I mix it into my boat fuel along with Sta-bil. I think for regular maintenance it is like 1 ounce per gallon of fuel. It just keeps things from getting gummed up and if there is any gummyness it should dissolve it in the tank, fuel line and carburetor and just keeps things clean. It is one of those products that does what it says it can do. I never put any into any cylinders so I can not comment about that. 2 years ago I bought a used yamaha 4 stroke outboard. It ran rough and sluggish at first, but the third time out seafoam had done its magic and the yamaha came to life and has been running ever since.

I completely forgot to mention another great way to find great fishing gear cheap is garage sales and estate sales. I am fortunate to live in central Florida the fishing capitol of the world and also fishing equipment capitol too! Hunting down great fishing gear in BF Kansas or Oklahoma would be like trying to find a needle in 2 haystacks, but living around these parts tons of fishing gear goes with the fishing environment. So this is a definitely plus for me. But when it comes to looking for great gear at great prices, it pays to do your homework on location. Location is everything. I would not be driving to poor neighborhoods to stop at their garage sales hoping to find high end gear. It is possible, but more than likely not going to happen. So what I do is focus on only the extremely wealthy neighborhoods. And in the Orlando area, for me, this is Winter Park. It is a community with multi-millionaires living side by side. These people are your doctors and lawyers and brain surgeon types of rich people who can easily afford top end gear. So when they have a garage sale or one of them kicks the bucket and have an estate sale, make it a point to be there! I do! And it has totally changed my fishing gear trajectory too. For example, some 20 plus years ago I went to a garage sale where some ticked off angry divorced wife was unloading his fishing gear in her garage sale. Top end custom made rods for like $3.00 each. She just wanted them gone- along with him too! One of the rods I purchased that day was already years old at the time. It was a custom made spiral wrapped 7 foot baitcast rod. I had never seen one before. I had no clue. That one rod changed my way of thinking forever. I loved it so much that I began a process of converting most of my own baitcast rods over to spiral wrapped rods. And to this day I only do spiral wraps. I will not ever put guides on top of a rod again. No reason to. To me, putting guides on top of a baitcast rod is like violating the laws of Nature and physics. So if I am going to put guides on a baitcast rod they are going to be spiral wrapped or nothing. So in the last 20 years I have not done anything but spiral wrapped rods. So there is no telling how random searches in garage sales and estate sales can benefit you!

I would suggest to make your money go farther, rather than buy brand new, you might consider buying used gear. ebay is a good place to find some good deals from time to time. Another place I find some really nice gear for decent prices is in pawn shops. And with pawn shops you can haggle over price too especially when paying in cash. I recently scored big time in a pawn shop find when I found a custom made spinning rod by a deceased rod builder from here in Florida. He only used G-loomis rod blanks in all of his custom rod builds. Whoever sold this rod to the pawn shop obviously did not know what they had because it had a cheap spinning reel on it. I scored this rod for like $12.00 cash. What I discovered about the pawn shops in my area is that they price the rods and reels that come into their shops based mainly on the reels. Those they can look up, but certain rods, like this custom rod, is not really searchable online for pawn shops to find something to compare it to for pricing. So they usually go with pricing by just the reels. So this works in the buyer's favor. And a few years ago I scored another fantastic rod made by kistler, a $200 plus rod with a cheap reel on it. I bought the whole thing for like $17.00 cash and had to really contain my excitement walking out the door so I could hoop and holler out there in the parking lot for another great score. If I had to pay new retail on just these two rods I'd be looking at close to $500, but because most pawn shop employees are clueless about the rods, they ignore the rods for the most part and focus on the reels to do their business deals and you can use this to your advantage same as I have and continue to do on a regular basis. So that is about $500 worth of high end rods for about $30. What is not to love here? I have also scored some rare reels this way too. Pawn shops are not so concerned with what the real world value is of an item. They have a margin of markup they want to make off an item that comes in their door. So if they have a $300 rod they paid $20 bucks for, the pawn shop is happy if they make their markup margin and you still get a good deal. I'm an old rod and reel repair tech, been doing it for more than 30 years. So I really save a ton of dough buying broken reels. I avoid broken rods if the blank is broken, but reels I clean up on and make some decent side money on them. I just recently scored a $200 reel on ebay for $15.50. The only thing wrong with it is it is missing the spool. I have 6 of the spools on the shelf right now, so no big deal. No one wanted to bid on it. So thanks! I do this all the time buying broken reels usually for less than $10, repairing them myself and reselling them. I then use the profit to buy tackle, boat fuel, etc. This reel I just purchased cost me $15.50 for the reel, the spools were like $2.00 each off ebay and I can resell this reel for close to $100 doing virtually nothing to it. $80 in my pocket for 1 trip to the post office to mail it out. So don't ignore the used gear market! Pawn shops and ebay are great places to find nice gear for decent prices. It is a way for you to have a $300 reel and $300 rod for under $50 as a typical scenario can go...

Drones! Strippers on flaming hoverboards! I gave up on amazon when they started charging me tax! I rarely buy anything on amazon any more. They gotta save me a bunch of money to motivate me to buy from them these days. Back to the strippers idea... maybe I would pay for that! And it ain't free shipping if I gotta pay for it!

They work well here in Florida. Also try rigging them backwards as Dave Mercer shows in this video. I know this video is not about the pit boss, but the technique Dave shows here still works for the pit boss just the same way: Skeet Reese designed the Pit Boss lure. Here is his video explaining it: Hank Parker also loves the Pit Boss. I could not find the exact show he exclusively used it on to post here, but here is a Hank Parker clip discussing winter time lures. Unfortunately in this clip he did not get to the pit boss, but you can see the package is on the work bench in front of him in this next video:

I never use split rings. Absolutely never! I remove them from all lures and tie direct to the lure. You will not find one single lure in my tackle boxes with them, except for attaching the hooks, but not the line. If I need a loose knot for better lure motion I tie a rapala knot.

Yes, I have an idea because I have done it for years and years, decades even. I use to actually save the bushings for what I have no idea now. I tossed all of them into the recycle bin long ago. Every time I come across a bushing in any reel of mine, out it comes and ball bearings are installed. No if's, and's, or but's. I want ball bearings, not bushings. I guess the term "better reel" has various interpretations! But I hear ya! My days of having plastic or brass bushings on a baitcast reel spool went out with the 1980's! Never again! But if some people like bushings over bearings it is AOK with me... but I'm not turning back now. You said we pay more for more bearings in more expensive reels which to some degree might be true, but from my perspective I pay more for a shimano reel with fewer ball bearings and less for other brand reels with MORE ball bearings! Most of my baitcast reels have 10 ball bearings. I like it. I want it. And I will not let shimano decide this for me. Not any more. Today shimano reels are about 50% of what I use down from nearly 100% years ago. The reason is simple, other companies are giving me what I want for less while shimano wants to tell me what I need which is less for more $$$$. Today shimano no longer owns my brand loyalty because of what they do. Here is yet another prime example: The above image is a spool from a shimano calcutta. It clearly shows a very cheap plastic bushing mounted on the spool. This is a money saving cut-corner shimano took. I get less while they keep their prices and profit margin up there, but I, the paying customer are short-changed by shimano and the reel does not cast as far since this plastic bushing offers the spool friction by NOT spinning with the spool when I cast it. This crappola is NOT allowed on my reels! Ticks me off every time I see this on any brand reel. On all of my calcutta's, I knock out the pin, pull off that cheap plastic bushing and install a ceramic hybrid ball bearing so that all 3 spool bearings are ceramic hybrids. No cheap plastic short-cuts on my calcutta's! Bad shimano! But, one of those cheap Korean made Bass Pro reels actually comes from the factory with a stainless steel ball bearing in the same position on the spool where shimano short-cuts with a plastic bushing: So why does a $50 Bass Pro reel come factory with 3 stainless steel ball bearings on the spool, but a $250 shimano calcutta has a cheap plastic bushing on the spool? The drive shaft is another place to make a cost saving short cut and shimano knows it and does it. And another spot to do it: Found another shimano ball bearing shortage with the curado 50e and 51e:

Really simple math honestly. You can still be the best selling while also losing market shares, and mark my words it is happening simply going by the numbers. Back in the 1980's when shimano was establishing their reputation just look at the field of other brands that were available back then- it was far fewer than today. Shimano stood out, but those days are over. Today we have many more brands who have come into the market like Okuma for one who has increased their market share recently by 15% each year for 5 years and growing. Okuma can only increase their market share by taking away from others. And they are not alone. Other reel manufacturers have stepped up to the plate and now offer reels of comparable quality and features and people like myself are turning away from shimano for this reason. More choices and better prices. Simple math dictates shimano can not always carve out increasing market shares forever. From what all I can tell they peaked long ago and are now on the decline in market share percentage as many other companies are increasing their market shares. It goes up and down all the time. It is never the same or carved in stone. I based my opinion on my years of experience repairing reels for one where we use to see higher numbers of shimano reels, but today we see just about everything and decreasing numbers of shimano reels- and opinions of them. People are buying other brands. No doubt about it. That alone tells me shimano is losing market shares. They have to be. Simple math dictates it. And if you keep up with the industry, you can review the shimano financial statements to see where their losses are and how shimano tries to minimize those numbers for their share holders by keeping track of their consolidated financial statements reports issued annually, (here is 2013 as an example) and also by keeping track of the World Fishing Equipment Market Report . They often tell a differing story since shimano pads the numbers for their shareholders. The shimano reports have an agenda while the equipment market reports are not trying to show shareholders favorable numbers. These are just a couple of sources I read up on from time to time to see where the markets are and heading to. From the shimano financial statement report: "Sales from other segments decreased 10.3% from the previous year to 376 million yen and an operating loss of 135 million yen was recorded, following an operating loss of 326 million yen the previous year." Heck shimano is even losing considerable market shares in the bicycle market too: SBS to stop selling Shimano components . Take a read on their reasoning why: ""We have an enormous amount of respect for the quality and engineering of Shimano components, and we have appreciated the opportunity to be a distributor of Shimano in the U.S. market,” said Chris Speyer, managing director of ANA. “Shimano has worked hard to establish a direct-to-dealer distribution network. We appreciate the opportunity that Shimano provided in allowing SBS to be one of the select group of distributors of their products, but in the long term it is clear to us that most dealers will focus their purchasing directly with Shimano. Therefore, based on our focused approach around P&A, we felt it was better to amicably discontinue distribution and focus on brands and categories that will be sustainable for SBS and ANA as a whole.” Translation of this line: "we felt it was better to amicably discontinue distribution and focus on brands and categories that will be sustainable for SBS and ANA as a whole.” Profit margin for shimano dropped meaning shimano's wholesale prices were too high for this distributor to make money distributing shimano so bye shimano! They will focus on cheaper brands that will sustain them in the future with more profit. Sell your own overpriced products shimano! Bottom line is I added it all up and said "shimano is losing market shares" as my opinion of the overall market situation as I see it and I should have clarified that point, but then again, I also considered it a general given. Do any of you follow the work of Alan Tani? He is a notable reel tech who is good at what he does and I have followed him for years. He has his own website and forum dedicated to reel repairs and modifications and on his site you will find some interesting discussion about shimano and other brands... "PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE" in SHIMANO Reels ??? « on: February 09, 2015, 10:51:36 AM » I was surfing the web and came across a couple of interesting items about SHIMANO reels, up to and including the STELLA, outlining problems that seem to transcend all levels of SHIMANO reels. forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?105525-Why-I-Will-Never-Buy-Another-Shimano-Product-Short-Life-Span forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?104471-Stella-6000FA-Repair I wanted to share this for those considering purchasing SHIMANO reels in the future, as well as current owners . . . Something to take into consideration! Tight Lines ! --------------------------------- Ahh "Planned Obsolescence"... Blame Osram, Phillips and other Light Bulb companies for this term and this act.I knew years ago when Shimano Australia was headed by the late Mr John Dunphy (RIP), that Shimano prided themselves on having spare parts for 10 years minimum. Daiwa was a issue a couple of years ago where I had a 2005 Daiwa Laguna 2000 spin reel and it needed a new gear set both pinion and drive gear, a couple of eMails thrown around internally at Daiwa and a reply to me saw a new reel land on my doorstep 2 days later (no questions asked). They, being Daiwa reproduce parts however could take 18 months or more for them to redo parts runs (limited quantities)... Shimano, well "who knows"... Parts are expensive enough for what they are - I guess they have to keep making money somehow??? I guess its just down to how much does a reel cost to replace these days. Something I constantly tell my people that I service for, a reel worth $130 AUD is only worth servicing twice in its lifetime over maybe 3 years or so depending on use and dunking in water. And just looking after it between service intervals with oiling critical areas. ------------------------------------------------------ We are moving to a throw away society more and more. I have found this with lower end reels from all manufacturers not having available parts less than 12 months after being superseded by a new model. And i believe this will start happening with higher end reels sooner rather than later. It is called "Profit Margin". -------------------------------------------------------- Andrew, Dutchy, and others are right -- Most folks like us would like to be loyal to a manufacturer, and also for that producer of our reels to be loyal to us -- in turn. However, this Pollyanna approach on our part is not realistic in today's global economy. The Internet we all love has changed that -- now we can sit in our pajamas -- and order anything we need -- and it will be delivered to our doorstep between 2 and 6 days. As we have adjusted to this new retail consumer market -- the companies that intend to stay in business, have also changed their old views and methods of interacting with their customers (or they are no longer in business). They feel they have needed to throw out the ideas such as Loyalty, Support, Longevity of products, Quality, and even Employee Appreciation. Penn, Daiwa, Shimano, and Okuma -- all have similar stories, nowadays. History is an interesting teacher -- Penn pioneered a new, less expensive tackle market that persevered for many decades. Penn's success forced other manufacturers to close down shop -- including Ocean City. Daiwa flooded the market with literally thousands of various reel models and variations -- and widely different qualities and price ranges. Shimano saw the success of Penn and Daiwa -- and decided to build both cheap quality and very high quality reels. They based part of their business model on really taking good care of the consumer, dealer, and repair shop. In a majority of cases -- when a part was no longer available, a consumer was unhappy, a repair guy complained about certain issues with a reel -- Shimano would just either take care of the issue at no charge, or give the shop or consumer a newer, more advanced reel out of the box. No questions asked. Great advertisement -- and this extra effort insured brand loyalty for years to come. Now comes Okuma on the scene. They look at Penn, Daiwa, and Shimano -- see what has worked, and what has failed -- and decided to concentrate on building both average and very high quality reels. Give clients a little extra, increase quality yearly, and earn their place at the table. But as a consumer, whether we pay $1,300 for a Stella, $120 for a Lethal 100, $70 for a Jigmaster, or $24.99 for a low end Daiwa -- we need to realize that these companies are not going to keep new parts in stock forever. We will be fortunate to have parts support for 2 or 3 years -- that is the reality as we are brutally honest with ourselves. When we can buy a printer for less than the replacement ink cartridge, or get a new expensive cell phone new every two years -- how can we expect anything different from the reel manufacturers -- who are using the same business model as every 21st Century company? Planned obselescence -- it will be interesting to watch. -------------------------------------------- Alan Tani said: i had a conversation with the okuma guys a couple of years ago. their market share had increased 15% a year for 5 years in a row. all by listening to their customers. -------------------------------------------- Good for Okuma. I'm glad for them. Penn has really created a customer loyalty marketing plan from the beginning as I see it. We all have started out with their fairly inexpensive Squidders, Jigmasters, Senators,...on the conventional side, and Penn's silver series spinners. All very reliable and inexpensive to maintain. Then we moved up to the International Series and the SS series reels based on our loyalty and our confident reliability from Penn. Daiwa too had their many planned obsolescence if you look at their line-up but there were some true reels that gained Daiwa's loyalty and trust. Daiwa's Sealine series from the 900H, 600H,...down to the 27H aluminum framed and side plate reels. I have not see one of those gears shred yet. They are real beefy, that's for sure. And for their Spinners, the Black Gold line of reels. I still have and use mine from probably 30 years ago. Strong solid spinner reel that would honestly compete with Penn's SS series growing up in Hawaii. I think Planned Obsolescence was really created by USA's automobile industry. At one time, cars were though to be used for 5 years then we would turn in the old car and buy a new one. Then parts would be available for another 10 years just in case someone kept their car a little longer. Prior to that, it was common for us Americans to drive a car for 10 years or longer. They were easy to fix and parts were readily available even though the car was 20+ years old. The Japanese automotive industry took what us Americans used to do and created a line of cars that lasted easily 300k miles before a rebuild was even considered. They have created customer loyalty based on this. Today, car companies cannot just survive on this customer loyalty, so cars too have gone the way of planned obsolescence.... BTW, for Stellas, I have found that if you send Shimano a Stella reel, they will likely charge you the service fee, but parts are usually free. My friends in Hawaii fish their Stellas very hard for GT. They have stripped gears almost every year, and for the past 3 years, they have sent their reels in to Shimano and have been getting replacement gears for free. Granted, if they had to pay $50 or more for a gear set every year, they would not continue to buy Stellas to complete their fishing reel line up...from 10# to 80# braid. Bling bling...I feel poor just thinking about it..... ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you listen to general discussion like the above found on Alan Tani's forum, it is clear shimano is throwing their reputation down the drain with overpriced everything! This is why they are losing market shares and why other companies are increasing theirs! I think it is a safe bet to say "my opinion" is more grounded in truth and reality than just a loose opinion of mine thrown around carelessly. ***I am having to remove links to post this info here...