ARK Reels?

[PhishLI]

Without providing any detail, Randall Tharp let on that ARK has a reel(s) in the works. Claimed he was fishing with 1 of 6 in existence.

[Deleted account]

Something else with Abu/Lews interchangeable parts?...

[PhishLI]

2 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Something else with Abu/Lews interchangeable parts?...

We need an exorcism here, folks. He's been possessed by the spirit of Baitfinesse.

[Deleted account]

15 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

We need an exorcism here, folks. He's been possessed by the spirit of Baitfinesse.

LOL. I wish, gonna be "drop shotting" for sea bass in 400 feet plus of water and a 3 lb sinker for the next few weeks. 

[Columbia Craw]

There is a manufacturing network in Asia and if you want hard baits, design a copycat design is easily provided. You want a reel to compliment your rod series. No problem.  The computer design can be tweaked to import your feature list.  Kistler, Duckett, Eagle Claw, Fitzpatrick, and now Ark and Dobyns have entered the market.  

[EWREX]

what’s the point? there’s no competing with daiwa and shimano in terms of quality and performance and then you already have the second tier brands like abu garcia, lews, quantum, and okuma that already exist

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, EWREX said:

what’s the point?

I just added another Zillion class Daiwa to my pile of reels which includes newer Shimanos, but I also own so-called "2nd" tier reels. I'm open minded, and actually prefer some of them to their comparably priced D&S counterparts. There's no point in speculating about something one hasn't actually fished with yet. Not everything from Daiwa or Shimano is special, and sometimes other manufacturers quietly put out surprisingly good stuff that is.

[rangerjockey]

1 hour ago, EWREX said:

what’s the point? there’s no competing with daiwa and shimano in terms of quality and performance and then you already have the second tier brands like abu garcia, lews, quantum, and okuma that already exist

100%.  Unless it's some kind of move to market a combo like BPS or move into Wal Mart like Lew's,  I don't get it.

 I was surprised when Fitzgerald did it and even more so when Kistler did it. To me it just cheapens the brand. 

[Deleted account]

16 hours ago, EWREX said:

what’s the point? there’s no competing with daiwa and shimano in terms of quality and performance and then you already have the second tier brands like abu garcia...

When CrashVector starts hurling 2nd generation Revos at you and flogs you with  his 7'6" H  Veritas, I'm not coming to your aid....  

[Phil77]

2 hours ago, EWREX said:

what’s the point? there’s no competing with daiwa and shimano in terms of quality and performance and then you already have the second tier brands like abu garcia, lews, quantum, and okuma that already exist

LOL, the Lew's clamshell reels will fish circles around any of the 20 spider reels. Do you at least get one of those stupid wide bill hats for free? Lew's gives you a nice regular cap, shirt, or hoodie for 10 bucks when you buy a reel.

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

I just added another Zillion class Daiwa to my pile of reels which includes newer Shimanos, but I also own so-called "2nd" tier reels. I'm open minded, and actually prefer some of them to their comparably priced D&S counterparts. There's no point in speculating about something one hasn't actually fished with yet. Not everything from Daiwa or Shimano is special, and sometimes other manufacturers quietly put out surprisingly good stuff that is.

Agree.  Really enjoy my older Patriarch XTs.  And how many fish with a Pinnacle Primmus?  Absolutely love mine.

[EWREX]

1 hour ago, Phil77 said:

LOL, the Lew's clamshell reels will fish circles around any of the 20 spider reels. Do you at least get one of those stupid wide bill hats for free? Lew's gives you a nice regular cap, shirt, or hoodie for 10 bucks when you buy a reel.

dang, coming right for my throat! i like your style. i’ve owned lews abu and quantum and they were very serviceable and i never said anything bad about them. who put vinegar in your cheerios this morning?

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

When CrashVector starts hurdling 2nd generation Revos at you and flogs you with  his 7'6" H  Veritas, I'm not coming to your aid....  

[zpelletier]

3 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

  Unless it's some kind of move to market a combo like BPS or move into Wal Mart like Lew's,  I don't get it.

 I’m pretty sure this is it. Being able to sell combos has to at least be a huge part of the motivation. I just recently started seeing Dobyns in my local Dicks (which usually has a tick poor selection). I’m sure that trying to broaden their market has a huge appeal. The Lew’s Speed Spool LFS gets rave reviews, if you could get essentially the same thing with your brand on it and sell it as a combo I can see the appeal. I don’t think any of these companies are really trying to compete with Daiwa or Shimano. 

[PhishLI]

11 hours ago, Phil77 said:

Lew's gives you a nice regular cap, shirt, or hoodie for 10 bucks when you buy a reel.

You forgot the bowl of soup.

[Phil77]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

You forgot the bowl of soup.

The ten dollar hoodie goes better with my 2nd tier reels. In all seriousness I've fished every manufacturer over the years and if I was to rank any manufacturer second tier it would be Daiwa at the moment. The lews reel in this picture is twice the reel the steez is for half the price. Palms better, casts way farther, and might be lighter. I've had the steez on FB marketplace for two months and not one inquiry.

[PhishLI]

11 minutes ago, Phil77 said:

I was to rank any manufacturer second tier it would be Daiwa at the moment. The lews reel in this picture is twice the reel the steez is for half the price.

You wearing a helmet??

P.S. Next up for me is the latest Custom Pro SLP

[Phil77]

8 hours ago, PhishLI said:

You wearing a helmet??

P.S. Next up for me is the latest Custom Pro SLP

I don't skip so no need for that model but it looks cool. Let me clarify on my opinion of the current daiwa reels. I didn't always despise daiwa, in fact the one in the picture is the hands down best USDM reel they ever released. I bought this one new in 05 or 06 cant remember the exact year and fished it until 2020. Hands down the best reel I've ever fished. Won a ton of money and caught countless bass and the only thing i ever had to replace was the palm side spool bearing. It still has the original drag and i would put it up against any reel they have released in the last decade. They used to have so many truly awesome reels, the original Sol and Fuego's, the JDM TDZ's i mean they had shimano and the others beat in style and performance. Then some genius came up with the t wing they had to incorporate into almost every reel and the 20 variants of the tatula. Even the lone holdout the Alphas now has that stupid t wing.Talk about 10 steps backwards, you can accomplish the same thing by moving the line guide farther from the spool and making it a cone shape. When shimano started with the SVS i tried giving daiwa another chance. I tried the tat sv and wasn't impressed at all, tat ct type r bulky but way better than the sv. Tat 100 was just ok nothing special. Two Steez models, the A and the SV was another huge disappointment.  A $500 dollar flagship reel with a plastic drag star give me a break. I might give the new zillion a try when the JDM models get down to $200, they are already at $260 so shouldn't be much longer. To try to put their current reels in the same class as the older reels is just laughable. If they would simply re release the 100SHA with none of the stupid hyper or boost marketing and no t wing they might be back on top until then I'll stick with my 2nd tier reels.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

10 minutes ago, Phil77 said:

I don't skip so no need for that model but it looks cool. Let me clarify on my opinion of the current daiwa reels. I didn't always despise daiwa, in fact the one in the picture is the hands down best USDM reel they ever released. I bought this one new in 05 or 06 cant remember the exact year and fished it until 2020. Hands down the best reel I've ever fished. Won a ton of money and caught countless bass and the only thing i ever had to replace was the palm side spool bearing. It still has the original drag and i would put it up against any reel they have released in the last decade. They used to have so many truly awesome reels, the original Sol and Fuego's, the JDM TDZ's i mean they had shimano and the others beat in style and performance. Then some genius came up with the t wing they had to incorporate into almost every reel and the 20 variants of the tatula. Even the lone holdout the Alphas now has that stupid t wing.Talk about 10 steps backwards, you can accomplish the same thing by moving the line guide farther from the spool and making it a cone shape. When shimano started with the SVS i tried giving daiwa another chance. I tried the tat sv and wasn't impressed at all, tat ct type r bulky but way better than the sv. Tat 100 was just ok nothing special. Two Steez models, the A and the SV was another huge disappointment.  A $500 dollar flagship reel with a plastic drag star give me a break. I might give the new zillion a try when the JDM models get down to $200, they are already at $260 so shouldn't be much longer. To try to put their current reels in the same class as the older reels is just laughable. If they would simply re release the 100SHA with none of the stupid hyper or boost marketing and no t wing they might be back on top until then I'll stick with my 2nd tier reels.

This exactly how I feel about Daiwa. They went from a bulletproof lineup where each model was a definite step up to a race with Lews to see who can put out the most redundant variants. 

[dodgeguy]

On 2/9/2022 at 4:55 AM, EWREX said:

what’s the point? there’s no competing with daiwa and shimano in terms of quality and performance and then you already have the second tier brands like abu garcia, lews, quantum, and okuma that already exist

That's a bunch of bs. Lew's quality for the dollar is way better.

[PhishLI]

On 2/10/2022 at 3:50 AM, Phil77 said:

Then some genius came up with the t wing they had to incorporate into almost every reel and the 20 variants of the tatula. Even the lone holdout the Alphas now has that stupid t wing.

This theme about T-Wing hate...whatever. I'm aware of the faction elsewhere that's all twisted up about it. I'm agnostic on the subject as long as we're talking about + or - 100-ish sized reels. I don't use leaders on baitcasters and I rarely "line feel". Besides some philosophic disdain for it, I can't see where it hurts performance whatsoever. Where I definitely appreciate it is on the Tat 300 with heavy mono, and the heavier the lb test the more it shines. As nice as my Tranx 300 is, I feel 25lb mono fighting its way through the aperture, especially if the line guide isn't centered before the cast, and I'm not going to bother with that. Nope.

 

Honestly, I can't get all wrapped up in the endless TT quibbles. I get the nostalgia thing, but drag star materiaI? I could care less, and choose to direct my energy elsewhere. That said, I don't discount what you or anyone else focuses on and broadcasts because I have my own formed opinions, and some are definitely unpopular. They're my feet, so I know exactly which shoe is comfortable for me regardless of what anyone else thinks out loud. Ya know?

On 2/10/2022 at 3:50 AM, Phil77 said:

I don't skip so no need for that model but it looks cool.

P.S. You're thinking of the SP. I'm getting this one:

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lews_Custom_Pro_SLP_Casting_Reel/descpage-CPSP.html

[new2BC4bass]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:27 AM, PhishLI said:

P.S. You're thinking of the SP. I'm getting this one:

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lews_Custom_Pro_SLP_Casting_Reel/descpage-CPSP.html

 

Can you compare it against the Pro Z once you have used the Custom Pro?  Thanks.

[zpelletier]

A lot of the hate I see for Daiwa seems to be people that don’t like the T-wing or it doesn’t palm well for them. But those are just personal preference issues. Even coming out with multiple “redundant” reels, is that really an issue? I mean that they’re a huge company, I’m sure they do marketing research before they put out products, and communities like this usually don’t represent the majority of the market. Other than a potential argument over bang for your buck, is there issues with Daiwa’s quality control or some other tangible factor?

[EWREX]

2 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

That's a bunch of bs. Lew's quality for the dollar is way better.

fair point and opinion, i did fish a speed spool LFS for a few years and it was bullet proof for $100

[rtwvumtneer6]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:39 PM, PhishLI said:

ARK has a reel(s) in the works

You've peaked my interest.  Not in the reel, but the decision and strategy.  

 

I'll be on the boat with someone very well connected with Ark next week.  I'll have to do some digging.  

[PhishLI]

8 minutes ago, rtwvumtneer6 said:

I'll be on the boat with someone very well connected with Ark next week.  I'll have to do some digging.  

Cool. I'm always optimistic. You never know 'til you know.