What got you "started" on your favorite brands? Nostalgic story time

[CrashVector]

I grew up fishing with my dad.  We never had much money growing up (he was a history teacher, mom was a nurse), but my dad took a LOT of pride in his hunting and fishing gear.

 

His ultimate pride and joy though was a 1960 Winchester model 70 featherweight in 270 Win. That he bought brand new for something like $280 lol!

 

He had numerous rods and reels by all kinds of brands.  I remember him showing me these all-metal Shakespeare and Pfleuger (and other brands also all metal) casting reels from the 50's, etc.  You know...back when they actually had lifetime warranties on fishing reels.  He had a lot of em.

 

Then...he'd slowly open the tackle box that was full of other boxes...original boxes that contained his Abu Garcias.  All of them made in Sweden.  He'd open them carefully, slowly, and the look on his face I'll never forget...like a kid on Christmas all over again.  The bright reds and blues and silvers on the reels...all spotless and looked like the day they were made.  Then, he'd tell me the story again of how Abu Garcia started as a watch maker, etc.  I'd sit and listen and pretend I hadn't heard that story a hundred times already.

 

He always said "Abu Garcia is the Cadillac.  You might find ones that are just as good, or more expensive, but you WON'T find ones that are better."

 

It always used to make me laugh.  Abu was Cadillac...the best.  Pfleuger was a Buick...almost as good as a caddy but not quite.  Shakespeare was an Oldsmobile...it wasn't refined or pretty, but it got the job done for less money.

 

The spincast reels he loved the most were his Diawa Gold Cast and a Diawa Silver Cast.  He used the HELL out of those throwing Johnson beetlespins for bluegill.

 

He would say the same thing about fishing lines.  Trilene was the Cadillac of mono (there was no such thing as braid or fluorocarbon then when I was 6 or 7 years old), but he'd buy others if they were on sale at the local TG&Y, hardware store, or K&B.  When braid came out he said "Yeah, it's supposed to be more sensitive, but I don't have problems catching them now, so I'm gonna stick with what works.". It must have, because my dad and his friends would catch PILES of fish.

 

Ironically or not, he loved Shimano spinning reels...the ones with the "trigger" for casting when they first came out.  He said "They're smooth as oiled glass, plus you can get em at wal mart for $30.  The new ones aren't as good though."

 

He was super excited about that.  My hometown didn't get a Walmart nearby until about 1986 or 87...so the fact they had a huge sporting goods section back then that actually had QUALITY stuff was like heaven for him.  They'd even special order guns for you...any gun you wanted out of a huge catalog of all the manufacturers, including specialty firearms.  Those days were great.

 

I'd get a new Abu and immediately drive the 1.5hrs back home to let my dad take a took at it.  He'd go "Oh that's niiice!  You sure take after your old man."

 

Today, I still get that little "twinge" when I get a new Abu because of my dad.

 

He loved boron rods with pistol grips (which I hate), and his favorites were Shakespeare.

 

For the most part, I agree with him about Abu.  You can find ones just as good, or more expensive.. but you won't find one better for the same money.

 

He and I disagreed on Shakespeare rods though.  I had a bunch because they were inexpensive, and I DID catch a lot of fish on them, but looking back, the quality was.. well...1980's lol.  But hey...you could buy em at Wal Mart for $20.

 

[ironbjorn]

I don't have a favorite brand of reels per se, but I love how Lews fits into my effeminate Burger King commercial hands. I think I probably have more Shimanos now though, they're just better.

 

My favorite rod brand is Dobyns. I had an idea of what I liked in a rod, but I never could quite find it in any of the brands I was trying. Strong backbone, some tip, something not moderate fast but also not fast. My first Dobyns rod (which happened to be a Fury) was IT. I didn't want to spend the time or the money for a custom, mostly because I'm impatient as all get out when it comes to waiting for items (I overnight ship almost everything even if I can't immediately use it). Dobyns was everything I was looking for. Some lines are faster, some are slower, but they still have the characteristics I was looking for. I eventually moved onto Sierras and Kadens, and now Champ XPs as well. 

 

I'm sorry but specs alone show that equal offerings price wise between Abu and Shimano/Daiwa are not the same, Shimano and Daiwa are clearly better.

[Basseditor]

I was given a Daiwa reel in the mid-90s. It was one of the most expensive reels at that time. It got me hooked on the brand. It took a long time after that before my circumstances changed enough to where I can afford to buy them. 

 

I've used most major brands of reels, but I have more Daiwa than any others. For the last 4 years or so, I buy Daiwa almost exclusively with Steez my preferred choice. But the latest Zillions are really nice. Having said that, none of the reels are stock anymore. I prefer longer handles and ZPI bearings. 

 

 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, CrashVector said:

there was no such thing as braid

 

Braided line was around long before monofilament it just wasn't polyethylene (UHMWPE). It was Cotton, Dacron, Micron, Suture Material (Silk),

 

I grew up on the Louisiana Gulf Coast where saltwater fishing was vastly more popular than freshwater fishing. Penn reels ruled the saltwater scene & what I used for bass fishing.

 

Rods were all fiberglass, stiff, & heavy (in weight). My Dad had one that was actually made of steel (my oldest brother still has it).

 

My first bass fishing combo was 

Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 (red)

Heddon Mark Special Purpose #6271 5 1/2' MH Fiberglass with a cast aluminum reel seat & handle.

Total weight about 2# plus!

 

[Mobasser]

My older brother gave me a red ABU 5000 when I was around 13. Before that I used a Zebco 33. Both are good reels.                          Now,  I still use ABU 4600C , along with Lew's casting reels. Spinning reels Ive owned and used mostly Shimano, and now have a Lew's spinning reel also. Also have an old ABU Zebco Cardinal 4 which I've retired now.                                          I'd say Shimano is probably my favourite brand. Rods I've used are Berkeley, ABU, St Croix, and Fenwick.

[Captain Phil]

3 hours ago, CrashVector said:

I grew up fishing with my dad.  We never had much money growing up (he was a history teacher, mom was a nurse), but my dad took a LOT of pride in his hunting and fishing gear.

 

I am probably old enough to be your Dad.  ☺️

 

My fishing reel journey started in the early sixties. At that time, the "Cadillac" of bass fishing reels was the Pflueger supreme.  This was one of the first free spool casting reels.  As I remember it cost around $20, a fortune at the time. No one had any money back then.  We weren't poor, but things we take for granted today were for rich folks.

 

My first love for fishing reels was the Mitchel 300 spinning reel. These reels were very smooth with a great drag system.  With light mono, you could cast lures lighter and farther than you never could before.  They were somewhat heavy by today's standards and the bail springs would break often.  This came with the territory back then. Early black and red Ambassadeurs were what most people wanted in a casting reel and I had dozens of them. Anyone could disassemble and reassemble them and we did.

 

When the ambassadeur 5500C came out, we thought things couldn't get any better.  The best you could do was have one of these on a pistol grip Speed Stick Rod. I still have one in my garage.  They were a high quality "high speed" 5/1 reels and the standard in bass fishing for a long time.

 

When you are young and strong, fishing rod and reel weight is not an issue.  I started using Shimano reels because of the quality and light weight.  Once you start down this path, all other reels don't measure up to Shimano. The only Diawa reels I got into were their Black Gold spinning reels.  They were a simple, light, inexpensive workhorse reel that is very hard to top.   

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Cool stories man, thanks for sharing. 

 

I don't particularly have any brand loyalty/favorites, much less tied to anything sentimental. 3/4 of the casting rods I use most often are iRod. I bought my first one because @WRB put in a good word for them on multiple occasions, I think in particular for Fred's Frog/Magic Stick. Of course I did some more research before getting em, but I love em. They are wonderfully balanced, durable, and load nicely. 

 

But... it's not like I'm only going to buy iRods. Other brands make rods with different specifications than iRod offers. And eventually I'll probably go the custom route. 

 

Edit: Hopefully no one reads my responses on the frog fishing thread otherwise they'll bust me saying that I do in fact have one brand favorite.

?

Edited March 16, 2022 by LrgmouthShad

[the reel ess]

Let's see. My dad started me off crappie and bluegill (and whatever else bit) fishing. We were the bucket brigade. We kept and ate everything. I was out with him and a family friend once and they were using minnows with little success. I was bored and my dad told me to tie a Mr. Twister grub on my Zebco 33. I wore them old guys out that day. These things would catch anything in the lake it seemed. That's my first brand recognition. But they were expensive so we bought thousands of knockoffs and my dad's friend bought a jighead mold.

 

When I was 13 I asked for a Daiwa Procaster 100 Magforce baitcaster because Bill Dance was using one on his show. That reel worked well for about 35 years. I had to replace the worm gear pawl twice. One would think that I would be a Daiwa man for life after such a good experience. But they outpriced me.

 

Other than that, I was fond of Cabela's clothing and own one of their rods. But now that they're really BPS, It doesn't mean as much. The older I get, the less brand loyalty I have.

[Dwight Hottle]

4 hours ago, CrashVector said:

 

 

His ultimate pride and joy though was a 1960 Winchester model 70 featherweight in 270 Win. That he bought brand new for something like $280 lol!

 

 

 

 

 

That $280 was a lot of money for a rifle in 1960. That's about $2470 in todays dollars. 

[Deleted account]

I have no favorite brands. I am a marketers worst nightmare. I do have a soft spot for Rapala, because it was the first lure I owned (silver/blue back original #9), and I got it by climbing up a tree and dangling 15 feet over the water. But I will fish with whatever Works for me no matter who makes it.

Oh, and while I like the OG slim and the tiny, they need to look at the QA on the bill attachment and the finish smear. If these are tank tested, they need to take the swim up to bar out of that pool, If I want to tune cranks instead of fish, I'd buy some Normans....

[Randy Price]

I, like the OP, grew up w/o a lot of money.  My first rod and reel was a Zebco reel and a no name rod.  I fished with it until I started mowing lawns and then bought a Daiwa Goldcast Spincast GC 80 reel and a Eagle Claw fiberglass rod.  I fished with that until I was an adult.  In 1998 I started a new job and my new boss was an avid fisherman.  He owned a cabin on Lost Lake in St. Germain, WI.  He introduced me to SC rods (AVIDS) and Shimano Stradics.  I was never the same after that.  He also introduced me to musky fishing which I look forward to every fall.  He passed away a few years ago at a very young age.  I can't look at a SC rod with a Stradic on it and not think of him.

[A-Jay]

What got you "started" on your favorite brands ?

 

My "favorite brands" have changed or I suppose, sort of evolved over the years.

Along the way there was a good bit of trial & error.

Looking back, I attribute most of the disappointments to my unwillingness to adhere

to two basic premises.

 

"Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives."

 

"The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten”

 

After experiencing a little bit of both ends of the spectrum, I've come to believe the above

and allow it to drive much of my decision making matrix. 

End result, I'm much happier. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[KSanford33]

I have a similar background. I grew up lower middle class (emphasis on the LOWER). 

 

 When I was 12 years old, my uncle owned a repair garage and I used to work for him doing odd jobs to make money for fishing gear. This was around 1992 and there were two reels I had to have: The original Abu Garcia Gold Max for a baitcaster and the Quantum HyperCast for a spinning reel. So I worked for about a month straight, earning $10/day until I could afford them. The Gold Max has been lost to history, but I still use the HyperCast as my primary spinning reel.

 For lures, it's always been Rapala and Strike King. Mainly from watching BDO and Hank Parker as a kid.

[Alex from GA]

If I have a brand loyalty it's to Zoom finesse worms.  I do buy Shimano bait casting reels on e-bay but have gotten away from those lately being too slow.  Yes you can teach an old dog new tricks. 

 

[king fisher]

When I was 13 years old back in 1976 a three pound bass smashed my only top water plug, a Fred Arbogast Jitterbug.  I instantly became an Arbogast fan.  My friend and I had many arguments on what was better, a Heddon Crazy Crawler, or a Jitterbug.  I didn't care how many bass he caught on hia Crazy Crawler, that three pound bass had me hooked on the Jitterbug.  He was loyal to Heddon, I was an Fred Arbogast fan. I fish almost every brand now, but still have a Jitterbug.

[Darth-Baiter]

Not including Apple, I’m not brand loyal at all.

 

im all over the place. 

[CrashVector]

15 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Not including Apple, I’m not brand loyal at all.

 

im all over the place. 

 

When I was in college, I was all about Shakespeare/Pfleuger.  I still have a few of my old combos from back then.

43 minutes ago, king fisher said:

When I was 13 years old back in 1976 a three pound bass smashed my only top water plug, a Fred Arbogast Jitterbug.  I instantly became an Arbogast fan.  My friend and I had many arguments on what was better, a Heddon Crazy Crawler, or a Jitterbug.  I didn't care how many bass he caught on hia Crazy Crawler, that three pound bass had me hooked on the Jitterbug.  He was loyal to Heddon, I was an Fred Arbogast fan. I fish almost every brand now, but still have a Jitterbug.

 

I have a few jitterbugs lol!

 

Heddon, arbogast, and smithwick.  All of my plugs are made by one of these three lol

[gim]

Most of my reels are of a Shimano brand.  The reason I use them is because it was the brand I decided to try first and I've been satisfied with their performance over the years.  Rods are primarily St Croix.  I like their customer service and they've gone above and beyond more than once when I needed a replacement.  I could see myself trying other brands at some point though.

 

Shotguns are Benelli.  I couldn't afford one when I bought my first shotgun at 18, so I had to use a Remington pump instead.  That thing sucked.  It was heavy and unreliable.  Eventually I got a better job and I could afford to upgrade.  Benellis are hand-made Italian craftsmanship and the operating system never jams.  Current rifle is a Remington Model 700 bolt action.  It has tack-driving, long range accuracy.  There's a reasonable chance I'll never use another brand of shotgun or rifle again based on the performance and reliability I've experienced.

[WRB]

 1st bait casting rod-reel was a Langley Target 340 and Connolin feather lite 5 1/2’ tubular glass rod, line was Ashaway 10 lb Dacron, 1955.

2nd , Abu Garcia 5000 on Eagle Claw 5 1/2’ Bass rod with Stren 17 lb mono, 1961.

3rd, Abu Garcia 5000C, same Eagle Claw rod, 1963.

4th& 5th, 2 each Abu Garcia 2500C & 4500C, 1968, Trilene 12 lb mono, Fenwick rods.

6th Shimano Bantam 1000, custom Fenwick 7’ Popping rod blank, 10 Trilene, crank bait rod,1973

7th, 3 each Daiwa TD HIA 105, Custom Lamiglas 6’10” rods, Big Game 10 & 12 lb mono, 1990, 12lb Sunline Shooter, HTIA 103 reel. Fenwick Techna AV 7’ MH rod.

8th, Shimano Calcutta 250, Lamiglas custom swimbait rod, 20 lb Big Game mono.

9th, 2 ea Shimano Cardiff 300, IRod 8’ H Swimbait rod, IRG 754F frog rod, 20 lb mono/  65 lb Fins braid.

10th, 3 ea, Daiwa Tatula 100XS, 3 ea custom ALX 6’10” rods.**

11th, Major Craft 6’8” MF Splash-It rod with Shimano MGL 70 reel, 11 Armillo.*

Misc Reels Daiwa TD Fuego etc, etc.

That is the fresh water casting history as I recall.

Tom

* still have this

** still have 1.

 

 

 

[QED]

11 hours ago, CrashVector said:

I grew up fishing with my dad.  We never had much money growing up (he was a history teacher, mom was a nurse), but my dad took a LOT of pride in his hunting and fishing gear.

 

His ultimate pride and joy though was a 1960 Winchester model 70 featherweight in 270 Win. That he bought brand new for something like $280 lol!

 

[stuff deleted]

 

Wow, an original pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in 270!  For earlier generations, that was sort of the holy grail - perhaps the late Jack O'Connor's favorite rifle.  I'm a .243/6mm caliber fan due to the high ballistic efficiency of the available bullets, but that's a view that only became viable when fast twist barrels became commonly available.

[WRB]

Spinning reels-rods are a short list.

1st was a Mitchell 308 reel on Connolin Feather lite 2 pc 6’ rod, 6 lb Stren mono. This was my trout and crappie rod, 1959.

2nd, Zebco-Abu Cardinal #4 (green) reel on Fenwick 6’ 6”rod, 1968, 6 lb Royal Bonyl mono. 1st bass spinning combo, line Canadian night crawlers. This became my finesse combo for split shot in the late  70’s.

 3rd, Shimano Stradic 2500 on Phenix 6’6” split shot rod with Trilene XL, 8 lb., 1990.

4th, Shimano Stradic 1000 on Phenix 6”6” split shot rod, Maxima. 5 lb UG line ( my sons outfit).*

5 th, Shimano Vanford 2500, SC Victory 7’1” MH rod, 5 lb Maxima UG, current finesse combo.*

Tom

* combos I still have.

[CrashVector]

32 minutes ago, QED said:

 

Wow, an original pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in 270!  For earlier generations, that was sort of the holy grail - perhaps the late Jack O'Connor's favorite rifle.  I'm a .243/6mm caliber fan due to the high ballistic efficiency of the available bullets, but that's a view that only became viable when fast twist barrels became commonly available.

 

My dad had all of Jack O'Connor's books LOL

[Jmilburn76]

Only 1 brand pops in my head from memories and its Zebco. I grew up fishing with my grandpa and all he used was Zebco 33 reels when they were made in USA and metal. He never used an artificial lure only night crawlers or toby worms along with plastic floats. 

 

He grew up in a time where if you didn't fish, farm and hunt you didn't eat and that's all he knew. Later in his life I think he fished for fun but still kept and ate anything worthwhile.  Outside of that there was literally 3 restaurants he ever got food from and that itself was a rare occurrence, Captain Ds, KFC and Shoneys. I never seen that man eat a slice of pizza!  My grandma cooked from scratch daily 95% of the time as well as worked full time.

 

So for me Zebco will always have a place in my heart even though I don't own any of their stuff today.

 

 

[CrashVector]

2 minutes ago, Jmilburn76 said:

Only 1 brand pops in my head from memories and its Zebco. I grew up fishing with my grandpa and all he used was Zebco 33 reels when they were made in USA and metal. He never used an artificial lure only night crawlers or toby worms along with plastic floats. 

 

He grew up in a time where if you didn't fish, farm and hunt you didn't eat and that's all he knew. Later in his life I think he fished for fun but still kept and ate anything worthwhile.  Outside of that there was literally 3 restaurants he ever got food from and that itself was a rare occurrence, Captain Ds, KFC and Shoneys. I never seen that man eat a slice of pizza!  My grandma cooked from scratch daily 95% of the time as well as worked full time.

 

So for me Zebco will always have a place in my heart even though I don't own any of their stuff today.

 

 

 

My grandpa and yours had a lot in common.

 

I have his old zebco 33.  I don't even know what ride it's on anymore because the name has long since worn off, but it's red lol!  

 

I make sure it's maintained so it doesn't rust or anything, but I'm almost afraid to use it because I would be heartbroken if something happened to it.

[QED]

These are the rods/reels I used as a teenager.  They still work as well as new, though I've long since moved on to higher tech stuff.  Pity Ryobi got out of the fishing tackle business.  Once I was accepted to college during early admissions, I frequently cut high school to go fishing in the San Joaquin County delta system.  Good times.