Old Combo is Back

[JediAmoeba]

Well, not that old... but back in the 1997 when i was just 17-18 a friend and I really started fishing hard and I was using a baitcaster I had bought from KMart - A daiwa TriForce. I loved that reel on my 6' ugly stick and I fished for everything from catfish and bass to Muskie and Bowfin. That puppy would throw 3 oz Muskie lures or 1/4 oz baits. One rod, one reel except for my little Shakespeare panfish combo to catch live bait. I always watched the fishing shows and read about tournaments in magazines. I lived on my own and I decided I wanted my first expensive reel, so I settled on a Tram Daiwa-X and mailordered over the phone from Bass Pro. I remember the reel was over $200 which was insane for me at the time - I lived alone and only made $9 an hour so it took a while to make this. I also ordered a 6' pistol grip Fenwick to put it on because those were all the rage. Back then I used straight spiderwire for everything because that stuff was amazing and lasted me forever. 

 

Anyway, I loved that reel - it always cast great and I could put a bait wherever I wanted. I rebuilt a few times, even wearing out at least 2 line guide pawls and breaking a handle. I was always able to call and get the parts I needed. 5 years ago I still used that reel, however it was on a different rod since that Fenwick had come and gone. Someone stole all my rods/reels(except one in the car) in the spring when I was spooling them up for the year. It was the middle of the day, I leaned them up against the garage behind the house and went in to feed my kids. I came outside 45.minutes later and they were gone. The only one that really crushed me was losing that Team-X. I told a buddy of mine last year about it and he got me one at a Flea Market but it needed a lot of TLC. This winter I got the bearings, cleaned it up and it's back and ready to roll. 

 

Well, I went to my local tackle store to inquire about a good old pistol grip rod - he told me to hold on, went in the back and came out with a 5'6" G Loomis pistol grip and told me to keep it. I am really excited about this and immediately went home, put the reel on the rod and tied on a spinnerbait. 

 

It feels like a piece of my bass fishing past is a part of me again...

[bowhunter63]

Nice

[DaubsNU1]

Excellent!

[Hulkster]

really cool 

[Tatulatard]

Good ol td-x.  They just work.  

[mrpao]

A friend of mine had two of the TD-X back in those days. He had them on the Team Daiwa green rods.

[JediAmoeba]

2 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

Good ol td-x.  They just work.  

For an older reel they hold up pretty well against new tech.

[FishTank]