Nice show, naturally! Interesting array of gear, new, old, so many things to see and so little time to see it all! Penn, Okuma, Daiwa all had some very interesting new pieces to draw attention.
First off, Penn took Best Saltwater Reel again this year. This time the Clash brought home the honors. This reel is priced between the Torque and Spinfisher, but is it's own unique reel - doesn't seem related to either. Very light in weight, very useable and predictable drag for the line test intended, light weight, more refined. Nice addition and will be much appreciated by the inshore oriented fishing enthusiasts.
Daiwa showed two new gems, very small star drag reels... THEY'VE BROUGHT BACK THE SALTIGA! Well, sort of. The first two pieces are very small, but very well executed. Huge gears on such a small reel - big power expected. Should be a very fun piece to fish.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chark,
Okuma got Best Saltwater Lure honors with their Savage series lures. This side of their business really has expanded again. Some interesting jigs, soft baits, hard baits, etc.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chark,
Back to Daiwa, new upgraded Coastal and Lexa HD reels will be coming. The current Lexa pieces are not going away, Daiwa's producing an extreme duty, stainless steel drive and pinion gears, six CRB bearings, 7:1 and 8:1 gearing...This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chark,
Accurate also showed a small sized, more compact reel. Their new 300 holds about 300 yds of 30# they say, but sure looks like a skinny 40 would be appropriate. Looks like a tough little reel. In production it will be silver...unless enough folks call them and suggest otherwise.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chark,
Okuma really packs a large footprint at these shows these days. Quite a change from just a few years ago. They have really come a long long way. They're hitting home runs in reels, lures with back to back Best of Show in that category, rods which are solid. They're listening and coming out with what most of us want.
I'll show a few of the things from Okuma which caught my eye: - Makaira Series - new SEA 80 and 130! Now those are big reels! I'm wondering who needs better bearings and freespool for these beasts? I don't meet with the Okuma guys until tomorrow, so maybe it will make more sense then. But, they sure do look good!
Penn showed off some new production silver Internationals. They are not doing away with gold, but they are introducing their reels in silver. My gosh they look better to my eye - Fresh!
I've got a few more pics to post, maybe if I get up early or...tomorrow night. Time for me to crash. But, you get the drift, some neat gear. Nothing revolutionary, but lots of refinement and focus on application from the majors.
Steve. ain't no drought here either judging by the Florida weather we apparently brought home. It's been raining and humid since I landed Saturday morning.
On the Daiwa, I think the Lexa targeted a more sensible application range for large baitcasters, and saw an opportunity to improve upon the piece for those who want the features. Last year I saw some folks who felt insecure with their casting skills or line leveling, they wanted something as an alternative to practicing their casting. And, there have been those using the reel for tossing iron...that just doesn't seem like a good reason for the reel's existence to me, despite the hype on sponsored radio or tv shows. There are plenty of other reels more suited to the range of fish, demands of fishing we see offshore. For pulling bass out of kelp, maybe a whiteseabass or 20# yellowtail on a private boat, fun stuff no doubt. But, for what some have been doing with a pricey Tranx, given limited inches per crank or limited power (if one fished the higher gear model) well it does not make great sense to me. It's a musky reel that's being re-marketed to saltwater folks since the hoped for striper guys got turned off by the reels weight. Shimano needed to capture some saltwater market with the piece or loose their shirt. (of course that's conjecture and opinion). It's not a surface iron reel, and I've seen plenty of newbies doing that.
Having said that, I have a Lexa 300 and might look at their upgrade model in the 400 size...if I see myself fishing the 300 more than I have! For a couple hundred, it's a fun toy and I'll get my use out of it. As a $400 reel, wow there are so many other reels I'd rather have with me on a big boat fishing long range stuff than a Tranx. If I were doing more local private boating rather than long range, I'd no doubt be using it more. But for fishing the big boats, this really isn't the type gear I'd want in my hands...especially these past two years! I'd put the money somewhere else...and for $400 my gosh there are a lot of better reels to own!!! Give me a 2 speed Andros 5 in a heartbeat. An Avet JX 2 speed, Penn Fathom 2 speed... But,for a person fishing more inshore, wanting to fish heavier lines, these larger baitcasters have some reason to exist...but please don't use 'em for tossing surface iron or deepwater jigging. Get out there and practice casting...
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