I first met B8 back in 2005, I' ll never forget the look on his face when he peered at me, as the lid of my box opened for the first time. Since that day we have spent much time together. The past seven seasons have been an absolute blast, with us traveling to many fantastic locations, to do battle with some legendary Australian adversary's.
He works me pretty hard some times, as when the cast count gets into the high hundreds for a session, my bearings start to hurt. It's O.K. though, as I know at the end of the day he will take care of me with a little T.L.C.
I started to get a little worried a few years back at this new location he took me. It was the first time we had been separated
but it wasn't to be the last. On this particular occasion, all I remember is shooting some rapids in the kayak, jolting all over the place, then going over the side. I bounced from rock to rock under water as the current pushed me along. It seemed like an eternity that I was under, and I was getting scared. I knew he would not rest until he found me though, and after about ten minutes of him diving down, he finally grabbed me 
. I got pretty tore up that day. Some nice battle scares made there way onto my frame. It was then that I realised I was a work horse, doing what I was made to do. FISH! 
Some days I feel sorry for my other brothers and sisters that he locks away in that big dark timber chest, but I know if they come out, I have to stay at home, so I like being a field reel, and one of his favourites. Even if it does mean a few bumps and scratches.
Although I'm not as pretty as I used to be, he still cares for me with cleaning after every session, and regular rebuilds. Where it matters, on the inside, I have been sanded and polished within an inch of my life. I gots me a Carbontex washer kit, all lapped metals, and I even got a top washer in my stack from one of my cousins, the Bay Casting Special. He told me it would make me stronger for when we go Barramundi fishing. I hate Barra, they make my stack hurt
. Also got some ZPI sics on my spool. I'm very proud of my zero failure rate after seven loyal years of service. He looks after me, and I look after him .Recently he was staring at me on the bench, and I heard him mumble something about a makeover. He started with a full service as usual, nothin new I thought. But when time came for assembley, all this new stuff started goin on me. He was tryin all these different parts that weren't mine. Trim rings, thumb bars, cast caps, drag stars, where's this gonna end I thought. We must of went through five different handles before for some reason, he became obsessed with tracking down one my Grandma was fitted with back in 2001. Then the knob drama, honestly!
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
He tried more combinations than I thought were even available. I watched him from the back of the bench work litterally for hours on one particular set, these are the ones I now adorn. I'd never been on the table this long, and I was relieved when he finally started cranking me , I knew we were finished. I looked up to see that same look, the one I seen so long ago when he first opened me up 
and I heard him say one word. Done!The other day I heard my brother, the red and gold I'ze, talkin to a few Monoblocks in that big chest I told you about earlier. He was sayin I looked like a Coke can
. At the time I was upset, as this was comin from my twin, my blood. But after I got spooled up and screwed down, I realised they were just jealous.I dig my new look, and I can't wait to rip into the next seven years of piscatorial combat with B8.
Regards, Coka Cola Light.
- Picture 001.jpg (122.25 KiB) Viewed 7565 times
- Picture 013.jpg (116.8 KiB) Viewed 7565 times
- Picture 011.jpg (119.51 KiB) Viewed 7565 times
- Picture 007.jpg (106.6 KiB) Viewed 7565 times
- Picture 014.jpg (113.99 KiB) Viewed 7565 times
bloody unreal.
As with most pics of reels, the shots don't do it justice.
