Re: History behind the low profile casting reel...
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 2:51 am
That was a great article. Lots of fuzzy-warm nostalgia. I remember those ads in Florida Sportsman mag. I was 9 and just starting to pay (too much?) attention to, and learning about, the gear I was fishing with. The original Bantam was certainly to blame for that. All shiny and silver sitting in the display case at the grocery store (Yup, a Winn-Dixie with a tackle section) my Mom went to. She knew if I wandered off, I'd be found drooling at reels at the service counter. I loved (at the time) the wood handles and all the fancy engraved scrollwork on the sides. Good ole days.
I still have an enthusiasm for those old reels. I don't have, never did, one of the silver ones, but I had a couple 10s (regular and Mag), a 250 Mag-Plus (like the one in JohnG's post) and the last one I had was a Magnumlite Speedmaster in the mid-late 80s. Still have a 10 and the 250. The Magnumlite, which was a 2200W without that "Fighting Star" crap, got stolen in the Keys out of our car while we were snorkeling. I had it less than a year. 5 different rods, gone. Most devastating tackle theft I ever went through. Police mostly laughed at the idea that I'd ever seen them again outside a pawn shop.
I don't know if this should be it's own post, it's somewhat on topic-
I'd love to see Shimano do a "re-issue" of the original Bantam. Visually the same, but with all the modern engineering inside. Modern cut gears, bearings, materials, etc. Looks like a vintage Bantam, feels/performs like a Conquest. There'd be some re-engineering needed, like a one-way bearing and higher gear ratio without changing the original outside styling, but if anyone could figure it out, it would be Shimano. I'd be in that line, shouting "take my money". I bet a lot of folks would.
I still have an enthusiasm for those old reels. I don't have, never did, one of the silver ones, but I had a couple 10s (regular and Mag), a 250 Mag-Plus (like the one in JohnG's post) and the last one I had was a Magnumlite Speedmaster in the mid-late 80s. Still have a 10 and the 250. The Magnumlite, which was a 2200W without that "Fighting Star" crap, got stolen in the Keys out of our car while we were snorkeling. I had it less than a year. 5 different rods, gone. Most devastating tackle theft I ever went through. Police mostly laughed at the idea that I'd ever seen them again outside a pawn shop.
I don't know if this should be it's own post, it's somewhat on topic-
I'd love to see Shimano do a "re-issue" of the original Bantam. Visually the same, but with all the modern engineering inside. Modern cut gears, bearings, materials, etc. Looks like a vintage Bantam, feels/performs like a Conquest. There'd be some re-engineering needed, like a one-way bearing and higher gear ratio without changing the original outside styling, but if anyone could figure it out, it would be Shimano. I'd be in that line, shouting "take my money". I bet a lot of folks would.