Shimano Bantam - where it all began

[Liphook]

The bait runner is a classic in that it was near revolutionary. I think another classic will be the Japanese made fighting drag reels. Modern Shimano's have lost their way with quality and value in that you have to buy far more expensive models to get any longevity. Spinning in saltwater finds out any flaws pretty quickly mind.

[Mole-Patrol]

I have a couple of Shimano reels for ledgering and bait casting. They are excellent.

Strange when the first lot of goods from Japan were considered inferior, people laughed at the first cars. Reels were thought of as junk as well as the kits with cane rods in them.

Times change.

Having worked in both the retail electrical goods and cars and being a keen photographer during the period that Japanese goods became available I disagree. As far as TVs and HiFi were concerned Japanese companies like Hitachi and Sony were vastly superior to European goods. Same with cameras. Regards cars; their designs were not to British tastes, but the engineering was far superior. Once Honda and Toyota got the designs right BL as was, later Austin Rover didn't stand a chance.

It was the same in other markets. What sold in the Japanese market wasn't always to Western tastes, but they soon learned.

[Tench Dreamer]

Fascinating story, many thanks for taking the time. The evolution of fishing tackle and therefore fishing. Up to including today. I have a few Shimano reels that I bought off the internet that are from the mid 90s I think. Black fixed spool Areos 3000 size...They really are good quality.

Thing is I'm currently stuck in the land of the short pole and .....

[Sevilla315]

Thank you for a great piece.
I was a huge baitcaster fanatic growing up in the 70s in Australia where baitcasters were used for lure fishing for fresh and salt species. My brother was a bass fisherman in Canada and he sent me my first baitcaster, not the Bantam 100 I wanted but a Shakespeare President II. When I came to England I started lure fishing for pike and got many reels, including a Shimano Calcutta, a high quality all aluminium body reel with a round profile. I eventually moved onto fly fishing and sold my coarse collection but often look at these old baitcasters on auctions such as Langs in the US.
The Japanese Market for baitcasters is very specialised and they produce high spec'd versions not available in other countries unless imported.
Now that I've returned to coarse fishing I may have get some of these reels of my youth!

[Ian.R.McDonald]

I worked at many of the european International motorcycle shows.

Early ones combined with cycles and other sports equipment

Shimano were there with both cycle and fishing gear.

The most interesting thing was the way that their team, free from the conservative rules of home, really knew how to party in the evening! The Japanese are very restrained and responsible at work, and enjoy their free time.