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| The Shimano Symetre is the reel I favor for that portion of my casting exhibitions involving spin fishing. |
“Your Reels Have Gotta Be Right”
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
In my last column I told about receiving an e-mail message from a fellow who had watched one of my recent casting demonstrations. He wanted to know the specifics as to what reels I was using along with my G.Loomis Rods.
If you read that column you know I told him I used a Chronarch Mg 50 for the tricky stuff I do with my casting rods. I’m talking about the underhand flips, behind the back casts, casting around corners and a number of others. My casting presentations also include demonstrations for pitching and flipping as well as how to attain accuracy with the open faced and closed face spinning reels.
It always surprises me how many newcomers to bass fishing don’t realize the difference between flipping and pitching. Many seem to think they are one and the same. They aren’t. Flipping and pitching are entirely separate techniques. Most of us use different outfits when using one procedure or the other.
I use a Shimano Curado D along with my G.Loomis flipping rod. The Curado has been a part of the Shimano line since 1991 and it’s one of the company’s most popular models. In flipping the reel is used primarily for line storage, you don’t actually cast with it. But the Curado will handle the casting end of things darn well should you want it to do so.
G.Loomis markets several flipping rods. Over the years I’ve tried different models. In my demonstrations the one I’ve used most is the IMX FSR904X. It’s also a super fishing rod. One of the newer flipping rod additions to the G.Loomis line is the GLX BCFR863. This is a lighter weight rod that works wonderfully well for a number of purposes besides flipping.
For that part of my presentation on pitching I mate my pitching rod to a Castaic CA200SF. I don’t see anglers using this reel as some of the others in the Shimano line. I flat love the way it handles. I’m able to get a degree of accuracy with a variety of pitching casts with it that I once wouldn’t have thought possible. I rod I use this reel on is a G.Loomis IMX MBR783C.
For the portion of my demonstrations devoted to spinning I rig my spinning rod with the Shimano Symetre. If you’ve looked at a Shimano reel catalog lately you’re aware the Symetre comes in seven different models. The one I use most often is the SY1500R1.
The casting technique I use with the open faced spinning reel is different than what you usually see. I control my line with the forefinger of my left hand instead of dropping the right forefinger down to feather the line. There’s adequate space between the bail wire and the spool of the Symetre to let me easily use the procedure I favor.
The older model open faced reels that I used when I first developed this technique didn’t have sufficient space to get my left forefinger in the required position. For years I removed the bail wire from my open faced reels to make it easier to get my left forefinger where it needed to be to assure proper line control during the cast. As soon as I got my hands on the Symetre it was apparent that removing the bail wire was no longer necessary.
I also use this same spinning reel for a whole lot of my fishing. Shimano makes a number of more expensive reels and some have additional features. I find the Symetre entirely adequate for the types of fishing I do most often.
As I said before, I’ve used a passel of different reels since I first started giving public demonstrations decades ago. I know what the good ones look like. That’s why you’ll find the Shimano name on every darn one of those I have on the rigs I use for exhibition casting or for that matter for my fishing.
I have every reason to believe you won’t go wrong doing the same thing in your own fishing adventures.
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| The Curado is another of the Shimano reels I use in my casting exhibitions. Here I show proof that it works equally well when it comes to fishing. |
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