FrogMann

St Croix, Daiwa, Shimano, G Loomis, Megabass, Daiwa. All top of the top. I don't personally believe in brand loyalty as my preferences may not all be satisfied by one company. However, I do appreciate someone who supports a company and believes so much in the product and the loyalty to support.

100%! Positives outweigh the negatives for sure. My recommendation is to buy from the top brands. Trilene, Seaguar, Sunline, and Gamma.

I have to agree with the others. Nrx wins buddy. No need to get upset. Remain civil

I sold my Enox the same day after fishing my buddies Megabass Orochi and Megabass Destroyers. But could have been the model. Hopefully yours is well suited for your application I think the Exprides and Poison Adrenas are excellent choices as well

Not sure why this information is at all relevant to the question at hand. I guess this an attempt to gloat??

Never seen anything other than clear brakes... Which Shimano reels have a different color brakes?

Maybe. I'd imagine so. I could see a Lews KVD rod

It should work as long as it's in good condition and strong. See how you like it

What do you deem a short handle? Never noticed anything wrong with the 90mm handles. Which reels do you upgrade the handles on?

My buddy works at a shop and G Loomis is striking down on pricing from what he told me. Go and talk to your local dealer or look for used NRXs if you want to get a deal.

Never had an issue..

Retailers in the fishing industry can buy from distributors or direct (from the manufacturer). Often they do both depending on the circumstance. Often they will use the distributor to buy quick stuff they need as they have inventory on hand and can get quicker than direct. Pricing directly will always be less, thus much of their business is directly. Every industry is different though but this is always good to learn. Companies like Shimano (which is a manufacturer as they make there own products) sell to distributors as well as direct to dealers. However, some manufacturers sell only to distributors who then sell to retailers at wholesale prices to retail to customers. Also, there is an exception with consumer direct conmpanies.

Definitely! I agree.

I think you are confused between a retailer and a manufacturer. I stated US retailers not manufacturers. There are plenty of retailers (thousands) of fishing products in the U.S

same