QED

Looks like they've already missed their nominal release date by a few months. Appears to be an interesting, lightweight skeletonized design - sort of like old school bike racing parts...

The tungsten pencil drop shot weights snag less moss and bottom debris when being fished (which is a consequence of their size), so you need to factor that into your price/performance equation. I buy tungsten pencil weights when they are available but didn't find them at weights under 1/8 oz. The lead weights in that weight range aren't very large, so not really an issue.

In that price range, I like the Lew's Custom Lite SLP Reel. 4.9 oz and 7.5:1 gear ratio. Always had a soft spot for Lew's reels - way back in the day, Lew's came up with many of the innovations that made the modern low profile reels possible.

Insufficient info to determine if this is a business combination for GAAP purposes, but a TM and equipment purchase needn't fall under that categorization. But I agree with your conclusion.

Just did a quick-and-dirty search (source cited in post). Per @WRB's post above, this looks like an asset deal, which makes sense. And to answer your question, my day job does include M&A due diligence.

Interesting that this was purportedly structured as an asset deal. At least the acquirer won't have to account for goodwill amortization...

The stats don't lie, regardless of local, anecdotal observations. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1174479/fishing-industry-market-size-us/

When I was in high school, I used to order from BPS. At the time, they carried a much broader range of stuff (from most of the major brands) than any local store. Fast forward to the present day - they carry mid-range or lower end stuff from third-party vendors and mostly push their own branded products. I liked the old BPS much better.

Revenues reportedly below $50MM/yr. Coronavirus spike in sales but new fisherpersons are increasing at a rate slower than population growth rate. So they are a plastic bait leader in what appears to be a stagnant market, once the coronavirus effects dissipate. Long term growth prospects look pretty sucky, whether within the industry or the industry itself. PE firms wouldn't give this a second look. Perhaps not even a first look.

Was/is there a run on fishing tackle and gear because of COVID? I only restarted fishing recently but ordered most of my stuff via a major online retailer - turnaround for fishing stuff has been anywhere from 1 day to about a month. Not nearly as bad as the run on shooting supplies though. Primers are especially difficult to come by. Basically, if you hadn't already stocked up, it's too late!!! Fortunately, fishing tackle might be slow but at least it's mostly available for a relatively short wait.

Might consider the Shimano Poison Adrena PAD267MLA (just 3.25 oz!): https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-POISON_ADRENA_SPINNING.html ITEM CODE REARGRIP LENGTH ACTION NUMBER OF SECTIONS LINE WEIGHT (LBS) LENGTH (IN) LURE WEIGHT (OZ) FOREGRIP LENGTH GRIP MATERIAL GUIDES POWER PAD267MLA 7.7 Regular Fast 1 4-8 6'7'' 1/8-7/16 1.2 Full Carbon Monocoque Fuji SiC Medium Light

The Daiwa Steez CT SV and the Shimano Alderbaran MGL 30HG (JDM) are awesome finesse reels. I'm using them with 6 lb and 4 lb test, respectively. Functionally brilliant and excellent build quality.

I used 2 lb test extensively in a buddy's lake (man made lake stocked with bass/shad) that had few things to snag on. 3 lb bass were quite the handful. Now 2 lb test is hard to find (yes, I looked). Several companies make it but very few places carry it. Must not sell very well.

The Cordell Spot in the old Smokey Joe scheme was basically pearl with black back and a black spot on both sides to mimic a shad. Worked GREAT in the delta for largemouth and striped bass.

I frequently use a chartreuse spinnerbait with a chartreuse grub trailer in dingy waters and it works very well. YMMV.

I just started top water frog fishing which probably correlates somewhat. Best time for me is early morning when the water is still. Cloudy days seem to work better than bright sunny days. YMMV. The cool thing about top water fishing is that you sometimes get a spectacular hit. I've had bass strike with so much upward momentum that they briefly became airborne!

Shimano built Lew's Speed Spool. A few years later, Shimano copied many of the Lew's features into their Bantam reels.

The things I noticed after an extended leave from bass fishing were the following: 1) senkos! 2) bass rods are longer, pistol grips are gone. 3) proliferation of fluorocarbon and braided line. Did I miss anything?

I have an old, ultralight Shimano BC rod and am using these reels with 4 - 6 lb mono line. You'd be surprised how well these things can cast really light baits: Daiwa PX Type-R Daiwa Steez CT SV Shimano Alderbaran MGL 30HG (JDM)

The rod is 3.25 oz and rated for 4-8 lb line. The reel is a 1000 size with 6 lb test. Nothing heavy about either one.

My current finesse rig. The reel is about 0.7 oz heavier than a vanford, but I can live with that.

Outside of the original budget constraint, but a Shimano Poison Adrena 267ML coupled with a Shimano Vanford C2000HG makes an ideal finesse spinning rig that weighs only about 8-1/2 oz.

I've broken both collarbones over the years while bicycle racing. I'm right handed but have learned to cast with either hand out of necessity. Since learning to cast with my left hand, I've stayed with it for bait casting gear. It's remarkable what the body can adapt to if forced to do so. But you can also do it volitionally. Casting with the right hand and swapping to the left for retrieval seems pretty daft.

I always remove split rings from a bait that I use snaps with. Zero upside in keeping them in that case.

I've been using snaps forever, mostly using ultralight gear (number 0 and 00) for ages and they have not adversely affected my fishing. To the contrary, they permit rapid lure changes which is a huge plus. And for crankbaits w/o split rings, they permit freer lure movement.