What was considered a fast gear ratio in 2005?

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I remember Quantum marketing their PT reels as 7.1 burners back then.

5 hours ago, Phil77 said:

I remember Quantum marketing their PT reels as 7.1 burners back then.

So would you think when fast was talked about for spinnerbaits, 7.1 would be what was discussed?

7:1

I bought a few cheap Daiwa Procasters around that time that Walmart was closing out. If I remember right they were a 7.1 or 7.3 and thought they were fast.

 

I remember when the first 8spds started coming out.

7.1:1 was offered by Daiwa in their Procaster line-up around 2000 timeframe: PT33SH/PM33SH. I believe they were one of the earliest really high speed reels. Previous to that, around 6.3:1 was considered fast.

45 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

7.1:1 was offered by Daiwa in their Procaster line-up around 2000 timeframe:

Even earlier.  I have a BPS Master catalog from 1994 with the 7.1:1 Procaster in it.  Interesting tidbit: Curado Bs were $89.99 and Citicas were 79.99.  I recall that $10 difference being a big deal back then.

Curados were $119 and Citcas were $99 in my neighborhood.    The  SF were $149.99.  Pricey by almost 30 year ago dollars.  Calcutta 200 were $159 and Chronarch 100as were $179.99.   I can't recall the Chronarch 100 SF were $229.99 I think.  Pricey back in the day.

In that same catalog were black Team Daiwas - THE top of the line reel to have - for $129, which was a ludicrous amount of money for a reel. It around this time I bought a Stradic for $80 which seemed super expensive at the time. 

In 1981 I paid 103.99 for my Lews BB1N

They go for almost that now in very good condition.

If you were a serious bass fisherman fifty years ago, you most likely used an Ambassador round reel. The standard reel ratio at that time was 3.8/1.  In the seventies, you could buy "speed gears" to make them faster.  When the silver 5500C came out, they were 5.3/1 and labeled as "High Speed".  About twenty years ago, I switched most of my casting reels to Shimano Bantam Chronarch 100s, a 7/1 reel.  I still have four of them that I still use.   My new reels are Shimano Chronarch 7/1 MGLs.  These new reels are amazing.  They cost 20-25 times more than the Pflueger Akron reel I bought as a kid, but they are worth every penny.

16 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

If you were a serious bass fisherman fifty years ago, you most likely used an Ambassador round reel. The standard reel ratio at that time was 3.8/1.  In the seventies, you could buy "speed gears" to make them faster.  When the silver 5500C came out, they were 5.3/1 and labeled as "High Speed". 

I remember my Abu Ambassaduer 500R (early low profile) being touted as 'high speed' when I bought it in the early 80s - 5.4:1

14 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

I remember my Abu Ambassaduer 500R (early low profile) being touted as 'high speed' when I bought it in the early 80s - 5.4:1

 

I am sure you are right.  By the 80s, 5/1 reels were standard. 

I have a Shimano Bantam BMP350 from the 80s or early 90s that has "XHS extra high speed" on it. It's 5.1:1?. It was my late father's and I dust it off every now and then to toss some big topwaters or DD22 size cranks just to catch a fish on Dad's reel. But honestly, it's almost too big for bass and pedestrian slow by the 7-8:1 reel standards of today. My dad replaced the crank with a "power handle" that's larger than the usual one, making it seem even slower. I don't have a reel under 7:1 in my usual arsenal. BTW, the BMP350 would be a great reel for stripers or possibly live bait for LMB, if I ever get around to doing that.

I guy use to fish with had a batch of the 3.8:1 Curados. He use to say anything higher was too fast.