Wow, this is a pretty significant loss. Having a rep from any manufacturer was a plus.  I would have kept the forum around simply for the traffic that was generated.

Thanks for all your time.

Sorry to see that it didn't work out.  Hopefully Dan will still answer questions that come up... because as he said, he's on the clock and online, much of the time.   

Purely out of curiosity... did shimano just not want to pay for the exposure?

While I will not discuss business negotiations, I want to clear up one misconception: I offered them a variety of monetary and non-monetary options.

This is just business guys. There are no hard feelings or animosities between us. And I hope that we can work together again in the future.

I appreciate your support and understanding. Let's move on now to more positive things!

I'll bet Muddy was just devastated when the Shimano thread shut down.   

I thought the Shimano forum was a plus, especially for Shimano increasing their exposure.  Considering the fact that Shimano is a good size corporation the expense was very little.

I do like Shimano products, however never been thrilled with their customer service, so I'm not surprised at all.

I'm still on the site. You can PM me with your question and I will answer it. There just will no longer be a Shimano forum. I'm on 7 other sites as well.

I'm still on the site. You can PM me with your question and I will answer it. There just will no longer be a Shimano forum. I'm on 7 other sites as well.

For those that may have an interest, can you perhaps list a few?

I'm still on the site. You can PM me with your question and I will answer it. There just will no longer be a Shimano forum. I'm on 7 other sites as well.

For those that may have an interest, can you perhaps list a few?

That might not be to kosher,  so I would just google search Bantam1 and Shimano and you will probably find him. 

I posted them yesterday but the list was removed.

There's no reason to be posting other websites on this one. Bantam1 can be found easy enough.

Thanks for all you've done here Bantam! 

Sooo can we pick up Abu Garcia , sucks for Shimano! They don't know what they are missing

What's a Shimano?  Is it a lure of some sort?   :-/

What's a Shimano? Is it a lure of some sort? :-/

Actually, yes.  ;D

I'd like to try to beef-up the hooks, if necessary, on the 2oz. model of the Lucanus, and give it a shot for pike and skis.

Too bad Shimano did not see the value in maintaining the forum. I can honestly state that I became a Shimano purist due to this forum, purchasing at least 4 Shimano reels in the past year. It would not have happened without this forum. I hope they change their mind and come back.