Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, October 10, 2025
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Rapala Report
Rapala Digital Line Counter
Rapala’s new Digital Line Counter is easy to use for casting, trolling and spooling line. It fits baitcast and spinning rods of all rod lengths.
This new tool for anglers includes a depth alarm that sounds when your desired line distance is reached, and a line guide with quick-release that quickly disengages your line from the counter when you hook into a fish. A one-touch Depth Lock function allows you to quickly and easily save and display your line distance for future reference.
Additional features include:
- Digital display with back light;
- Rod mount that holds line counter securely to your rod;
- Imperial and metric display options; and
- Battery-status indicator.
With an MSRP of $35.99 (US), the new Rapala Digital Line Counter is available at Rapala dealers throughout the U.S. and Rapala.com.
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Shimano Report
Curado 300 Series Reels Designed for A-rigs, Big Crankbaits and Big Swimbaits
Shimano has introduced four new Curado 300 reels offered with the power, durability and line capacity to fish swimbaits, big crankbaits, and umbrella rigs with ease.
Two models offered – each in both right- and left-hand retrieve – include the Curado 300 and 301 with powerful 4.7:1 gear ratios specific for anglers fishing slower presentation lures or with Alabama rigs and magnum-size crankbaits. The higher-speed 6.6:1 gear ratio featured on the Curado 300HG and 301HG enables anglers to aggressively work lures that are more effective with a faster retrieve, along with quickly picking up slack when enticing big bass on topwater baits.
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G. Loomis Report
Loomis Changes Its Broken Rod Warranty; New Rods Now Have Serial Numbers
G. Loomis announced updates to its warranty program to include a ‘Born On’ serial number on all new rods, along with a more straightforward rod return process for the G. Loomis’ Xpeditor Service.
“We completely understand the frustration anglers experience from either a defect that impacts the rod’s performance or from when they inadvertently break a rod,” said Dave Brinkerhoff with G. Loomis. “Between our limited lifetime warranty covering the rod’s original owner, to our no-fault, no-questions-asked Xpeditor Service, we’ll do our best to remedy nearly every situation.”
When an angler purchases a new rod, the attached hangtag will provide all the needed information to register it and activate the warranty. As G. Loomis has always done in its nearly 30-years of manufacturing performance fishing tools, they will either repair or replace when a rod breaks.
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Strike King Report
Strike King Introduces the Rage Ned Craw
Building on the success created with their entry into the Ned Rigging game in 2019, Strike King introduces the new Rage Ned Craw for the 2021 tackle season. The scaled down 2.75-inch bait will give Ned Rig fans the legendary action of a Rage Craw, but in a package specifically tailored to the popular finesse application.
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Shimano Report
Shimano Sienna Ice Combos
Ice fishing has come a long way since the days of sitting on a pickle bucket fighting the cold more than fighting fish.
Shimano answers the rod and reel needs of ice anglers with its newly designed Sienna Ice Fishing combos, offered in 9 models and available now from select tackle dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
Whether it’s super lightweight jigs for bluegill and perch, or using big spoons, snap jigs and lipless cranks for walleyes, northern pike, and lake trout, “within the Sienna combo line-up, we have ice anglers covered for just about every situation and the techniques used,” said Adam Diehl with Shimano’s product development team. “We match the rods with our popular Sienna spinning reels – in either 500 or 1000 sizes depending on the rod’s length and power — which now feature a new streamlined grip and reel seat for lighter weight, along with better balance and enhanced sensitivity.”
Ultra-Light power combos include the 24” Sienna 24UL and 28” Sienna 28UL that are ideal for micro fly and panfish jigs, while Shimano designed the Light power 26” Sienna 26L combo is designed for standard size jigs and lighter spoons in the 1/32- to 1/16-ounce range. Medium-Light power combos – for finesse jigs and spoons up to 1/8 ounces, include the 28” Sienna 28ML and 32” Sienna 32ML. All of these rods are matched with Sienna 500 size reels and feature Shimano’s elongated high-visibility tip section for easier bite detection when fishing light lures and jigs.
Combos with Medium power in the Sienna lineup to target larger fish starts with the 28” Sienna 28M paired with a Sienna 500 size reel for use with smaller snap jigs and lipless cranks up to 3/16 ounces. The 36” Sienna 36M, matched with a Sienna 1000 reel, makes it ideal to combo for fishing medium-size snap jigs and lipless cranks up to ¼ ounce.
Big fish like big baits and ice anglers can be ready with the Medium-Heavy power 28” Sienna 28MH paired with a 500-size reel, and the 40” Sienna 40MH matched with a Sienna 1000 size reel. Shimano designed both combos to handle large spoons, snap jigs and lipless cranks up to 3/8 ounces, while the 40MH has the length and power for magnum-sized spoons, bucktails, and lipless cranks up to and over ½ ounce.
Diehl identifies the Medium power Sienna 28M or 36M as ideal ‘deadstick’ combos, “and depending on your fishing situation, the Medium-Light and Medium-Heavy power Sienna combos are the ideal choice if you are in a big fish area.”
For more information on Shimano’s new Sienna Ice fishing combos, all offered for $49.99 (USD), visit your local dealer or the the Shimano website at http://fish.shimano.com.