Your Path to the Dark Side ...

[Cal]

Having a little fun here... I'm curious to know. What were your gateway to the darkside rods and reels and which tackle item is on your list - whether available, even in existence, now or not? For me:

Gateway Reel : Shimano Scorpion 1000/1001 (circa early 2000s)

Gateway Rod: Megabass Destroyer F7-711X

The List : I don't typically like red reels, but the Megabass LIN10 MARS looks pretty awesome. Trouble is, it appears to only exist in right hand retrieve.

[jmb27]

Same reel for me. Loved the "JDM Curado." Light (comparatively), threw lures a mile and the burgundy color looked sharp. Really wish that I kept one.

Rod:

MB X4 Elseil. My first MB rod. The Gloomis GLX 843 MBR was the gateway for me--couldn't believe how much better of a rod it was to what I was fishing previously--maybe those $300-$400 rods are "better." That in part led to the MB X4 Elseil. I discovered this site and once I took that red pill....

[BigG]

Daiwa Sol lead to Alpha Type R, but the real love came from OG Steezs going on sale at TW.

[Johnny A]

I discovered JDM/Enthusiast tackle before TT and that other defunct website by Yamamoto’s “Inside Line” magazine. The first JDM rod was a Megabass Tomahawk 7’/7’1”. The reel probably would have been the JDM version of the TD-X but I’m going to go back and check.
I bought the rod on e-bay and it arrived in 2 pieces, that was end of Oct 2003, or so. The first that arrived in one piece from Plat, that was Jan 2004, then another from Japan Tackle when Jun still sold used rods.

[Gone Phishin]

Rod: Orochi Huge Contact Jade Python F5-711X Seven Eleven Cyber Shootist

Reel: OG Conquest 101

The List: Monoblock

[hoohoorjoo]

Reel: original Alphas 103, the purple people eater.
Rod: MB Slantbridge Jota
Bucket list: MB Lin 10 Black Jungle
Fantasy reel: Daiwa Z1016XH. I would be fine with or without the T-Wing, but couldn't do without the Magforce 3D on said reel. If not that, then reintroduce the TD-Z with higher gear ratio options.

[Dalleinf]

Reel: ABU Record 51 http://www.tackletour.com/reviewabugarciarecord.html
Rod: St. Croix Avid 9'6" ML casting
List: Megabass LIN 10C Zirconia Meteor and similar copper-looks Monoblock

[Cristo]

My first reel was the 13' Shimano Metanium

Rod was the Megabass Phase 3 Nautilus

Not as much of an early start as the majority of the folks on here but those were the two that got me hooked and seemingly never looked back

[Cristo]

Forgot, still on my list is a Monoblock specifically Viola(that will never happen but I never thought I would own an IS reel but had 4, and Gone Fishing by the way had a dream rod in the Orochi Huge Contact Jade Python F5-711X Seven Eleven Cyber Shootist

[Oktayne the Red]

Cool topic. First, does the "Dark Side" refer to specifically JDM gear? Or is it just higher-than-really-necessary priced enthusiast gear? I don't think I have any actual JDM gear, but plenty of what I think of as enthusiast gear.

I started building my own rods when I was 13 or 14 years old. I remember in the late 80s when Fuji came out with their original "Concept" guide series. Double-foot, smaller SIC rings in thinner, higher frames was the schtick. They were crazy expensive (at the time) but SO cool. This might have been my first experience with what I consider enthusiast tackle. I still have and use a rod that I built with those guides. Re-wrapped factory Shimano UL. I'd be first in line if Fuji ever re-released those guides. Maybe in titanium/Torzite? Sign me up!

Then came the Newelled-out Penns. Plain old Jigmasters were no longer good enough. They had to have Newell kits or you just sucked. Then Tiburon and Accurate 1 piece frames. Still have all this stuff too.

An argument could be made that anyone who was alive and active when Shimano graced the world with the original Calcutta had their journey started right there. The reel that changed the world. Then it was upstaged by the Daiwa Millionaire CV-Zs (the "Superior Calcutta"), then the Calcutta TE-GTs (the first of the uber-priced reels, IIRC, the predecessor to the Conquests). That's where I stopped. Sort of. Recently I replaced my original Calcutta 400 with a 400B and my 20 year old CV-Zs are still the better feeling reels. Haven't had the finances to delve into the Ryogas and Conquests yet. The TE-200GT is the most expensive baitcasting reel I have.

So no JDM here (yet ), but I still have some (to me) impressive stuff that has spoiled me against anything normal. I'm quite happy with my tackle regardless.

Top of my fantasy list at this point? Accurates, Ryoga Shrapnel and 1016, Conquest 50, OLD Conquest 300/400 (with the real clickers), an old CV-Z 103 to match the ones I have, an old Sustain 4000FB, also to match the ones I already have, Vanford 500, a proper set of Fuji TLCSG guides (stupidly discontinued), and as always...

Fantasy #1...

A SHIMANO STELLA 500!

[Slazmo]

I remember in the late 80s when Fuji came out with their original "Concept" guide series. Double-foot, smaller SIC rings in thinner, higher frames was the schtick. They were crazy expensive (at the time) but SO cool. This might have been my first experience with what I consider enthusiast tackle.

Not sure why no-one mentions Gold Cermet? I mean those guides cost more than the rod build and reel combo at the time...

Desperately looking for a old rod with some of these to reuse on a build.

[Oktayne the Red]

I remember in the late 80s when Fuji came out with their original "Concept" guide series. Double-foot, smaller SIC rings in thinner, higher frames was the schtick. They were crazy expensive (at the time) but SO cool. This might have been my first experience with what I consider enthusiast tackle.

Not sure why no-one mentions Gold Cermet? I mean those guides cost more than the rod build and reel combo at the time...

Desperately looking for a old rod with some of these to reuse on a build.

Oh wow. Forgot those completely. They were definitely over the top. A set of those would be a cool find.

[Cal]

Not sure why no-one mentions Gold Cermet? I mean those guides cost more than the rod build and reel combo at the time...

Desperately looking for a old rod with some of these to reuse on a build.

I have an MBR783C GLX2000 with a complete set

[Houndfish]

A few years ago I bought a PX68 from someone on here and an old Recon II BSF rod from someone else. I had just gotten into casting tackle and was a dedicated finesse fishermen so it seemed reasonable.

It wasn't and I wasted like a mile of line learning how to cast on that combo, but BFS got a bite on me and from there the path to full tackle fetishist was short and fast.

[hoohoorjoo]

I have 5 or 6 Shimano limited edition V-Rods with gold cermets. They have been sitting for about15 years now.