izumi signs with abu garcia

[ecmilley]

yup after all these years as a shimano pro staffer bob has signed with abu

[GBW]

Wow, so the old rod's should be going on sale at CTC then real soon...

[davey buoy]

yup after all these years as a shimano pro staffer bob has signed with abu

 

It's all about a paycheck. Your only married as long as the money comes in. Lots of good equipment out there now. A fella has to pay the bills!

[ketchenany]

Wow, so the old rod's should be going on sale at CTC then real soon...

 

 

I'll ask this weekend.

[misfish]

I'm sure Pure Fishing has been pressuring him for years.

:whistling:

[fishnsled]

Wed, 11/07/2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Abu Garcia® has signed one of the biggest names in Canadian fishing by inking Izumi Outdoors Inc. producer of Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing television show. Izumi Outdoors Inc. joined the Abu Garcia team in a multi-year deal that was signed today. This decision comes in an award-winning year for Abu Garcia.

 

The company strives for excellence with the release of their third generation of Revo low profile reels. “I am incredibly excited about working with Abu Garcia and am so impressed with just how smooth their reels are,” said Izumi. “The reels are simply great in how they look and function. As a tournament bass angler, the Revo reels have incredibly powerful drags and a full line of matching rods, which are second to none.”

 

“It’s great to see Bob so enthusiastic about our products. He will be an incredible asset to our Abu Garcia team,” said Chris Hockley, Canadian Marketing Manager for Pure Fishing. “Bob Izumi is Canada's best-known and most sought after contemporary fisherman. He is the country's most successful tournament fisherman, respected author, seminar speaker, conservationist, television personality and radio show host.”

 

For over 25-years Bob Izumi has shared adventures with anglers across North America and around the world through his television division, magazine department, Real Fishing Radio show and realfishing.com. Bob Izumi's top-rated Real Fishing Show is a unique blend of entertainment and information that brings some of the world's greatest fishing to the small screen, from the high Arctic to South America, in freshwater and salt.

 

For more information on Izumi Outdoors visit Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing and for additional information on Abu Garcia visit abugarcia.com.

 

There is a lot more to this story I'm sure with the departure of Shimano that we will never hear. (Davey buoy made a good point)

 

Wish Bob all the best with his new sponsorship.

[kickingfrog]

It's a two way street. Maybe Shimano wanted to go in a different direction.

[davey buoy]

I get press releases...but I can't stand blatantly untrue statements like that.

 

 

 

 

Money,security,maybe likes the stuff?,it is what it is. I'm sure given the money at stake(which I don't know) You or I would of done the same thing,I would think.

[kickingfrog]

I do own some abu reels, but haven't picked up one of their rods in a loong time so I can't comment on the rod quality.

[BucktownAngler]

It's sell-out, and they all do it, and of course you and I would do it if given the chance. Exaggerate all you want; just don't lie to me.

 

thats what hes paid for, id expect no less

[kickingfrog]

The second to none comment could still be used as a vague statement re bang for buck and/or technique specific options and price points.

 

If someone is paid by a company anything said has to at least be taken with a grain of salt.

[musky_hunter]

Abu's reels are great. Love the new lineup, the new stx is a awesome reel at a low price of $199.

 

Their rods on the other hand suck balls. They need to improve on the weight distribution and handles.

 

 

 

[lew]

Any time I've ever wanted to purchase a new piece of fishing or boating gear and needed some info on it, I've always come here to OFC to ask the board members and get an HONEST opinion.

 

Last person I would ever ask for an opinion on a product is someone who's paid to promote the item, whether it's a top of the line guy like Izumi, or one of the reps at the Sportsman or Spring Fishing Shows who's shirt is covered in company logos.

 

When a man is paid to promote a product, you'll only get the info the company wants him to give you....IMHO

[outllaw]

LEW no sugar on that one.

but its the honest truth lol. gotta love it.

[captpierre]

Any time I've ever wanted to purchase a new piece of fishing or boating gear and needed some info on it, I've always come here to OFC to ask the board members and get an HONEST opinion.

 

Last person I would ever ask for an opinion on a product is someone who's paid to promote the item, whether it's a top of the line guy like Izumi, or one of the reps at the Sportsman or Spring Fishing Shows who's shirt is covered in company logos.

 

When a man is paid to promote a product, you'll only get the info the company wants him to give you....IMHO

Exactly. Huge conflict of interest.

 

I'm still a Shimano guy

Edited November 7, 2012 by captpierre

[12 Volt Man]

I'm still a Shimano guy

 

its okay. I'm sure Bob is too.

 

I used to laugh at the old TNN shows like Roland Martin, Bill Dance etc.

 

Roland used to promote spiderwire rods and reels (Mitchell) and Bill used to promote Quantumn..

 

yet on the floor of their boats you could see the odd unmistakable green of a Curado reel every once and a while lol

[Roy]

Bob Izumi is a good guy. Dude with a good heart and knowledgeable.

 

I just don't like the Jarden Corporation. Twenty three thousand employees worldwide and brands like: Abu Garcia®, Aero®, Berkley®, Campingaz® and Coleman®, ExOfficio®, Fenwick®, Gulp!®, K2®, Marker®, Marmot®, Mitchell®, Penn®, Rawlings®, Shakespeare®, Stearns®, Stren®, Trilene®, Völkl® and Zoot®; Consumer Solutions: Bionaire®, Crock-Pot®, FoodSaver®, Health o meter®, Holmes®, Mr. Coffee®, Oster®, Patton®, Rival®, Seal-a-Meal®, Sunbeam®, VillaWare® and White Mountain®; and Branded Consumables: Ball®, Bee®, Bernardin®, Bicycle®, Billy Boy®, Crawford®, Diamond®, Dicon®, Fiona®, First Alert®, First Essentials®, Hoyle®, Kerr®, Lehigh®, Lillo®, Loew Cornell®, Mapa®, NUK®, Pine Mountain®, Quickie®, Spontex® and Tigex®

 

But hey, that's just my opinion.

[craigdritchie]

Last person I would ever ask for an opinion on a product is someone who's paid to promote the item, whether it's a top of the line guy like Izumi, or one of the reps at the Sportsman or Spring Fishing Shows who's shirt is covered in company logos.

 

When a man is paid to promote a product, you'll only get the info the company wants him to give you....IMHO

That's about the most accurate and truthful thing that's ever been written on this board.

[Joeytier]

LOL! Poor guy. That's worse than when Fish TV got switched to Legend Boats LOL!

 

Fishing show hosts are not educators, but product pushers in the truest sense and can't think of many shows still going that promote the sport at its most basic level, and why I almost never watch fishing programming anymore.

 

I wish I had lived to see the Red Fisher era.

[bigugli]

LOL! Poor guy. That's worse than when Fish TV got switched to Legend Boats LOL!

 

Fishing show hosts are not educators, but product pushers in the truest sense and can't think of many shows still going that promote the sport at its most basic level, and why I almost never watch fishing programming anymore.

 

I wish I had lived to see the Red Fisher era.

Red may have been souped a lot of the time, but he was great to watch and listen to.

[hotsky]

Their rods on the other hand suck balls. They need to improve on the weight distribution and handles.

I have their Villian Rod and it's awesome; sensitive, light, handle feels great (love the length) and it looks great too.

[Steve]

we all think it was due to money.

 

what about the fact that shimano has sunk so far on customer service its almost to a level of embarrasement.

 

from the loomis clusterfuhk (nrx) to the horrible return policies (TC4 crucial crankbait rod sent for warranty in July 2012 - still not back) to the horrible downgrade in reel qualities (curado and chronarch and calcutta to name a few) to the corkless shimano line of rods ... man ... it can go on and on.

 

new stradic Ci4 reel (4000) size that drag blew on first salmon (i'd assume the 4000 size would handle a salmon) ...

 

shimano is having serious issues, both on quality, and customer service.

 

maybe a guy like Bob doesn't want to be associated with a company that is taking every measure to reduce quality in order to reduce price any longer?

 

i'm sure money was a factor, but shimano's quality, or lack thereof, on recent product developments, may have been a factor as well.

[12 Volt Man]

it could be. Shimano has fallen a long way from even just a few years ago.

 

and I am a shimano guy. I just try and buy as much of last years models as I can.

 

cause the new stuff is not nearly as good as the older models.

 

and they insist on putting EVA foam on everything, from rod handles to reel handles. ugh.

 

and yet the prices continue to stay the same or go up..

Edited November 8, 2012 by 12 Volt Man

[craigdritchie]

LOL! Poor guy. That's worse than when Fish TV got switched to Legend Boats LOL!

 

Fishing show hosts are not educators, but product pushers in the truest sense and can't think of many shows still going that promote the sport at its most basic level, and why I almost never watch fishing programming anymore.

 

I wish I had lived to see the Red Fisher era.

Hate to break it to you, but Red Fisher's day job was tackle salesperson. He worked for a company that distributed fishing tackle, including Eppinger (the ol' five of diamonds!) and Mitchell reels. He also became associated with Mercury outboards - his job was to sell them to fishing camps. Red's TV show was created specifically to provide a way of showing the product in use to a wide audience. Red was soft-sell, not like today's guys. He simply showed the product being used and left it that, he didn't wear logo clothing or push things too much. But make no mistake, his show was all about selling product. Red told me that personally.

 

we all think it was due to money.

 

what about the fact that shimano has sunk so far on customer service its almost to a level of embarrasement.

 

from the loomis clusterfuhk (nrx) to the horrible return policies (TC4 crucial crankbait rod sent for warranty in July 2012 - still not back) to the horrible downgrade in reel qualities (curado and chronarch and calcutta to name a few) to the corkless shimano line of rods ... man ... it can go on and on.

 

new stradic Ci4 reel (4000) size that drag blew on first salmon (i'd assume the 4000 size would handle a salmon) ...

 

shimano is having serious issues, both on quality, and customer service.

 

maybe a guy like Bob doesn't want to be associated with a company that is taking every measure to reduce quality in order to reduce price any longer?

 

i'm sure money was a factor, but shimano's quality, or lack thereof, on recent product developments, may have been a factor as well.

Uh, yeah, sure, whatever. But follow the money and you'll never be wrong.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Craig_Ritchie

[BillM]

What do I need to do for some free hooks??!?!?!

 

/sells soul.