We received our first shipment of the "New" Shimano Moocher Plus 2000GT today. For those of you that love fishing the single action Canadian style mooching reels this updated version of Shimano's 25 year old design will be very pleased with the new model. Though the basic design of the reel has stayed the same (hard to change something that has been time proven) there are a number of things that Shimano has improved.
1. Great improvement of the drag system, not only have they increased the size of the drag system of the reel but have incorporated the newer high tech Dartanium Carbon Fiber washers into a water proof system.
2. A stainless steel metal palming ring on the edge of the spool that is smoother than the older graphite material and less prone to rod holder damage and boat rash that nicked and abraded the edge of the spool.
3. Newer drag star design that locks in at the desired drag setting and thus has less chance of the drag setting changing while fishing with it.
4. Newer handle design that is much more comfortable to the hand.
All in all this "New" version of the Moocher is a real winner and will undoubtedly be greatly accepted by the single action reel crowd. The reel is priced at a reasonable $89.99.
