Editor’s Note: This story is part of a larger package on Shimano gear. Click here to see more.
Because anglers relate to things that work, Chronarch has become one of the most recognizable names in fishing reels.
“It’s designed for that really intense angler,’’ said Marc Mills, a Shimano regional sales manager. “He’s probably the tournament angler that may even have a little bit of his own money on the line on the weekends trying to make that extra paycheck.”
Those are the anglers who demand performance and need a reel that can do multiple things in a variety of ways. For so many anglers, Chronarch is the reel that fits that bill.
“If you go to a weeknight or weekend tournament and you go through the boats, you are going to see Chronarch,’’ said Mark Zona. “One of the reasons why: Chronarch is out of the box ready to go. The thing about a Chronarch is it covers every single technique that a bass fisherman will use.”
That means a lot for a weekend warrior who needs his equipment to be spot on and able to get the job done as soon as he puts his hands on it.
“We’re talking hardcore anglers that fish tournaments, that fish every single weekend, I mean, heck their family is on the line because they’re out every weekend, every day fishing, a lot of tournament anglers,” Mills said. “These guys are fishing Chronarch.
“It’s the next step up in the evolution of reels, you know, right at the very top though, but it’s that reel that has multiple gear ratios, your 7-to-1s, your 6.5-to-1s, your 5.5-to-1s.”
The ability to have a reel that that you can trust while almost literally switching gears in the same family is the reason so many anglers focus on Chronarch.
“When you talk about the gear ratios that you have, you have a 5.5-to-1 for cranking, gearing, winching the fish,’’ said Zona. “That’s the main deal with a 5.5-to-1. It lets the fish get that bait. Or, you can go into a Chronarch 6.5-to-1 and you’re going to get more versatility out of that. It’s probably the most used reel in the entire fishing industry; you can fish spinnerbaits, top water, worms, everything.
“Whenever you get into the high-speed Chronarch, the 7-to-1s, that when you’re going to start talking about flipping. But what’s interesting to me is, I use the 7-to-1 for everything. That’s just the way I fish.
“I’m naturally a little bit too hyper and I have to go to that speed of a reel, and here’s the beauty of this: That reel slows me down even though I’m going fast. It’s slowing that bait down and making that entire system with that crankbait rod one piece of equipment.
“It goes from letting that fish do his job, the reel does its job, but that’s when you really notice a Chronarch and power. That reel does two things: lets him get that bait and lets me pull him out. That’s the power of Chronarch right there. When you are fighting a fish, you instantly feel the power of that reel.”