Shimano makes major updates and upgrades throughout their reel lineup (continued)
 

It isn't all about mainstream offerings in spinning however, as Shimano introduces a new offshore spinning version of the flagship Stella Series. While the Stella series has long been a favorite among saltwater anglers, the new bad boy on blue water is the Stella SW which is designed to be the smoothest most durable saltwater spinning reel on the market. The reel boasts a line capacity up to 500 yards, and a drag up to 65 pounds! 

The Stella SW is designed to withstand the most adverse offshore conditions

The Stella SW's cold forged aluminum spool is ceramic coated for extreme corrosion resistance

The Stella SW is designed for serious top of the chain species and will be available in sizes ranging from the big 5000 to massive 20000 size. The reels are designed with serious durability enhancements including a cold forged aluminum spool which features a proprietary coating on the lip that is harder than Ti coated stainless steel. The rest of the spool features a ceramic coating for extreme corrosion resistance. The line roller is coated with a unique extra hard carbon coating that is nicknamed DLC for "Diamond-Like Coating. 

The tip of the spool on the Stella SW features a proprietary coating that is even harder than a Ti coated stainless steel spool lip

The SW concept is a ultra water resistant body, a hyper disk drag, SW assist stopper, a SW water proof drag, and lightweight ergonomic handle grips to prevent premature bail trips. The reel also makes use of the best that S and SR Concept design have to offer, and as an added durability feature the guts of this reel make use of Shimano's Paladin gear durability enhancement with a low wear rate pinion gear.

The reel features a compact profile, but housed in the front of the larger reels is a massive twin disk drag made of the same material employed in the company's Tiagra reels

As expected performance comes with a price and in the case of the Stella SW that price is $729.99 to $949.99 depending on size.

There are new additions on both sides of the spectrum in the Tyrnos single and two speed reels, now there are smaller high speed reels and bigger slow speed reels

To further bolster their saltwater offerings Shimano also added a number of new sizes in their popular Tyrnos 2 speed and single speed reels. The Tyrnos have become known for their excellent bang for the buck value. Shimano buffers their two speed series with new reels on both sides of the spectrum. New is the TYR8II, TYR10II, and large TYR50LRS.

The tiny TYR8II can rip jigs fast with a quick 6.0:1 gear ratio

While the smaller sides will be popular for light line and higher speed fishing applications the big story is the winch that the new 50 size represents. The TYR50IILRS offers superior lifting and pulling power with a very slow 4.0:1/1.5:1 gear ratio. On the single speed side the 8 and 10 size are also new and feature the same high speed 6.0:1 primary gear ratio.

Check out how narrow the small reel is, yet the gearbox is still large enough to manhandle big fish

This season Shimano focused on the core of their lineup and when it comes to baitcasting there is no reel of greater importance to the company than the popular Curado, but with the new lighter green machine comes a vastly improved Citica which really stole the show. When it comes to spinning the company has also been busy and the modern features introduced on the company's premium reels have trickled down through the series, all the way down to the aggressively priced 39 dollar Solstace in fact. With the prices of just about everything from gas to raw metal increasing in cost Shimano will win the hearts of many a mainstream angler with increased performance in the heart of their reel lineup, all without an escalation in prices.