Channeling the Joy of a JDM Classic : Shimano's Scorpion 70/71 Platform

Total Score: 8.23 - EDITOR'S CHOICE

Introduction: Any tried and true JDM bass reel enthusiast has a special place in their tackle heart for the Shimano sub-brand of "Scorpion". This is the lineup that has initiated the majority of Tackle Enthusiast for the last fifteen to twenty years. Whether it was the original 1500 or the compact 1000 to the follow up XT through the globalized 200, the JDM counterpart to Shimano's workhorse Curado series has always carried with it a mysterious aura (sometimes deserved, sometimes not) of being better than its JDM counterpart. Today, we take a look at the latest, compact iteration of this vaunted line with a look a the new, Scorpion 70/71.

Impressions: As its name would suggest, the Scorpion 70/71 is the JDM counterpart to the newly introduced Curado 70/71 written up in October of 2016 by Zander. Truth be known, I've had my Scorpion 71 for longer than Zander, but since he controls the publishing as our Editor in Chief, he skillfully worked his review in before I had a chance to even begin writing.

Introducing the Scorpion 71.

The Scorpion 70/71 is, in a nutshell, the perfect sized low profile casting reel. Are you one of the lucky ones who, by my urging sampled the magic of the discontinued Shimano Conquest 50/51? Well, this compact little, low profile wonder carries with it some of that same grin inspiring magic straight out of the box. Visually, it's about the same size as the Aldebaran and Scorpion 1000 XT, but when you tuck it into the palm of your hand and grasp the reel, it feels almost ten percent (10%) smaller.

What happened to the red/maroon paint?

In a stark departure from previous iterations of reels in this lineup since I can remember, this Scorpion does not feature a dark red/maroon finish! Instead, it's a stealthy deep, dark grey with subtle red highlights at the spool and spool tension knob. The handle is sleek and machined metal and the handle knobs, while compact and comfortable, are not contoured left or right hand. The dragstar clicks, but the spool tension knob remains silent on adjustment.

Shimano's "70" size actually feels about 10% smaller than the "100".