Nothing excites me more about a Shimano branded reel these days than seeing three specific initials attached to the end of the model name, "MGL."

It is this single approach, technology, design philosophy, whatever it truly means, that has solidified my confidence the brand's product. The initials "DC" used to inspire a similar enthusiasm, and considering the subject of today's review, it's a little ironic the original 2011 Scorpion DC kind of extinguished that fire.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that I made the effort to acquire the subject of today's review hoping it does not have the same effect of dampening my enthusiasm for MGL. Here's our look at Shimano Japan's Scorpion MGL.

Once the gateway reel to many an enthusiasts' addiction, most anglersnow know Shimano Japan's Scorpion is simply their version of the ShimanoAmerica Corp Curado.

The reels are identical in just about every waysave for the color and finish treatments. Yet something about fishing aScorpion versus a Curado just feels more enthusiast.

Maybe it's thatburgundy color scheme; maybe it's the fact you can't get one throughnormal channels here in the US; maybe it's the persistent belief ShimanoJapan puts better parts in their JDM version.

More likely, it's all ofthe above. Regardless, the Scorpion MGL is actually a model you cannotfind in the Curado lineup. For whatever reason, there is no Curado MGL -at least not at the time of this writing.

Normally, one of my first points of curiosity with a casting reel is how well it allows you to present a reasonable low end lure weight of one quarter to three eighths of an ounce, but given the size of this reel, low end was never a consideration. Instead, my primary concern in casting this reel was to validate whether or not that MGL tuning made it as easy to cast as other reels with those initials. The quick answer is yes.

Casting and pitching come very easy with this reel and I especially liked its performance throwing Molix's new Glide Bait. The reel's rigid aluminum frame works in concert with the MGL spool and SVS Infinity brake system for effortless casting performance.

Today we're gonna be rockin and rollin with Westin Smith and his brand-new Shimano  MGL. Let's see the first impressions in the following video.

Shimano find a way to deliver high retrieve ratio reels that have good power and torque. Throw in a 90mm standard handle on the high speed, XG, version of this reel and the Scorpion MGL as surprising leverage even when pulling deep diving cranks in the water.

I've disassembled reels before to compare gear sizes and all, and while Shimano's gears usually match up favorably in size, if not winning all the comparisons, the differences are usually not monumental.

After all, you can only go so large with the gears. Instead it's the engineering and the way the teeth are cut in those gears, the strategic placement of bearings, the rigid aluminum frames. Shimano has it down to a science.