Grandpa:

Of course he knows you. You are a legend!

As for my opinion on the reels, I use a Shimano Curado and a Citica. I also use a Pflueger Trion. They are all fine and I think are all comparable. Tell your Shimano rep. that I will be using a lot more Pfluegers in the future as they give them to me free.

The absolute best reel for a float rod is a centre pin, but . . .

As for the Dave Vedder signature rod, the originals had a facsimile of my signature on them. Now days both Bill’s rods and mine have some computer generate "signature". I like the old one better. You can't read my handwriting but at least it was my writing.