The Bantam bait casting reel was released in 1978. It was even rumored that fishing tackle manufacturers around the world were copying Bantam. To develop the product, Shimano dispatched engineers to the U.S., where bass fishing started, to conduct a field survey for about a year. Based on the needs identified through the survey, Shimano thoroughly reviewed the structure of the previous series and completed the new product. Bantam, whose development continued until the first half of the 1990s, was then discontinued for a time. It was relaunched in 2016 to revitalize the bass fishing market. It is used around the world while constantly attracting new groups of users.