Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:

Isn't a fishing reel just an oversize RapidFire shifter, in a sense?

I guess. Or a ratchet hub. Or an internally geared hub, for that matter.

Someone from Shimano once told me that their Shimano branded grease, which comes
in hubs at the factory, is probably the best you'll ever find for bicycle parts.
This is because it was developed for sal****er fishing reels. It doesn't
separate or become gummy, redistributes itself easily, yet resists being washed
out. Shimano paid some oil company a lot of money to develop it. Fishin' reels
is big bidness.

Not that any other grease doesn't work fine, but for the obsessive among us...

Matt O.