Daiwa Reels

[Canesfan]

Just out of curiosity, I never see anyone post about Daiwa reels. I personally have never owned one just wondered about anyone else. I remember when I first got into Bass fishing, the guy that taught me a lot always said they were pieces of #%^%.


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[Team_Reeder20]

I've always had great luck with Daiwa. I learned to use a baitcast with a Black Widow over 10 years ago and i still use it today.

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[West6550]

I can only speak for a spinning reel I bought a few years back. In fact it was my first "Frog Rod". Had my old PB at 5lbs on it. The Diawa spinning reel had a aluminum spool so I used braid on it. Still got the pole...it's my wife's frog pole now lol Here's a pic of the chunk with grass still on her that I pulled her through with that reel.

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[Canesfan]

Nice fish!


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[DaveP63]

Yep. Spinning reels only. Good stuff!

[Pferox]

Daiwa salt reels are pretty good, not as good as a Penn in my opinion, but the spinning reel I have works great.

I was on a charter in Fl that used Saltists and they were very strong and smooth reels.

[bigjim5589]

I have several Daiwa spinning reels, and one baitcaster, a Viento. Not my favorite baitcaster, but have not had any issues with it. I like the spinning reels, for the money they work fine and have held up well, although I don't have any that would be considered top of the line. I own a couple of their Emcast Plus spinning reels that I use for surf fishing, and for their price, and the little bit of surf fishing I get to do, they're a fine reel too. 

[Dug]

I have several daiwa reels and they are my favorite brand.  I don't own any of their Steez line but do have a few Japan only  models just as the Pixys,  which in my opinion are the finest light baitcasters made.  Every time i fish, a Pixy goes with.  I also use the daiwa Luna over any other Round reel for big catfish.

Dug

[loomisguy]

I've been fishing the Zillion for the past 3 weeks. outstanding reel. I like it better than my Chronarch's of course its more money. There is some good deals to be had on last years steeze. I plan on trying the Lexa 100 as soon as it's available , I saw the 300 size at BPS the other day seems like a solid reel for the money.

[tim4081]

I only have one Daiwa reel, an HSTA Advantage I got from Gander Mountain.....wasn't planning on buying it but it was offered at 45% off.  Very smooth, quality made reel with good drag.  I don't use it alot though because it just isn't a comfortable fit in my hand.

[BassinAl]

I own two, a TD-Z 100M (which is now in Kevin's workshop for cleaning/repair after many years of use and abuse) and a TD Sol. I like both reels a lot, but they are not my favorite reels. My favorite reels are a pair of Shimano Scorpio 1000 MG, the Japanese version of the Chronarch 50 MG. I would love to try a Steeze though.

[kymer]

I also own 2. An older black widow 2 and a tdz 100 hsa. They are 2 of my most used reels. I love them, although, I am a quantum guy.

[78Staff]

Dawia's are solid, problem is you have to get into their upper line to really see the good stuff.  Under $200 their are better choices, and since Daiwa pricing jumped last year, the $269 Zillions all became $319 Zillions, and that's a pretty good chunk of change.  In the $100-$200 range Shimano, Lews, Abu all offer better choices for the money, imo.

I currently have a couples HSTLA's and Zillions, and am always on the lookout for a Lefty SOL.  But I would choose a Lews, Revo, or Citica/Curado over the Aird, TDPro, Tierra, etc any day.  In my case it would be Lews, as I have never cared for the handle play present in the Shimano's, and the Revo has a "ridge" that annoys me when palming, but you can't really go wrong with any of them.

At the $100 price point, hard to beat a Tournament MG, Citica E if you can find one, or a Pro Qualifier/Carbonlite variant, though.

[bass78]

The only daiwa that i have is an exceller... I have caught a lot of bass on it but I use it as a back up now.  I know it wouldn't stand up to the stress of tournament fishing.

[JPD0144]

Dawia's are solid, problem is you have to get into their upper line to really see the good stuff.  Under $200 their are better choices, and since Daiwa pricing jumped last year, the $269 Zillions all became $319 Zillions, and that's a pretty good chunk of change.  In the $100-$200 range Shimano, Lews, Abu all offer better choices for the money, imo.

X2 and well said.

Within the Daiwa line up its like two different companies in one. Anything below the Zillion/Sol/Fuego is ok just not showing the true Daiwa performance, refinement, and durability it really has to offer. Same goes for a lot of Shimano reels as well. So a lot of people say they dont like Daiwas or dont understand their pricing but never have used their better offerings.

If more people would try to own more quality equipment 1 piece at the time instead of feeling like they need to have 18 combos because their buddy has 17 they would understand. Some spend $110 on a reel that is finiky on braking and requires adjustment with every little gust of wind or feels geary after only a couple outtings just to realize they dont like using it much so they put it last in roatation. They then buy another reel for $175 hoping for amazement and find its a decent work hore reel. (Nothing wrong with work horse reels I have some of those too that I will never get rid of but they are proven) If they would have spent that same $285-$300 they did on two lesser reels and instead only bought one upper tier reel they would relize what the fuss is about in having higer quaility equipment and there really is a difference in having a reel they want to use all the time ... You get what you pay for.

But you cant be foolish with your money ... Stick with proven top brands ! I work hard for my money and dont like to gamble with purchases. There are a lot of reel companies out there that are building reels to maximize company profits and happy to take it from you. Especially through advertising, hype, and pro endorsment. 3/4 of the companies (brands) out there are just house built reels to each companies specs and shipped from only one or two factories.

To each his own but I try to buy the best equipment I can with every purchase. Even if it means being patient to save. I rather have 7 higher end combos I want to use all the time and really enjoy than have equal value in 12 and all of a lesser quality with a couple having a sticky clutch, 3 that are picky with breaking, two that dont cast without throwing your arm out... ect ect you get the point. Eventually you will end up with 15-20 really nice combos that you can enjoy all of them.
Not to mention and I say this all the time ... Its a investment so If you ever want to stay more current with the newest releases or just want a change the upper teir brands and models bring resale value to get a chunk of yor money back to reinvest. Most house brands are harder to sell and bring minimal return on your money. Makes it hard to flip and up grade if you ever wanted to.   

Either route you choose just remember ALL reels require maintenace/service to ensure their top performance capability and longest life possible for your investment ...

[lgetc]

  I have a couple of Dawia Steez and they are OK but I feel the Shimano CORE is a lot nicer and smoother reel save your money and buy good gear the first time don't waste money on these 100 dollar throw-aways just my opinion I've bought cheap reels thinking they where good reels and wouldn't last a season before needing work or replacing but when you fish 4 - 7 days a week those $100 are junk... SHIMANO CORE with KISTLER "Z" BONE RODS..... Good Fishing

[Ben Ott]

I like daiwas, but you get a lot more reel for the money with a Lews. At least in my opinion.

[steve76]

i just bought a Daiwa exceler with the 4.9 ratio for cranking seems to be decent for $80.00. Might post something after I have had the chance to use it some.

[Facepunch]

Here are a couple of my Daiwas... I've got a Pluton and lexa that I throw swimbaits with, a T-3 Ballistic that I use for skipping docks, and an upgraded and supertuned TD Fuego that Is my do everything reel lol.

[Facepunch]

Never mind that reel in the background. That is just the best casting reel you will ever use for under 150 bucks lol.

[bobsquatch13]

I use Daiwa spinning reels only on all spinning rods. My favorites that I normally use are the Daiwa Certate 2500R-Customs and the Daiwa Steez 2500 & 2508. These reels will all handle the 12 - 14# Sunline super sniper FC I use all the time and have excellent drag systems! They are very smooth and biggest difference between the Certate's and the Steez I see is the Steez is "light" compared to the Certate's! The Certate's are built like tanks, extremely solid and durable while the Steez may be in a class all its' own when it comes to being light and also totally effortless performance. Because of its lightness the Steez would be my favorite with the Certate's very closely behind for all Daiwa spinning reels and, at least for me, the best spinning reels out there. A much cheaper reel the Daiwa AIRD 2500's are also heavier than the Steez but seem to work very, very well and much, much cheaper than the other two. (I keep these as spares in case but never get to use them?) I use very few outfits to fish with, now down to 5 total with 3 being spinning and 2 casting and can fish any way I want with just these 5 outfits...so I have sold all my extra rods and reels and now use just these but have spent more money with fewer outfits to get much higher quality equipment and have zero regrets about getting rid of all the others. Also much simpler with all being very versatile outfits.

[Pacific NW Ron]

I have never had an issue with a Daiwa reel.  I use 4 of the millionaires on my downrigger rods when trolling.  I've had those millionaires for a few years and they are good reels for the money.  Caught many salmon and stripers on them.  I have a couple of the spinning reels but don't use them much.  Ron