First Impressions TAT SV TW 103HS

[TWBryan]

Thanks  LgMouthGambler, so basically a different spool and braking system,are we talking centrifugal or magnetic? Is the standard Tatula ct easy to cast with? Sensitivity of my right hand affected by a minor stroke,so I am looking for an easy to cast reel.

[LgMouthGambler]

Yes, the Daiwas are a magnetic braking system. But dont get that confused with the "kitchen" magnets that are used in other reels, Magforce is a whole different ball game. In a sense, the TatCT and SV are similar in braking, except for the SV (Stressfree Versitile) style of spool.

[TWBryan]

Thanks much,for helping me to understand that. I have not been fishing in many years and find all the new stuff a bit beyond me. 

[SFL BassHunter]

I agree with LMG the brake system on these Daiwa's is not your run of the mill magnetic brake. I was skeptical at first because I have a hard time with reels that are just magnetic. My casting style is best suited for centrifugal brakes.
When I bought my first Tatula that mentality of I can only use centrifugal went away. The brake system is spectacular and yes they are easy to cast compared to other magnetic brake reels. The best part is that you have full control of the brakes on the outside of the reel and don't have to be opening it up to change the brakes around.

The SV is a step above the CT like LMG mentioned. The spool is a little more shallow, and the upgraded brakes make a difference.
With that said, I love both my CT and SV.

[TWBryan]

Thanks Rick,I'll probably look for a deal on one next month.

[LgMouthGambler]

I agree with LMG the brake system on these Daiwa's is not your run of the mill magnetic brake. I was skeptical at first because I have a hard time with reels that are just magnetic. My casting style is best suited for centrifugal brakes.
When I bought my first Tatula that mentality of I can only use centrifugal went away. The brake system is spectacular and yes they are easy to cast compared to other magnetic brake reels. The best part is that you have full control of the brakes on the outside of the reel and don't have to be opening it up to change the brakes around.

The SV is a step above the CT like LMG mentioned. The spool is a little more shallow, and the upgraded brakes make a difference.
With that said, I love both my CT and SV.

Believe this mans words. He was one of the hardest people to convince to spend the coin for the Daiwa reels. Him and his wallet are like trying to squeeze a watermelon.  But now, he is a firm believer. 

[TWBryan]

I believe. I'm just trying to locate one for "poor boy" money. I bought a Pflueger President 6935,and a minty Abu Garcia 4600C3 this month,so I'm kind of low on cash. If I found a really great deal on one I would be tempted.

[bobsquatch13]

@Bud K. I believe those red accent handle bolt nut & screw run about $12 as I just got one for my Daiwa Zillion 1016SV-TW, a new reel recently received and have been getting used to, which was simple, as getting reel setup is easy and reel is great! Received wrong one though as my reel handle bolt nut has built in screw, only Daiwa I have seen that way? The correct red handle bolt nut screw on the way to me now. May be the best overall casting reel I've ever owned - have had several Steez' but those were some years ago. Have it paired with a new Dobyns Champion XP735C and that combo is phenomenal.

[Drake691]

Hows it compared to a Team Lew's Lite?

[SFL BassHunter]

Hows it compared to a Team Lew's Lite?

Better! I own a team lite and an SV. The only advantage the team lite has is in weight. At 5.6 or 5.8oz its extremely light compared to 7.2oz.
But with the lower weight you sacrifice material strength.
The Tatula all aluminum frame is a sturdier reel, much sturdier.

Advantages of the Tatula SV over the Team Lite
+Stronger Frame
+Smoother all around
+More cranking power
+Better brake system for pitching
+Cast lighter lures with more ease

Overall the Tatula wins out. In fact my Lews Team Lite is no longer in my reel rotation. I now have it as a backup reel. I was using it as my frog reel for a while because it bombed the heck out of frogs. Then I tried my Tatula CT with the frog and got slightly more distance on it and the metal frame really helps when winching a fish out of heavy cover.

[fishandkamp]

TWBryan
You will see the original Tatulas and Tatula Type Rs ( just a little lighter spool and 1 one normal bearing was exchanged for one corrosion resistant bearing).

Those reels are fine. I fish a bunch of them.  The only complaint about them was they were larger in size than some of the competition was offering.

So Daiwa designed the Tatula CT body ( Compact Tatula ). It is the smaller body and still includes all the same goodies like the T Wing System, Mag Force Z  brakes, and drag setup.  So there is a Tatula CT and Tatula CT Type R ( again some added bling, a little lighter spool etc).  Casting wise in the real world an original Tat, an original Tat Type R, a CT and a CT Type R cast and a perform just about the same.

Along came the newest member the Tatula SV TWS.  This is some more technology borrowed from the  higher end reels with a special spool and a modified set of brakes. They call the parts the SV setup. With these parts installed in the CT body you get a small bodied Tatula with a greater ability to handle lighter weight baits and control the cast more efficiently. That is what the fuss is all about. That is what Bud and others are commenting about. The reel does match the hype.

Now to answer the question "Which one is best for you?"  That depends.  First all the Tatula reels run less than $200.  So they are affordable for the performance you will get. I really like all of mine, but I purchased my original Tatula 100 Type Rs before the CTs existed. I probably would have gone with Tatula CTs and CT Type Rs instead. I own 2 standard CT ( not type Rs) and love them. They are on my jig rod and a crankin rod so the baits I throw work great with them.

If you can afford it, and you think you may throw lighter baits by all means go with the Tat SV TWS. The good news is there is not a bad option among them.  The aTat SV TWS can also handle heavier baits just as well so no loss only a gain.
I hope my ramblings helped you understand the different flavors of this reel as the family of Tatula reels
has grown.

[1ReelFanatik]

No need to pay $200 for the Tatula SV.  It can be found for less than $135 on ebay.

[SFL BassHunter]

No need to pay $200 for the Tatula SV.  It can be found for less than $135 on ebay.

Yeah I saw that on ebay a little while ago. At 135 it just can't be beat.

[LgMouthGambler]

Be careful though, Daiwa factory warranty can be denied for purchases from some ebay sellers.

[1ReelFanatik]

Spooled up some 10# mono and gave the new reel a whirl this morning.  All I can say is WOW.  Sure enough it does cast a good distance and offhand I would say about 10 - 20% longer than my Lews BB1.  The real deal is how easy it was to dial in. Once I made the initial set up with the spool tension and the brakes as recommended by Daiwa the experience was unbelievable.

Bud, what are the instructions for setting spool tension?  Ordered my reel from Japan, and if I remember correctly, there are no English instructions with it.  I've always set spool tension just snug enough to remove side-to-side play to start.  Fishinkamp told me this was wrong for the Tatula reels (standard and SV).  I needed some play and then let the brakes do their job.

Stopped Friday on the way home from work for a little testing.  For my reel...with a fair amount of side-to-side play...10 is the magic number for not using a thumb.  Any lower and there is some overrun.  Nothing a couple pulls didn't clear.  I tried 5 and had several layers of "fluff" during the cast, but the brakes always slowed the spool down enough that all the fluff was gone before the lure touched down.  However, I did use my thumb to stop the spool before (or as) the lure hit water.

I let the lure drop without touching the spool and got a nice backlash....as expected.  I'm pretty sure I have enough side-to-side play as the line went behind the spool and wrapped a couple times behind the inductor.  I know this because I had to remove the side cover to untangle my line. 

Four points.  1) I don't mind the sound of ceramic bearings, but dislike the clacking of the spool moving back and forth during the cast.  2)  I noticed that I never had to pull out much line to clear an overrun or backlash.  With other reels I would have had to pull line about down to the bare spool a couple of times to remove loose coils.  3) I hardly ever cast one-handed.  I tried it (with brakes on 5) and found I was getting as good distance as with 2 hands.  I was casting harder with 2 hands, and that was causing  more fluffing than the easy one-hand cast.  4)  I'm not getting that much more distance with the spool floating back and forth than I was with side-to-side play removed.

Definitely need to get out again for some more experimenting.

Set up was 12# Mean Green, 3/8 oz. spinnerbait, 7' MF Helios, no wind.

[LgMouthGambler]

Spool tension to just remove the side to side play, then use the brake settings to fine tune. That is pretty much standard with any reel, not just SV reels.

[Bud Kennedy]

+1 what LMG says.  FYI, there are a series of videos on You Tube that were created in Japan by Daiwa and they are very good.  Although the person speaks Japanese there are sub titles that will help.  I think it is worth your time to watch these videos.  They do go over spool tension and brake use in the videos.  Here is the link

[SFL BassHunter]

The instructions are the same on the CT and SV if I recall.

But yeah LMG is right. I do the same thing. I loosen it till there is side to side play, then slowly tighten till there isn't. Then I play with the brakes.

[1ReelFanatik]

All three of you gentlemen are telling me to set the spool tension the same way I set all my reels before fine tuning.  Thanks.

I did some searching, but didn't find what I was looking for.  I will check out the links given.

EDIT:  Also with the spool tension snugged enough to remove play, I should be able to back off on the brakes more and still have thumb free casting.

[SFL BassHunter]

All three of you gentlemen are telling me to set the spool tension the same way I set all my reels before fine tuning.  Thanks.

Yup, I have an SV, CT, TYPE R, and Tactical. This method works perfectly on all of them.

[AzBoonda]

I recently retired my BPS PQ for TACT100XS 8.1 and will simply mimic what has already been said. These reels are awesome to say the least. When I first spooled mine up and took it to local pond to dial in I was so excited to launch it I completely forgot to adjust the brakes (set at 0) and needless to say I was not impressed with my first cast  . Set my number to 10 and I imagine it will get lower as I have only had about 3-4 hours of actual time with it. As my rod and reel collection grows I am sure some of the other models will find a home with me. 

[Dink Dawg]

I just purchased the the Tatula SV TWS last week.  It casts as well as my SV103 and was much lower in price. I would be happy to trade out all my non Diawas for the Tat SV.  The CT platform fits my hand just right.  For you guys that didn't know, Diawa has infused a micro solution into the reel handle grips on all reels manufactured after February 2016 and it is absorbed through the skin.  The chemicals interact with the brain and generate impulses to buy more Diawas. So if you want to stay economically solvent, wear latex gloves when fishing Diawa reels.  It's too late for me. The receptor is no longer reversible. You can thank me later.

[rockchalk06]

For you guys that didn't know, Diawa has infused a micro solution into the reel handle grips on all reels manufactured after February 2016 and it is absorbed through the skin.  The chemicals interact with the brain and generate impulses to buy more Diawas. So if you want to stay economically solvent, wear latex gloves when fishing Diawa reels.  It's too late for me. The receptor is no longer reversible. You can thank me later.

^

My vote for post of the week!

[Smallie_Stalker]

^

My vote for post of the week!

  I'll second that Rock.

[1ReelFanatik]

Okay.  Per post #39 in this thread, brake on 10 allowed thumb free casting with plenty of back and forth spool movement.  That was my second time out with the reel.  Spent about an hour casting.  First time out I spent about a half hour casting as I had 2 combos with me that day.  Stopped after work Wednesday for another hour of practice.  Thursday the same....except a young guy came up with a Vengeance/Black Max combo from Dick's.

I was thrilled to show him how the Tat SV could be cast without using the thumb.  Spool just barely had side play.  Set brake on 10 and handed him the rod.  Overrun!  What?  His fishing partner came with the boat so he took off.  Before leaving he commented any reel could be set up to run without using the thumb.  Well, of course, but distance is going to suffer with that much spool tension and braking and is something I've never tried for.  I felt about 2 inches high. 

I tried a cast.  Overrun.  Brake to 12.  Cast.  Overrun.  Whoa.     What happened to the thumb free casting?  I am going to assume it is because I had a bit over 3 hours use on the reel by then and it had loosened up considerably.  Guess I will forego further thumb free attempts, and use the reel like I use all my others.

BTW, the young guy caught a very nice Largemouth a few yards from me while casting a Rapala near overhanging tree branches.  When he reeled in the one cast he made with my reel, he had a strike right next to shore (spinnerbait).  I saw the fish.  If I were him, I might have headed out to buy a lottery ticket since it was my lucky day.     If I was actually trying to catch fish, I wouldn't fish at the boat ramp.  At least not for more than a few casts.  I did manage to land that bass on a swim jig.  Maybe I should have gotten a lottery ticket.