TackleTour

Went with Daiwa but it was close.

If Daiwa would offer just a mere 3/4 the service and tech support of Shimano they would be way on top.

Love the Saragosa but would take the new Saltiga over the Stella.

As sweet as the design of the tranx 300/400 they are not proper size strength for their series. The Lexa Hd are true saltwater strong lp reels. Now the 500tranx that is a proper reel.

Am really impressed after handling a 19 Morethan PE TW 1000XH-TW. That 8.6 is nice fast retrieve and the brass main gear. Sweet!! Touch that thing put a hurt on the checking account. Not to mention a destroyer to mate it to. So sweet.p

I used pretty much every company, in the end, fishing in salt without maintenance they all break.

Salty Parrot wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 14, 2020 11:27 am

I used pretty much every company, in the end, fishing in salt without maintenance they all break.

That for sure is so very true. The difference is how often and how much maintenance is needed varies greatly in salt use.

Daiwa BG needs maintenance every outing if it gets any spray where the MQ, Saltiga, Saragosa, Stradic, Slammer III, etc can many times go a full season with just a proper low flow water rinse after each outing.. Then there are those in between.. No matter what, at a bare minimum, I always rinse after every use and open up clean re-lube etc every season. Usually I check and lube before any big outing. Seems small price in time given all the cost outlay for a big outing.

What I am interested in seeing is the new innovations and growth of low pro baitcasters(LPBC) in the saltwater segment..

I tried Shimano several times Calcutta Conquest 51 DC and the Cardiff 51 S DC and both are great reels. However when it comes to low profile I was a Daiwa guy since day one. I did not like the fact that I had to open the side plate to adjust the reel after I switched lures or wind conditions had changed. Started with a Zillion type R and picked up a Steez 100 Hl a week after and have not looked back since then. I recently tried the chronarch dc and its a nice little reel but at this point I am way to invested in Daiwa. Have over 30 reels plus tons of spool options and dress up parts ( plus several MB reels) can't transition to shimano at this point LOL

Every manufacturer has their turds. Hard to vote for just one. I voted Shimano based on the number of each reel in my regular rotation. Spinning, Shimano. Casting, both Shimano and Daiwa. I have more Shimanos, but I prefer my Millionaire CV-Zs to my original Calcuttas. I have a Calcutta TE 200GT that blows all of them away. I think that was the first uber priced baitcaster that started the whole thing. All 20 year old reels, and they all still look/feel/fish as new.

It's like comparing Ferrari and Lamborghini. No wrong choice.

Then there's Accurate and Avet. For that matter, I've got a couple old hot-rodded Penn Jigmasters that still have purpose.

Mostly comes down to application.

I use Shimano (Metanium, Stile, Bantam, Old Calais) for almost all my casting reels, save for big swimbaits. I know everyone loves the Calcutta Conquest, but I didn't; Daiwa all the way for big baits. I use the old Ryoga, Pluton, MB Black Jungle, & Deps Z2020

I did an inventory of my reels and they're:

Daiwa baitcasters - 9
Daiwa spinning - 5
Shimano baitcasters - 4
Shimano spinning - 3
Abu baitcasters - 1

I've sold off a new Stella and Bantam without regrets. I sold off a couple of Steez A's that I regretted and replaced them a year later.

Definitely pick and choose what fits my needs best so it can be any but I tend to look for daiwa to fill that position before shimano

Shimano guy, started off fishing really late so my first reel was the Metanium B, but I've been doing research and want to "collect" cool reels. Started heading in the direction of Daiwa, especially the OG Zillions.

I'm inclined to say shimano, considering my history with their bicycle/fishing products. However, I will say that the Daiwa reels that I have owned have been stellar. I love my Legalis LT, it gets a beating as my backpacking reel and it's as smooth as it was day one. Has been three years and I still haven't serviced it!

Not even a question for me... Shimano till the end!

Dink Whisperer wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 30, 2022 3:28 pm

Not even a question for me... Shimano till the end!

You have an amazing login name. Literally laughed out loud on that one.

Back in 1980, I bought my first baitcaster. It was a Daiwa. Since then, I've been mostly a Daiwa guy. I've bought a few Shimano and Abu Garcia baitcasters, but I just feel more comfortable/safe to buy Daiwa reels.