Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

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raindance
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Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by raindance » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:02 am

Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX? I need a reel to leave in the car with my travel casting rod. I want to fish the piers and jetty here during my long downtime. Which of the two would be a good choice? I can get either for around $60ish. Lightest lure I will throw is probably 1/4-1/2. I will be pairing it with a light, moderate action rod. Or should I look at something else? I don't really want to spend above $100. Not opposed to getting used. Thank you.

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by 1nutinthewater » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:11 am

From my personal experience I love the Tatulas. 5 years hauling in salmon and steelhead with 4 of them and they are still butter smooth. They throw 1/4 oz easily and are nearly impossible to backlash.
Our tradition is that of the first who sneaked away to the creek when tribe did not really need fish

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by LgMouthGambler » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:50 am

Well, Ive had the Fuego CT, and was able to turn it into a killer smooth and casting machine. I just got the deal I was looking for on a SLX, and should be here by the end of the week. I am going to see what I can do to it internally to unleash whatever beast (or Gerbil) is inside. :lol: I can tell you this...I was really impressed at how small the SLX is. Felt smooth while turning the handle, but need to see it under a load. Im hoping there are plenty of things to be "upgraded" in this reel, because Im hoping Shimano got something right recently. :roll:
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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by uljersey » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:48 am

LgMouthGambler wrote:Well, Ive had the Fuego CT, and was able to turn it into a killer smooth and casting machine.
Same here. I got mine late in the season last year and against my normal "unbox it, tear it down and build it up to my specs" routine I put it right into service as a cranking reel. I was very impressed by it's performance out of the box. I just got done stripping it down to the frame and tweaking / polishing a few things. It feels like an entirely different reel now. It's basically a Tatula without the T-Wing. In fact I bought it specifically because it didn't have the T-Wing. I don't have anything against the T-Wing, but in this particular application the T-Wing interfered with the leader knot so I needed a reel with a traditional line guide.

The Fuego is definitely a sleeper reel, especially at it's price point. A bit sluggish out of the box as are 99% of reels, but there's a ton of potential inside that's easily unleashed.

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by raindance » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:55 am

Would you care to share what you did with the fuego ct? How do you think it will hold up in Saltwater, with of course the proper maintenance afterwards. It's very exciting to me that something in the $60 range can be tweaked and upgraded. I like doing tweaks.

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by uljersey » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:21 am

raindance wrote:Would you care to share what you did with the fuego ct? How do you think it will hold up in Saltwater, with of course the proper maintenance afterwards. It's very exciting to me that something in the $60 range can be tweaked and upgraded. I like doing tweaks.
In my case it was a complete teardown to the frame. Drag washer was lapped (fancy talk for flattened), the carbon drag washer cleaned and very lightly greased with Cal's grease. Spool shaft (the end that rides in the pinion gear) polished with jeweler's rouge and a felt wheel on a dremel tool, ALL bearings cleaned and then oiled with TSI 321. I kept the stock spool bearings, they work fine for me and I'm happy with the performance. Some guys prefer grease in all bearings BUT the spool bearings, I prefer oil in all of them. Either way is the correct way as far as I'm concerned, it's a matter of preference. All internal mechanicals get greased with Super Lube synthetic grease.

The worm shaft is cleaned of all grease and oiled with TSI 321, the worm shaft bushings and all gears get Super Lube. The handle bushings get Super Lube as well. Again, personal preference. I feel that grease on an exposed component such as a worm shaft is a debris magnet, some guys prefer a light coat of grease.

If I were going to use for salt water, I would paint a thin coat of grease on all of the inner surfaces as a protective barrier, then a heavy coat of car wax on the exterior.

Reference this thread for an explanation of lapping a drag washer - http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=80164

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by johnD » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:37 am

raindance wrote:Would you care to share what you did with the fuego ct? How do you think it will hold up in Saltwater, with of course the proper maintenance afterwards. It's very exciting to me that something in the $60 range can be tweaked and upgraded. I like doing tweaks.
I've had zero problems with the fuego ct in saltwater. fyi
You don't need to tear the reel down to lube the spool bearings , if you have a good needle tip oil bottle , just take the cast control knob off ,you can get to it that way. Use a good oil that is saltwater resistant , like Reel X or Clenzoil.

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by LgMouthGambler » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:56 am

raindance wrote:Would you care to share what you did with the fuego ct? How do you think it will hold up in Saltwater, with of course the proper maintenance afterwards. It's very exciting to me that something in the $60 range can be tweaked and upgraded. I like doing tweaks.
Complete tear down, and relube to my liking. Added some HawgTech ceramic hybrid spool bearings, replaced all the bushings with bearings (where applicable). Pretty much the extent of it. The gears are already great, as they are the same as the Tatula. As well as most of the internals are identical. The only thing I did not change was the drag discs. Seemed pretty good, and didnt want to go too nuts.

If you are gonna use the reel for salt water, I would keep the levelwind bushings in place for that application. Otherwise, the reel should be good to go out the box.
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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by joekaz » Tue Jan 15, 2019 4:47 pm

I bought a SLX. Have not fished it yet due to frozen lakes. The reel feels smooth. It fits my hand better than my Citica I. Not a big fan of the new style clutch bars. I sanded the sharp edges off both plates that are on either side of the clutch bar to keep them from scraping my thumb. The Fuego is a no go for me because of the protruding mag dial.

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Re: Daiwa Fuego Ct or Shimano SLX

Post by SapperTyler » Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:43 pm

Really depends on what braking system you are used to. I can vouch for Daiwa’s as I have 3 diff tatulas and the fuego isn’t much diff from the Tatula ct just doesn’t have the t wing system. Heard a lot of good things about both but in reality either will work fine just depends if you like centrifugal brakes or magnetic...

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