Smallmouth Hunter

So much hype to the tatula rods and reels, yet so much performance. I am very impressed. Daiwa is basically saying, "Your move, Shimano"

I put a tatula reel on the tatula rod instore, and it balanced PERFECTLY. Very impressed with the balance. The reel seat makes the tatula reel feel very small in your hand somehow. Not really sure how to describe it, but I loved the feel of it. Also, it was such a light rod that the tatula reel did not feel even sightly heavy. Will be buying one of these as well.

the tackletour review of the tatula rod is up. Very impressive review. I feel that it should have got a higher rating in the "features" section than a 7.2. http://tackletour.com/reviewdaiwatatularod.html "These sticks are going to be bad news for the Zillion line of rods" Apparently they are very similar to the zillion, and the sensitivity competes with that of the steez rods. Hope this helps anyone on the fence,

I have read somewhere that the fluoro never deteriorates at all.. Not sure if it is true though.

I see lots of pro's that are sponsored by Abu using gen 2 revo's. Especially when throwing big stuff like A-rigs. Cracks me up.

Is it bad to have the shields off on one side but not the other? Is there any balance issues or something?

I am kinda disappointed that the gear ratio has been slowed down to a 4.8 on the 100's and 5.2 on the 200's when they could have increased it to a 6.x:1 or 7.x:1 with the extended gear box design.. Maybe they will release a 50 size later and hopefully with a faster gear ration (and therefore LPT).

Good call .RM. Congrats on fixing the reel FBDavis!

It might even be the bearing in the sideplate that detaches... I have heard of similar cases where a bearing is "shot" and makes noises.

Does it make this noise when reeling only? When you disengage the spool into freespool, and spin the spool does it make the noise still?

Does the inner race of that bearing fit the pinion gear or the spool shaft? I saw a parts diagram of the ci4+ and it looked like there was 2 bearings under the cast control knob (between the CC knob and the pinion gear, not just right under it). Maybe it was a spacer or something and I just saw it wrong.. When you say the extra bearing, are you comparing it to a lexa (or other low end daiwa that uses a full spool shaft, not FF spool) with no bearing here: The lexa does not have this bearing here and the pinion sits loosely in the yoke (like it did in the B series curados/citica, etc). When I opened up the tatula for the first time, and saw this bearing here, I immediately though that this is what air rotation is. There is no second bearing on the other end of the pinion in the tatula though, other than the spool bearing which is found under the CC knob (not accessible from outside of sideplate). The inner race diameter of this spool bearing is small, and fits right on to the spool shaft, not the pinion. It does not even make contact with the pinion at any point I believe. That is why I say it is not supporting the pinion directly. When you say there is only one bearing under the tension knob on the Shimano reels with x-ship, do you mean directly under the knob? What about on the other side of the handle sideplate? Is there another bearing that fits onto the pinion gear?

There is a bearing under the cast control but you have to go to the other side of the sideplate to get to it. The diameter of the inner race is very small (fits the spool shaft obviously) so it doesn't exactly support the bearing. If you look at a shimano reel with x-ship, it has 2 bearings under the spool tension knob (may be on other side of the sideplate) where the one closest to the pinion gear has a large diameter to fit on the pinion gear, and the outer bearing (they are next to eachother if I remember correctly) is a spool bearing to fit the spool shaft. The tatula with air rotation does not have the extra bearing under the spool tension, just the one spool bearing. The only bearing that is supporting the pinion gear is obviously the bearing that was in that pic you posted. The older model shimanos (b series) have no bearing on the pinion gear. They started using a single bearing on it in I believe the SF reels.

I didn't miss that. Heck, I have taken the tatula apart 4-5 times now and even cleaned that bearing myself. I knew quite well there was a bearing there. Hasn't this is design been used by Shimano for a few years now (since I believe the SF reels)? There is a bearing on the end of the pinion gear that points towards the spool (which the pinion gear obviously rides inside during retrieve), but there is not a second bearing (on the opposite end) which the pinion gear would ride in and therefore, air rotation is not the same thing as x-ship because x-ship is when the pinion gear rides on two bearings.

Did you even read the post?? You're telling me I can't research something, and you can't even read a dang paragraph before you start bashing me over something that isn't even true. You are just repeating what I said. I clearly stated SEVERAL times that x-ship is a double bearing supported pinion gear. Also, NEVER said x-ship has been used for years, I said they used the single bearing supported pinion gear (which daiwa calls air rotation) for a while now. I think ever since the D series..? Or maybe the SF reels were the first.. Not sure Never knew that Daiwa used a dual bearing supported pinion gear though. I am guessing they use that on reels with a free-floating spool? Very interesting vid. Thanks for the link. Pause it at 3:48. You will see the exact same pinion gear in that photo I posted above. It has a elongated flat section extending from the outer end (end facing away from inside). That is what the bearing rides on. The picture I posted does show x-ship in the right side gear set, and to prove it in case anyone is doubtful, the picture is from a review of the metanium (mm gearing and x-ship). Air rotation can not be a dual bearing supported pinion gear. There is no room for another bearing on the pinion gear anyways: The shown end of the pinion gear has no flat section for a bearing to ride on. There is another bearing in the sideplate next to this bearing, but it is not exactly supporting the pinion gear, per se. I didn't mean to start up some huge argument, and I think we are all agreeing on the same thing here anyways.

Try wiping a bit of the grease off the threads that the knob goes on. I would give the spring a stretch as well; it certainly won't hurt, but it probably won't add too much tension either.

Air rotation is NOT the same thing as x-ship. It is not the same thing at all. Air rotation is the single bearing supported pinion gear. X-ship is a double bearing supported pinion gear. Daiwa has never made a reel with a double supported pinion gear. Air rotation is simply what Shimano has been doing for years where there is one bearing on the inner side end of the pinion gear. X-ship is shown in the right side gear set. Couldn't find a great picture, but on the left there is a set of gears that are standard HEG gears. Not sure what reel they are from, but I would guess a curado, chronarch, or citica. Notice how the end of the pinion gear (end with the notches for spool pin) is flat so it will fit in the bearing. X-ship is shown in the right along with micro gearing. The end of the bearing with the notches for holding the spool pin is flat like the left side gearset because it fits into a bearing. Notice how the other end is slightly elongated. This also fits into a bearing. The pinion gear is thus supported by two bearings; one on each end to insure precision. Now here is a picture of the tatula's air rotation single bearing supported pinion gear: There is no way that this pinion gear could possibly be supported by another bearing because there is just no room for it. The end of the pinion gear that is not shown in the above pic is the bearing supported end. This is a copy of what Shimano does in their curado/chronarch e, citica e, g series reels, etc. To conclude: X-ship = 2 bearings; Air rotation = 1 bearing, what shimano has been doing for years.

Maybe it is just me.. If I try to cast with the knot between the reel and the guide closest to the reel, it does not turn out well. Luckily, I found out this was the problem early back when I started using leaders so I never broke anything. I have tested this with two rods and both times showed that the knot (tried several knots as well) should not be between that area.

I actually agree with iabass8. I threw square bills and shallow cranks on 12 pound red label, and after pulling cranks threw a few brush piles, I was having problems with the line getting shredded. So bad in fact, that I broke off on a 35 - 40 yd cast when a bass slammed the crank at the beginning of my retrieve. Lost 35+ yards of fluoro from my spool. I did recover the fluoro and crankbait to stop it from polluting for anyone that is wondering.

Turns out that you are all right.. I cannot get the reel to malfunction if it is on a rod and has line on it and whatnot.. Still casts nicely and everything

Along with that would come the huge gear box like the gen 3 revo's.. No thanks.

I have heard recently that there will be a Curado Rev-B built like the curado b, but revised. It will use a brand new frame, and new parts. Nothing will be re-used. It is supposed to be priced between 170-190 so that shimano can put quality parts into and whatnot. It will most likely have x-ship, and ci4+ sideplates are a possibility. Micro gearing is not very likely since that is a feature exclusive to the higher end reels. You may be able to swap the gears for the micro gears of the metanium or antares though. Expect to see a 50 size and 200 size. It will have an aluminum frame, graphite or ci4+ sideplates. Shimano knows the screwed up by repainting the curado e and by downgrading the curado in the g series, so they are attempting to redeem the famous curado. I think it will be a great reel since the tatula has basically taken over the ~$150 market recently, and Shimano realizes they better make a good reel to compete with daiwa. The curado b had a huge following since it was produced for so many years and was priced fairly. Hopefully this new curado rev-b will live up to the name. I don't know if this is 100% true, but I heard this from another person who heard this from a rep.

The last thing to mention is the knots don't matter a whole lot as long as you choose a reputable knot. I have used the double uni, alberto, albright, slim beauty, 100% knot, and a few others and they have all worked.

Two things, and I am 100% positive that one of these is the problem since I have ran into these as well: 1. the leader knot CAN NOT be between the reel and first guide. It MUST be anywhere between the first guide and the tip guide. When the knot is between the reel and first guide, it hits the guide at a sharper angle which can cause a break off. I have yet to find a reel or rod that changes these circumstances, but it is very possible that others slipped by this issue. 2. too far of a "follow through". If you follow through too much with your rod on the cast, you can cause a sharp angle for the knot to go around. When you cast, try to end the cast with the tip pointing a bit closer to the targeted area. It doesn't have to be right on, but you get the idea. If you follow these two steps/guidelines, I can guarantee that you will not have anymore problems unless you are doing something completely out of the ordinary or your rod is just wack or something. Tell us how it turns out.

I will give this a go. I think you all are right about it being a built in feature to the reel because it works perfectly fine other than this slight "safety feature" which can only occur if you are messing around with the reel. This doesn't happen when retrieving it normally at all. I'll give an update tomorrow.

I just got a used Daiwa lexa in and it has an issue. Whenever I spin the handle really fast, then stop it, the spool continues to spin for a moment, (During which this time, it makes a very horrible grinding noise) then it seems to re-engage with the handle. I have only done it two or three times because I am scared something bad will happen if I do it too much. I have it down to two possible problems, just not sure which of the two it is: 1. the spool pin is slipping out of the slots in the pinion gear. 2. the pinion gear is slipping out of the slots in the main gear. The pinion gear appears to be in good shape and same with the main gear, so I am thinking it is something in the clutch mechanism. I cleaned out the main gear and pinion gear then regreased 1/3 of the teeth on the main gear so it is definitely not over-greased. One thing to note that I found odd: The gears came completely dry aside from a tad bit of grease in the pinion gear. Maybe the previous owner found this problem as well, and decided that the grease was causing it to slip, but then later found that this was not the case. I didn't have a chance to spin the handle when I first got it because the first thing I did was break it open and clean/re-grease everything. Tell me what you all think. How can this be fixed?? Hoping to hear from DVT and some other experts as well on this one. Thanks!