TNReb

I have both the Steez and Zillion. I can't see any reason to spend the extra money on the Steez.

Looking for a rod for 5" hollow body swimbaits. Weights will be 3/8-1/2 plus the swimbait.

I'm looking to begin fishing bigger swimbaits. In particular, Huddleston 68's - in that 2-2.5oz range. Nothing bigger at the moment. Can someone recommend a rod and a reel? I don't want to say budget doesn't matter... but I'm open to any suggestions. My only limit on the rod is that it has to be 8ft or less due to our club rules. I don't intend to go throw a 68 all day in a tournament.. but you never know. I want a slower reel.. that's about as far as I've gotten. I'm leaning towards a Shimano round reel (perhaps JDM), but I'm lost on the various models of Calcutta Conquest (particularly on the JDdM sites) and I'm torn between a 200 and 300 size. Tactical Bassin recommends the IMX Pro 966 swimbait, but I can't find anyone with an experience with that rod or the 965. I also realize they're making their money by linking to what's sold on TW.

Hate is a strong word, but it’s fitting for my thoughts on that reel. Maybe I just had a couple of bad reels. 90% of my casting reels are Shimano, but all of my spinning reels (except one) are Daiwa. I forgot I do have a few other Daiwa casting reels. A couple have sat in my office because I simply didn’t have a need for them (the Elite P/F). I also have a couple of the Elite 100. I do like those. I’m really interested in trying a Zillion. I need more friends that fish so I can try their stuff. ?

I sold it a long time ago! haha

Anyone have the IMX Pro 904 SWBR? Im curious how it’d handle a Flash Mob Jr with five 3.3-3.8” Keitechs and three 1/8 heads? I have a Dobyns 795 SB that is just more rod than I need for an a-rig this size. I’m curious how the IMX compares.

I had the 2020 model. I don’t want to offend anyone, or sound like a Shimano fan boy who is just bashing Daiwa. There wasn’t anything specific about it - it just felt like a cheap reel. If someone had put a $75 price tag on it with some new manufacture’s logo I would have thought “seems about right”.

I should have clarified.. I’m looking for a HD.

Congrats! I just started looking for one in the 8.x ratio and it looks like I’m late to the party. Haven’t found one yet.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I am quite frustrated just trying to find the difference in Daiwa’s models. Zillion SV vs HD, Steez A vs SV TW… nothing on Daiwas website clearly explains why one might be chosen over another. What’s going to be the most solid feeling reel? I don’t care about weight - I just want whatever feels most solid.

I have several of the Curado 200K. They’re just a tad bulkier than I would prefer, but I have used them for this purpose. The only Daiwa reels I’ve ever owned are the Tatula SV TW, and I hated them. They put a sour taste in my mouth with Daiwa, but I was curious to see if anyone recommended a Zillion or Steez.

I have a few in mind already … but if you could have any reel for long casts with jigs, 1/2oz Texas rigged creatures, and Carolina rigs… what would it be? Ignore ratio/speed - let’s just talk models.

I would if I owned the reel. I'm going to buy some new reels and would like to know what size handle they come with before buying them. They aren't in stock anywhere locally so I have no way of getting my hands on one.

I'm trying to find the handle size for various (current model) Shimano casting reels. I can't seem to find it on the Shimano website. I have found it for JDM reels, but I'm not confident that the US and JDM reels are exactly the same.