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.

Lots of mentions of a 705 or 735 Dobyns. I have several Dobyns rods and know I would like them... ... but I'm having a hard time making myself believe that a 5 power isn't going to be too much. I understand we want a good hookset - but I don't want a broom pole while trying to throw a toad with just a 1/8oz weight on the hook.

I'm looking for a rod to throw frogs, but not the typical longer, heavy frog rods. Something between 7' to 7'3 preferably. This will be for just making short cast down the bank to cover. No grass to worry about pulling them out of. It'll be a mix of holly belly frogs and others like the Ribbit. Something with a light enough tip to cast easily. I have several"typical" frog rods for fishing mats, but they're to much stick to be comfortable for this style.

I fished the Carolina rig a lot last year, and caught a lot of fish on it. I also missed several, or lost them before I could get them in. My favorite thing to throw is a Zoom Z-craw on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG. I throw it mostly on 16lb fluoro. I felt like I had to absolutely hammer the fish when I set the hook. I'm wondering if there's a better hook option. Should I consider a straight shank hook?

I’m in need of about 5 new reels. Mostly for squarebills, jerkbaits, rock crawlers, wiggle warts - no big/deep cranks. Right now all of my reels are Shimano. Mostly Chronarch MGL, some various Metaniums, and some Curado 200. Anyone have any recommendations? I’m curious if anyone has any input on Daiwa Tatula Elite reels and how they compare to the Shimano Chronarch? I had a couple of Tatula SV TW reels a couple of years ago, and they didn’t feel anywhere near as nice/smooth as the Chronarch in my opinion.

I don’t use the technique often enough to get too worried about it. I just use a 6.x gear ratio and adjust my reeling.

Would prefer to stay under $300.

I’ve got a couple of good rods for those type lures - Dobyns XP and Loomis. I tried my Tatula SV TW on several different rods. It was just a bad reel. Like I said, I think I just got unlucky and got a bad one.

I'm looking for a new reel to use for Wiggle Warts, RKCrawlers, and those sorts of light weight, mid-depth cranks. I previously had a Tatula SV TW (the 2017 model) on that rod, and just never liked that reel. Casting distance wasn't great and the whole reel just felt cheap and gritty. Obviously they get a lot of excellent reviews, so maybe I just got a dud. I finally tossed it on the shelf today, and I'm looking for a replacement. All of my other reels are Shimano, so I know what I'm getting with those. Anyone have any experience with how the Daiwa Tatula Elite handles those sorts of lures? All of the reviews say it casts a mile - which is great - but how does it handle those lighter cranks?

I hate asking such generic questions... but I'm really stuck. My dad has always fished spinning rods. He has never used a bait caster. He fishes farm ponds 99% of the time. Well, he decided he wanted a casting rod. I'm going to get him one for Christmas. I'm torn on what to get him. He will only fish a few things with it -- t-rigged plastics (max 3/8), 1/4 and 3/8 buzzbaits, maybe a small whopper plopper. I bought him a Tatula Elite Signature Series Brent Ehrler Mutli-Purpose rod, but I tried it out myself and it's too stiff for what he's going to want. So I kept it! Any suggestions for rods that could fill those duties around $200? I don't really mind spending more, but I can't really justify it because I don't think he'd care. I've never seen him throw anything but a Shakespeare rod for as long as I can remember! I prefer to stay right at 7' since he fishes from a small pond boat a lot. Anything bigger could be too much. Right now I'm leaning towards the Dobyns Champion XP 703. I have some Champion XP rods myself, but have never fished the 703.

Anyone happen to have any more info on these rods? I'm interested in the 7'4 Frog rod.