PatrickKnight

Great now I feel like I need one of these.

The BG is the most durable reel at 100 bucks. The Fuego is a solid option for people who want a lighter weight slightly less durable reel. With Daiwa's current 100 dollar offerings I see no need to even bother looking at Pure Fishing unless the goal is to stay under 100 dollars. Also the BG 1500 and 2000 share the same frame size the 2000 will just give slightly more line capacity. For the rod he got I would pair it with a 2500 size.

My BG 2500 is on par with my Stradic FK 3000. Given the choice again I would own 3x BGs and no Stradic.

If I want an 8 carrier I normally go with 832. I prefer original to slick 8 for the Power Pro brand.

I fished the 7 foot ML and have nothing bad to say about it. Good at everything master of none, one of the most versatile rods at the 200 price point.

As someone who owns a Stradic FK, has owned a Ci4+ FB, and fished the Tatula LT. Go with the Daiwa!

Spinning Daiwa and Shimano (more Daiwa now though) Casting Daiwa

Sounds like a good leader material for me to try!

My BG, FK, and Luvias all have zero play. Also the Tatulas I have fished did not have play in the handles. I will say of those reels only the Luvias does not have play in the handle knob. I would have to double check but I think all the LT reels are one piece direct drive handles.

Ask me again after the first week in June. Im gonna use it on a visit to see family in Tampa. I can tell you both my 2500 BG and 3000 Stradic FK work wonderfully. I have no doubt it will do great. Daiwa 2500 and 3000 are different size frames unlike Shimano. 2500 Daiwa = 3000 Shimano 3000 Daiwa = 4000 Shimano The Daiwa LTs are slightly different

The 2500 Daiwa is comparable to the 3000 Shimano. Mine weighs 7.6 oz and its a 2500 Luvias. I agree at 9oz that the 3000 Luvias is a bit heavy for most rods (I had to put a 9 oz BG on my Dobyns because it was so tip heavy). You are spot on about personal preference, we are darn lucky to have so many options.

That is like saying you would take them over a Stella because it weighs more. The Luvias is simply a better reel than the ones listed. I have fished a Tatula owned mutiple Ci4s and they dont compare. All the Ballistic has over the Tatula is seals. If you cant swing the cost of the Luvias I would go with the Tatula unless you need the seals in the Ballistic.

I also recently got a Luvias 2500H and I can say it is the finest reel I have ever used (budget doesn't allow me to try any of the 400+ dollar spinners). I owned a Sustain FG 2500 and fished an FI 3000 and the Luvias is simply a better reel. If you can find a Luvias for around 250 I see no reason what so ever to try any of the LT reels. I did fish a Tatula which I thought was a great reel at its price point but for 70 bucks more the Luvias isn't even in the same ballpark as the LT line. I will say the Tatula was more free spinning (no seals) than my Luvias when I first got it but now that it has about 30 hours of fishing on it the Luvias has really started to come into its own when it comes to free spinning. Almost like the main and pinon gears are starting to match up better with a small amount of wear. I will say mine is the USDM version with the aluminum spool on it so I can not speak to the JDM versions or the air spool models.

I use straight braid 90% of the time (normally 10 lb 832), I only tie a leader when I need it for abrasion resistance.

I try to match them accordingly but I have to talk myself into spending 200+ on a rod and will do that on a reel in the blink of an eye.

It is rare in the river I fish for me not to be able to see the bottom, it is also rare for me to use anything other than straight braid. If I do its a mono leader to help with damage to the line from rocks when I am dragging a tube or a hair jig on the bottom.

I will 2nd this whole post. I am currently using 8 and 10 lb 832. I use straight braid 90% of the time and its rare I can not see the bottom of the river I fish. I catch plenty on straight braid. I have tried mono and fc the last couple of seasons and I just cant go back after getting used to braid.

I am going to talk to Alex about building me a rod for my new Daiwa Luvias. All I use is spinning tackle and your praise has me looking into a custom ALX.

I fish a Cajun Rod Trigger for my really light weight jig and plastic combos. I have the 6-10 lb rod and it can handle 1/16th with plastic with no issues. I have no doubt the 4-8 lb rod would do 1/16th with no plastic. It is a very easy rod to load but has some backbone to it as well. https://www.cajuncustomrods.com/category/rod-series/cajun-trigger/

I use the smallest and lightest reel I can to balance a rod tip up two finger in front of the reel stem. For most of my rods this is a 2500 size 7.5-8 oz reel. I have a Dobyns Sierra 703 that I had to put a 9 oz reel on to get it balanced. Reel size from my experience has zero impact on wind knots. All I fish is spinning tackle and braided line.

The Exsence 3000 spool only holds 95 yards of 20 lb braid. Its a shallow spool reel as well.

The Exsence is imo the king of light weight spinners when money is no factor. That being said anything from the Tatula up on the Daiwa side and anything from the Stradic up on the Shimano side will work well. Weight wise for me anything around 8oz or less is fine but I dont vertical fish I wade a river 95% of the time.

Tatula over both

The OP was asking about moderate spinning rods. I think that is what he was pointing out.

When your new Ci4 has a bad bearing but the forum pushes you in a different direction. Its not as free spinning as a Stradic (the sealing is much better at the handle and main shaft on this one) but when you turn the handle you can feel everything just matches up better.