bulldog1935

Adding a datapoint. Yesterday, paid my first DHL duty and brokerage through DHL On-Demand. Duty was only $9 on PE lines and hyperdrive brass gearset. DHL charged $17 for brokerage, a bit higher than FedEx and UPS (charge for filing Form CN23). If you don't pre-pay online before delivery and wait for a mail invoice, there's additional COD charge, up to $20. Both DHL and UPS, with registered account, will e-mail you a link to pre-pay invoice. I haven't found anything like that on FedEx account, so I'm only using FedEx where the vendor will pre-pay for me, e.g., Digitaka and ZenMarket.

No reel is easier to set up than Daiwa MagZ and SV. Pick the right spool for your max weight, and set linear mag for your light end.

All I can add is Roy's Bait & Tackle in Corpus, the Mecca of Texas fishing, is carrying Bates Hundo. What they sell, they support 100%. The hardest-fishing kayaker and videographer on the TX coast is fishing one on Waterloo Salty Mag rod since last spring, fishing down to 1/8-oz JH, and gives it great reviews. I borrowed one of his photos - his post this day included 7 redfish this size. Also noteworthy about Glenn, Prof Salt - he doesn't accept sponsorship, and buys all his gear. He does trade-in offshore fish for surf cut-bait at Roy's for store credit.

I bet you've called me out a half-dozen times with that same question. Here are all the Steez models currently supported with parts by Daiwa https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/optionparts/language/en/manufacturers/1/siries/6/ My reel is the last magnesium-body Steez SV TW with 34-mm dia SV spool, model 1016SV-H. Steez A is aluminum body and weighs one ounce more, MagZ-Boost spool @Bass Rutten - there are also L/R-brain people who don't have a dominant hand. Most fly fishermen take their dominant hand backwards - it's the line hand that loads the rod and controls cast timing. Keeping spin fishing in a separate arm from both baitcast and fly keeps spinning wrist habits away from the other two casts. But I get it - both my daughter and my buddy Lou are so RH-dominant, even on spinning tackle, they swap hands to both cast and wind RH. Nothing in fishing requires big muscle power or extreme fine motor skills, but muscle memory is habit you develop over time with repeat use.

Totally aside, my mind can't grasp LHW baitcaster - I can't look at a photo and feel the reel. I bought '17 Steez first after 35 years of Lew's. It was specifically for Roro-X29 spool 2-g capability and salt shore niche. Swapped with Ray's SV spool for bass finesse. I've never really treated magnesium Steez like a salt reel, that is, I don't take it on salt kayak. I was so impressed, I bought '21 Zillion the month it was introduced. It's fished 5 hard salt years and still going strong - never once backlashed - and joined by friends, Silver Wolf, SLPW-Z(HD) and Ryoga 100. Except for my Ambassadeur bench projects in river kayak, and tinkering newfound Badger/ Sabre BFS, I'm with @king fisher - if it ain't Daiwa 34-mm floating spool, I don't want it.

Simple - baitcast reel - widest possible weight range with highest cast reliability and simplest set-up. Spinning reel - complicated, self-destroying mechanism - longest possible life. After that, it's commonality, e.g., ability to swap spools on the water without hauling a suitcase.

The only thing more fun than rigging kayaks and bench-tinkering reels is building bicycles unfortunately, it costs more, and bikes are harder to store than reels. But, you can also build your bike to haul the reels to fishy places you can't get to by car or boat. Taiwan is the Mecca of quality bicycle frames and components, since too strong JY forced the Japanese bicycle industry to move there in 1984. The French - aside from surrendering to the Bosch, always famous for complicating bicycles and cars, though made every important bicycle innovation before and during WWII. The best still made in Japan emulates prewar French. Great logo on the company that became SRAM, adopting the new name when they moved offshore and copied SunTour RD along with everyone else. Taiwan was also building fishing reels 10 years before Daiwa began, who in turn was building reels two decades before Shimano. Regarding SunTour, Mr. Maeda has returned with Sun XCD, DiaCompe Ene, and Microshift.

@Micro Module Police - I keep a stash of these parts, 29 - Spool Bearing Collar p/n 110795 With any spool, I use 1030 bearing or make my own micro-bearing, here IXA 740 in Momo purple spacer for odd AMO 4-mm pinion end (best light-end Daiwa spool made, though). Without the shouldered collar, 11-mm dia spool bearing can get wedged in Daiwa tapered frame boss. Not something you want on your magnesium Steez. Shouldered collar + 10-mm bearing prevents the wedge.

Look at it this way, we didn't get into OP's warped perception of Shimano bicycle component history. Other than two innovations, chain lift designed into FD cage, and superior index shifting, they first copied Campagnolo, then they produced SunTour's 1964 patent two years before it expired.

Most replies show people didn't read the OP question.

congrats @MiceNReets I have show and tell, too - received '26 Ryoga 100SV from Digitaka today. Separate FedEx package arrived from Hedgehog Studio at the same time, with ZPI drag star and Studio Composite RC/SC handle. Already had a niche picked out for this - it's replacing CV-Z in my mud-marsh Zara Spook. Already had the rod - also matched my '18 Ryoga with Bright River Rivermaster grip, and knew this match would be excellent. two-hand grip, rod is 6'4" OL for close fishing from salt kayak. editing in - I also had spared spared gunmetal Zero knob from my Steez (replaced with SLPW black/champagne-gold). The extra gunmetal splash looks sharp on the drive side. Swapped-in SV G1 1012 spool with stacked braid to #1.5, as best as I can tell, mag scalar set to 9, cast 1/8-oz high arcs past 90' on 6' rod- just set here for a baseline scalar, one notch above incipient mid-cast backlash. The real target, 1/4 oz, rocketed beyond 130', and no start-up backlash with 1/2 oz and intentional jerk. One last photo showing gunmetal trim.

100 size and 150 size, medium to deep spools. nominally 100 yds 16 lb to 150 yds 20-lb. You been doing Daiwa long?

Ryoga shipped 2 days earlier than estimated by Digitaka, took Sennan-Shi to Memphis non-stop. Hedgehog order left from Narita-Shi, and imported through Anchorage - both arrived in San Antonio last night - still listing Wednesday 24th delivery - and both are out for delivery today. Holy cow, I even got morning delivery - tough subject with only throw-in lights. Ryoga 100SV, 6.3, stock SV Boost 1016 spool, ZPI drag star and Studio Composite RC/SC handle. @Gnarwhal - no extra fees - you pay your half at purchase, and Digitaka paid the rest - all paid up front. OK, this is unusual. The only screw head to install a G-Nius hook keeper on Ryoga is on the foot side of the drive pancake. Japan bench, K-n stripped the M1.3 socket head installing the screw. My Daiwa M1.5 hex was too big to fit the hole, and Wiha M1.3 spun like a top. I had to take a photo of the screw to figure it out - couldn't tell with my Ott magnifier. You can see he barely left me flats to get the screw removed and reinstalled with a hollow-ground bit.

If you check Plat.co.jp repair parts, they list every JDM model currently supported with parts by Daiwa - most are identified by model-issue year: https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/optionparts/language/en/manufacturers/1/siries/80/

Mine is out for delivery today - both Ryoga from Digitaka, and Studio Composite handle from Hedgehog, both ordered on Thursday. They left Japan Saturday night (our time), and first scheduled delivery stated Wed 24th - they're here 2 days before that. I'll edit-in a photo later (tomorrow)...

Two schools, buy a little bit of everything at low end. Stick with what works for you, buy fewer and better quality. These two reels did everything I needed fishing mono/fluoro, from 1984 to 2015 - I never take more than 3 combos on kayak. Sticking with brand habit, added Super Duty and partners over 2016 to '19. When I discovered I didn't need centrifugal, sold those two reels in EX condition, and put the funds into Daiwa 34-mm floating spool (Zillion, Steez, Ryoga). Except for one ZPI Alcance, which is like Super Duty on steroids and BFS spool available. Haven't bought anything but 34-mm Daiwa floating spool for the versatility of the spools, and all the reels swap spools (one backup spool on kayak covers them all). I won't be trying anything else. simply, Daiwa casting brake is simple, brilliant, reliable, and versatile - matched with the right spool, the same reel can fish 2 g to 2 oz. Not counting bench-tinkering Ambassadeur, which is a different kind of hoot.

They're rabbits.

Digitaka, Hedgehog Studio, and FedEx are working extremely well together. Both are getting everything through FedEx with straight 15-21% tariff (including reels from Digitaka). Digitaka will charge you half of the tariff up front, and they pay the other half. I just bought a Ryoga from Digitaka and paid 10% for my half of the tariff, and free shipping. My 20-year broker Masamichi (noppin.com) is closing shop. I've used ZenMarket - they don't look out for you, and make too much on currency conversion - they also seem to do everything next week. Reels, parts, lure boxes, plastic lures range in tariff from 40 to 60% because of steel- and aluminum-derivative tariff, and offshore tariff for the plastic goods (Indonesia, Malaysia). Handmade wood lures get by with 15% tariff - also lines. Generally, rods are straight 21% tariff.. If you don't pre-pay tariff + customs brokerage (charge for CN23 form), you will get an additional COD charge - $20. UPS with an account, and DHL On Demand account have been no problem with pre-pay tariff online, and they email links to pre-pay. Courier speeds are slowing down by 2 or more days - I suspect they're holding flights to load up cargo bays, because of reduced export/import volume.

Everybody is going to have their preferred niches. My first need for BFS is single plug hooks, which never foul on the line - they foul 4/5 casts on spinning tackle. Every technique where tight-line is an advantage works best on BFS. I prefer spinning on complex rigs like tandems and long dropper below cigar cork. My spendiest combo is finesse spinning. What I don't get is making spinning tackle the subject on a BFS thread. If BFS doesn't interest you, post about what works for you somewhere else.

Every Japan-made reel has the technician's bench labeled on it. If the reel comes back, he commits seppuku it was jokes

@GRiver - the Ostrich front bag is the largest made - it will hold wading boots and fishing bag - or a 15-liter ice mule and a six-pack. The Smith Dagger Stream telescope is permanently matched with 1500CI. Easy fit in the bike half-frame bag, and you can pedal from crossing to crossing with the rod still rigged and collapsed.

I've been moving reels between rods since my first baitcaster, Millionaire 6H, in 1978. I had a 6' Fenwick Lunkerstik for bass, and inshore, 7-1/2' Browning Hi-Power that telescoped the blank into the butt for 6-1/2' travel length (also my first graphite rod) Through the '90s and millenium, my reels matched a 7' rod, and 8-9' steelhead rod for inshore and surf. This became more important with back-up 3-pc rods stashed in kayak hold. Salt trips are most always multi-day trips. Throw in shore-finesse tackle for nite-lite dock fishing in canals and navigation channels. I also have a bicycle set up for bike-fish, with multi-piece rods that cover limestone headwater creeks to salt shore. Some very fishy places you can't get to by car or boat. Your reel question is a no-brainer. Daiwa 34-mm floating spool is the most versatile reel platform ever made, and Zillion is the entry door. You can swap spools from shallow finesse fixed-inductor to deep swimbait MagZ - 2g to 2 oz.

😁