Ryanralston07

I recently flew with Delta and they broke my lock, causing my Plano Airliner case to slide together and break the tip and rod down to the 2nd eye on my 3-week old Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'4" Howell rod (MH/M). Delta reimbursed me for the rod, and now I'm wondering if I should keep it the way it is and fish with it, try and fix it and keep using it, or replace the whole thing and scrap the rod. I planned on using this rod for chatterbaits and topwater, so sensitivity isn't as important as it would be with a rod for texas rigs and the like, but I'm unsure if losing this amount of the rod even matters since the rod's action was moderate. I fish a chatterbait and topwater a TON, so having this rod go down hurts. Thoughts? Edit: I do need a spinning rod because my only spinning rod broke in the car earlier this year, so there's that to mention lol.

Hey, everyone! Why care? These are two reels priced within $10-20 depending on vendor, and serve as highly popular reels for both companies. I purchased each of these reels over a year and a half ago in left-hand retrieve models with the Daiwa having a 7.3:1 gear ratio and the Lew's having a 7.5:1 gear ratio. The Daiwa, according to Daiwa, weighed 7.2 oz, while the Lew's, according to Lew's, weighed 6.9 oz. The Daiwa claims 120 yards of 14 lb test, and the Lew's claimed 120 yards of 12 lb test. The Daiwa cost me $129.99 (on sale - regularly $149.99) and the Lew's, $159.99. I fished both reels for largemouth bass, catfish, pike, and Pacific salmon (chum, sockeye, silver, and pinks). I used them with various rods from my Tatula Elite Rob Howell 7'4" MH/R rod, to my 7'1" MH/F Basspro Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Rod. I used them with various lines from Power Pro Plus braid to Seaguar Invisx fluorocarbon. I used them with heavy and light lures from weightless plastics to super heavy oz + texas rigs and heavy whopper ploppers. Casting: In my experience, I found the Daiwa to be the better caster, overall. The Lew's was easier to dial in when changing baits, but when the Daiwa was correctly setup, the Daiwa would cast baits accurately and over great distance. One of the things I did not like about the Daiwa though, was that the magforce dial could easily be clicked out of the setting, necessitating me to check the dial's position every time I used it. Between the two reels, the feeling of the lighter Lew's in my hand was preferred, but I preferred the thumb button on the Daiwa to the one on the Lew's. It was a weird sensation to describe, but I felt like casting with the Daiwa was quieter than the Lew's and also smoother. If I was going to pick up a reel and just start casting long casts and planned on changing baits often, the Lew's would be my choice, but if I was primarily casting one lure for most of the day with a setup, the Daiwa would be my choice. Reeling: I prefer a buttery smooth reel and found the Daiwa to be the smoothness I seek. The Lew's wasn't gritty, but there was more resistance in each crank with the Lew's than what I felt in the Daiwa. I have had another Daiwa, and found it to feel the same. I have not had another Lew's, but have handled other MP's in stores and found it to be consistent with the feel of those. When it came to fighting fish, I didn't find a difference in inches per turn relevant between the two reels to tell a difference. However, under load, the Lew's was easier to reel, especially when fighting the hard-pulling sockeyes I caught in swift water; I'm guessing the higher drag of the Lew's made that possible. If I was going after bass in light cover, I doubt I could tell a difference between the two reels, but when using them on stronger and bigger fish, the Lew's won out over the Daiwa with the higher drag and larger handle (95 vs 90 mm). Features: The speed keeper on the Lew's has to be one of the most clever features in a reel that I've seen! I used it for everything and found the versatility of having that on a reel meant I could keep my soft plastic on the hook no matter the keeper on the rod, which made me dedicate the Lew's as a Texas-rig reel. If you've looked at these reels, you likely know about the magforce-z braking on the Daiwa and the multiple braking system on the Lew's. I had no preference on these systems, but I will say that changing baits throughout the day seemed like less to change on the Lew's than I had to do on the Daiwa, so take that for what that's worth. Comfort: I have some issues with my right wrist and forearm, I've been told are tendonitis, and even with a brace, both reels were comfortable to fish with for an entire day. I will say though, I felt less fatigue with the Daiwa, even though it weighs more. For my hands (I usually wear a size L glove), I found the Daiwa's larger size easier to hold onto since I wasn't having to clinch my hand as small while holding the reel and reeling in a lure or fighting a fish. I found myself gravitating towards the Daiwa when my hand/wrist would hurt, and fishing longer because of it. The compactness of the Lew's was nice to see, but the Daiwa just felt better to me. Looks: Both reels look great, in my opinion. I have the Daiwa on my Tatula Elite rod for chatterbaits and the Lew's on my BP Platinum Signature rod for Texas-rigged soft plastics and find the colors look awesome together. Yes, I care about it. lol Both reels have been accidentally dropped, rode in john boats with other things bouncing up against them, been shipped in a rod tube on airlines, been carried in cars, been carried in backpacks, and they've both held up extremely well with barely any blemishes, looking near new. Impressed with both! Durability: Both reels have been banged up, submerged in freshwater, submerged in Alaska streams, pulled fish out of lily pads, pulled fish out of thick grass, been fished hard, and have remained as smooth and quiet as the day I purchased them. I've been very impressed with them - especially how well they handled the load of those salmon the last 2 summers in Alaska. Final Thoughts and Recommendation: I love both of these reels, and am glad I purchased both of them. Also, I feel each reel has its own purpose. The Daiwa is a reel I plan on keeping on my dedicated chatterbait rod because once set, it's my favorite caster. The Lew's is my go-to Texas-rig reel, and I love using the speed keeper! Even though I like the reeling and power of the Lew's better, if I had to pick another reel to buy, I'd go with the Daiwa for a couple reasons: 1) All-day comfort on the largemouth around me here in the Southeast, and 2) I'd dedicate the Daiwa to a specific setup. Now, if I were to be in the market for a do-it-all reel, changed baits often, and might not have the wrist and forearm problems I do, I'd pick the Lew's. For $10 difference between these reels, you can't go wrong with either! I highly recommend each of them. Thanks for reading my comparison! If there's anything I forgot to mention, just ask!

See, those were my thoughts. When I looked at the specs online, nothing really screamed at me that the price they charged for those reels was competitive with other brands' products. I did like the larger knobs on the reel, but even reeling the same model on different rods in store, the qc wasn't there - some felt heavy to reel, some were super smooth, some made noises, and some were gritty. Now, the colors were 'cool,' but nothing that made me really want to buy the reel any more than any other color reel. How in the world these are going to sell is beyond me when there are so many other great options on the market for reels.

I saw some yesterday at Sportsmans Warehouse, and although they are light and smooth, I noticed they have a graphite frame and are more expensive than a lot of aluminum framed reels. What makes these reels worth the price tag they have, and why would someone want them instead of an aluminum framed reel like the cheaper LFS, or close-to-price, Tournament MP?

Gonna have to try compression! I definitely need to bring a right-handed reel to help with that, just hate to buy one just in case, but I think it's a necessity at this point so I don't have to stop fishing. I used a Tatula CT last year for my reel when fishing for silvers, sockeye, pink, and chum, on a 7'1" Basspro Johnny Morris Platinum Signature rod just to see how it'd handle one of those salmon in the creek we were in - honestly, I was skeptical, but that setup handled them like a champ and gave me better feel and accuracy than the spinning setup everyone else used. I wore folks out fishing, even though everyone was skeptical about the setup, but after catching over 100 fish on it in a few days, guys were getting interested and even tried it out a few times when I took a break lol. I used to only use spinning gear, but I'll never use spinning gear again when I can use a baitcasting setup...without wrist pain lol Have a link or picture of that?

Thanks, fellas. 4-5 days of salmon fishing with several hundred casts a day and several fish a day can wear out the ole wrists, even on this 34-year-old!

I'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not, but I'm leaving next Sunday for a week-long fishing trip, and last year when we went, I ended up wearing out my right wrist on all the fish we caught. Does anyone use a wristbrace when fishing, or can recommend one? I wasn't sure if one from Walmart would suffice, since I feel like a wristbrace for fishing should somehow be constructed to give me feel of the reel and be lower profile in the palming area. Could be wrong.

I like to carry a backpack with 3-4 3700-sized Plano Edge cases, but my backpack doesn't have a good way to rig it for carrying rods, and I'm usually carrying 2-3 rods with me (whether bank or kayak fishing, I like multiple rods and plenty of tackle options). Does anyone have or know of a bag that can hold 2 or more rods and 3-4 of the 3700-sized tackle boxes? Thanks!

What line? If braid, 704, if fluoro or mono, 705.

Personally, I'd find a rod manufacturer you like and call them, tell them what you want, and see what they recommend, and get specific about what line you'll be using and how you like to set the hook. For instance, if you set the hook like you want to give the fish whiplash and you want to run braided line, then a softer power and slower action may be better so the rod can absorb some of that force. However, if you have more of a sweeping hookset motion like with cranking and you're running fluorocarbon, you could go with a medium heavy and faster action like a mod-fast or fast. For me, I plan on running fluorocarbon or braid to fluorocarbon leader, and I have a naturally quick and hard hookset, so I'm leaning towards a mh/m graphite rod, since I'm not a fan of glass rods. Chatterbait rods are some of the most debated and unique rods per people's preferences, so even if the manufacturer tells you what they think will work, you may need to try it out yourself and decide what you like.

How old is your fishing line? I like to either put on new line, or unspool the line I have and spool it on backward to make sure I have 'fresh' line every season. The second option is cheaper, obviously. ?

We’ve all done it; we’ve put together a combo we didn’t like whether it be the reel, rod, or line, or a combination of it all. I’ll start: Old school Basspro XPS round baitcaster with BP colorful fluorocarbon on a BP 6’6” MH/F. I couldn’t cast anything with that setup. The reel constantly backlashed and the line had so much memory it wasn’t funny, plus the rod was as stiff as could be. ?

This needs to be in a pinned post I vote Daiwai 200, Daiwa 150, or Lew's Super Duty.

I vote 40# braid instead of 30#. For me, 40# bites into itself less than 30# if I get hung up and have to pull a lure off something, is easier to handle for tying knots, and casts just as good as the 30# line. If you need more flex in the line, add a fluoro or mono leader.

Oops, got that and the Revo5 X confused. Revo5 X has a carbon frame. Corrected

I could be wrong but I don’t think the Revo has an aluminum frame, but the Lew’s does so I would go with the Lew’s. ? Edit: Confused the Revo on sale with the Revo5 X that has a carbon frame

Now, that is an idea and it means more fishing ? Thanks!

What’s your setup?

Ark Invoker Series of rod in 7'4 MH/R (graphite) seems to be a good setup with fluorocarbon. Am I correct?

What line are you running? I think part of it is. I usually find myself gripping the rod/reel tightly, but my main problem is reeling through the bite. If the bit isn’t just an absolute thrash of a strike, I often set the hook too soon and pull the cb out of their mouth. I’ve also had a few hits where they hit right at the bank/kayak and the stiffness of my rod didn’t allow any load for them to actually inhale the bait. I love the fast action and feeling everything the bait hits but I’m thinking I need a softer tip, too, to allow the fish to get it in their mouth more. Looser grip and more limber rod should work better.

I doubt you’ll regret it!

I love my M/F rod, a BP Carbonlite 2.0, at 7’. That rod is rated for 1/4-5/8 oz baits. I mainly throw top water poppers and wacky rigs with it but have thrown crankbaits and light t-rigs. . I have a Daiwa Tatula CT in 7.3:1 on it with Yozuri Hybrid. It casts a mile, has decent feel, is light, and fights well.

I'm a Ford guy and I love Daiwa and Lew's...I feel attacked, and known all at the same time ?

Thanks, y'all! I guess to summarize what y'all are saying, look for a mh/f with fluoro, or a mh/m-mh/mf with braid? I'd like to be able to throw crankbaits on this rod, too, so would the mh/m or mh/mf rod be the ticket?

I've started fishing a chatterbait a lot more, lately, and even caught a new PB on a bluegill patterned CB. Here's my current setup for running the chatterbait: Rod - Basspro Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Rod, 7'1", MH/F (I'd say it's between MH and H and between fast and extra fast) Reel - Lew's MP 7.xx:1 ratio Line: 40# Powerpro Braid Here's my problem: I lose a lot of fish by pulling the hook out of their mouths, unintentionally, or not even having time to set the hook because there's no give in my current setup when the fish hits the CB. I don't want to change out the line on my current setup because it's my favorite t-rig setup, but it's the best setup I currently have for running a CB, so I run it. I bank and kayak fish a lot and really want to only carry 4 rods with me, the MH/F, a spinning M/F, a bc M/F, and then whatever this setup will be. I throw t-rigs on the MH/F (braid), finesse on the spinning setup (braid to fluoro), wacky rigs and top water on the M/F (Yozuri hybrid), and figured this new rod would be good for crank/CB/spinner baits. My thought process is to get another rod for an extra reel (6.8:1 ratio) I have and run a 7'+ rod in either a MH/M flex with fluorocarbon or a MH/MF flex with fluorocarbon/mono depending on the give of the rod. Where I fish I have a lot of algae and I rip the CB out of algae and grass on the regular since I like to slow-roll a CB on the bottom, so would the MH/MF be better than the MH/M because of that? I've read so many threads on this topic my head is spinning, and I know not every manufacturer is the same with regard to rating rods. I mostly run a 3/8 oz CB and have no desire for a glass rod. Also, I don't want to spend over $150 on a new rod, so there's that. So, what would y'all do?