Dash Riprock

Although I got reasonably proficient with an old Abu Garcia Blue Max combo many years ago, I consider myself a novice compared to the guys here. I upgraded to a Tatula SV TW103 during last year's Black Friday sales and it's been essentially idiot proof for me. It's a joy to throw. Like you, I was and remain very confused by the various Tatula iterations.

fwiw, I have both a Tatula CT and a Tatula SV-TW103 and have had a similar experience. The TW103 is almost magical in how little effort on my part it takes, while the CT requires a lot more attention. They're set up a little differently (CT has 50# braid, TW103 has 20#), and I tend to throw lighter stuff on the TW103. The CT is not a bad reel, but I've never been able to dial it in such that I don't have to keep a thumb on it to prevent backlashes, while the TW103 pretty much does it all by itself unless I get stupid with a bad cast or something.

Right - I normally keep the leader line on the spool until I tie the knot, then cut to length but it's no biggie to precut it. Can't do that for backing, obviously. I learned the double uni, then kinda gravitated over to the Alberto, but both are a bit thicker than I'd like. This Lefty Kreh looks like it might be a little smaller, we'll see. Certainly looks easier particularly for a guy with fat fingers and astigmatism. I tried that FG maybe 10 times, think I got it right about 3 of those times, and gave up.

Just so I'm understanding the OP's question correctly, he hooked a fish in the gills? Or the hook passed through the gills and hooked into the fish's body? Not quite sure I'm understanding. I've caught gullet hooked fish and have always been able to work the hook out but I don't think this was what the OP is talking about, correct? I've never had one hooked in or through the gills, I don't think.

Very interesting discussion. This is why I love to lurk on this site. I'm extremely right hand dominant and have always wondered why we use left handed spinning reels. I guess that's how I started out so I never really had a problem, but have always thought it odd. Now I learn that some righties use left handed casting reels so the the dominant hand has better control of the rod, which makes perfect sense in the abstract. Plus, there's no way I could even attempt to cast anything left handed, so yeah, the idea of not having to switch hands after every cast is appealing. But I don't know if my mind can process a left handed casting reel - just thinking about it seems weird to me, which is stupid because I already use left handed spinning reels. I dunno, y'all really got me rethinking some things right now. Guess I'll have to pick up a left handed casting reel on clearance somewhere and try this out for myself. It's the only way to be sure, right?

I keep meaning to try this but always forget about it when I need to tie on a new leader. This looks really easy.

I don't consider myself proficient in baitcasters by any means and I'm having really good luck with a Tatula SV TW103. I assume it's got a very similar, if not the same, braking system as the Tatula Elite. Sometimes when I know I've hit the sweet spot of a cast I just sit back and smile as I watch the reel regulate itself. It's really amazing. Can't speak to the Shimano DC systems as I've never used one but from what I've read they seem pretty slick also.

I struggle with anything over 6'6" but I've pretty much only ever been an occasional bank fisherman using mid-grade Academy sale combos. I've been trying to get more serious about it lately and upgraded to a couple of 7'ers but I keep going back to the shorter stuff. Maybe if I wasn't so accustomed to dodging trees and brush I'd be a little more comfortable casting the longer rods but unless and until I get a boat, they just don't work for me.

I disassembled a Shimano SLX-XT recently, which I assume has essentially the same drag mechanism as the SLX, and ended up with a tiny spring and pin leftover when I put everything back together. After some mild panic, googling, and careful study of the schematic, turns out it was the drag clicker. It's tiny and falls out easily. It was a near miracle it didn't end up on the floor or inadvertently discarded with the shop towel. Sorry, can't help you with the smoothness problem - I'm not that well versed in reel maintenance. Edit to add - iirc the plastic washer that makes the "click" is grooved on one side and smooth on the other. If you reassembled with the pin in place, but flipped the washer over so that the smooth side is against the pin, it won't click. Just something else to look for.

Bump for a quick update. I swapped the rods these were on and finally had a chance to get out and try them over the weekend. The CT is now on the St. Croix 6'6" Triumph and the SV TW103 is on the 7' Dobyns Sierra 703C. The CT did much better, still not as smooth or mindless as the SV but I was able to cast it well without backlashing. Overall I think I prefer the shorter rods, maybe because I'm usually dodging branches on the banks where I typically fish. I noticed I have a fairly limited "swing path" and couldn't really experiment with the different casting techniques folks recommended earlier in this thread. Anyway, I'm going to switch the SV back to the 6'6" St. Croix and be a very happy camper. One kinda funny thing happened with the SV this trip. I switched baits from a weightless trick worm to a Grande 5" rattler and didn't adjust the brakes. I threw it out and before I knew what was happening I got a backlash. Stunned that my precious SV finally backlashed, I realized that I had cast the rattler all the way across the creek I was fishing, and the bait had hit the opposite bank at full speed. My previous best with the trick worm went maybe 2/3 across, though I wasn't really trying for distance. So I guess I couldn't stay mad long. Really, really like this Tatula SV. I think I'm gonna be a Daiwa man.

I hope so. Already love the SV. Just need to get this CT figured out. At the risk of outing myself as the equipment equivalent of a bait junkie (which I'm becoming also), I also picked up a Lew's Tournament Pro during one of the BF sales. I didn't take it out yesterday but I had it out last month and it worked fine. But I knew going in that it used the more traditional adjustment (the gentle lure fall), and that I'd probably need to be aware of my thumb. I was throwing spoons and weighted Texas rigs with it, and as it turns out I barely needed my thumb. It's a very nice reel also, but in a different way than the Tatula SV. What was throwing me off with the CT was that I thought it worked differently - with the side-to-side play - and it apparently doesn't. I think I can live with it and be happy knowing that I have to adjust it like a more traditional brake system.

I played around with the brakes but I don't think I ever turned them all the way up to full (which I think is 20?). Don't get me wrong, I was able to get the CT to work OK, I just never got it to the point of mindlessness like the SV has been pretty much out of the box. That's what I was expecting. Point taken on disassembling the brakes - I'm comfortable enough to do it, maybe I won't have to. We'll see.

This is something else I kept running across while googling but never completely understood. I get that the SV spool is designed for lighter lures, that's why I invested in one, but what makes this so? In other words, how is the CT spool different from the SV spool? Also, I noticed that Daiwa has SV designations across several different models, presumably to indicate lighter application for that particular model line. I get the impression that Shimano does something similar with "MGL"? Then there's the SV TW vs. the SV TW103. Never really found a good answer as to the difference, although from some of the responses here the 103 has the "zero adjust" knob. Lots of confusion. Whatever the case, it works. This Tatula SV was casting weightless worms as easily as 1/4 oz trailered jigs without any adjustment on my part. Of course the weightless worms don't cast as far but that's to be expected. I didn't get backlashes with anything. It was amazing. Out of curiosity, I took the sideplates off both reels this morning and noticed that the rotor on the CT was much tighter than on the SV. However, while the SV's rotor moved in and out with less effort, it was a bit rough, like sand or something was inside grinding against something else. The CT's movement was silky smooth, just required noticeably more effort to move in and out, if that makes sense. Dunno what if anything this means. If I get some time this week I'll disassemble them both and take a look.

Yeah, I can do it old school well enough to get by but man, watching that SV spool regulate itself to the point where I had enough confidence to back the thumb completely off was really something. I guess I got spoiled.

Right, I ended up doing this (traditional adjustment) after I kept getting bird's nests on the CT and it worked better. Still not as well as the SV, but better. I'd readjust to that "side-to-side" thing when I changed lures just to see if I could find a sweet spot, but I couldn't. I guess I misunderstood how some of these Tatula reels work. It's confusing. Yes, I've had an Abu Blue Max combo for maybe 10-ish years (?) that I got pretty decent with but at the end of the day I'm just an occasional bank fisherman who wanted to upgrade his equipment. So yeah, I'm sure my casting technique leaves much to be desired. And I'm fine with that, I just found it odd that these two reels that I thought had the same braking system performed so differently, and I wanted to understand why. Maybe next time I go out I'll switch out the rods and see what happens.

Yes, the SV I have has that tension knob that is a royal pain to adjust. When I first got the reel and didn't know what I was doing, I played around with it out of the box and wondered why they made the tension knob so hard to access. Then I read the owner's manual and oops, I'm an idiot. That led me down the google/youtube path, which as usual cleared up some things but not others. Pretty sure I got it back to where it needs to be because like I said, this thing casts like a machine now. I guess I was under the impression that the Tatula systems were all the same but apparently not. That explains why the tension knobs are different. Thanks! Thanks, this makes sense. I was wondering if the rod had something to do with it but I was looking at the length more than the power. This is my first 7' rod, the others I've used are 6'6" (the St. Croix on the SV and an old Abu Blue Max combo I've had for a while before deciding to upgrade stuff last year). I'm not skilled enough to appreciate the differences in power ratings, but I'll keep this in mind next time.

So I've been lurking here for a few months, picking up on the latest and greatest equipment and techniques. I went a little crazy during the Black Friday sales and bought, among other things I didn't need, a Daiwa Tatula SV TW103 and a Tatula CT. I paired the SV to a St. Croix Triumph 6'6" with Suffix 832 20lb braid, and the CT to a Dobyns Sierra Series 703 with Seaguar Smackdown 50lb. I intended the SV to be for lighter finesse type stuff and the CT for heavier rigs and lures. I've only had a chance to take these out a couple of times. First time was about a month ago. I couldn't get the CT dialed in and finally gave up after several bird's nests on various lures. I got the SV dialed in almost immediately. It was money. Took them both out today and while the SV was still money, I continue to struggle with the CT. I got better, but still have an occasional birds nest. I'm not sure what, if anything, I'm doing wrong. My understanding from reading various posts here and elsewhere is that the Tatula braking system is a little different than others. I understand that rather than adjusting the tension knob until the lure falls gently without a backlash, you only tighten it enough to where the spool has just the slightest of play back and forth, then rely on the brake adjustment dial. Start at 10 and go from there, but it's intended to be a "set it and forget it" deal. I did that with the SV and man, it works. It works on light ned rigs, it works on heavier bladed jigs with a trailer. It truly has been "set it and forget it" thus far. I've gotten to where I don't much worry about thumbing it, it's that good. I really, really like this reel. Unfortunately the CT is a different story. I tried the "spool back and forth" setting with brakes on 10. Disaster. I started monkeying with the tension adjustment and finally got to where it was usable, but I have no confidence from cast to cast that I'm not going to get a backlash, so I end up riding my thumb the whole time. Plus every lure I put on requires me to fiddle with it, which is something I thought this braking system was supposed to avoid. Am I doing something wrong? Did I misundertand how this system works, or is the CT different from the SV? Does the extra length of the rod I have the CT mounted to have anything to do with this? Or the heavier line? Is there something I need to check on the CT spool to make sure it's not malfunctioning? Thanks!

Another question I've wondered about - Does any other manufacturer make a DC equivalent, where the braking is controlled digitally by (as I understand it) a chip system powered by the inertia of the cast?

You've convinced me to go ahead and do this. I've researched as much as I could find on-line and watched a couple or three YouTube videos but I still a bit confused about what to do with the bearings. I understand that the idea is to clean out the factory grease and replace it with a bit of oil, but I see some people cleaning bearings by soaking the whole thing in a solvent without taking off the shields. It seems like that would never get the grease or the solvent completely out. Am I missing something? Don't you have to take off the shields to do this right? Thanks for your help!

So I have a related question that I can't seem to find a straight answer for, hoping somebody can advise. I bought a Daiwa Tatula CT on the Tackle Warehouse 25 days of Christmas sale. Don't ask me why, it just seemed like a good deal I guess and I hear good things about Daiwa. Unlike the Lew's reel, there was nothing in the box or the manual that said to lubricate the bearings. I understand that at some point I will need to break open the reel and clean/lube, but is it necessary to do this to a brand new reel, or is this just something that Lew's recommends for theirs? What I learned from Googling seems to be that reel bearings come from the factory with some amount of grease already packed into them, on the assumption that most people won't bother to oil a brand new reel. However, for various reasons grease is not the ideal lubrication for bearings, oil is better, so at some point you need to remove the grease and put in a drop of oil. Is that correct? Bottom line - do I need to take apart any new reel and oil the bearings? Or is this more of a "it's a good idea but you don't necessarily have to do it right away. It can wait until later." Thanks!

Is this the case for all baitcasters or just certain ones?

Right, I didn't take it down nearly that far. Not ready for that yet. I'm not completely ignorant of this stuff, I disassembled and cleaned an old Penn Peerless #9 last summer, but that doesn't seem anywhere near as complex as this Lew's. Yes, I had the spool out when I removed the handle. Ah ha! Now that you mention it I'm pretty sure it was down, and I probably had pushed it up when I reassembled the second time because I was flipping it back and forth trying to figure out the problem. Thanks!

Yes, I think it had something to do with the drag, although I'm not quite sure what. Hopefully it's fixed now - looking forward to trying it out on the water.

Well never mind. I took it apart and reassembled and now it's working again. Weird.

Hi guys - bought a Lew's Tournament Pro at one of the Black Friday deals and there was a flyer in the box that said I was supposed to put a drop of oil on various components, one of which was the cast control cap. I took off the handle and the star drag to get easier access to the cast control cap, but I went no further than that. I did not touch the drag washers or anything beyond the star. After I put everything back together, the reel will not re-engage the thumb release - I have to manually push it up. What did I do wrong? Can this be fixed or do I need to return it?