As some of you may know from my recent posts on here, you'll know that I recently purchased the new Daiwa Tatula Elite Long Cast reel. I've finally got some time in on the water with this reel to really be able to make an assessment of this reel.
Backstory - I've own(ed) numerous Daiwa reels, but I've always primarily used them for flipping/pitching because I felt this was a category that Daiwa reels were superior at, and that my Shimano reels are better caster's. I've even own a Tatula HLC (hyper long cast) model that I use for frogging, but I was never keen on that reel because it wasn't the most comfortable in my hand. So whenever I heard that the new Tatula Elite was modeled off a Steez on the Tatula 100 frame and was tweaked for longer casting, my interest was piqued.
Feel - Every Tatula I have ever owned has not been the most comfortable in my hands, but this new smaller size Tatula is very comfortable in my hand. It's small and compact, but it feels very sturdy in the hand with the aluminum frame and sideplate. The clutch/thumb bar has a very positive feel, and the braking system is also a breeze to adjust. My one gripe with this reel is that the handle knobs are a little smaller than I prefer to use and I have ordered a replacement set of RCS cork knobs to replace them. The Zero Adjust spool tension knob is a little different than what I'm used to, but I've started getting used to it. It's still possible to adjust, but it's somewhat difficult to do.
On The Water - My first trip out with the reel. I spooled it up with 14lb Gamma Polyflex and mounted the reel on my Dobyns 736cb. I threw some spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with the reel. During this first outing with the reel, I kept getting overruns and backlashes every time I made a hard cast at full power. I wasn't sure if this was the reel, or the line I was using (since it was a little old). But I was very impressed at the distance I could get with this reel at 75% power. I was getting the same distance with this reel with less power, than I did with my Shimano's at full power.
So this weekend I went out again, only this time I re-spooled the reel with Suffix 832 braid in 40lb test. Immediately I could tell the reel was performing much better. It quickly became apparent that this reel doesn't like if you put full power into a cast. But once you get the settings dialed in, I was able to bomb a buzzbait significantly further than any other reel I owned when throwing at about 70-80% power. What blew me away was how quickly the line flies off this reel during the cast. I think this is how the reel is able to achieve such great distance. Every time I would push it and cast too hard, I would be rewarded with a backlash.
So there's definitely a sweet spot on the braking system and how much power to put behind your cast. What's nice is that I can make a soft cast and still get good distance. I can see this coming in handy on a long day whenever I'm tired, or for another angler who might be older or have a medical condition that hinders their casting.
I hooked into three fish this weekend and the drag performed great for me. It was silky smooth and gave me no worries at all. The reel remained smooth and I didn't experience any issues while fighting fish and the reel performed exactly how I would expect any quality Daiwa reel to perform.
Overall - I'm very impressed with this reel. I think I've still got some learning to do on how this reel performs, but I think I've got a good feel for it now. The distance with this reel is super impressive. So much so that I think I'll probably buy another in the 6:1 ratio to go alongside this one. If you're on the fence about this reel, I highly recommend buying one. And if you have any questions on the reel, I'll gladly try to answer them.
