Reel Malaise

[garroyo130]

15 minutes ago, Michigander said:

That's a unique review, I haven't heard anyone comment on reel wetness before. Very interesting!

 

People often mention the "wetness" issue in regard to the K's internals, in fact there's several videos and posts about it, but for me the feel is a bigger issue

 

^ From this forum

[Michigander]

6 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

 

People often mention the "wetness" issue in regard to the K's internals, in fact there's several videos and posts about it, but for me the feel is a bigger issue

 

^ From this forum

Interesting. I've been doing my current research on the Tatula tech tree, Curado was next. Looks like I have this information to look forward to.

[swhit140]

3 hours ago, Michigander said:

That makes sense. And no, I don't have anything specific in mind other than maybe shaving an ounce or so of weight off. Fuegos have been perfectly serviceable for me so it sounds like I should probably stick with them. 

I have 2- Daiwa Fuego CT 7.3:1 Right Hand I'm gonna sell. PM me if you would be interested.

[MN Fisher]

40 minutes ago, swhit140 said:

I have 2- Daiwa Fuego CT 7.3:1 Right Hand I'm gonna sell. PM me if you would be interested.

Oh you would put that up after I'm out of money for the year. I got one on my wishlist to replace my Pres-XT.

[Michigander]

45 minutes ago, swhit140 said:

I have 2- Daiwa Fuego CT 7.3:1 Right Hand I'm gonna sell. PM me if you would be interested.

I'm in the left hand retrieve camp, but thanks for the thought! Right handed retrieve makes zero sense to me. ?

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Michigander said:

Right handed retrieve makes zero sense to me. ?

I knew somehow that you were sinister.

[Michigander]

8 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I knew somehow that you were sinister.

I prefer the term "pragmatic", lol.

[newapti5]

I am surprised no one mentioned the NEW Lew's reels yet.  The old Lew's reels are usually quite smooth at the beginning, but will soon develop "geary" feelings. The new Lew's reels, like the LFS or the KVD LFS, both got the dual supported pinion gear, which can be easily upgraded to dual bearing-supported pinion gear. This will bring their smoothness and longevity to a new level. 

 

The MSRP of  LFS and KVD LFS are $100~130, but with all the sales going on, you can easily get them for less than $100. That being said, I haven't tried the new ones yet; my opinion is based on experiences with old Lew's and other dual supported pinion gears.

[Blaine Donders]

Good luck with this! Every time I think I have an answer I change my mind.

 

I am currently in love with the Smoke 200HD’s. I have two and love them.

 

That said, I haven’t found anything that performs better than a Tatula, yet. I have the SV, 150, and CT, and 100. Of these I believe the 100 is a good upgrade from the Fuego for $50, as it is smaller and feels better. I doubt, however, that it works better. 

As to the SV, I run a loose reel with lots of thumb, and don’t skip much, so it is interchangeable with the CT for me. I realize that’s me, and my opinion only. 

Sold my SLX XT’s, and my furthest casting reel is is a Smoke S3. So pick your poison. It’s all preference. Please keep in mind I only have one reel that’s worth more than $200 and that’s a Concept C.

[Michigander]

48 minutes ago, Blaine Donders said:

Good luck with this! Every time I think I have an answer I change my mind.

 

I am currently in love with the Smoke 200HD’s. I have two and love them.

 

That said, I haven’t found anything that performs better than a Tatula, yet. I have the SV, 150, and CT, and 100. Of these I believe the 100 is a good upgrade from the Fuego for $50, as it is smaller and feels better. I doubt, however, that it works better. 

As to the SV, I run a loose reel with lots of thumb, and don’t skip much, so it is interchangeable with the CT for me. I realize that’s me, and my opinion only. 

Sold my SLX XT’s, and my furthest casting reel is is a Smoke S3. So pick your poison. It’s all preference. Please keep in mind I only have one reel that’s worth more than $200 and that’s a Concept C.

Thanks, LoL. I was also looking at the Smoke S3 reels. You don't hear much about those. The reviews were generally positive but didn't see much information about how they are after the honeymoon break-in period.

[PhishLI]

12 minutes ago, Michigander said:

The reviews were generally positive but didn't see much information about how they are after the honeymoon break-in period.

I picked up a Tour S3, which is just a dressed up Smoke S3, during this years Classic sale. It's just about my favorite reel to fish with. I now have 6 Quantums in total including the Vapor PT that I added last week. I put them all through the ringer with baits up to 2 oz Bull Gills and wakes. They all feel great still. They're fantastic distance casters, seriously, are comfortable to use, and have good drags. 

[Michigander]

5 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I picked up a Tour S3, which is just a dressed up Smoke S3, during this years Classic sale. It's just about my favorite reel to fish with. I now have 6 Quantums in total including the Vapor PT that I added last week. I put them all through the ringer with baits up to 2 oz Bull Gills and wakes. They all feel great still. They're fantastic distance casters, seriously, are comfortable to use, and have good drags. 

Looks like the S3's got hit pretty hard at TW during the BF sale. That's always a good sign!

[Shimano_1]

It's gonna be like the ugly stick rod deal. U won't know that anything is any better til u try. The tatula sv for 129 or tatula 100 for 99 are steals for those reels. Ive had several fuegos and yes they are sufficient but the sv and 100 are upgrades. The 100 is more compact and a little smoother. The sv is just a breeze to use. No, none of them are gonna "do" anything the fuego won't besides feel a little better. All personal choice.  If you don't wanna go down the rabbit hole and spend a bunch of money id just stick with ur fuegos. My fishing partner has 3 fuegos and 8 tatula cts and the fuegos are all getting a little rough after a couple years.  Just some food for thought 

[Blaine Donders]

3 hours ago, Michigander said:

Thanks, LoL. I was also looking at the Smoke S3 reels. You don't hear much about those. The reviews were generally positive but didn't see much information about how they are after the honeymoon break-in period.

I have 3 Smoke S3’s, 2 Smoke HD’s, an Accurist, Energy, and Icon. They all work good. I have an Smoke KVD S3 8 speed I’ve thrown so much the paint is going. Stays in my trunk on a 2 piece Favorite. 
 

They are not as refined feeling as a Tatula, other than the HD’s, which are. However, that is a subjective thing. They have been durable, easy to set up, super comfortable, and cast really really well. 
 

They are all I use besides my Tatulas anymore.

[Lead Head]

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I work for a large shipping company and things are crazy right now.

 

As to why I don't play well with T-wings. When fishing bottom contact, I hold the reel and keep my index finger out front and under the line. This pushes the line up out of the T-wing and causes all sorts of line lay issues. I really wish I could get along with those silly T-wings because Daiwa puts them on dang near everything good they make. I get by though, the JDM reels I'm into now are pretty top notch. Maybe someday I'll run across someone willing to part with a SV103 at a decent price, I would really like to give one of those a spin!

[newapti5]

5 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I work for a large shipping company and things are crazy right now.

 

As to why I don't play well with T-wings. When fishing bottom contact, I hold the reel and keep my index finger out front and under the line. This pushes the line up out of the T-wing and causes all sorts of line lay issues. I really wish I could get along with those silly T-wings because Daiwa puts them on dang near everything good they make. I get by though, the JDM reels I'm into now are pretty top notch. Maybe someday I'll run across someone willing to part with a SV103 at a decent price, I would really like to give one of those a spin!

 

No way! I will never sell mine, aka "my precious."

On the other hand, found tons of gems on facebook though. Some of them are in good shape and with fair price. With some main gear/pinion gear/bearing swap, they're as good as new.

 

[NHBull]

Post what you are looking for in the classified on this forum.

Great used equipment passes through here on a regular basis

[PourMyOwn]

30 minutes ago, NHBull said:

Post what you are looking for in the classified on this forum.

Great used equipment passes through here on a regular basis

Good advice. 

 

OP, if you're stuck around 100 dollars, there's way more bang for your buck going used. I have two Fuegos and an SLX, and while I prefer the Daiwas, neither is the reel it was when I bought them.

[Michigander]

18 minutes ago, PourMyOwn said:

Good advice. 

 

OP, if you're stuck around 100 dollars, there's way more bang for your buck going used. I have two Fuegos and an SLX, and while I prefer the Daiwas, neither is the reel it was when I bought them.

As my research has been starting to cover Shimano offerings, I'm intrigued by the SLX MGL 70 reels. $150 per keeps it well under my $200 price-pain point and they seem to be well paired with the techniques I would need them for. It'll give me more perspective on other reels at least, lol.

59 minutes ago, NHBull said:

Post what you are looking for in the classified on this forum.

Great used equipment passes through here on a regular basis

I do keep an eye on the Flea Market forum, for sure. Unfortunately I'm pretty ignorant of what I want specifically. ? 

I can afford to be patient for now as my water is about to get really solid in the coming weeks. As long as I have this figured out by March I'm all good.

[Michigander]

7 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I work for a large shipping company and things are crazy right now.

 

As to why I don't play well with T-wings. When fishing bottom contact, I hold the reel and keep my index finger out front and under the line. This pushes the line up out of the T-wing and causes all sorts of line lay issues. I really wish I could get along with those silly T-wings because Daiwa puts them on dang near everything good they make. I get by though, the JDM reels I'm into now are pretty top notch. Maybe someday I'll run across someone willing to part with a SV103 at a decent price, I would really like to give one of those a spin!

No worries, this is a peak time of year for that industry for sure!

 

That's really interesting about how the TWS interacts negatively with your retrieve. I'll certainly keep that in mind as a factor.

[WRB]

Why not consider DVL cleaning and tuning your reels to maximize performance? Don’t over think this, the reels you have are good.

Tom

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Why not consider DVL cleaning and tuning your reels to maximize performance? Don’t over think this, the reels you have are good.

Tom

Like I said originally, I am not dissatisfied with the reels I have. Just feeling out if an extra $50-$100 really gets me anything tangible. I don't know what I don't know. And intensive research helps pass the winter. ?

[Spoons]

13 minutes ago, Michigander said:

Like I said originally, I am not dissatisfied with the reels I have. Just feeling out if an extra $50-$100 really gets me anything tangible. I don't know what I don't know. And intensive research helps pass the winter. ?

I bought my tatula ct brand new for $130 about a year and a half ago and couldn't be happier. The only other reel in the price range that I have had for low profiles is an abu garcia revox, and honestly the tatula is much better especially with lighter baits. I do hear that the fuego is pretty much this without the twing. I like to stick with what works so I will be purchasing another Daiwa in the future. 

[Michigander]

4 minutes ago, Spoons said:

I bought my tatula ct brand new for $130 about a year and a half ago and couldn't be happier. The only other reel in the price range that I have had for low profiles is an abu garcia revox, and honestly the tatula is much better especially with lighter baits. I do hear that the fuego is pretty much this without the twing. I like to stick with what works so I will be purchasing another Daiwa in the future. 

I've never really liked Abu or Lew's reels in spinning and they feel off to me when I pick up the bait casters on display at the store. Based on the parts diagram, a Tatula 100 and a Fuego CT are basically the exact same reel minus a bearing or two and the TWS.

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, Michigander said:

Based on the parts diagram, a Tatula 100 and a Fuego CT are basically the exact same reel minus a bearing or two and the TWS.

Tat-CT has two more bearings than the Fuego - both are in the crank-handles. So other than the TWS, internally they're identical.