A Tale of Two Tatulas; newb needs advice

[Dash Riprock]

4 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

 

This has to be a discouraging but I'm certain you can work this out.  If you were proficient with Blue Max then you are going to absolutely love both of your Daiwas when you get them squared away. 

 

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. 

[garroyo130]

27 minutes ago, Dash Riprock said:

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. 

 

It should have slight side-to-side play. Adjusting like a traditional brake system (setting spool tension knob to have lure drop slowly) will rob you of distance. You should see the same "auto correct" for lack of a better term, when casting as with the SV although to a lesser degree. 

[NOC 1]

5 hours ago, Dash Riprock said:

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!

 

 I think you might have missed the point. The systems really ARE the same. It's just that the "No Adjust" system has a knob that is hard to turn. I have Daiwa reels from the TD-Z to the Tat SV TW and I set them all by pressing the release clutch, then adjusting the tension until there is just the slightest of side to side. From there you should be able set the brake knob somewhere in the middle and then work from there if you need to make adjustments.

 

The no adjust thing is just a marketing blurb meant to imply to folks that the Daiwa is set and forget. Trying to set a Daiwa by the traditional dropping of the bait till it hits the dock might work or it might not, but it is probably not going to be optimal as it will depend on the weight of the lure. The Daiwa system works off of the speed of the spool.

[GTN-NY]

16 hours ago, GTN said:

Oh great! I bought 4 of the CT’s on BF and haven’t spooled them up yet to try them out. I was told about the tension knob stuff and thought I was all set. Maybe tomorrow I’ll spool up to throw something into the snow banks 

I spooled up with 15lb big game and went out in the snow to test. 
I set the tension knob the old way to start. Gave it a little wing and it took off 20-30 yards and my thumb panicked and hit the brakes. It’s hard to stop your thumb from doing what it always has done for so many years. It took a few tries but when I kept it off the spool it didn’t overrun at all. This thing is smooth and easy. 
To be honest I didn’t try the side to side adjustment 

16 hours ago, GTN said:

16 hours ago, GTN said:

[new2BC4bass]

I really can't add to what has already been. said.  I fish from shore, and like Russ E I sometimes (often?) power cast my Daiwas with no problem.  I will add that it is possible to get a bad reel.  Recently got a 'Blem' Elite.  I think the normal person would consider a blem as cosmetic.  Spool won't spin.  Turning handle is hard.

 

My first SV reel was the SV105HSL.  Everyone was extolling its virtues and how easy it was to cast.  Mine backlashed easily.  Sent it to a professional and now it is one fine reel.  BTW, I learned on a TD Fuego so it isn't like I didn't know how to use a Daiwa.  My Daiwas outnumber every other brand I own.

[Big Hands]

10 hours ago, Dash Riprock said:

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. 

The SV TW103 is the 2020 model, and the SV TW is the previous version.

 

Side note: I have a SLX MGL 70 XG and an SV TW. IMHO, I'd take the SV TW all day, every day and twice on Sundays. I paid $30 less for my SV TW too. I wish I'd bought another at that price.

[Boomstick]

I have a few older model Tatula SVs and a Tatula CT. I set them up the same way, roughly the same brake settings, generally between 6 and 10 depending on conditions and the rod and bait size but they aren't too terribly dissimilar and I don't have any issues casting my CT even after using a SV for a while under normal conditions.

[txchaser]

I have a fuego and a bunch of tat sv's in 2017 and the new model SV TW, some elites and some 100's. None of them are exactly the same, but you shouldn't need to crank down the tension adjuster. However, I've noticed that the magforce seems to really really hate whippy casts. If I backlash, it's because I'm not following through on the swing - stopping it dead partway through the arc. A power cast is the same deal, still needs the follow through.

 

Assuming your backlash is in the first third of the flight, try just gently casting it with the setting around 15, and on every cast add a little more power, but keep up the follow-through. At some point it should be obvious that you can start backing off the mag brake. 

 

If taking out the whip or dead stop from the cast doesn't solve it, send it back. They really do ship grumpy reels sometimes. 

 

[Dash Riprock]

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.