New to Daiwa baitcaster

[whatevrdoumean]

Looking to purchase a Daiwa baitcaster. Looking around the $200-250 range. Want an all around reel. I am not new to baitcasting reels but want to try a Daiwa. Most of my other reels are Lews and Shimano. Any help would be appreciated. There’s just so many Tatulas to choose from. Michael

[PhishLI]

8 minutes ago, whatevrdoumean said:

Looking to purchase a Daiwa baitcaster. Looking around the $200-250 range

Skip the Tatulas. Step up to the big time.

https://fishing.asian-portal.shop/category/select/cid/352/pid/316313

[FishTank]

JDM Zillion all day.

[Cbump]

Zillion for sure. 

[FrnkNsteen]

Agreed! Zillion is the Daiwa to go with. Either go Jdm for good price but aluminum gear and smaller handle or watch for 20% off sale and pick up USDM version.

[Blaine Donders]

JDM Zillion wins, unless you don’t want JDM. I unfortunately have had to use Daiwa’s warranty and service center, something that may not be available to you if you go JDM.

 

For this reason I recommend a Tatula SV103.

[Revival]

Came here to recommend the Zillion SV but everyone beat me to it…haha.  They are THAT good.

 

If you haven’t ordered from these Japan sites before, don’t sweat it.  They arrive in like 3-4 days no problems.

[diehardbassfishing]

When considering Zillion vs Tatula, it's good to know the major difference between the two.

The Zillion has Diawa's floating spool design. No thru-axle, bearings effectively on both sides of the spool. Nice because both spool bearings are accessible by removing the side plate, and dropping out the spool. The handle side spool bearing is captive with a pin. The bearing can still be cleaned (flushed) without removing the pin. That can be another topic that I could explain in detail...

 

The Tatula's spool uses an axle, and requires opening the reel's body to have effective access to the handle side bearing. You can lube the bearing by removing the spool tension cap, but can't remove the bearing without breaking down the reel. Really can't do an effective cleaning with only cap access.

 

I installed ceramic bearings in my Tat since they are much lower maintenance.

 

Karl

[Bass Rutten]

9 minutes ago, diehardbassfishing said:

The bearing can still be cleaned (flushed) without removing the pin. That can be another topic that I could explain in detail

Interested

[newapti5]

Another reason for the new Zillion is its versatile 34mm spool.  There're so many after market spool options for that; you can always find a spool that fits your need. 

[MeatHead1313]

Another vote for the Zillion here. I have a USDM model and it's just amazing how great those reels are. Ridiculously smooth. Most US sites seem to have gone to 15% off sales this year vs the 20% off they'd run last year which puts them just under $300, so slightly over your budget. If you don't mind having no warranty they can be found for around $230 on some JDM sites. Only differences other than warranty vs no warranty is US has brass gears while Japan has aluminum, and US are made in Thailand while the JDM are made in Japan.  

If you want warranty but don't want to pay Zillion prices the Tatula sv reels are great too, just not as smooth. I have both versions and while both are good, my vote would go to the 2020 sv tw 103 due to its smaller size making it easier to palm while fishing. Can't comment on the elites as I have no experience with them. 

[QED]

4 hours ago, whatevrdoumean said:

Looking to purchase a Daiwa baitcaster. Looking around the $200-250 range. Want an all around reel. I am not new to baitcasting reels but want to try a Daiwa. Most of my other reels are Lews and Shimano. Any help would be appreciated. There’s just so many Tatulas to choose from. Michael

 

Daiwa is a reputable manufacturer so I doubt that any Daiwa reel in your price range would be anything less than outstanding.  I have a bunch of their high end casting reels and they have all worked brilliantly.

[diehardbassfishing]

4 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

Interested

 

Bearings behind a spool pin can be flushed. I happen to use cigarette lighter fluid. I wouldn't use acetone since it might melt the device I'm explaining.

 

The trick is putting a plastic cap over the pin and bearing. A cap filled with cleaning fluid and placed over the end of the bearing.

I have found 2 types of caps can that work for this. An eye dropper bottle cap (the non child-resistant type), and those bolt (screw bolt) caps that can be had in hardware stores. These come in various sizes that are color coded. They're quite flexible and can fit nicely over the end of the bearing.

 

To help the effectiveness of cleaning the bearing on the spool assembly, I strongly suggest removing the bearing shield. It is a bit tricky to do on a captive bearing, but I've done it many times. Once the shield clip is removed, and the shield is lifted, depending on the size of the spool pin, you may have to cut the shield to remove it. Yes, keep the shield removed. It's fine!

 

Good luck - have patience!

It does work great...

 

Karl

 

 

[A kid from Canada]

Alphas SV is cheaper than a Zillion and better than a Tatula SV. 

[diehardbassfishing]

But handle is short, and line capacity is low.

It's a finesse reel.

 

 

Karl

[bulldog1935]

Alphas is a compact reel, 32 mm spool diameter, medium spool arbor, same size as Steez CT. 

Both hold 100 yds 10-lb mono, but Daiwa does call them finesse reels.

Alphas Air and Steez Air are the BFS reels built on the same smaller frames, with shallow braid spools, and increased LW pitch to handle fine braid. 

 

This year, Zillion Silver Wolf PE Special was introduced on Zillion frame and 34 mm dia spool, and increased LW pitch for fine braid (down to 0.10 mm dia). 

That said, I have Steez SV TW and Zillion SV TW set up with shallow braid spools, and they fish 0.15 mm to 0.19 mm braid just fine. 

[Columbia Craw]

At the JDM price the Zillion is it.

[ErieCan]

The new Daiwa Tatula SV 70.  It's essentially an Alphas

[casts_by_fly]

14 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Alphas is a compact reel, 32 mm spool diameter, medium spool arbor, same size as Steez CT. 

Both hold 100 yds 10-lb mono, but Daiwa does call them finesse reels.

Alphas Air and Steez Air are the BFS reels built on the same smaller frames, with shallow braid spools, and increased LW pitch to handle fine braid. 

 

This year, Zillion Silver Wolf PE Special was introduced on Zillion frame and 34 mm dia spool, and increased LW pitch for fine braid (down to 0.10 mm dia). 

That said, I have Steez SV TW and Zillion SV TW set up with shallow braid spools, and they fish 0.15 mm to 0.19 mm braid just fine. 

 

 

LW Pitch?  As in line winding pitch?  As in how fast the levelwind moves across the spool per rotation?

[AmmoGuy]

14 hours ago, ErieCan said:

The new Daiwa Tatula SV 70.  It's essentially an Alphas

 

Alphas have a FFS. 

I believe the Tat 70 is a shafted spool. 

 

May not matter to some, but it's a meaningful difference. 

[FrnkNsteen]

3 hours ago, AmmoGuy said:

 

Alphas have a FFS. 

I believe the Tat 70 is a shafted spool. 

 

May not matter to some, but it's a meaningful difference. 

Plus you can buy a JDM Alphas SV cheaper than a Tatula SV 70. Last I saw, the JDM Alphas SV was less than $200, while the SV70 is $229

 

No brainer to me. I really like my Alphas SV!!

[ska4fun]

Alphas CT SV, a very versatile reels, vasting from 3-10g, with the original sv spool. For heavier lures, Tatula and the Zillion series.

[AmmoGuy]

14 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Plus you can buy a JDM Alphas SV cheaper than a Tatula SV 70. Last I saw, the JDM Alphas SV was less than $200, while the SV70 is $229

 

No brainer to me. I really like my Alphas SV!!

 

Yep. $183 shipped. 

Wouldn't even consider a Tatula 70. 

 

https://www.digitaka.com/item/4/4/2/4550133072598

[Tail Slap]

11 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

 

LW Pitch?  As in line winding pitch?  As in how fast the levelwind moves across the spool per rotation?

Correct.  The faster and thus greater the angle of the line on the spool less chance of the thin braid digging in.

[txchaser]

Late to the party, but JDM Zillion HD. Or JDM Zillion if you are going to be using lighter baits. 

By the way Amazon Japan often has good prices on Daiwa, and maybe a little more comfy for your first JDM order. You may have to search for "Gillion" or "Zirrion" to find what you are looking for. Shipping took about the same amount of time as a US order.