Can’t decide on first baitcaster. So confused

[bgaviator]

Can’t decide on my first baitcaster. I only fish from the banks (as of now). I don’t target anything specific. Bass, crappie, catfish, drum, bluegill. Whatever bites. My favorite things to throw are squarebills, and Texas rig worms and curly tail grubs. Sometimes swim baits (though I’ve yet to catch a thing with them). Sometimes I’ll do live minnows or night crawlers under a bobber. 

I’m willing to spend up to $200. 
Some of the ones I’ve considered are the Shimano SLX DC, the Daiwa Tatula SV, or the Daiwa Tatula 100. I’m worried about backlashes, so I wasn’t sure if that’s where having the Shimano DC system would be good to have. Is the Daiwa SV system similar?   I really don’t understand all the different reel systems and the advantages of each one. 

[gim]

A bait casting setup is not going to work very well with minnows or worms under a bobber.  It may also not work the greatest for those other lightweight presentations like a texas rig worm or grub.

 

Any of those reels you mentioned are fine choices.

[MediumMouthBass]

I have the Daiwa Tatula SV and its very underwhelming to me, its great for skipping and casting heavier baits but for lighter stuff the much cheaper Shimano SLX MGL is 10x better (i own both) i can cast lighter lures around 3x farther than with the much more expensive Daiwa. Do some research on the SLX MGL, at $150 MSRP but on sale a few places between $100-120 its an excellent choice. With a rod and line change i can go from throwing 1/8oz baits on Monday to Flipping/pitching 1/2oz jigs on a Tuesday and it handles it great. For your squarebills, t-rigs, curly tail and swimbaits on a ball head jig itll be a good fit, but minnows and a bobber i think anything but a spinning rig would be a challenge.

So say you can get the reel on sale now for $120, buy an extra spare spool and some line and for under 200 you have a great reel thats very highly praised here and within minutes you can change your setup depending on what lures you are fishing.

Edit. Im using braided line on my MGL and i dont even have to thumb the reel when casting, its very hard to backlash this reel. Very beginner friendly casting reel too.

[MiceNReets]

Zillion sv ordered from Japan.   Get it and  never questions your decision.   Admire and enjoy it.   
 

[Bird]

Shimano SLX 

[bulldog1935]

Can I give @MiceNReets 2 likes for the Right Answer?  

[bgaviator]

39 minutes ago, MiceNReets said:

Zillion sv ordered from Japan.   Get it and  never questions your decision.   Admire and enjoy it.   
 

They look like fantastic reels. People seem to really love them. I went to this Digitaka website and they have them for $230 usd which is a lot cheaper than what Tackle Warehouse sells them for, but alas, Digitaka is out of stock for the gear ratio I’d want. Can this Zillion throw lighter weight stuff like I tend to throw lots of times?

[MiceNReets]

2 minutes ago, bgaviator said:

They look like fantastic reels. People seem to really love them. I went to this Digitaka website and they have them for $230 usd which is a lot cheaper than what Tackle Warehouse sells them for, but alas, Digitaka is out of stock for the gear ratio I’d want. Can this Zillion throw lighter weight stuff like I tend to throw lots of times?

check Japan Lure Shop.   Pay for a little bit of shipping and get a free premium lure as well.   This reel will cast light and heavy.   Very versatile

[bgaviator]

17 minutes ago, MiceNReets said:

check Japan Lure Shop.   Pay for a little bit of shipping and get a free premium lure as well.   This reel will cast light and heavy.   Very versatile

Just did. They don’t have any 7.1 gear ratio ones in stock. Oh well, I’m in no rush.

[bulldog1935]

@bgaviator

We just went through this exercise a couple of weeks ago.   

Amazon $205 shipped, 7.1 gear.  

https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Gileon-1000HL-Handle-Model/dp/B08NP3DZQJ/ref=sr_1_2

I hope this thing is on.  

[PBBrandon]

Yeah, Zillion SV for 200 bucks. Best reel for the price by a mile

[MiceNReets]

6 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@bgaviator

We just went through this exercise a couple of weeks ago.   

Amazon $205 shipped, 7.1 gear.  

https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Gileon-1000HL-Handle-Model/dp/B08NP3DZQJ/ref=sr_1_2

this is as well.   I don’t think of checking Amazon all the way up here in Canada.   🇨🇦 

[MediumMouthBass]

What are you guys doing with your SV reels that im not? Ive tried several different lines, rod powers/actions light and heavy lures, works great for flipping pitch skipping but i can hardly get distance with the heavier stuff and can barely get distance with the ligher lures?

[bulldog1935]

Out of the box w/ 12-lb fluoro, all my 34-mm Daiwas cast 1/8 oz to 100'

 

 

If you mess with them, they'll cast 2 g to 130'

 

[MiceNReets]

10 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Out of the box w/ 12-lb fluoro, all my 34-mm Daiwas cast 1/8 oz to 100'

 

 

If you mess with them, they'll cast 2 g to 130'

 

[PhishLI]

50 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

What are you guys doing with your SV reels that im not?

What are you doing with your SV reel? Cranking down the spool tension? Juicing the brakes to 20?

[MediumMouthBass]

@PhishLI I originally saw great reviews on the Tatula SV TW so i bought it because it was on sale for almost half off, used it several times with different setups, i didnt move the set zero adjuster but i almost always run my brakes very loose. Ive tried almost every brake setting though, and when throwing a 1/2oz Lipless i can get a good 40-50 feet whereas with my Tatula CT with the same setup i can get around 70'.

Then i took the SV and the MGL on the lake fishing lighter stuff (1/8-1/4) and the MGL gets between 50-70' where the Tatula SV gets around 20-40 feet. I also have a new Zillion (US one) i got on sale but havent used it yet since my results of how the Tatula has performed.... But the Tatula SV does excellent for skipping so its now my main reel for fishing around docks and lily pads.

[PhishLI]

1 minute ago, MediumMouthBass said:

@PhishLI I originally saw great reviews on the Tatula SV TW so i bought it because it was on sale for almost half off, used it several times with different setups, i didnt move the set zero adjuster

Perhaps you should check the setting. It might be too tight. Set it for zero play/zero tension. You won't burst into flames if you touch the tension knob.

 

4 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Ive tried almost every brake setting though, and when throwing a 1/2oz Lipless i can get a good 40-50 feet

You should have no problem chucking that bait 130'-140' on a 7'3" rod. Whatever the limitations of standard SV, they are competitive using aerodynamic baits like a lipless which is amongst the best cast-like-a-bullet baits.

 

7 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Then i took the SV and the MGL on the lake fishing lighter stuff (1/8-1/4) and the MGL gets between 50-70' where the Tatula SV gets around 20-40 feet.

Again, check your settings. I can spit 20 feet.

 

7 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I also have a new Zillion (US one) i got on sale but havent used it yet since my results of how the Tatula has performed....

SV boost isn't SV. Different animal.

[MediumMouthBass]

@PhishLI wait what????? i thought Daiwa would announce bankruptcy if someone moved the zero adjuster! Jokes aside thanks for that idea ill have to play around with it next time im on the water.

[WRB]

The saying reels hold line and rods cast lures is still true,

The OP’s wish list is too board to solve with one reel.

My question is what has the OP selected? DC reels are not backlash proof, only compensate for low skill caster imo.

With bait casting reels you need to decide left or right hand casting before buying.

 Nearly all modern bait caster can perform well with lure weights between 3/16 oz to over 1 oz. 1/8 bait casting required a higher skill to get any distance over 25 yards.

Back to it’s the rod that cast lures and the rod needs to be able to cast the lure weights the OP is using and we don’t know that.

As far as casting a bobber the Thill weighted Slop bobber can easily cast whatever the OP is using if it weighs 3/16 to 3/8 oz.

I agree the Shimano SLX 70 MGL performs very well with the lures the OP wants to use and within his budget,

Tom

[bgaviator]

Does anyone know why if you look at the Zillion SV TW on Daiwa’s web site, it shows gold accents…but if you look at it from any sites that sell it, it appears all gray?  

[PhishLI]

On 4/2/2024 at 5:08 PM, bgaviator said:

Does anyone know why if you look at the Zillion SV TW on Daiwa’s web site, it shows gold accents

No gold accents on this: Daiwa Zillion SV TW G Casting Reels | Tackle Warehouse

 

The HD does though: Daiwa Zillion TW HD Casting Reel | Tackle Warehouse

[bulldog1935]

3 hours ago, bgaviator said:

Just did. They don’t have any 7.1 gear ratio ones in stock. Oh well, I’m in no rush.

maybe you should be

and that was a $205 7.1-geared gift horse.  

 

I paid $300 for mine the week it came out from Asian Portal.  

Going into 4th hard year, never backlashed, and had to thumb the spool to keep it out of my friends across the tide pass.  

From this side of the pass, I was dropping off the same shelf Tony's fishing.  

4th hard year, and at this price, you can always change the trim.  

______________________

 

A thought about SV cast distance.  If you snap your wrist at the end of your cast, that's adding jerk, the time-derative of acceleration.  SV is going to do its job and subtract energy from your spool to prevent start-up backlash.  If you follow-through your wrist with smooth acceleration, SV will subtract less energy with brake, and more of your cast energy will go into distance.  

[bgaviator]

29 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

maybe you should be

and that was a $205 7.1-geared gift horse.  

 

I paid $300 for mine the week it came out from Asian Portal.  

Going into 4th hard year, never backlashed, and have to thumb the spool to keep it out of my friends across the tide pass.  

4th hard year, and at this price, you can always change the trim.  

They have 1 of the 6.3 gear ratio ones. I’m not really sure what gear I need. It seems like a lot of people like the 7.1 ratio ones 

[bulldog1935]

@bgaviator - my Steez is 6.3, I have it tuned to the lightest salt finesse w/ Roro-X spool, and that retrieve is perfect there w/ a short handle.  Think light lures, but still big fish.  

7.1 (my most recent SLPW-Zillion) is pretty much all-around, and I like the stock-length handle there.  

My Silver Wolf was only available in 8.5, along with my first '21 Zillion SV TW - on both of those, I like longer handles for both lure finesse and cranking power.