Daiwa New Era Cartridge reel for saltwater - opinions?

[Morsie]

I would accept that anything you get in the meantime is essentially a backup.

Or its going to be OK for a couple of years of reasonable fishing at the maximum. Its not going to be an heirloom.

Morsie

[Jeroen]

Hi Jeroen

I borrow a TCX and Litespeed reel from Ryan for a fishing trip - I give him back a rod and reel both branded Leichichina.
Should I be surprised when Ryan is not happy?

I lost you there Magnus. Is that a reference to anything I mentioned?

[thefly]

So, what was the Zane then, the chicken or the egg?

where was this clump of gold (Zane) produced?..

The afterbirth

[peter bear]

http://www.coltonfly.com/torrent.php
Gallah there is another option".............. Maybe

[andy_with_a_rod]

gallah, if i were you i'd have a good look at the nautilus fwx - it's the best fully machined sealed drag reel in it's price range - i make it around £70gbp more than the daiwa and twenty times the reel.

[scotty9]

gallah, if i were you i'd have a good look at the nautilus fwx - it's the best fully machined sealed drag reel in it's price range - i make it around £70gbp more than the daiwa and twenty times the reel.

I've got one of these, haven't tested it on any big fish in anger yet but it has stood up to some swims in the sea thus far! Apart from not having tested the drag at high speed everything seems pretty darn good

[Jeroen]

Another reel that springs to mind is the Bauer Junior Mac. I use a JM1 for my saltwater threeweight and I regularly overstress the reel by taking on fish that are a bit too heavy for an outfit like that. The drag has been tested on queenfish to 65 cm, pollack to 80 cm and fair sized coalfish and cod and other that the drag is a bit overpowering, I have yet to find any critisism on the reel.
It is a very simple construction with a cork drag, which when maintained properly, performs without faults.

[Gallah]

Thanks Peter & Andy!

I definitely need all the advice I can get. I appreciate your recommendations and will definitely research both options!

[Graeme_Hird]

I couldn't resist the price and my curiosity got the better of me: I've just ordered an Allen Alpha II reel (9 to 12 wt). I'll let you know what I think when it has arrived and I'm fishing with it. At about $160 delivered, I don't think I can go too far wrong.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Gallah]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll definitely read up on those reels.

Graeme: my dilema is that I already have a Redington Surge reel, which I've been using for quite a while now. It sort of seems like a waste of time and money to "upgrade" that to a slightly more expensive Allen reel. What am I gaining? Why upgrade at all? I'll still be asking the same questions I am now (basically, "how long is this going to last?" and "what happens if I luck onto a big fish?"), so I gain nothing.

[Graeme_Hird]

I understand, and I don't want to persuade you to do something you don't want to do.

I basically talked myself into getting the reel when I answered above that it ticks all the boxes: since this reel has all the attributes I'm looking for in a reel, I had to put my money where my mouth was and get it.

I look at an "upgrade" from a different perspective to yours, in that I'm not looking to upgrade slightly in price, but in a major way in quality. I don't necessarily equate price with quality, so in my mind, upgrading from the Reddington to the Allen would be worthwhile.

Personally, I'd try and kill the Reddington on a big fish before agonising on its replacement. I'll be trying my very hardest to kill the Allen in a similar way!

Of course, the decision is your own to make though. Just don't beat yourself up over it ....

cheers,
Graeme

[Gallah]

Sounds like good advice to me mate. Who knows, maybe that Redington will live & perform way beyond its price tag. I haven't really used it for anything but a line-storage-device yet. I do really like the colours on that Allen reel. There's something very "saltwater" about it. Does it have a sealed drag reel?

[Gallah]

gallah, if i were you i'd have a good look at the nautilus fwx - it's the best fully machined sealed drag reel in it's price range - i make it around £70gbp more than the daiwa and twenty times the reel.

Nice reel, but only seems to be available up to 7/8 size. Of course, I could put that on a 9wt, but if I'm going to spend that much, I'd probably prefer to get one that was built with a 9wt in mind.

[Graeme_Hird]

Does it have a sealed drag reel?

I don't think it's a sealed drag in the sense that some of the really expensive reals called "sealed", but looking at the reel maintenance page indicates that it has a good, solid O ring to keep the nasties out under normal usage conditions. (I saw the advice on the other forum and agree with it: a sealed drag is something I want in my reels. This one is sealed enough for my needs.)

That same page shows me that it's an easy reel for me to service, so if I ever need to replace the CF drag washers, I can do it myself in two days for about $30. Those CF washers are easy to get, whereas the ones in the Sage and Lamson are almost proprietry and can't be sourced easily. Pull it apart, clean or replace the washers, re-grease and resinstall - simple. (That's attractive to me because I don't want to send a reel back to the factory and wait for three weeks for its return if I kill the drag.)

Anyway, I'll let you know how it all goes once it's here. (I'm going to test it by tying the backing line to my son's bike and tell him to ride away from me in the park. I'll see how the drag performs when he's flat out ... )

Cheers,
Graeme

[Gallah]

lol. That should get a few looks.

I get enough already just practising casting in the park. Let alone if it looked like I was trying to "land" a kid on a bike.

rofl. Bring an extra-big landing net just to complete the scene.