Daiwa Lexa 300 HD , 20lb drag. Good casting n can be used for deep water fishing also.
Think a new version of this model has recently been released ??.
Hey fellas, and ladies maybe, I'm after some real world feedback on baitcasters. Haven't bought a baitcaster since the old Diawa Millionaire back in the 80's. I am after a new reel for Barra etc. but something that with also be used for floaters for Snapper etc. in 30 or 40 metres. I'm tossing up between Shimano Calcutta or Curado, both of which are a bit light on the drag but 10 year warranty, or Daiwa Tatula either 300 or 400. Anyone used these with good or bad results?
Daiwa Lexa 300 HD , 20lb drag. Good casting n can be used for deep water fishing also.
Think a new version of this model has recently been released ??.
Wander if the Missus will notice another addition to the Reel familly??..
Tragic
How do you plan to barrafish ? Casting , trolling , bait
When you snapperfish - what depth ..... & are you baitfishing or artificials ?
Answer these & it will make the choice of which reel easier
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
I have the more traditional overhead types such as Millionaire, abu 6500, and calcutta which I use for live baiting, floating and trolling for barra .
Then I have the Curado/tatula types which we use for better control when flicking lures and plastics in the mangroves..
Pretty much need both types IMO.
HAve 3 calcuttas, 2 x 400b and 1 x 700b and love them. 400 good for chucking lures awoonga jack livies, whereas the 700 good for reefs, livebait barra, fingermark, etc. Wouldnt say they're the best ever but do me for the price and performance.
Casting I prefer low profiles but few have ratchets so when trolling or fishing a rod in a holder I prefer the traditional drum types.
Mainly casting lures for barra/jacks/choppers, I'll check out some of the other options mentioned. Pretty small reels, I don't think she'll notice. Thanks.
If I could only buy 1 reel to cover those bases it would be a Shimano Calcutta Conquest 300
7kgs of drag & enough capacity to fish a reasonable depth offshore . Small enough to cast all day with very good cast control for casting reasonably small lures
The downside I see is that it doesn't have a traditional clicker/ ratchet ........ which would be good for baitfishing.
It's a big step up from the normal Calcutta B - in quality / design
One more thing - it aint cheap
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
If you need accuracy then the smaller and lower profiles do it easier, at least for me. Any of the Daiwa or shimano reels are good. I recently used a friends sh8mano SLX with the digital cast control and it was pretty impressive for a reel well under 300 bucks. Well worth considering if you’re sending lures into snags and especially if you’re trying to skip them in.
Thanks fellas, went with a Curado 300. Haven't got it wet yet. Still wounded.
Seems like you have 4 or 5 different needs - as do I, my rod rack has 10 rods and I have 12 reels, bit of mix and max but not much, use as "sets" for specific fishing. My advice is to buy specific purpose rod / reel "sets" (not combos), and buy quality where it counts - I have a couple of ABU Ambassadeurs, one for offshore casting for macks etc and the other for jacks in structure, both bought new, now 20 years old and in near perfect condition, will last forever if looked after. To save some cash and get a good deal could try Cashies, sometimes surprises - this morning I bought a Shimano Bantam 2000GT, didn't look used, no wear marks or scuffs at all, action and drag nice and smooth, for $26. They also had a Charter Special for $75, also looked unused. If still there in 2 weeks will probably get for $60. My son has used a Daiwa Tatula 300 for barra in NT rivers for years and swears by it,. but very expensive. Tight Lines