Daiwa Spinning Reels

[insolent]

I was looking on some Japanese sites today and discovered these reels http://www.plat.co.jp/english/daiwa/salt_reel/top.htm, has anyone actually seen or used one before??? When I first saw them I was - what the . Any info on them would be appreciated.

Cheers

Evil

Edited April 12, 2007 by Evil

[wakd]

Hi Evil,

Lever brake reels are for a very specialised form of rock fishing in Japan using very long soft rods ("Iso" fishing). I don't think you will find many people here in Australia who have used them or who have an application for them - I haven't used one myself.

Cheers,

Ben

[KingsRule]

I have seen a few guys down at clifton using them.

I think hiramasa has one, maybe shoot him a PM

Rob

[Hiramasa]

Thanks kingrule - Good to see your still getting stuck into the fish at Clifton. I have unfortunately moved south to Melbourne for a few years ...boy do i miss the harbour.

Anyway to answer the lever brake question, yes i do have one and yes they are designed for japanese ISO fishing. ISO fishing is primarily a style of rock fishing utilising long soft rods (mine is 5.3metres - full graphite only weights 275gms), bobby floats and very light line (4-10 lbs main depending on your rod). The purpose of the lever drag is that it kind of replaces the reverse switch on most threadlines. Y u may ask.

Two main reasons, the first being that this form of fishing relies of tiring the fish out through the long soft rod. However because of the high risk of line breakage whilst on the rocks ISO fishing need a system of a controlled 'free spool' if the fish decides to swim away from the edge e.g. Drummer fishing being a classic example. This allows the angler to play the fish with greater confidence.

Second reason is that the lever allows the angler to release line without having to open the bail arm. Luderick fisherman would recognise this as a great feature especially as it allows you to control the drift of the float more effectively - almost like using a centrepin reel.

Lever brake reels also come with either fix spool or variable drag spool setup. the fixed spool requires deft touch in controlling the amount of free spooling during the fight but provides the option of full lockup when needed. Varibale drag spools allow you to pre-set drag on top of your own ability to control the lever. I prefer this setup so that on lazy days I can use the reel like a normal threadline.

the cost of lever drag threadlines range from about $150-$1000 in Japan.

Hope this helps

[insolent]

Thanks for the heads up fellas, they blew my mind when I saw them and there wasn't much of a description about them on the site.

Cheers

[GregL]

Hiramasa some great info there buddy!

I have been looking at them for the last 12 months for luderick fishing but not being able to hold one before I buy was the stopper for me and everyone I have asked no one has used or even seen one. At around $900 it was a big call to make especially for my first year luderick fishin!

I have been using some old bream reels so far loaded with a floating mono and I has worked well but the free spool fuction seems like a great idea on these type of reels for drifting floats.

I have off loaded some of my Certates to upgrade and now I'm in need of a a dedicated luderick reel. Do you think these would work?

I have never used a centre pin before plus I don't think my rods are suited to them as they have a longish butt on them compared to many luderick rods I have seen so far.

Cheers

Greg

[Hiramasa]

Greg - You probably don't need to spend the $900 first up. I would prob start with something towards the $250-$300 only because you may not actually find it works for you especially in during the first few months. It took me well over 6 months to be confident with the reel and have found it very difficult to match it up with any locally produced rod. (I bought a japanese ISO rod at the same time of purchase). The reason being is that the reel requires the trigger find to be always on the lever. This may not sound so difficult but if the rod is too heavy or butt too long, this style of gripping puts a lot of strain on the wrist. That why in Japan they have specially designed roads to match this style of fishing. The rods are long, light, soft action with short butts and have no fore/rear grips (Imagine a 16 foot bream rod configured with no grips and you will get the picture)

If you can make your way to Bare Island (La Perouse) on a day with some nice swell over the front ledge you will see a number of older fishos using these sticks. They don't use the lever threadline but have mastered using the longer rod.

Depending on the drift/current on the day you may actually find it easier to release the bail instead of the trigger, especially if it is running hard out/away from the ledge. But for fine tuning the drift it is superb. Some of the raiders may have seen this combo in action at Clifton g. over summer and it does work well. My best capture (weight vs line class) to date has been a 3.5kg pig on 6lb near Little Bay.

H.

Hiramasa some great info there buddy!

I have been looking at them for the last 12 months for luderick fishing but not being able to hold one before I buy was the stopper for me and everyone I have asked no one has used or even seen one. At around $900 it was a big call to make especially for my first year luderick fishin!

I have been using some old bream reels so far loaded with a floating mono and I has worked well but the free spool fuction seems like a great idea on these type of reels for drifting floats.

I have off loaded some of my Certates to upgrade and now I'm in need of a a dedicated luderick reel. Do you think these would work?

I have never used a centre pin before plus I don't think my rods are suited to them as they have a longish butt on them compared to many luderick rods I have seen so far.

Cheers

Greg

[GregL]

Thansk again for your time and the info.

I have ordered one already to match with one of my Loomis Float rods that I use. They are extreamly light and the action is like a fly rod, very soft. I mainly fish in the rivers for blackfish and the drifts aren't very long as we usually fish in the eddies so it's really just adjusting most of the time.

Now I'm excited for it, will be great to play/learn something new!

Plus I'm just a sucker for nice gear!

G