daiwa sol 3 THOUGHTS ON THE DAIWA SOL 3

[BallisticFisherman]

Hi im thinking to buy a reel for brim and flathead around the harbour also i want to do a little kingy bashing aswell do you think the daiwa sol 3 is right for me or what reel should i go for my budget is $400

[PaddyT]

two very different jobs, kings vs bream- how are you planning on fishing ie what method

[BallisticFisherman]

When i say kings i mean little rats in the harbour nothing big and i want a reel that has the strength to pull a just legal size kingy but also for fish around the harbour 

[PaddyT]

ok so lure flicking, in clear water , cant beat Stradic for my mind for your budget- I am a Shimano bloke, ive had very poor after service from Daiwa in the past so I steer clear. Hooked a 30kg black marlin on a 300oStradic last year at Coffs and that reel went fine, I had the drag done up close to lock through most of the 30 minutes so the drag cooked off but the rest of the reeel easily dealt with the situation (just needed new drag washers after)

[FRITZABU]

5 hours ago, BallisticFisherman said:

When i say kings i mean little rats in the harbor nothing big and i want a reel that has the strength to pull a just legal size kings but also for fish around the harbor 

I don't know this model you refer to, as I don't think its yet available in South Africa. I would however recommend the BG series of Daiwa. Its not only a very good strong model, but it made a huge name in my country. It may also be cheaper than the model you currently consider. 

[Rebel]

Hi,

Listen to Paddy T. A lot of guys have been burnt by Daiwa. Some of their reels are ok, BUT if you need a service, lookout.

Cheers.

[DerekD]

Hi BF,

While a Shimano fan (really happy with the products and the after market service) I don't have an issue with the actual Daiwa products but have been left severely unimpressed with the Daiwa product service. This has stopped me from purchasing their gear in the past.

Since I found a service person (ex Daiwa I believe) on the Northern beaches that has done an excellent job on servicing my Shimano reels with a pretty good turnaround time I was happy to take the plunge and buy a Daiwa reel (BG5000) for one of my all round medium heavy outfits.

Having said that what sort of rod and braid are you looking at matching the reel up to? I use a 2-4kg rod with 4lb braid for the species you mention. Takes a little longer to land the rat kings but I am grinning all the way. I also have a Daiwa 2-6kg Wicked Weasel which I use as a kayak rod with 8lb braid as there is a chance of hooking into kings on the harbour.

Unless the $400 is really burning a hole in your pocket you could drop down to between $100 and $200 and still pick up some pretty good reels.

I picked up the Shimano Sedona 2500 for $80 not so long ago. It was that smooth for the price point I bought 2 more. This gives me 3 bodies (which I can store till I need them) and three spools (4lb braid, 6lb mono and 8lb braid). I just switch out the spool to suit my fishing for the day. I store the spools in baby socks (k-mart or target) to stop them bumping against each other.

A mate of mine was looking at the smaller BG reels but considering it was twice the price of the Sedona he went the Sedona. If you want something a little more up market then the Stradic is a lovely reel.

In answer to your question about the Daiwa Sol - I put together an outfit with this reel for a friend and as nice as it was I don't think it was $300-$400 nice (he liked the colour and had the money). Look around. Consider the weight and the balance on the rod you are looking at setting it up with. Check that the drag is smooth. Plenty of other options out there worth looking at.

Regards.

Derek

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by DerekD

[JonD]

I've got a sol 4000 2 sitting in the rack. First trip out the bail arm came apart which the local store I bought it from claimed was my fault for not checking all the screws were tightened ( not covered under warranty ) , no longer use that store. A few month on the gears needed replacing at a cost of $130, was told not covered under warranty. 

A few months on and I had issues again, hence why it just sits in the rack.

I own several ci4 stradics with my now quite old 4000 still going strong after numerous snapper, kings and northern bluefin in the 10kg range. Had to replace a roller bearing on the bail arm only.

My favorate little reel at the moment is the ci4 3000 ( new model $200 ish). Though I don't deliberately target big kings on it, this thing has so far been the most fun on the early run of 55-60cm rats we had earlier in the season. It's also coped with a few 75cm kings, I'm sure I posted a report on here where I caught and released around 20 in one session with 3 keepers.

Not only did the little stradic hold up well on those kings but I was using it on a Daiwa black 2-4kg with Zman plastics.

I believe the fk stradics have a little more strength but the balance of this outfit seemed to good to seperate.

Personaly I haven't had the best luck with most of my Daiwa reels but the rods have been good. I still buy Daiwa reels when they have good sales but they don't seem to last as long as other brands.

[PaddyT]

6 hours ago, JonD said:

I've got a sol 4000 2 sitting in the rack. First trip out the bail arm came apart which the local store I bought it from claimed was my fault for not checking all the screws were tightened ( not covered under warranty ) , no longer use that store. A few month on the gears needed replacing at a cost of $130, was told not covered under warranty. 

A few months on and I had issues again, hence why it just sits in the rack.

I own several ci4 stradics with my now quite old 4000 still going strong after numerous snapper, kings and northern bluefin in the 10kg range. Had to replace a roller bearing on the bail arm only.

My favorate little reel at the moment is the ci4 3000 ( new model $200 ish). Though I don't deliberately target big kings on it, this thing has so far been the most fun on the early run of 55-60cm rats we had earlier in the season. It's also coped with a few 75cm kings, I'm sure I posted a report on here where I caught and released around 20 in one session with 3 keepers.

Not only did the little stradic hold up well on those kings but I was using it on a Daiwa black 2-4kg with Zman plastics.

I believe the fk stradics have a little more strength but the balance of this outfit seemed to good to seperate.

Personaly I haven't had the best luck with most of my Daiwa reels but the rods have been good. I still buy Daiwa reels when they have good sales but they don't seem to last as long as other brands.

Agree Jon,  got a few Diawa rods that i love- 2 Diawa blacks for light tackle and a a blue and white jig stick that my Sara 10000 sits on- the issues ive had with service just turn me off the brand for reels. Ive still got 4 reels- Luna baitcaster that ive barely used (really ought to offload it as it doesnt suit any of the fishing i do) , Exceller 1500 which is an ok reel that i use for flattie trolling, another light Diawa Freams (1500 i think) which is nice enough but again mainly gets used for trout/flatties/flicking small plastics so not much strain, and a Sealine overhead loaded with 10kg mono which i used to use for spinning off the rocks but just use for floatlining snapper  (which i do rarely). The ci4 stradics are an awesome reel- my older Stradics tend to burn bearings but they have coped a flogging from me and service from Shimano is such that i drop them off at the tackle store and i get them back fixed a couple of weeks later at very reasonable cost- my reel servicing consists of washing the salt off and letting them dry, then backing the drags off- so im not exactly mollycoddling my gear- and cant be bothered with gear that needs TLC

[JA1990]

I have a SOL 2000 version one, purchased in 2012. Great little reel, pretty sure the mag seal has gone sitll effective. The back stop is starting to go how ever, once i get some time to pull it apart ill fix him up. I also have a BG little bit cheaper but does the job as well