When you go to ICAST you will inevitably find yourself looking at rods and reels. This year there are so many new or redesigned products, it would take a month of Sundays to give them all their due so we are again going to focus on those that really caught our attention and give you the reasons why.
If we fail to mention a product that you’ve been waiting to hear about, by all means, send us a note and we’ll be more than happy to get as much information as we can.
Daiwa Tatula and Tatula Type R
One of the new products that caused a stir on the floor is the Daiwa Tatula and Tatula Type R.In the past, some of the engineering ideas from Daiwa haven’t been embraced by the angling public. For instance, the Viento which employed the original twitchin’ bar didn’t make as big a splash as one might have thought prior to commercial introduction.
The T3 and T3 Ballistic reels, while innovative, haven’t become the force in the market place they anticipated. However, the Tatula has the potential to really ignite lots of buzz and we’re gonna tell you why.
The first thing you notice when you get this reel in hand on a rod is the low stance of the Tatual. In the past, people with small hands didn’t feel comfortable with some of Daiwa’s products because the side plate was taller and more difficult to palm. The Tatula is very comfortable for me as I am one of those folks with small hands.
This reel was designed from the ground up to appeal to the broadest segment of the market in a single offering. The standard Tatula will come in at a price point of about $150.00. This is one of the most competitive price ranges in reels.
The Tatula separates itself from other casting reels by using a solid aluminum frame with tolerances tighter than many, more expensive reels. They have made these reels very smooth through the use of what they call, “air rotation”. The only way to see what this is about is to get one of these in hand. It is much smoother than you would expect for a buck and a half.
Daiwa engineers took their T-Wing aperture and completely redesigned it for this reel so that it now flips from one position to the other without a plate on the reel as the mechanism for the adjustment. The T-Wing does accomplish its goal in achieving longer casts for all but the lightest lures within its range while requiring less effort to cast those light baits which results in less angler fatigue over the course of a day.
While these reels didn’t try to break any records for the newest, lightest reel out there, this wasn’t the purpose. The Tatula is meant to be the consistent work-horse reel that is both a pleasure to fish while being ultra dependable.
Other features that add to the whole package include a standard 90mm swept handle for increased cranking power, simple to use Magforce-Z cast control, a strong drag for turning big fish, an 8 bearing system(the Type-R replaces 2 of the bearings with CRBB bearings), oversized grips, good line capacity and an attractive finish.
The standard Tatula weighs 7.9 ounces while the Type-R(which will cost about $50 more) tips the scales at 7.6 ounces. There is also a line of Tatula rods that complement the reels very well.
Quantum Reels and Rods
Quantum is introducing the re-designed Tour KVD series in both spinning and casting reels. The EXO and Smoke spinning reels have more models this year while some of their more affordable products get minor upgrades.
The three products that garnered most of the attention however were the new Energy PT in left-hand retrieve. They introduced this reel last year but have added the lefties for this year. The Energy features 11 PT bearings, CentriMag dual cast control, a Flippin switch, spool click tension knob and their aluminum PT main gear and drive shaft. All this results in a reel that weighs 6.9 ounces and feels solid in hand.
The most interesting feature of this reel is the dual-braking system. The internal centrifugal brakes require you to remove the side plate to adjust them. This isn’t a complicated operation and can be done in a matter of seconds with some practice. Then you have 28 incremental adjustments on the exterior magnetic brake. This allows you to fine tune your casts given the weight of your bait as well as weather conditions.
This reel is another that lands right in the $150.00 price point and offers a lot of hardware for the money.
Next up is the Tour Mg PT. This reel aims squarely at the low weight enthusiast. At 5.4 ounces it still includes 11 PT bearings, a Flippin switch, a redesigned skeletal spool, comes in both right and left hand retrieve, has two gear ratios and is very low profile on a rod.
And perhaps the new product that the reps from Quantum were most excited about is their EXO-Tour series of rods. This is the lightest, most advanced series they have produced. One of the models, the EXTC685XF, weighs only 2.9 ounces. Given you were to get that stick and pair it with the Tour Mg PT, the total weight of your rig would be 8.3 ounces. That is pretty light.
Lew’s
Lew’s has some new offerings that are based on their proven technologies but maybe more interesting are a new series of rods that were designed with input from their pro-staffers like Mark Menendez.
These new sticks, with models specifically for throwing big swimbaits and/or umbrella rigs, have what they call a palming grip. Unlike an ordinary casting rod grip, these have a larger, wider appendage hanging down that is meant for the angler to rest the back of his palm on while cradling his reel.
According to Mark, this keeps your lower arm, upper arm and shoulder aligned properly to reduce fatigue as well as keeping your hand in the proper position for sweeping hook-set and the subsequent fight to land the fish. So if big baits or A-rigs are a mainstay for you, you should consider these rods.
There are lots of folks that we haven’t mentioned in this article with lots of exciting products. For brevities sake, we’ll stop her for now.
See ya’ on the water …