ICAST 2006 Reel Coverage

Event Article: 2006 ICAST Reel Coverage

ICAST Coverage Day 1 (Reels) - Paradise for Reel Enthusiasts in Las Vegas (continued)

Daiwa: West meets East this year at Daiwa as the tackle giant responds in a big way to anglers’ and enthusiasts’ desire for more access to the company’s supertuned Japanese domestic product offerings. What does this mean exactly? US anglers are in for a treat, so hold onto your wallets, because the baitmonkey is officially out of his cage!

The Steez! The Steez! It's coming to America!

Daiwa brings none other than our recent Ultimate Enthusiast Award winning reel, the Steez, to the US market complete with the supertuned Type R+ Magforce V cast control system. Gone is some of the over enthusiastic branding of the reel’s name around the frame and handle, but rest assured, just about every other positive feature is present including the reel’s incredible 5.5 ounces in total weight! MSRP on this reel? $450.

Daiwa affirmed that the Steez in all it's glory will be available in the US, this is the real thing, not a toned down version

Also new for the coming year will be the Steez spinning reel. Available in the 2508 and 2500 sizes, this ultra smooth, magnesium reel weighs in at a mere 6.9 ounces and features 11 CRBB’s, Digigear engineering, a waterproof drag system, among other amazing features, all for the MSRP of $500.

Daiwa listened and cleaned up the outlook with the removal of the unnecessary logos (notice the clean handles)

Want more? How about the Daiwa Zillion? An aluminum framed reel with six ball bearings, Magforce Z braking system, an eight disc wet drag with precision click adjustment and two retrieve ratios (6.3:1 and 7.1:1). The Zillion has a specified weight of 8.6 ounces for the 6.3:1 version while the 7.1:1, high speed version, is specified at 8.8 ounces including a manufacturer specified 31.5 inches of retrieve per turn of the handle! With an MSRP of $249, Daiwa’s version of a burner reel is sure to heat up the market!

The ultralight Steez spinning reel also will make it's debut in the US

In addition to these enthusiast offerings Daiwa has updated their popular mainstream reels with a much more enthusiast look and feel. A example of this is the redefined Procaster Rojo. The Procaster features an updated profile, and actually takes styling cues from the Zillion. It will have eight ball bearings and a new pop up flipping switch. The Procaster H series will continue to exist, and the Rojo will represent the flagship of the series.

A side view...are you drooling yet?

In addition to their freshwater offerings Daiwa also stepped it up in the saltwater category with some of the most bold reels yet. Meet the new "Dendoh" Power Assist reels. Automatic reels have long been popular in Asia but have always had a limited following here in the US. Daiwa believes it is time to once explore these solutions in the US and introduces a whole new series of automatic reels.

If the Steez wasn't enough Daiwa is also introducing the TD Zillion here in the States as well. Notice the aftermarket handle upgrades....those IZE kits will all be available too!

The key factor for the introduction? Simply because they are fun to use. Some anglers have argued in the past that such reels take the sport out of fishing, but Daiwa believes that with the introduction of new lines the need for tackle that get get up and down from the depths is needed. These new Dendoh style reels are much sleeker than any automatic reels we have seen in the past. no longer are they hulking winches, and they were redesigned from the ground up for the US angler.

There will be two Zillion's available, the red version is a 7:1 ratio and the yellow version is a all purpose 6.3:1

In all there are four different reels ranging from the Seaborg (SB300FB) to the awesome Mariner Power (MP3000) which holds 1000 yard of 150lb braided line! Talk about going deep! They even have a automatic reel specifically designed for kite fishing, the Tanacom Bull (TB1000). Most of these reels are designed with a battery pack that bolts right onto the reel itself. We thought this might be awkward weight wise, but after holding the rods we discovered that the batteries were specifically made to balance out the rig.

The souped up Procaster Rojo with flipping switch

Whatever your opinion is of these automatic reels it is hard to deny that they are technologically very exciting, and can potentially change deep drop fishing as we know it.

The flipping switch is located on the left side of the reel and pops up once the clutch is disengaged

Ready or not here come the new Dendoh deep drop automatic reels

In the back of Daiwa's booth they had a case of special ultra limited edition reels and rods that were coated with an ancient Japanese lacquer-ware technique, which is only created in the city of Wajima, Japan. This is the same technique used to create famous museum pieces in Japan, and the artists in Wajima are designated as "living national treasures" by the Japanese government! These products on display employed over a hundred processes that mandated over a year to finish!

The Seaborg 300FB is the smallest of the series, msrp is 599.95

These works of arts were absolutely breathtaking. When we asked how much each piece would cost our jaws dropped as a single lure coated with this technique would cost over 3000 dollars just to buy! It took nearly 10 minutes for us to pry Cal, our Enthusiast Tackle Editor away from the glass case.

The battery hooks right into the left side of the reel and can last a full day of vertical fishing

While these reels are not realistically available to normal consumers it does showcase Daiwa's interest in taking reel and rod design to the next level...which is the creation of functional works of art.