Henry Gilbey - The World of Fishing

All Fishing Tackle

• Fishing Lures - Soft plastics
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• Fishing Reels
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• Fishing Lures
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• Daiwa Caldia 2500 MAG Sealed

  

  I have really got into the 2500 size Daiwa spinning reels, and this new MAG Sealed version of the famous Daiwa Caldia is a little gem of a reel. See my original blog post about it here.

• Daiwa Luvias 2500

  

  My spinning reel of the year for 2012 – see here. I just love this “little” reel for a lot of my lure fishing. Very smooth, very light, a gorgeous drag, and it handles anything that I have been throwing at it. I never thought I would see me using such “little” spinning reels for my fishing, but once you have dropped a few sizes it’s hard to go back to the bigger reels. The “little” reels feel so right on these lighter lure rods that so many of us are using these days.

• Daiwa Luvias 3000

  

  The first time I picked this Daiwa Luvias 3000 spinning reel up at that Nantes bass fishing show over in France and I just had to get my hands on one. Talk about a spinning reel that weighs virtually nothing, and if I am right in my understanding then I believe that these Luvias reels were originally designed by Daiwa Australia. If the Aussies like them then that is good enough for me, and I have used this reel extensively now without finding any faults. And I love that shape of handle. So comfortable to fish with. Just a very, very good all round lure reel that really is as light as a feather and as tough as old boots. It comes with a spare spool as well.

• Daiwa SLOSH 20

  

  I have had a love affair with the Daiwa “SLOSH” multiplier (conventional) reels for many years now, and I own far too many of them. Me, a tackle tart ? Never !! I know I really like the Penn 525 Mag reels for a lot of shore fishing, but I also am a huge fan of the standard SLOSH 20 reel that works so well again for lines up to about 20lb. They are so easy to use and just never blow up if you allow a fair bit of spool play and use one large red brake block (they come with the reel, in the box). I turn to the Daiwa SLOSH 20 reel over the Penn 525 Mag when the going gets that little bit tougher – the SLOSH 20 is in my mind the overall gutsier reel.

• Daiwa SLOSH 40HV

  

  When you need to really use heavy lines and abuse stronger fish like big conger eels, I have yet to find a better reel for the money than the Daiwa SLOSH 40HV. They are not geared as high as the smaller 20 and 30 reels, which makes for easy winching in tough situations. Not as easy to control as the smaller models, you will need to slow them down in flight with your thumb, especially when using heavy lines and big baits. It is a little known fact that the 40HV has one of the best drag systems there is, even though it is nothing more than a regular star-dray system, and this makes them excellent for boat fishing as well, plus shore situations when big fish are going to take serious line. This tends to be overseas for us in the UK, and the reel does proper work.

• Daiwa SLOSH series

  

  Essentially the Daiwa Saltist 30H seems to me to be a slightly upgraded SLOSH 30 – and this is a good thing. I have a lot of the standard and next generation (SHV) Daiwa SLOSH 30 reels, and nothing could ever persuade me to be parted from them. They are that good for when our shore fishing gets that bit heavier duty, mostly with lines of 20lb and above. Not enough fishermen use then over here for boat fishing as well. You can load them with 25lb line (0.45mm) and fish them just as easily as the smaller SLOSH 20, they are that controllable. I give them a fair bit of side play on the spool and use two large red brake blocks to dampen them down. The newer Saltist 30H is an awesome bit of kit, but I am not sure yet if they have the long-term pedigree of the standard, “just as good as it has always been” SLOSH 30. I have used the SLOSH 30 reels overseas for plenty of abnormal sized fish and they keep on going. Time will tell on the Saltist 30H.

• Daiwa Team Daiwa TDX 2508

  

  For the life of me I can’t work out why these TDX spinning reels have not caught on that much amongst lure anglers especially, because people are missing out. I have put this reel through hell, and along the way it’s shipped in a lot of saltwater – yet not for one second has it become any less smooth or easy to fish with. One of Daiwa UK’s little hidden gems if you ask me.

• Daiwa Team Daiwa TDX 3012

  

  The bigger brother of the 2508, this still small and lightweight Team Daiwa TDX 3012 spinning reel is a joy to fish with for long periods. What really impresses me is how smooth the drag is, and that includes me taking several dunkings and/or waves over my head. Of course I like the fact that this reel comes with a spare spool, and as much as I have spent years fishing with and loving all manner of Shimano spinning reels, these Daiwa ones are really growing on me the more I fish with them.

• Daiwa Theory 2500

  

  New on to the market in early 2012, this new Daiwa Theory 2500 spinning reel has already left a big impression on me. See my thoughts on this blog post here. Hugely, hugely impressive, and for what I believe is very sensible money.

• MegaBass Idaten X 256

  

  A very different feeling spinning reel to the MegaBass Luvito, in that this Idaten X 256 is a “tight” feeling reel if that makes sense. Buttery smooth. Everything feels like it has been engineered to seriously high tolerances. MegaBass make class gear, and this “little” spinning reel simply inspires huge confidence. If money were no object I could see myself acquiring a big collection of MegaBass reels !!

• MegaBass Luvito 256C

  

  As far as I can work out this Japanese company only seems to be interested in making seriously good fishing tackle. I have not come across one single product from MegaBass that looks like it has not been thought through with the utmost care and attention. OK, so I’m not completely sold on the handle on this stunning spinning reel (you might love it), but that aside it’s just a sublime reel to fish with. Everything just feels “right”.

• Penn 525 Mag

  

  There are few better or easier multiplier (conventional) reels to use for “standard” UK-style shore fishing than the Penn 525 Mag – I have a pair of the original ones and they are still going strong. Set them up correctly (a tiny bit of spool play and the magnets on Slow) and I can’t find a way to make them misbehave. Outstanding bits of kit for mainlines of 12-20lb breaking strains – around 15-18lb seems to be the optimum.

• Shimano Rarenium 3000

  

  You won’t go far wrong with a Shimano Rarenium, indeed over the last couple of years this lightweight beauty is without doubt one of the spinning reels that I see the most of out and about. A lot of reel for the money. Perfect line lay, that smoothness that any Shimano reel owner knows about, and they just seem to last and last. Class.

• Shimano Stella 4000FD

  

  If there is a better range of spinning reels in the world than the legendary Shimano Stella then I have been living under a rock for the last few years. Anybody who is into their spinning reels either has one (or some) of these, or wants to have one. Imagine fifteen years ago if somebody had said that spinning reels would arguably become the reels of choice for some of the most demanding fishing on this earth, such as vertical (high-speed) jigging or smashing giant GTs on enormous poppers. The Stella range changed things forever. I finally caved in and decided to get the smaller Stella 4000FD model that is a perfect size for the bulk of our light tackle bass spinning that we do here in northern European waters. I just can't get over how smooth and "tight" this reel feels when you use it, and it balances perfectly on my roughly 8' Tenryu Super Mix 240 plugging rod. All I need now are some monster bass to impale themselves on my lures !! The problem is that once you have used the best, there is no going back.

• Shimano Sustain 8000FE

  

  I got hold of a Shimano Sustain 8000FE when I was over in the US a while ago, and it will stop properly big fish. Outrageously smooth, easy to use, perfect line lay and plenty of power, I love this bit of kit. Mine is loaded up with 50lb braid for those times when you need to give bigger fish a proper big of grief. I reckon it would do really well as well for rock-edge wrasse fishing when you use a short, powerful spinning rod - load the spare spool with 20lb mono for this and haul them in. If money was no object, I would have the Shimano Stella 8000 though, for there is no better spinning reel out there.

• Shimano Trinidad series

  

  In southern Africa especially, many fishermen specialise in catching huge fish from the rocks and beaches – and I mean the kind of fish that most “normal” anglers would faint if they saw them attached to their line. Huge sharks, rays, snappers, garrick, kob, tarpon, giant trevally (GT), sand sharks (or guitar fish), you name it, there are endless possibilities to go and nail what I sometimes call “silly size” fish from the shore. Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, South Africa and Gabon are very good places to go for this kind of fishing, but it does call for seriously specialist kit. Virtually every single big fish angler I have worked with over the last few years ago uses the Shimano Trinidad range of multiplier (conventional) reels for this specialist kind of fishing. I see some fishermen over here using the Trinidad 14 for our shore fishing, and it works great – the thing is though that we do not have any fish really that can give this thing a proper workout. Save some money and use the Shimano Torium 14 instead. But the Trinidad reels are simply sublime to use, and I can understand why some guys buy them here in the UK. Overseas the guys I know tend to use the Trinidad 20 and 30 for their more “regular” fishing (downright extreme to us), and then strap on the massive Trinidad 50 for chasing sharks, huge rays and sand sharks (guitar fish). The Trinidad 30 makes for a good heavy duty shore and boat reel here in the UK and Ireland, but again, it is not really required. Whatever floats your boat though. It’s always nice to be using the best if you can.

• Van Staal VSB series

  

  There are times when it is really useful to have a spinning reel that you can literally drown, and I mean put right underwater without any fear for its well-being. “In the thick of it” fishing means your gear is going to get a soaking, and when this is the case then I use the specialist Van Staal spinning reels – the VSB100 for my lure fishing for bass, and the slightly larger VSB150 for heavier lure fishing and also for touch-ledgering for bass. Both are loaded up with braid. The line levels are pretty awful and there are far smoother reels to use out there, but it does not seem to matter one bit for the actual casting and fishing. These reels are sealed against water getting in, but make sure to get them serviced regularly.