Daiwa Sol 3000

Ok, so I decided to add another reel in the "light but strong, all metal inshore spinning reel" category, in the 2500/4000 size. As stated in my review of the Pflueger Supreme, I wanted light, strong, and no graphite! So being long-time fan of Daiwa spinners, I chose to give the Daiwa Sol a try. It met the criteria, but unfortunately had been out of production for a couple of years already. I had to give flea-bay a try and ended up with a "new" 2500 size at a premium price. But after a brief test run in the yard, I decided to return it and keep looking for a 3000 size in order to increase line capacity. I was fortunate enough to get one from a guy on a local fishing forum site, used, but in good condition and at a bargain price. Happily, it came with a brand new extra spool too. After a little cleaning, lubing, tweaking/TLC, this has become my hands-down favorite go-to reel in this category.

On the first few trips, I have already scored with big inlet Snook, offshore Mahi, and pier Spanish Mackerel. By far, the snook gave it the toughest test though; a big 40" bruiser momma snook from Hillsboro Inlet, in the fast-ripping current that runs there. Loaded with Suffix 30lb braid, I have this reel paired up with a Star Stellar Lite, split grip 12-20lb rod, and boy let me tell you, they were made for each other! Tossing heavy lures hundreds of times with this combo does not become the grueling labor that heavier outfits can make it. So on a full moon night, after casting endlessly, the test finally came, THUMP! The reel screamed while its aluminum frame and rotor held steady, without flexing as the fish took off on its first run, using the current to her advantage. Big momma snook headed under the bridge, but the large diameter (stock) felt drag disks soon smoothly brought her to a stop as they generated more than enough power for a reel this size. No drag upgrade needed here! Then, the torque of this Daiwa Sol 3000 became apparent as I inched her closer back to me. A couple more runs, and finally she was at my feet. I carefully lifted the beautiful fish, placing her on the grass to remove the lure. Then, after a brief reviving in the current, off she went to fight another day, and hopefully, to one day give birth to many more of her Snook species.

As good as they are, however, there are some concerns with this and other Daiwa reels in this design class. First, they tend to need careful tweaking for optimal line spooling, and secondly, the anti-reverse is very sensitive to lubricants. You may get one that spools just right, out of the box, but mine needed shims to get it perfect. *Note that the "ABS" spool is actually designed to lay line tapering upwards towards the spool lip. As for the anti-reverse, it is very strong, but never apply any but the lightest of lubes, and do so sparingly. I run my Daiwa reels' rollers with just a thin film of Corrosion-X, or even dry sometimes.

Featuring the extremely fluid "Digigear" design, and a true "floating shaft", the smoothness of the Daiwa Sol 3000 is amazing. The powerful torque of the 4.7:1 retrieve, smooth and strong large-diameter drag, and rigid light aluminum frame/rotor make it capable of taking surprisingly large fish. One final note, this and all Daiwa "ABS spool" design reels have fantastic casting ability with all lines, and are incredible at managing line twist! I have even used them without swivels many times without issue. As much as I love the Pflueger Supreme, don't try this with that reel, it will twist the heck out of the line!

Add it all up, and the Daiwa Sol 3000 has taken top spot in this category and easily made it to... My Favorite Reels!

 This was a review of the Daiwa SOL 3000 spinning reel.

Penn Torque 100

I recently added a Penn Torque 100 (TRQ 100) to my collection, and it is a sweeeet reel, especially since I got it a half price! This smallest member of the first generation Penn Torque series is powerful and smooth. The large HT 100 drag stack generates more than enough drag right out of the box, and after tuning it with some Cal's drag grease, it's simply awesome.


True to its name, this little powerhouse has plenty of pulling power, even at its high gear ratio of 6.3:1. The heavy steel handle and large knob help turn the massive gear train with a smooth and powerful feel that make the reel a pleasure to use.

Out of the box, the spool bearings needed some tuning, having come with a bit too much grease from the factory. I simply wiped away the excess grease and added some oil and now the free-spool is fine.

However, while doing this first maintenance on it, I noticed that the heavily advertised "double dog" anti-reverse backup feature plugged in all the ads (and even written on the box), is not there.No, there's no "double dog", only one, and there's no place to add a second, so the parts were not left out accidentally at the factory.

There is no "double dog" here, only one.

Apparently, this feature is only absent on the Penn Torque 100. The Penn Torque 200 and Penn Torque 300 are as advertised with "double dog" anti-reverse backup. On a brighter note, the Torque 100 has the magnetic cast control, which the others don't.

Still, the Penn TRQ 100 is an awesome little reel, and it's built like a tank (and as heavy as one too, lol). The magnetic control makes it cast like a dream, and the gears and drag are massive and smooth. I have yet to test it on a really big fish, but have no doubt that it will perform great. So far only some small kingfish and grouper have fallen to it, and they came in easily. Tight lines!

This was a review of the Penn Torque 100 fishing reel.

Daiwa Luna 300

Ok, so my girlfriend bought me a Daiwa Luna 300 baitcaster for Christmas. Way to go babe! :)

Anyway, this is a great fishing reel. It is machined aluminum all around and solid as a rock. This fish-catching machine is very sturdy and all metal inside and out, but for the rubber handle knobs and plastic thumb-bar. The retrieve is silky smooth and powerful, and has a solid feel to it. Since in free-spool it disengages completely from the gear-train, it casts incredibly far, though you still need a trained thumb for casting because the Centriflex control's effectiveness is limited for lighter lures. The 10 disk drag is very powerful (rated at 15.4lbs), but more on that later.

So far the reel's been tested with many respectable pier-caught fish such as a big snook, and much worse, a stingray of about 50lbs. Believe me, nothing tests a fishing reel like a stingray! This reel is mounted on a Redbone offshore rod, and loaded with 30lb Suffix braid. The combo proved itself very capable of muscling these powerful fish away from the pier pilings with the Luna set at a near max drag. While many snook fisherman use a heavy 4/0 outfit on piers, this light, powerful combo is such a pleasure to use and gets the job done at a fraction of the weight.

On the negative side, perhaps the worst weakness with the Luna 300 though, is its stock drag. While it no doubt generates the 15.4lbs that Daiwa claims, out of the box it was not smooth. The composite fiber disks needed a thorough cleaning and need to be kept that way in order to stay smooth. However, you can always replace them with a set of Smoothies Carbontex, which cost $15 a set for this reel, along with some Shimano or Cal's drag grease. The upgraded drag will be smooth and powerful and will make this already great reel, simply awesome. The Daiwa Luna 300 is currently the top pic of my favorite fishing reels. Tight lines!
This was a review of the Daiwa Luna 300 fishing reel.

Pflueger Supreme 8040MG

I was looking for a light but strong, all metal inshore spinning reel in the 2500/4000 size. Most of the all-metal reels I looked at were way too heavy, but I did not want to compromise and go with graphite parts; I hate the way they flex under pressure. Shimano, Daiwa, Quantum all use graphite rotors on inshore size spinners to keep the weight down. Penn and Finnor have all metal models but they are too heavy. Van Stahl and Accurate, well, who can afford them, besides again, too heavy. Well, a visit to Bass Pro Shops would soon lead to my next favorite reel, the Pflueger Supreme 8040MG.

It’s all metal (magnesium), light as a feather, and has 10 bearings. The magnesium frame and rotor have no discernable flex, it has loads of line capacity, and the copious number of bearings make it super smooth. As if that weren’t enough, it has a 6.2:1 gear ratio too!

This puppy is a pleasure to use, having a solid feel in spite of the super lightweight. But alas, like all reels, it isn’t perfect. On the down side, quality control seems lax on this Chinese made reel. It shows in the machining and the finish. The silver coat scratches easily and is starting to rub off on the stem sooner than expected. Also, watch out when changing spools! While it’s nice that they include an extra aluminum spool, swapping them will lead to shaft parts flying off if you don’t pay careful attention. In the field this can be critical with parts ending up in the water.

Then there’s the magnesium factor; magnesium is very susceptible to corrosion from salt water, but I knew this going in. Pflueger markets this as a fresh water reel but the paperwork says with proper care it will serve in the salt as well. After 10 ocean outings I can say the reel holds up well in salt water, but this is with plenty of TLC after each use, but hey, I do that with all my reels anyway.

Overall, I am very happy with my Pflueger Supreme 8040MG, and on a late night outing in March 2009, it proved its mettle on a big snook in a heavy inlet current. Loaded with 30lb braid, it handled this very powerful 20lb class fish without a hitch. The drag set to medium pressure performed flawlessly. The latest Supreme, the Supreme XT, has an improved carbon drag which is a nice plus, but standard Supreme’s is fine if you don’t fish real heavy settings. With an msrp of $99, the Pflueger Supreme 8040MG simply can't be beat as a bang-for-the-buck winner. Tight lines!

This was a review of the Pflueger Supreme 8040MG spinning reel.