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