****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
By far the smoothest, furthest casting, best hook setting reel I've ever used. Blows away lews (which burn out gears and have sometimes jumpy drags), Shimano (overpriced and nothing special or bad overall), and daiwa away. I'm a huge Daiwa fan. Their tatula and tatula ct are, until now, the best reels for the money. The Daiwa has the best magnetic braking systems available and their drags are usually underrated on their higher end reels (example-tatula rated at 13 lbs of drag and tested at over 16 lbs). The t wing system on the daiwa will not allow braid to flouro leaders to pass through it, so by chance I thought why not try out 13 fishing and see what the fuss was about.MAN!! What a reel. I ordered the 8.1 ratio, threw some 30 lb braid to a 5 ft 15 lb flouro leader and put on a weightless senko on a 5/0 owner offset round bend hook. Set the centrifugal braking to 2 and went to a very clear local pond that is very hard to fish bc its so clear and full of hydrilla and moss so you can't throw anything weighted on the bottom.It casted the senko very far for a weightless bait (I've noticed senkos cast far because they're naturally more aerodynamic by design due to their compact design and lack of appendages). After dragging and shaking it for a bit, I felt a thump and set the hook. It felt like a dink but a nearly 4 lber flew out of the water towards me and I hydroplaned her in. The drag is so good and so stout...There's zero give. The hook set with the amazing drag and braids lack of stretch was unreal. Zero effort on my part, and even though the fish was trying to throw the bait along the way, the drag didn't give her an inch. I immediately came home and ordered a few more. I also got a Concept A 5.3 cranking reel at Academy for $105 (as a unit that was sold, spooled up and the customers card declined so they put it in the case deeply discounted) this morning and I'm in love with 13 fishing reels now.To confess, I've talked a lot of crap about 13 fishing RODS in the past. They break easily and guides pop off but to their credit their newer models are fixing the past issues. The reels are so smooth I literally thought it was broken and not spinning the gears. You HAVE to try these reels. I feel like I'm stealing them at the $96 black Friday pricing. Not sure what to do with my 5 tatula ct reels that I was using for Texas rigs, jigs etc but the 13 fishing within a mere couple of days are now my favorite reels. Amazing fellas!!! Take that to the bank. Screw lews and Abu FOR THE MONEY, lews has a huge following but nowadays for the same money you can get a better built, lighter and overall better reel for the same money. Ive burnt out gears in a super duty, bb1, and lfs so far (deep cranking, flipping and swimbait fishing). Daiwa and 13 all the way for this hawg hunter! This is coming from a double digit bass club member. Drag and castability are big deals for me. Double digit fish can lock up gears on inferior reels. Buy this reel, it's the best for the money CURRENTLY when every aspect is considered.**UPDATE 12/15/16***I have since bought another couple inception and another Concept A cranking reel at Academy (in store clearance for $109) and a Concept C 6.6 ratio for $99 on ebay slightly used. Theyre all amazing reels. I'm slowly moving to these reels in general. If they only had the inception in a 5 speed gearing for cranking, they'd have this price point absolutely cornered. I also bought a 7 ft 1 in First generation omen black rod. It was at Academy as a return it appeared because the tip guide insert was missing. I got it for about half price after sweet talking the manager out of it. Still had the tags on it. I took it to Falcon rods world headquarters (4 miles from my house) and had them replace the top guide all together. I could have done it but I wanted a matching smaller stainless guide and couldn't find one locally.The reel seat is the nicest on any rod I own. So comfortable. I took it to a pond and started ripping a trap through grass. It's got a great soft tip but good backbone and balance. I went home and ordered an envy black cranking rod on clearance from tackle warehouse.If these rods hold up like my daiwa zillion and tatula rods, I'll be throughly impressed. I'm loving this brand more and more. Looking forward to trying their new rods for 2017 under their "One 3" brand. Highly recommended. I'll update periodically regardless of results.***12/20/16***I have since ordered a 7 3 MH envy black casting rod and a 7 1 MH spinning rod on clearance from tackle warehouse. I'll pair the spinning rod with an okuma helios hx25s. It's my favorite spinning reel and looks and feels amazing at only 6.8 Oz!
