Daiwa Lexa HD

[chris69]

Anyone got one of these reels and what have you caught on it ive got a 6"6 12to30lb Graphite USA rod and wanted to run some 30lb braid over it for a bit of jigging and live baiting I just want to know what the reel can handle or just some feed back on them ,Cheers.

PS or a Tatula 300.

[EdBerg]

Hi Chris69, I am not 100% sure but I think I saw the guys, Nathan and Milo from the "Big Angry Fish" TV series used these Lexa's to catch largish Kingfish in NZ. There are quite a few models and variations in that Lexa Model name, at one stage when they first came out I also was thinking about getting the LEXA HD 400HS-P but ended up getting a Tica bait caster instead, as it was about 1/3rd of the price of the Lexa at that time and similar features except for the Mag. cast control, (the Tica has centrifugal control). Other models you could look at are the Shimano Tranx, Okuma Komodo, Abu REVO Beast T2 BST60, Tica Uzio GCB300H (from New Zealand)

[chris69]

Yer Ed there's a few around but not all are there same with liine capacity ,the new lexa hd have a stainless gear but the lexa cc has a brass gear, ones for live baiting and one for jigging,i like the idea of a clicker on the lexa cc on a baitcater ,it's nice to know that they can catch big fish they run big drag ,I looked at a shop today but Daiwa is waiting for stock I want to look at one first.

[EdBerg]

Hi Chris69, Good luck finding one to look at, I did the rounds and the only place I found one might have been Jones's Tackle in Lutwitch, but don't quote me on that as it was quite a while ago and as I said, I did the rounds. It would pay you to ring around first before driving all over the place. Also have a look at the Penn Fathom FTH15LD2 and the FTH15LD. They are both smallish lever drag reels,Under $270, hold quite a bit of line have reasonable drags and a clicker, and aren't too bad to cast with but very light lures are probably not suited to them. You would probably better off with 1.5+ Oz lures on those, these Fathoms are not LP reels but still quite compact.

The Tica Uzio I got is quite good but only has a centrifugal brake but the price has crept up to about the $190-200 and you would have to get it from NZ which probably costs about $20.

If you only want a light but strong reel for jigging or live baiting then the Penns would be perfect. Off the top of my memory, I think I put on about 350-400m of 40lb braid (Powerpro) on my FTH15D2. Hope this helps.

Cheers
Ed.