Daiwa Reels

The range at a glance

• Spinning Reels: Crossfire, Aird and Legalis up to TD Sol, Certate, Airity and Exist, plus BG MQ, Saltist and Saltiga for the salt and Emeraldas for squid.
• Baitcaster Reels: Tatula, Lexa and Coastal workhorses, the round Ryoga, and Steez and Gekkabijin for finesse casting.
• Overhead Reels: Saltist and Saltiga star drags, the Saltiga 300H levelwind jigger, Saltiga LD lever drag and Saltist LW for bottom fishing.
• Electric Reels: Leobritz, Seaborg, Seapower and Tanacom electrics for deep dropping and electric jigging, plus the cords to run them.

How the Daiwa range fits together

Daiwa's spinning range branches into two ladders rather than one. The finesse ladder runs Aird LT → Freams LT → TD Black MQ and TD Sol MQ → Certate LT → Airity and Exist. The saltwater ladder runs BG MQ → Saltist MQ → Certate SW → Saltiga. Pick the ladder that fits your fishing, get the size and sealing right, and only then decide how far up it to go. A correctly sized mid-range reel beats an expensive one built for the wrong job. Once you've picked a reel, match it with a rod from our Daiwa Rods range.

Daiwa Spinning Reels

Entry: Crossfire, Aird, Legalis, Exceler and Fuego

Crossfire LT is the budget starting point, and the 26 model adds an Airdrive rotor and an ATD Type-L drag. The 23 Aird LT brings Airdrive Design to an affordable reel. Legalis LT adds a Zaion V composite body, and Exceler LT and Fuego LT sit just above it; Fuego adds ATD and Magseal. For heavier boat and beach work on a budget, Crossfire SW and Aird SW come in 8000 Boat and 10000 Surf sizes.

Estuary and finesse: Freams, Kix, Infeet X, TD Black MQ, TD Sol MQ and Revelry MQ

Aird LT to Freams LT buys Magsealed protection and a more refined build, which is worth it once you're fishing salt regularly. Kix LT is designed for Australian anglers and also has Magseal. The 26 Infeet X (2000S-P and 2500S) is tuned for light line, with a Zaion V body, Magsealed and ATD Type-L, and it matches the Infeet rods for Swan River bream. TD Black MQ and the iconic orange 25 TD Sol MQ add a Monocoque body; the TD Sol runs up to 5000D-CXH, so it isn't only a bream reel. Revelry MQ comes in a featherweight FC finesse version and a tougher HD version.

Premium finesse: Certate LT, Certate HD, Airity and Exist

Certate LT (1000–5000) is the full-metal MQ finesse reel with Airdrive and ATD Type-L. The 26 Certate HD (3000–5000) is the heavy-duty version, with an aluminium MQ body and Magsealed, built for harder drag and aggressive lure work. The 23 Airity is Daiwa's lightest-ever traditional spinning reel at under 150 g, with a treated magnesium MQ body. Exist LT is Daiwa's most refined finesse reel; its real comparison is Certate LT, not Certate SW.

Saltwater: Saltist BG, BG MQ, Saltist MQ, Certate SW and Saltiga

Saltist BG has a HardBodyz aluminium body, Magsealed and Carbon ATD. BG MQ puts the Monocoque body into an affordable heavy-duty reel, and Saltist MQ adds Magsealed and a lighter aluminium MQ body over it. The 24 Certate SW (4000–6000) is built on the 23 Saltiga, and the 26 Certate SW (8000–20000) pairs the Saltiga-style body with a Powerdrive Zaion rotor. At the top, the 23 Saltiga covers 4000–6000, and the 25 Saltiga runs from 8000 to 30000 with Powerdrive Design and a gear more than 10% larger than its predecessor. As a guide: Saltist MQ or BG MQ in 5000–8000 for metro beaches, and the 25 Saltiga in 14000–20000 for Exmouth GT.

Squid, surf and live bait

The 24 Emeraldas X (LT2500-XH) and 23 Emeraldas RX are built for squid, with fine ATD drags that keep light hook-sets on a running squid. The 22 Sensor Surf 45 SCW is a long-cast Magsealed surf reel. The Free Swimmer BR has a baitrunner, so a fish can take a live bait before you engage the main drag.

Daiwa Baitcaster Reels

The Tatula is the workhorse family. The 150 and 25 Tatula TW 150/200 (Hyperdrive Design) suit estuary lure casting. The Tatula 300 TWS (13 kg, 43 mm spool) was designed for big-bait Murray cod fishing, and the 21 Tatula TW 400 handles swimbaits and slow-pitch jigging. Lexa TW 300/400 gives you 13 kg of drag in a value heavy-duty body. The 26 Coastal TW 200 is Daiwa's inshore saltwater baitcaster, with 6 kg of drag and Hyperdrive, and it suits mulloway, tailor and flathead from the boat. The 26 Ryoga is the precision-machined round baitcaster. For finesse casting, the Steez A II TW is Daiwa's flagship low-profile, and the Gekkabijin Air TW (165 g, PE0.6) casts tiny jig heads for bream and light rock fishing.

Daiwa Overhead Reels

Star drag vs lever drag. A star drag is set with a wheel. It's simple, compact and the most common choice for jigging and bottom fishing. A lever drag lets you preset a strike position and return to it every time, which suits bigger pelagics and heavier line classes.

• Star-drag jigging and bottom fishing: 25 Saltist SD (15–35, ATD), 24 Saltiga SD 15 (a compact light-jigging reel, 13 kg), and 25 Saltiga SD 10 and 35 (the 35 is the mid-size heavy jigger). Saltiga BJ 200H is a Magsealed bay-jigging reel.
• Level-wind: the 25 Saltiga 300H is a level-wind jigging reel with a spool lock. The 23 Saltist LW lays line evenly for float-lining and bottom fishing, which suits demersals (dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper, breaksea cod) off Rottnest.
• Lever drag: the 20 Saltiga LD (10H–55JP) is Daiwa's lever-drag reel for heavier jigging, bottom and trolling work.
• Line counters: the 23 Tierra HD IC (7.3:1, 10 kg) and 21 Saltiga IC300 show depth and retrieve speed, so you can put a jig or bait back on suspended fish.

For samsonfish, step up to the 25 Saltiga SD 35, Saltiga 300H or Saltiga LD rather than the compact 15-size reels.

Daiwa Electric Reels

Choose an electric on depth, current, sinker weight and line capacity. Leobritz (S300J and S500JP, 16 kg) is small enough to hold and fish comfortably. Seaborg 300J, 400J and the 26 Seaborg are compact reels with a Mag Max motor and JOG power lever for reef fish and electric jigging. The Seaborg MJ (500/800/1200) adds Mega Twin speed and power modes for deeper water. The 24 Seaborg G1800M-RJ (50 kg drag, PE8 1,600 m) is the monster at the top. Seapower (800/1200, 30 kg) replaces the Tanacom Bull, and Tanacom 1200 carries PE8 1,000 m for serious deep dropping. Daiwa power cords are in the same carousel.

Daiwa technology in plain English

• LT (Light & Tough): a smaller, lighter body and internals without losing strength. Most current Daiwa spin reels use it.
• MQ (Monocoque): instead of a body plus side plate, a one-piece body closed by a large screw-in engine plate. With no side-plate screws, the body is stiffer and fits a larger drive gear. Certate LT, TD Sol MQ and TD Black MQ are LT reels with MQ bodies.
• Magsealed: a film of magnetic oil on the main shaft (and on the line roller and bearings in higher models) that forms a liquid barrier against water, salt and dust.
• ATD (Automatic Tournament Drag): a special grease lets the drag start smoothly the instant a fish pulls, with no sticky initial surge, and it protects light leaders on the strike. ATD Type-L is the light-line tune found on reels such as Exist, Certate LT, TD Black MQ and Infeet X.
• Airdrive and Powerdrive: Airdrive lightens the rotor, bail and spool for response on finesse reels. Powerdrive stiffens them for heavy offshore loads.

Sizing: watch the generation

For bream, whiting and squid, a 2000–2500 covers most situations. Go to 3000–4000 for bigger estuary fish and general lure work, 5000–8000 for beach, rock and inshore saltwater, and 8000 and up for offshore jigging and pelagics. Daiwa re-standardised sizing with LT, so an old 2500 is roughly an LT 3000. Saltiga-class sizes also jumped in 2020, so a 15 Saltiga 5000 is roughly a 20 or 25 Saltiga 10000. Bring your old reel in if you're matching a spare spool or replacing a reel on a favourite rod.

Servicing, spooling and visiting us

We service most reels and repair most rods, covering all the major brands and some smaller brands. Magsealed reels shouldn't be opened at home: we send Magsealed reels back to Daiwa for servicing. Free line spooling is included when you buy your line in-store for the reel, and we also spool from bulk line. We've been fitting anglers out since 1993, and the team has more than 200 years of combined fishing experience.

Level 1, 154 Stirling Highway, Nedlands WA 6009 (above the Taylor Road IGA) · (08) 9389 1337 · Free shipping on orders over $150* (under 3kg, exclusions apply).