Yep, got another question for you experts. Bought another new spinning reel for fishing trout the other day as well as a 6'6" light action rod to go with it. Nice setup! My question-is this reel too small to fish summer steelhead/maybe even winter steelhead? The reel is a Daiwa Regal-X 2000C. It cost around $42. Nice reel IMO-very smooth, great drag system, extremely appealing to the eye... It doesn't hold a lot of line, but seems to be pretty sturdy. Do any of you guys/gals have this reel or have heard anything about it? Good or bad? Haven't tried it out yet-next April though it's gonna get a lot of abuse from those triploids though! Well anyway, thanks for any input you folks can give me about it.

KB, I like to use a Stratic 2000 and keep it loaded with 8# for both summer and winter. My brother goes down to a Symetre 1000. Line capacity
should not be a problem unless you exceed 10#'s.
If your reel were equipped with front drag I would concider trying it but if rear drag I'd use it solely for...well hell I'd probably give it to the boy I'm hoping yours is a front drag !!!

FJ...out.

FJ, it's front drag. The adjustment is on top of the reel spool.

Krome Brite, if you are seriously considering any steelhead or salmon fishing,save your money and buy a Shimano, Curado level wind. It is an excellant casting reel with a superior drag. Cost about $109.00, but well worth saving for. I own 21 reels, and this is my favorite. You can use it to lake troll, cast small lures, bass, salmon, steelhead, or bay fish. Alot of fish are lost because of poor drag systems, trust the G-MAN.

G-man, are you saying that serious Steelheading cannot be done with a spinning outfit? I've done a
lot of serious fishing using both spinning and baitcasting setups. Myself I would never limit my self to just one or the other. The proper spinning
setup in my book is invaluable to my arsenal

KB, your reel should work just great with that front drag setup. Once again front drag is far superior to rear drag so it sounds like Santa knew what he was doing! :p Mate that reel up with a 10'6" rod and you will have all the bases covered!

FJ...out.

F.J, no I'm not saying that you can't do serious fishing with a spinning reel. I started with a closed faced spincaster, don't laugh, I could'nt afford anything better, the guys in the boat stopped laughing after my 7 salmon to their 2, on my first boat trip. I'm just saying a levelwind has a much superior drag system than any reel other than a single action/fly, and when that big fish heads back to the bay I want a smooth, consistant drag to stop him. I own every type of reel, but take my levelwinds on big fish trips.

Smooth and consistant drag? My Stratic has both of those characteristics. Even cranked down it's smooth as silk with no jerky action. Improper lubrication often sours many on spinning drag systems. Yes I know that baitcasters drags are better but spinning does not deserve the back seat! Just my .02.

FJ...out.

Hey G-SpotMan (or is it GoatMan?-my unfortunate nickname given by some friends IS GoatBoy...don't ask ), I already have a Curado and so does my dad. We have loved them for the last couple years since we bought them and have landed a lot of fish on them (my dad more than me, unfortunately!). One thing I've recently noticed is while using it to throw heavier weights for plunking it birdcages on me. I guess I should just adjust the weights inside. Too damn lazy to though.

So what kind of a 10'6" rod should I get, FJ? I guess the Allstars are out of the question now that Bob's doesn't carry them anymore. And it'll be a long time 'till I could make it up to Shelton to see fh5. I was thinking maybe the rod shop just down the road from me here might have some longer spin rods. I'll have to check them out I guess.

Ya know, to tell you the truth I tried out the symetre, stradic, sahara, and the sedona I think it was, for the first time ever in the store. I thought they were **** compared to the Daiwa! Trying to trip the bail on the Shimanos was extremely hard and if you began to reel and didn't trip it right away, the reel would stick making it basically impossible to trip the bail unless you grabbed it and did it by hand. The Daiwa was damn smooth!

Oh btw, thanks for the advice guys!

[ 12-26-2001: Message edited by: Krome Brite ]

KB, I use a 10'6" Berkley select IM7 for around $90.00. Good sensitive tip with a good butt section. Have landed many silvers and heads on it with no problems. The price is right in my opinion! You wouldn't be disappointed

FJ...out.

K-B, sometimes if your over spooled with line they'll birdnest on you everytime. Or maybe the center spool knob is too loose. Cranking down the magnetic drag won't help in either case.

G-MAN, no that drag is fairly tight. My spool is a little full, but I didn't think it was THAT full. Maybe I'll just have to break off more often to get that line off. :p Thanks for the suggestions.

FJ, the price is right! Would this rod be able to fish jigs, or is it too heavy for that? That's what I'm really looking for. A good long rod that will fish jigs/floats and driftfish/floatfish rubber worms. Maybe even use it for drifting eggs. Do you think it could handle a 12 pound steely or a 15 pound silver? This may be the one.

KB, I use my berkely 10'6 spinning for bobber and jigs and also tossing bait. Check your E-mail for the landing size question :p


FJ...out.

Where on earth did you find that, and what weight is it? I finally caved and picked up a 10'6" gloomis 1265S, but would have been happy with an IM7 rod for floats and jigs since sensitivity isn't as much an issue as with drifting.

Sky, it's rated for 2-8# and they carry them at Auburn Sports.


FJ...out.

KB, I have been using Daiwa S2500 for fall runs and winters for some time. The reels are very durable and can take some hard use.

I have been running 8# on them and have only lost 1 fish this winter due to line failure. The reel should be good, but what are you doing with a short rod. Boat or bank? I use a 9'6" and a 10'6" with my daiwas.

I take it that your ankle must have healed up quickly. Nothing like seasonal fishin for motivation!

Hey K.b I have fished the regal z and xs for a long time.They are tough reels!Their drags will fight anything you want.you would not believe the fish I have battled and won on the all inferrior regal z and x spinning reels.The bail springs are the only thing I have had problems with.They have left me in a bind a couple of times.Bob in forks was getting pretty good at making them one week.
I emailed diawa and they sent me 12 springs for free.I would order some ahead of time and carry one with you if you plan on using it alot.I personaly think that I would wear out the spring on any reel that got used as much as my diawa.

Thanks, fj. I think I have seen that rod. I'm probably better off with the heavier gear.

My primary focus with floats and jigs has been chums anyway and I'm usually fishing in a small area with some neighbors, so I like to be able to lean on them if I have too.

Well, upon trying to spool this reel up about 4 different times, I encountered a major problem. The line goes on the reel uneven. More line goes on the top than on the bottom. I also noticed another thing. The drag cap on top of the reel has a nice chip missing out of the bottom of it! What's the matter with the sh!tty workmanship on so many things now adays?! Well, I guess it's time for me to take it back and exchange it for another of the same reel...

Bloodknot77, I am strictly a bank fisherman. My ankle is doing better, and I am in physical therapy for it. I bought this reel for trout fishing and it is rather small. I'm not sure how big your S2500 is? The rod I bought to go with it was also for trout fishing, wouldn't think of using it for anything bigger.

ltlCLEO, looking at this reel again, it really does look a little small. Are you sure you've used the same reel? You really must fish a lot if you keep wearing out parts on your reel. Wow. I don't think I'll have that problem. I fish yes, but only about 4-5 times a month or so.

Kb
Mine is the 3500t.It is about 4-5 years old I think.I have two of those and one alot older.
I hope you have as good an expierence as I have had,doesn,t sound like you're off to a good start.Please keep me informed as am about to buy a couple more.I was thinking about the new okuma but from what I am hearing they are to good to be true.
My summer run pole is a browning 9' noodle with a Sedona 1000f.It was a gift and also has done me fine.
I fish mostly smaller rivers so line capacity isn,t a big issue.

KB, the daiwas I have are all 3 yrs old. They take 170 yds. or so of 8 #. They get fished hard. I just had to replace a plastic part on the anti backlash mechanism, after many many trips. Other than that they hold up well.