some new toys at last chance bait and tackle

[Matt_Magnone]

we just got the daiwa lexa 300's in stock at Last Chance. i've never been a huge daiwa fan but made sure we were one of the first stores to have them in stock. if a reel feels right to me and stands up to the daily abuse i give them; i'm all for it. im on the water on a normal year over 200 days so bet your butts im gonna find something wrong with EVERY company. im extremely picky and a reels has to impress me. if a reel costs $50 and fishes better than a $500 reel i'm gonna fish the $50 one. name and cosmetics dont matter when you're fishing for fish that cant see above the water line. as most of you know i'm a huge follower of abu garcia. its all i fish except the TE lineup. never thought daiwa would impress me. same old stuff every year. never had a price point reel to offer the customer. its either you spend $600 or you spent roughly $300 to get what you needed. never a quality performance reel for under $269. we just got the first shipment of the daiwa lexa 300 reels. what a trip! price point is right; $199, drag is right; 22#'s. free spool is great! whats the catch? just got back from a test run at a pond. im sold. the reel lives up to every bit of hype that daiwa has put out. all i can say is shimano is in trouble. BIG trouble. i can see this reel knocking out the few comparable brands. absolutely nuts. castability was out of control. as well as the infinite anti reverse. still needs further testing but the first run was a huge! success. we have a few in the shop and more on their way. if thinking about a swimbait reel and favor a specific brand other than daiwa, at least look at these. i strongly recommend it. like i said, im loyal to a certain brand and stepping out of my comfort zone was a challenge for me. im extremely glad i kept an open mind.

also, MEGABASS and EVERGREEN baits at the shop very soon. such a long time coming for a local dealer to have almost the full product line of each. i've personally been waiting forever. for evergreen its been impossible and for megabass all anyone carries are the vision 110's (not complaining) and the giant dog X (again not complaining). i'll most definitely let you know when they arrive guys. were going to be accepting personal requests as well as ordering often to keep up with the anglers addictions. give us feedback and let us know what YOU want. we could use the info as our orders will be based off our customers wants and needs. i'll try and be more frequent to let you guys know the status on new baits, japanese high end and what not.

[SOUTHPAWSTICK]

Hey Matt, Did You guys get the Calcutta d 300 in yet?

[Matt_Magnone]

not available yet. hopefully soon. we have the 200d in stock right now. from the looks of the 200 im assuming the 300 and 400 will be nice. couple things have been done different with the reel. curious to see what peoples responses will be.

[Pooldude]

Hi Matt:

Curious if you've had the chance to fish the new Lexa 100 series yet, & if so, your thoughts on that reel? Also curious if you've fished with the new Daiwa ARID 100H? I don't think they've hit the stores yet but I was able to get one at our recent club (Pointseekers) banquet. I fished it for the first time this past week & was pretty impressed considering it will retail for under $100 (I think $89.99 is what Russ said they would sell for). It seems like a pretty good reel for the money!

[Matt_Magnone]

Hi Matt:

Curious if you've had the chance to fish the new Lexa 100 series yet, & if so, your thoughts on that reel? Also curious if you've fished with the new Daiwa ARID 100H? I don't think they've hit the stores yet but I was able to get one at our recent club (Pointseekers) banquet. I fished it for the first time this past week & was pretty impressed considering it will retail for under $100 (I think $89.99 is what Russ said they would sell for). It seems like a pretty good reel for the money!

as many of you know, i've been involved with the tackle shops from an early age and in doing so, obviously had the opportunity to fish just about every rod and reel available to the general fishing public. i'll always be one of the first to get a new reel when it hits the market provided it suits my need and interest. on the swimbait scene, i started out throwing old 5 and 6 thousand series ambassadeurs back in '95 '96. they were good, but lacked a little balls on the retrieve and cast. they still taught me a lot. i've been loyal to shimano for the last bunch of years. i started out with the calcutta 400's back in '99 i think then graduated to the cte's when they were introduced later on, dont hold it against me if im wrong, but i think it was '01/'02? been through the evolution of swimbaits from almost the beginning putting in a lot of mileage. im solely mentioning this to show that i've been around and over the years have learned what makes a swimbait reel good or bad for me. to sum it up, comfortability, gear ratio, castability and weight and line capacity.

it sounds like i'm asking a lot, but to throw the big plugs accurately and efficiently, an angler would be foolish not to consider this.

i just want to be completely honest with you all. the daiwa lexa 300 was never a reel i intended to buy. i simply wanted to be on the list to get the first shipment for you guys down here in so cal. so needless to say, i didnt really think that these reels would "pop" the way they did. it was just cool to see someone compete with the curado 300's. so far nothing's been able to touch it.

holy crap was i a fool! i admit it!

when we got the shipment in the reel was a lot smaller in shape than i thought. smaller in the hand but retained A LOT of line capacity. big bonus for me. as you know, the more line on the spool the further your casting distance will be as long as everything else in sequence is up to par. bearings, oil, rod. line...... toward the end of the cast, as the line starts diminishing off the spool, it takes more effort to actually spin the spool, equaling more tension on your bait, preventing you from making that bomber cast you desire.. with the lexa spool its both wide and deep. you can fit more line on the spool never having to worry about running low. say you're fishing a punker for stripers. nothings worse than making a bomber cast and looking down to see your spool half gone. what happens if you get bit on the end of that cast? are you gonna be screwed? needless to say, im super happy with the line capacity.

i was really stoked to feel how comfortable the reel was. in comparison to a curado 300 which is "rounder" in shape, the lexa feels a little squattier. we're no longer forced to extend our hands up just to get a grip on the reel. hand fatigue is a common reason i hear guys tell me they dont like throwing big baits all day. i think they answered that problem with these reels. handle matches the reel exceptionally with it being oversize with oversized knobs. very comfortable fishing and never have the issue of hand slip. the reel weighs in at 10.5 ounces identical to the curado 300. pretty cool.

a huge thing for me was the fact it has the option at either the 6.3:1 or 7.1:1 gear ratios. i've always dreamed of a comfortable reel with a high gear ratio. there's a lot of times i wanna burn a triple without having to feel like my arms gonna fall off at the end of the day. with the high gear you just barely gotta roll that handle around.

as far as castability, there's no way i'm gonna be able to explain how far it casts a rat without trying to sound like i'm hooked up with these guys. all i'll tell you is, bomber casts, effortless.

over all i'm not gonna tell you it's better than a pluton, cte, black sheep, or an ito, but i will tell you it has its place amongst those reels. i for one and everyone else i talk to are shocked im fishing some daiwa stuff now.

the day we got the first batch in, i bought one and fished it that and the next night completely stoked!. 2 days later when the second batch came in, i bought another.

there's no doubt this reel will throw the big plugs. i think its going to excel for the 8" and under baits. for anything over 10, i think i'll still roll with the TE. there's really nothing better than the te. as far as durability. only the test of time will tell. for now, these things feel wicked. i'll probably be buying another tomorrow.

[Perris_holic]

What rod would you pair it with?

[Matt_Magnone]

What rod would you pair it with?

thats a loaded question. it all depends on your style, favorite brand of rod, application and water you intend to use it for.

i would pair the reel with something 8' heavy or extra heavy. the reel feels like it has the balls but i dont think its gonna last with the heavyweights. we'll see. im going out tuesday and am gonna throw some heavy crap just to see if i can break the reel.

i have one on a dobyns champion 804c, one on a dobyns champion 806hsb and the one i pick up tomorrow might get put on a champion 867hsb

swimbait quiver:
cte 400 - 807hsb--------65# braid (walk baits)
cte 400 - 807hsb--------25# mono (L hard baits)
cte 300 - 806hsb--------25# mono (M-L hardbaits)
ct 400 - phenix 869xh----30# mono (XL harbaits)
lexa 300- 804c----------50# braid (rats / small wake baits)
lexa 300- 806hsb--------18# mono (slider/line through)
lexa 300- 867hsb--------50# braid/mono (L softbait)