MAGNIFICENT
Chris Kennedy gives his verdict on both the 2500 and 5000 sizes of these Daiwa spinning reels, designed to be the ultimate in saltwater resistance
Ifirst acquired the Daiwa BG 2500 for my LRF and lure work in 2020 and spooled it with 15lb J-Braid Grand. Since then, it has done an enormous amount of work, chasing species like squid, bass, pollock, black bream, mackerel and scad. I would highlight that it also has this mag sealed technology. Unfortunately, I am not a guy who routinely rinses my reels. I look for ones that have high-quality components that offer corrosion resistance, which in turn means longevity of use. feel so powerful for such a tiny reel; the drag is smooth, and they’ll handle anything in the class you are aiming at. e reel is running just as smoothly as when I took out of its box from new.
UP-SIZING
I was so pleased with the 2500, I ordered another BG Magsealed, this time the 5000 size. I intended to use it for beachcasting on the lighter bait rods and potentially for heavy lure fishing, generally casting up to around 125g (4oz) as a maximum. I wanted something more lightweight than my 6500 Saltists, but with a substantial high-drag capacity, if I ended up taking it abroad. e 5000 Magsealed didn’t disappoint; I’ve used it religiously whenever I have been on smooth to mixed ground, primarily for species like black bream but also putting it through its paces catching double figure huss and conger at times.
e 5000 is a perfect option for the avid beach angler who wants a robust reel built to last and tackle the larger fish with ease. Like its little brother, it also has a lovely smooth drag, a fabulous retrieve, a powerful handle and good solid gears. Since its purchase, I have observed no degradation in performance, and I think it represents tremendous value for money, even if it is on the pricey side for many anglers. We can’t all afford a Saltiga, or even a Saltist, but these great looking BGs are a compromise with a lot of the tech that is incorporated in its more expensive cousins.
For specifically fishing heavy ground, and for the UK’s largest species like common skate, big stingray or tope, you may wish to look at the 6500 or 8000 sizes. e differences are largely in the reels’ weight, retrieve and maximum drag capacity. ey scale up incrementally.
If there is one thing I would make for the future if I were Daiwa, it would be a hybrid Magsealed BG for bass anglers that incorporates a bait runner option. As a brand, they make some excellent bait runners for carp fishing and other freshwater species but I would love to see a BG that offers this functionality in 3000, 3500, 4000 and 5000 sizes. . ■
HTO N70 LABRAX SPECIAL TRAVEL RRP: £479.99
If this brand new HTO N70 Labrax Special Travel lure rod 9’ 4’’ 7-42g ended up as even 75 per cent as good as its amazing 2-piece sibling, which has been on the market for a while, I knew I would like it. I have fished a lot with the 2-piece version and it’s one hell of a lure fishing rod which really suits how I like a rod to bend, recover, and fish.
SPECIFICATIONS
■ Four section ‘Travel’ version of the superb Labrax lure rod
■ Length 9’ 4’’
■ Casting 7 -42gm
■ Pack-down size of 81.5cm (32inches)
■ Built from 40ton carbon with an M4 resin and helical carbon tape wrap
■ Fitted throughout with Fuji Titanium Framed Torzite 2 K Spinning guides
■ The Fuji VSS reel seat is flanked by a Winn Grip, as is the butt grip
e good news here is that this 4-piece HTO N70 Labrax Special is easily as good as the 2-piece version, and for this I must doff my cap to the people at HTO for going all out to make a travel style lure rod fish as well as this. If I really concentrate then perhaps, I can feel 10 per cent more flex in the butt when I cast heavier lures, especially on the 4-piece version, but in the real fishing world this means nothing. If you are prepared to pay the nearly £400 asking price, then you will secure an incredibly useful lure fishing rod which I know will suit a lot of anglers and their casting styles. What’s more, you have a 4-piece rod which is easy to fly with and perfect for anybody who likes to leave a bit of fishing gear in their car for any spur of the moment fishing opportunities which might arise.
PERFORMANCE
I love how ‘sharp’ this rod is, and by that I am trying to articulate to you how precise the feeling is when you put your lures out there. No sloppiness in the butt or mid-sections, but also not too much rigidity that your arms want to fall off after fishing with this rod for a few hours. My feeling is that HTO have worked on taking their existing, and very good, Nebula lure rod action and really upgraded it, and I believe they have done so successfully. It benefits from being very fast but not too overpowering, nice and light and crisp, with the ability to effectively and genuinely fish with a wide range of hard and soft lures. It’s also got the most stunning tip on a lure rod that you could ever hope to see. I can blast a 40g Savage Gear Surf Seeker at full power and the rod isn’t straining at all, but I can then scale down to a smaller and lighter surface lure and deftly work it across the top and I feel in complete control. With soft plastics this rod is a dream.
QUALITY
If I was going to buy a travel lure rod for bass, wrasse and pollack then this would be the rod for me. e build quality is superb, albeit I’d prefer something a bit grippier behind where the reel sits on the Fuji VSS reel seat, and in a perfect world I like a handle length a smidgen shorter. ese are minor quibbles though.
e WINN grips work really well and I get used to them in no time over the EVA grips you find on most fishing rods. e only lingering niggle which, for me, slightly tarnishes such an impressive and expensive lure rod is that it doesn’t come in a travel-ready tube, and the rod bag also feels and looks a bit cheap. I can easily knock a small rod tube up if I was going to travel with it, but I think HTO should have included a proper tube in a really good quality rod bag. is aside, we are talking about a seriously impressive 4-piece lure rod which fishes just as well as its equally impressive 2-piece sibling. ■