VOL . 36 • ISS . 11 |
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FRESHWATER |
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May 12-26 , 2017 |
25 |
Daiwa Lexa Line Counter : What ’ s All The Buzz About ?
I t seems like every single year , a lure or piece of tackle hits the market that is touted to be the best of its class , the best of the best , the hottest thing since anglers ’ discovered that most fish eat nightcrawlers .
And so it was when the Daiwa unveiled their Lexa 300 line counter last year . One second I hadn ’ t heard a peep about the Daiwa Lexa LC and then it seemed as if everyone was talking about . Supporters claimed that it had the strongest , smoothest drag of any line counter available .
It supposedly held and ample amount making it appropriate for battle some of our largest gamefish . In short , the reel was described as the ultimate for moderate to heavy freshwater fishing and light saltwater fishing .
All this was fine with me , but I already had a few line counter reels from various manufactures so I wasn ’ t really chomping at the bit to try something new .
Low and behold , early this spring Fish Sniffer publisher Paul Kneeland handed me a box with a Lexa 300 line counter inside of it .
“ The guys at Daiwa want you to check out this reel and write a review of it ,” he said .
Situations like these always present a conundrum for outdoor writers . Somebody has invested good money in putting something into your hands and they want you to publicly declare what you think about it .
What if the item doesn ’ t work correctly or live up to the hype ? Naturally the manufacturer is hoping for you to churn out some kind words and writing a negative review is akin to telling your grandma that her cookies are burned . It might be true , but if you say it , somebody is going to get their feelings hurt .
Typically , if I ’ m given something to try that just doesn ’ t perform , I go back to the manufacturer and share with them what I ’ ve found , giving them a chance to fix it before I drag the product through the mud in print .
Luckily for me , I couldn ’ t find anything negative to say about the Lexa 300 LC . While I haven ’ t caught a tuna or a sturgeon on it yet , I have spent a lot of time playing with the reel and I ’ ve done a good deal of research in terms of what other writers and pro anglers have been saying about the reel .
Before I get into all the details , I ’ ll cut right to the point and state unequivocally that the Lexa 300 LC is a reel you should really consider adding to your arsenal in the future .
Why ? Well to start off with , many line counter reels are basically a line
counter with a reel built around it . Making line measuring the centerpiece , pretty much ensures that you ’ ll be fishing with a makeshift reel in terms of performance . The Lexa is a breath of fresh air in the line counter category because it is a rugged super strong , high performance baitcaster that also has an accurate and dependable line counter integrated into it .
Check out these stats . The reel generates 22 pounds of peak drag utilizing a carbon fiber drag system . This is what has enabled the reel to land big salmon , tuna , sturgeon , jumbo stripers , musky and more .
The Lexa 300 also features plenty of line capacity , with the ability to hold 240 yards of 40 pound braid and features 6.3 to 1 gear ratio . This gear ratio represents a great compromise between blistering fast black bass style baitcasters and more traditional 4 and 5 to 1 round baitcasters . Basically , it walks the line between offering speedy retrieves and big fish fighting power .
Despite its large line capacity and the power it offers , the reel isn ’ t large or heavy when you hold it in your hand . While it ’ s true that I have large hands , I believe that most anglers will have zero problem “ palming ” the reel black bass style when casting and retrieving lures .
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In my view this reel is going to shine for many northern California applications . Front and center among these is striper trolling . In doing my research I found many glowing reviews from Midwestern musky anglers .
They said that the reel was great for trolling big lures , an approach they use a lot . Yet they said when conditions dictated , they could pull the same rod they ’ d been trolling with out of the holder and make 30 or 40 casts to a point or flat with a big swimbait .
Most line counter reels struggle in the casting department , but not the Lexa 300 .
While I ’ ve not spent a lot of time musky fishing , the approaches described are very much like the approaches a lot of us employ when chasing big stripers in the Delta . We troll for a period of time and then stop to make a dozen or more casts to a flowing pipe or rip rap lined levee with a big swimbait or glide bait .
The Daiwa Lexa 300 LC promises to be perfect for this kind of work and when that 40 pound bass comes knocking you ’ ll be armed with a reel up to the task of punishing the big fish into submission … All this performance at a sub $ 200 price point is tough to beat . I ’ ll be back again soon to report about my experiences with the Lexa some more once I ’ ve had more of an opportunity to use and abuse it on the water !
For more information , go to Daiwa . com .
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