Daiwa have long been associated with absolute quality when it comes to fishing tackle and their carp fishing reels are no exception! We asked our carp fishing expert Wayne Box to talk us through the best Daiwa carp fishing reels that you can buy across all price points. Plus, he throws in a few alternative options and stay tuned for a product focus on a VERY special set of reels!
All prices are correct at time of writing.
| Editor's choice | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basia DCR Range |
Tournament 5000T |
Emblem 45SCW QD |
Crosscast 45SCW QD |
GS 4000 Ltd |
|
| TFT Price | £449.99 | £259.99 | £149.99 | £99.99 | £74.99 |
| Application | Carp/Specialist Fishing Top end casting reel |
Carp/Specialist Fishing Workhorse/Reliability |
Carp/Specialist All rounder |
Carp/Specialist All rounder |
Carp/River/Specialist Small water or River |
| Pro | Mega Light and 7 reels in the range | Reliability/Cult following | Subtle look and great value | Great price for the quality | Superb clutch and small profile |
| Con | More expensive than most | Need regular servicing | Not as light as Basia | Heavier than others | Gold spool is a bit bling! |
| Features | Magnesium Alloy body 45mm long cast spool Silky smooth clutch |
Super reliable Cult looks Good line lay |
45mm long cast spool Spare spool included QD (Quick Drag) |
45mm long cast spool Great line lay QD (Quick Drag) |
Durable Quick retrieve Folding handle |
| TFT Verdict | The rolls royce of carp fishing reels. Great for distance work. | A real work horse. Clutch could be smoother but the line lay is superb. | Mega reel for the price! Casts forever and the subtle look makes it a TFT favourite. | Great casting reel for under £100. Line lay is epic and clutch is superb too. | Great for small water work or barbel fishing on the rivers. Great clutch too. |
| VIEW PRODUCT | VIEW PRODUCT | VIEW PRODUCT | VIEW PRODUCT | VIEW PRODUCT |
'DAIWA OR SHIMANO?' WELL NOT ANYMORE!
You are in the pub and you get introduced to a friend of a friend, and you find out that they are also a carp angler. The conversation will likely cover where you fish, how big your PB is, what bait you use and I GUARANTEE the conversation will quickly turn to the tackle that you use. I promise you that at some point during that conversation, the topic of reels will come up and the following question WILL get asked 'Daiwa or Shimano reels?'10 years ago that would have been a perfectly legitimate question but are there really only two makes of reels worth considering in this day and age? Absoulutely not - let me explain.
Carp reels have come on leaps and bounds since the Abu Cadinal 55's or the Mitchell 300's (google them) and yes, Daiwa and Shimano were the best of the bunch for a long while, but not anymore. There are a plethora of carp fishing brands that make superb reels that are as good, if not better, than the equivalent Daiwa or Shimano carp reels.
Okuma, Sonik, Penn, Fox, the list goes on.
It would be very remiss of me to not offer you a few alternatives to all things Daiwa or Shimano so here they are. I actually use one of the three reels below, see if you can guess which one, answers on a postcard please.
PRODUCT FOCUS - DAIWA DCR RANGE
Many of you will be familiar with the Daiwa Basia range of reels and you will also be aware of the ability to go onto the Daiwa website and customise your own Basia Reels so you can change the colour of the reel body, the colour of the spool, the type of handle etc etc. There is however, one major drawback. The price. When I went on and customised a set myself, the individual reel price was heading towards £700 (for each reel).
What if Total Fishing Tackle could order a bunch of pre designed custom reels in 7 different options, colours and finishes, BUT sell them for a lot less than £700! Well, we did.
The Daiwa Basia DCR range is exactly that. All the colours and features are taken from the DCR customiser and produced for us here at TFT. Best of all though, some of the models are currently selling at only £359.99!!
So what makes the Daiwa Basia DCR range so good? Well the Basia range is general is built around weight, or lack of it! The magnesium allow body is mega lightweight, and trust me, when you are chucking rigs or solid bags over 150 yards, every ounce of weight you can save will help you no end. It doesn't end there though, the line lay on the Basia range of reels is now legendary, the line effortlessly falls off the spool and there is no bedding in of the line which can help prevent efficient long range casting.
If you want the very best in casting and fish playing performance then the Daiwa DCR Basia range of reels here at Total Fishing Tacke will take some beating. 
PROS
- Super lightweight
- Incredible line lay
- Seven custom styles
- Silky smooth clutch
CONS
- Price
- Should be serviced annually