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Fighting Smallies with Fire, Daiwa Fuego style
(continued)
 Real
World Test cont'd:
Long after the
introduction of the Fuego spinning reel Daiwa introduces the new smaller size
Fuego 2000. This reel brings the benefits of magnesium frame design to anglers
looking for a light/ultralight reel. We pair the Fuego 2000 with the Steez
spinning rod and see just how well this reel can handle some hard hitting
smallmouth.
The Daiwa Fuego in the lab
Casting: The Fuego
makes use of Daiwa’s ABS spool design to improve line lay and casting distance.
Though the Fuego doesn’t have a titanium lipped spool you would never know it
from the casting distance. With the smaller 2000 size reel you are more likely
throwing smaller lures and plastics, so accuracy is just as important as
distance. In this category the Fuego is pretty run of the mill.
The Fuego's well oiled drag system
Retrieving: During the tests I cast everything from split shot rigged 4 inch
worms to Daiwa’s own fat lipped Japanese RPM crank. The Fuego feels very similar
to the Sol and Tierra, and is smooth and confident on retrieves. The reel
doesn’t feel geary, but anglers will perceive exactly what is happening both
inside and outside the reel, as is characteristic of many a Daiwa product.
Remove the backplate and we find a
gasket
In terms of speed the Fuego
features a 4.9:1 ratio on all available sizes. This is a bit faster than most of
the other Daiwa reels (Steez- 4.8:1, Certate- 4.8:1, Sol- 4.7:1), and gets baits
going reasonably well. By turning the crank slowly I was able to fish everything
from weightless plastics to shakeyhead worms, and with mid sized cranks and
spinnerbaits tied on I was able to burn them back to the boat without
difficulty. Fishing slow proved much more effective on smallmouth during our
test, but the capability to fish a wider range of lures is a definite plus.
The gears can already be oiled from here
without removing the sideplate
The Fuego makes use of an
older type of bail trip mechanism than its siblings, which all make use of an
internal bail trip mechanism. Unlike the other reels in the Diawa lineup the
Fuego makes use of an external bail trip similar to that found in the classic
TD-S. The bail trip mechanism is actually built into the side of the rotor, and
a lever extends when the bail is open.
The bail trip mechanism is covered by a plate
on the rotor
The bail can only be tripped
back into place when the lever comes in contact with the reset area on the
frame. This mechanism is very reliable, but does have one quirky side effect.
The bail trip mechanism is much easier to reset with a little momentum. If the
reel is retrieved very slowly and the lever comes in contact with the reset
point at very low speed the reel feels like it locks up, and you have to either
close the bail by hand or really press down on the handle to force it to flip
the bail back.
The mechanism in closed position
Some anglers will find the
bail return a bit annoying, but the system is much easier to maintain than an
internal system. This also is a non issue for any spinning anglers that make it
a habit to close the bail by hand before they even start retrieving. There is
absolutely no backplay in the Fuego, but there is a tad amount of slop in the
actual knob itself, which could have been avoided if it was supported by a pair
of quality bearings. Nonetheless the Fuego cranks beautifully, and was able to
manhandle smaller fish.
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Once the bail
is opened a lever extends outwards
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Next Section: A
washable drag?
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