Retrieve: Turn the handle over to re-engage the spool and the Silver Wolf is indistinguishable from the Zillion SV TW. The key here, however, is in the line lay. That levelwind moves at a quicker pace than that of the standard zillion resulting in a line lay that crosses over itself rather than being parallel. This helps prevent your braid from digging in and causing any number of issues that can be catastrophic when using finesse diameters.

The Silver Wolf's main gear is aluminum

BFS = Bait Frog System?

Power: Otherwise, inside the reel is a gear made of aluminum alloy that when matched with the reel's ninety millimeter handle gives you plenty of leverage with finesse applications. This is certainly not a reel made for fishing heavy cover or deep running cranks, so the availability of power is tempered by what applications you can actually fish effectively.

Drag composition for the Silver Wolf

Drag: What did surprise me just a little bit was the Silver Wolf's drag composition. Daiwa Japan uses a single carbon washer for maximum rated pressure of about eleven pounds. Given its purpose in life as a reel for light line applications, I thought Daiwa might take the opportunity to outfit the Silver Wolf with a felt drag instead. Felt drags are generally more buttery smooth and well suited for light line applications. However, top end stopping power suffers, but that's not something you need when fishing a four to eight pound leader. No matter though as the drag performed perfectly fine.

MagSealed bearings for saltwater use

A look at the braking system

Design & Ergonomics: If you've fished the 2021 Zillion G, then the Silver Wolf's design and ergonomics will be familiar to you. It is a very comfortable shape and profile to palm, with a handle that is more than sufficient in length. As noted earlier, the only differences I could discern were in the spool and speed of the levelwind gear. Otherwise, from a BFS perspective, there's a lot to like about having a conventional sized reel capable of slinging small baits on light line. My only complaint is I'd prefer a honeycomb spool of some kind or simply a way to attach my finesse braid to the spool directly so I don't have to lay down a layer of electrical tape or backing to avoid phantom drag scenarios. Makes sense on a reel designed to be fished with braid doesn't it?

This is a high speed reel

Jun Sonada of JapanTackle showing us the target species for Daiwa's Silver Wolf Zillion variant

Price & Applications: MSRP for Daiwa Japan's '22 Silver Wolf is about 49,000 JPY which at the exchange rate at the moment I am writing this article translates to $355. Street or online pricing will vary and fluctuate depending on the exchange rate. Designed as a reel for targeting Black Sea Bream, with spool capacity roughly the same as that of the '22 Shimano Aldebaran and Abu Garcia Ultracast BF8, the Silver Wolf is more than capable as a BFS option for targeting black bass.

Even though it was designed with seabream in mind, if you like presenting finesse baits for bass with casting gear, it doesn't get much better than Daiwa Japan's Silver Wolf

Conclusion: Having difficulty getting my braid to leader connection knot small enough sometimes, to fit through the T-Wing levelwind on my '21 Zillion, I've been using thinner braid on that reel to mitigate the frustration. With that compromise, that Zillion had been seeing use in less intensive applications bordering on finesse. Trouble is, the standard sized spool keeps me from loading finesse diameter braids onto the reel, so it's kind of a 'tweener reel for me at the moment. With its shallow spool, the '22 Silver Wolf variant resolves that issue for me and it has the added bonus of a levelwind designed to be fished with braid. These are seemingly minor tweaks to the original platform, but they are smart tweaks and the result, quite honestly, is something Daiwa USA should consider bringing to support the BFS movement. Fortunately, those of us who are so inclined know exactly how to satisfy our enthusiast cravings and how to procure this wonderful piece of machinery.

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