Field Tests: The very first duties for the Ryoga 1016HL was aboard our Lucky Craft LCMG 761XHF, a rod we reviewed back in July of 2010. We had extra testing duties for that stick and I wanted to put the 1016HL through some preliminary testing to see what the reel was about, so it all worked out rather smoothly.

It is available in high speed (6.3:1) and low speed (5.3:1) both in left and right hand retrieve.

After that initial trip, the Ryoga 1016HL sort of sat on the sidelines. I won’t sugar coat it. I was extremely disappointed with that reel. The one aspect I really like about the Pluton is how buttery smooth that reel casts and how it casts for distance without much effort. On that day mounted on the LCMG 761XHF, the Pluton’s smaller cousin demonstrated none of that ability. Had I just wasted $600? It sure felt like it.

Initial duties for this reel were aboard a Lucky Craft LCMG761XHF.

Fast forward a year later and I needed a more robust reel to mount on my trusted F6-72X4 Destruction for some topwater and big bait duties. My Daiwa Zillion Type-R had migrated over to the FX-711X4 Seven Eleven, so the Destruction needed a new locker mate. I opened my reel chest and found the forgotten Ryoga 1016HL sitting there calling out to me for another chance. I figured, why not and pulled the reel out, stripped the line and spooled up with some brand new 14lb Toray Polyamide Plus.

The Ryoga is touted as having "Ryoga Mag-Z" cast control. How this differs from standard Magforce Z we do not know.

Pitching: Now where I was disappointed with the casting ability of the Ryoga 1016HL mounted on my Lucky Craft Swimbait stick, pitching duties on this same rod were more than satisfactory, so there are no issues with startup on this reel. Granted, because of the heavy duty nature of the LCMG761XHF, I was hardly pitching light stuff, but that’s not what I’d expect of the 1016HL anyway. What I had tied on for this test was a half ounce concoction featuring a River 2 Sea Tungsten Tumbler Weight, Paycheck Baits Punch Skirt and Punch Hook, and a Reins AX Craw. It was surprisingly easy to grip and pitch with the 1016HL mounted on that Lucky Craft stick.

Aboard the LCMG761XHF, we liked the 1016HL's pitching performance better than its casting performance.

Casting: My initial casting experience with this reel may have been tainted by the fact the LCMG761XHF is not a great casting stick. Certainly an excellent casting reel should be able to overcome this deficiency, but maybe that was just too much to ask of the 1016HL. We’ve already established in our review of the F6-72X4 that the Destruction is not only an excellent casting stick, but it is an awesome stick for casting duties. Mounted on this stick, the 1016HL’s performance was very reminiscent of the larger sized Pluton.

But then, we matched it up with the F6-72X4 Destruction and it was game over.

I was putting Mike Bucca’s next generation Bull Shad v2 through the paces with this combo and getting excellent results casting this bait as far as I wanted and then some. On a second trip, I needed a stick to put ima’s Big Stik topwater plug through extended testing in local waters and naturally reached for my Destruction since this was the stick I fished that bait on down in the Amazon. The Ryoga 1016HL just happened to still be attached to that rod so I ran with it.

The Ryoga benefits from Daiwa's new digigear precision - a component of their "Real Four" engineering.

Matched up with this bait and rod combo, the 1016HL’s casting ability shone even brighter to the point I have pretty much discounted my experience with this reel on its initial journey.

Even the thumb bar is a finely machined piece.

Next Section: A drag that really clicks